WWII

Tuesday August 3rd 1999

Today is the day I have been waiting for since we arrived—we will be going to Vanse to see all the places my father talked about from his childhood. During the drive my father kept saying, “You know, I am sure things have changed a lot since 1945.” As we entered the town he had a wrinkled brow as he kept looking out the window. “So much has changed,” he said discouraged, shaking his head. “I think we need to take a right here and then a left.” We followed his directions and his eyes opened wide. “There it is! Now I know where we are. This is the church where Bestefar and Bestemor are buried. Pull over and park.” We followed my dad as he walked through the graveyard to the…

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Monday August 2nd 1999

Another day up and out the door early, but not before some wonderful pastries and coffee for breakfast. Torstein was a very gracious host and as I would soon learn, this was how everyone is in Norway, including people that we had never met before and those who were not family. We thanked him again and headed to see my dad’s cousin, Helen, and her husband, Roar, in Kristiansand. The view from their condo overlooking the water and Otterdalsparken Park was beautiful! Most of today’s conversation was in Norwegian and if you read my earlier posts, you know how well I speak the language. Fortunately for me, their daughter offered to take the non-Norwegian-speaking guests around town while my dad and her parents caught up with each other. Kristiansand is another beautiful…

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Sunday August 1st 1999

Happy 70th Birthday, Dad! After another great breakfast at the hotel we were off to visit Torstein, one of my dad’s cousins. He lives in the town of Drangedal which is located about 120 kilometers southwest of Oslo. As you can imagine, all of the drives in Norway are scenic. We stopped at so many places along the way that what should have been a two-hour drive ended up being a ten-hour one, two of which were spent at a beautiful water-side lunch stop. When we drove up to Torstein’s house we found him outside doing some gardening. After many hellos, he took us around his house and showed us his landscaping. During that portion of the tour, my sister decided the lawn looked just too comfortable and that it was time…

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Saturday July 31st 1999

Today after breakfast there was a lot on our list of things to see and do. Here are a few of my favorites from Carol’s scrapbook: While we were in the stave church, my father could not resist preaching to us a little. This, of course, made me think of Adam and Eve, which then made me think of apples. We managed to find a very fancy McDonald’s to eat lunch at and of course I had an apple pie for dessert. I always like when things come full circle. After lunch we spent the rest of the day visiting Vigeland Park. The setting of the park was perfect for an art collection and the placement of each piece was well-thought-out, adding to the experience.

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Friday July 30th 1999

With customs behind us, we all climbed in the rental van and headed to the Vikingskipene, the Viking Ship Museum. Since the airport is northeast of the city, we took E16 heading south to E18 going through Oslo to Bygdoy where the museum is located. While driving, my father told us about the historic buildings in Oslo he and his brother Thoralf had seen while on their trip to the American Embassy after the war ended. The two buildings he talked about most were the Royal Palace and the Parliament. He and his brother had not had time to take a tour, but they did pass by them as they walked through the city the evening of their visit. As we continued our drive, we soon learned that we were not going…

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