Finland!

It has been extremely hectic around here. Both E and KE started school last Thursday, and then last weekend E came down with a nasty cold. I started school on Monday, so already our first week of having two of us working full time we were in a childcare crisis. It would have been okay except that I had committed to attending a conference in Helsinki Wed-Friday of this week, which left KE in the lurch. Luckily his new boss was very understanding, and he made it work despite me jetting off.

The conference was really interesting. I didn't know any of the other participants, and it had been 15 years since I was last in Finland, so at times it was a little disorienting, though mostly just interesting and enjoyable. It's great to be home though! I'll post more about it with pictures when my energy level is back up.

Valfart II

During the after-performance conversation, someone mentioned having driven past the "Her trefte Per Gynt Bøygen" (Per Gynt met the Bøyg here) memorial stone on their drive up to Venabu from the north east. I had read about the stone in Mørkhagen's book, and have been dying to see it, so I made a spontaneous decision to try to find it myself, despite not having a map of the area with me. In the morning I checked out the maps in the hotel reception to get a rough idea, but could find no concrete indication of where the stone lies.

I took off in a northeasterly direction across the Rondane mountains any way, and was richly rewarded with spectacular views and almost no other vehicles on the roads. It was so beautiful and desolate crossing the plateau, and then the drive down into what becomes Østerdalen was steep and windy and beautiful in its own way. I drove to Enden and then into Atanbrua, where I stopped at a store to get directions. Unfortunately none of the staff there had ever heard of the stone, and the woman I spoke with the most seemed a little offended that I would be asking about Peer Gynt, since he "belongs" over in Gudbrandsdalen. Apparently Knut Hamsun did some writing in Atnabru, and of course it's also where the painter Harald Sohlberg did his famous painting, Vinternatt i fjellene.

With no more guidance than that I decided to make my way northward toward Folldal, figuring that the stone had to be somewhere along that stretch of road. Again, it was a beautiful drive along Atnasjøen, a long, riverlike lake with a marsh area at the northern end. The first thing I came upon was the Sohlberg viewpoint, which was apparently where he did the painting. It was, predictably, spectacular:

 What I hadn't expected, though, was how cool the viewpoint structure itself was. It's a very modern but organic and sinewy design in concrete that snakes around the trees:

The architect is Karl-Viggo Hølmebakk. There's an article about it in Norwegian with more pictures here.

Encouraged by how cool this spot was, I forged on, still not knowing whethere the memorial stone was going to show up. After a few kilometers I pulled off into a roadside stop with a sign and map, but again there wasn't any information. About to give up and in need of a bathroom break, I thought I'd just go a couple more kilometers and see. Much to my delight, I came upon another supermodern rest stop with a very elegant set of bathrooms and big maps and information posters on the local trails:

I went to the bathroom, looked around but didn't find any info on the memorial stone. The area along the river looked really pretty though, so I decided to take a little walk along the river up to the bridge across to the trailhead. It was so much like parts of western Washington, along the Nooksack river of my childhood. The river bank combined sand and round stones, and the colors of the forest, water and sky all felt just right. When I got to the bridge I noticed a standing stone, but it didn't have an inscription, so I turned onto the bridge and walked across. It was pretty muddy on the other side (duh, it's a marsh), so I didn't do much more than turn around and walk back across. As I was walking across I noticed a really cool looking farm on the hill on the other side, so I walked past the standing stone to get a better angle for a picture:

I snapped this picture then turned back around to head back to the car, and what do you know, this cultural wonder appeared right in front of me:

 I can't explain  how elated I was to have finally located it, or how hilarious I find it. Think about it; it's a memorial sign erected to commemorate the (fictional) meeting between the (fictional) "historical" Per Gynt (the legendary figure upon whom Henrik Ibsen based his fictional Peer Gynt) and the (equally fictional) supernatural figure of the Bøyg. It's even funnier that the marker had apparently been moved here from another site that was presumed to be less authentic. Oh brother!

Unfortunately, the stone has taken some pretty bad damage, and is no longer totally legible. Bummer, as it really is one of the quirkiest and coolest things I've ever seen.

Valfart I

For years I have been meaning to attend an outdoor performance of Ibsen's Peer Gynt at Gålåvatnet. It's an annual event that has been going on for decades. This year I finally managed to get my act together; I went this week and it was such a fun trip. KE refused to go, since for him it would just be something related to my work (?!), so I decided to make a quick and dirty and super efficient trip out of it by myself. I found a package deal from Venabu "mountain hotel" that included a ticket, a room, meals, and a guided bus ride to and from the performance. What's more, for this particular performance the guide was going to be a guy called Sverre Mørkhagen, who has written a book about the "historical" person upon whom Ibsen based his character. I have quite a few bones to pick with Mørkhagen's book, so I was really curious to meet him.

It was a long drive up to Ringebu in Gudbrandsdalen, made longer by massive construction along the E6 and pouring rain all the way until about Lillehammer. I tried to take it easy and stop a few times, most notably in Espa, where they claim to sell the world's best buns:

Boller are of course a mainstay of the Norwegian diet, and probably one of the main reasons obesity is on the rise here.

I got to Ringebu well before check-in time so I decided to drive a little further to a town called Vinstra, which is the main center for the Per (not Peer) Gynt Festival. That was a disappointment, as there really wasn't anything going on other than the tourist office, which sells t-shirts, books, and gives out lots of brochures. This is apparently a very geographically diverse event, and you have to be at the right place at the right time to catch something; you can't just roll into town and dive into a festival atmosphere.

So naturally I figured it was time to head up to the hotel and maybe get in a little walk before the day's events started in earnest. Here's the hotel from the back. Notice the slate roof. Love those so much, and they're all over in Gudbrandsdalen.

