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Rotary World Service - District 5950 Group Study Exchange 2003
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Rotary World Service - District 5950 Group Study Exchange 2003 |
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| Norway - April 2003 | Day 6 - April 27, 2003 | |
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Meet
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Contact the Team THE TRIP
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April 27, Sunday Kongsberg When we arrived in Norway less than a week ago, it was so sunny and warm that we could have worn shorts. When we got up this morning, it was snowing. Odd weather patterns are perhaps one reason that the Norwegian immigrants to Minnesota felt at home. We said adieu to our Drammen hosts at noon, hopped in a minibus and made the 45-minute trip inland to Kongsberg. Our chauffeur (and club coordinator) Per Edvin Ruud drove the scenic route, bypassing the quicker (but less scenic) tunnel route. The snow only got heavier as our elevation increased. Kongsberg isn’t so high in elevation itself, but the highest mountain in the area is about 1,000 meters above sea level. Even though it’s not too far in from Drammen, there’s a “inland climate” here as opposed to the sea climate in Drammen. So the weather here is generally better than in Drammen, but today didn’t seem to be a good example. John was pumped when he heard that the ski hill was still open, but we had to disappoint him later when we discovered it was actually closed. We met our new hosts in the community room of a small retirement neighborhood. We got an overview of our schedule for the week, which includes visiting the local government buildings and officials, a tour of the military facilities (with the possibility for some “hands on” experiences), tours of the silver mines, a roundtable on local immigration issues, vocational days with our Norwegian colleagues – Mike with a doctor; John with the Buskerud Techical College; Margit with a local bank; Alanna with the city administrators; and Lynn in the PR department of a underwater sonar company. Margit will also meet her long-lost family homestead in nearby Bø in the Telemark region. We have some fun outdoor activities planned, as well. This area really resembles the Arrowhead region of Minnesota, with the rocks, moss, water and tall fir trees. The hills here, however, are a bit larger. After lunch, we each departed with our families. I’m staying with Sigurd and Jorunn Friis. They’re both retired, but they’re likely more busy now than ever. Sigurd is preparing to take over as district governor for 2310, and Jorunn holds public office (but claims that when her four-year term is over, she’s done). Sigurd’s 94-year-old mother, Sigrid, joined us for dinner, and told interesting stories about Norway under Nazi occupation. When they were told to leave their home in Skjærvøy (a small island far above the Arctic Circle), they could only take what they could carry. “Sigurd carried his ABC books,” she said. “That’s why he’s so smart.” Sigurd, who was 7 at the time, remembers leaving home as a great adventure – and he got to take a train for the first time. They were fortunate, though. As the Russians were moving in toward the end of the war, the Nazis took a “burn everything in sight” approach. They stopped burning just short of Skjærvøy. Sigurd commented that had the Americans not stepped into the war, and had the Russians occupied northern Norway for more than the year that they did, Norway would have likely been a communist country. There were a lot of communist sympathizers in that region, he said. -Lynn Keillor |