The hotel is at about 930 meters above sea level, so it's right at the tree line, and in the middle of a spectacular high mountain plateau. There are dozens of cabins scattered around in a huge basin surrounded by peaks:

This is a pretty open area with a bunch of dirt roads and a lot of privately owned cabins, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that even here the characteristic trail markers maintained by the Norwegian Tourist Association were all over:

I've always loved these cheerful red T's smeared in thick paint on rocks along the way. They're pretty frequent, as bad weather can completely disorient a hiker in no time.

I walked for just an hour, then did some writing and knitting and took a little nap before dinner. I showed up at the dining hall five minutes before the doors were to open and was shocked to find fifty people standing outside waiting, including two women a mere 2 inches from the doors. They all appeared to be over 60, so I stuck out like a sore thumb in my youthfulness (!) and non-couple-ness.

The guided bus tour was an enormous disappointment. The guide did nothing but summarize the plot of Peer Gynt, as if all 55 people on that bus had never read the text before. He was late, said next to nothing about the stuff that's in his book that he's supposedly an expert on, and he droned on about the plot, forgetting the names of the characters, messing up quotations when he tried to produce them (from memory?), and in general gave a really unprofessional lecture. Not recommended!

Thankfully, the performance itself lived up to all the hype. My only criticism is that the sound system was almost unbearable at times --they had the sound cranked up and their was weird feedback between the actors' voices (which I could hear in the 8th row) and the speakers (which were at times deafening). Oh, and the fact that the actors playing Peer and Mor Aase screamed the entire first scene of act I, but then they all seem to do that. I would so love to see a Peer Gynt where the director attempted to do something innovative with the aggression in that scene. Could it, for example, be played quietly, with clenched teeth? Or anything, really, other than the screaming.

But all in all, I was totally won over by the charm of the peformance. The trolls and especially Den Grønnkledde were fantastic, and Solvejg's voice seemed to fill the entire mountains. So beautiful. I didn't take many pictures, but here are two:

This is, of course, the arrival of the trolls. And then here is Peer in an exchange with Anitra in act four:

 

The palm tree and cadillac and ukulele were hilariously incongruous in the beautiful mountain landscape.

Thankfully the tour guide stayed quiet for most of the ride back to the hotel. There was an hour-long conversation over a late night meal. By then I mostly just ignored what he said.

I'll post tomorrow about the return trip, which is some ways was even more exciting (to me) and fun (to me) than the trip up and the performance.

USA

E and I are off to the US today for a quick trip to visit my dad, his wife, and to celebrate my Grannie's 95th birthday. I'm a little nervous, but excited for the trip.

I just got an email from my alma mater explaining that my favorite professor is retiring after having taught for 49 years. I think he almost single-handedly saved me from dropping out of college. He's such a great teacher...

Store begivenheter

Gosh, it's over a week since I last posted. So much has happened that it will be hard to catch up. First and foremost, the secret event I took part in over the weekend was the marriage of my dearest friend. It was a magical event, but it's not my story and not my place to broadcast it. Let me just say that the couple, who are both in their fifties both married for the very first time (very unusual!) after being together for sixteen years. They were married in full-on traditional folk costumes in an 850-year-old stave church in the village that the bridegroom's family emigrated from about 150 years ago. Everything about the wedding was lovely and moving. We were only a party of eight, and I felt incredibly privileged to have been able to take part in it.

I decided I needed a thoroughly mindless knitting project to take along for the trip, so I ended up going for a Clapotis scarf. This is about the most popular knitting pattern in the world. Right now there are well over 17,000 projects listed on Ravelry. I dug out some Garnstudio Drops Silke-Tweed that I had left over, and just went for it:

It's a very fun and satisfying travel knit, though I'm not yet sure whether I'll actually use it. It may end up as a gift.

Unfortunately, I came down with what I sincerely hope is the last cold of the season. It really put a damper on my week, which is why I'm only now finding the time to blog.

Beslektet

I don't think I've yet mentioned that I'm taking another English course this term. I was super lucky to squeeze into a course on Multicultural American Literature. I totally love it, but what I really want to write about is just one book, Octavia E. Butler's Kindred from 1979. Although it's written for young adults (apparently) is is utterly gripping for adults too. It is the story of a contemporary African American woman who gets transported back and forth in time and space between the present (1976) in California and the past   (1819 and onward) on a slave plantation in Maryland where her ancestors lived.

If you haven't read it, you really should, especially (I have to add) if you're an American. I've never seen anything that does a better job of expressing the complexities and horror of our collective history regarding race and slavery. Wow. Just wow.

Family is on my mind right now for another reason: we're starting to plan a trip back to the US to visit family there. It will either be in April or June. Still working out the details. Can't wait!

The Placed Cable Aran pullover is finished blocking, and I wore it to work yesterday (and am wearing it again right now...).

 (Sorry for the distorted snapshot - I was leaning forward when the picture took itself...) I love it! I added at least six inches  to the length of the body. I also used the mattress stitch for the side seams and arm seams, which worked fabulously. I'm a convert to that technique. The end result is so tidy!

Now I'm at loose ends knitting-wise, finishing up a pair of socks for E while I wait for inspiration to hit. I have three four WIPs I could be working on, none of which is very appealing. What I really want to do is go out and buy new yarn, but I can't really do that.

Ut på tur...

We are just back from our first boat outing of the summer! It is a glorious day outside, so we decided to just go for it, despite being nervous about getting everything to work. It was absolutely lovely!

Here we are hugging the shore on the east side of Nesodden, checking out all the fabulous summer houses along the water line. Sigh. What I wouldn't give to own this property (for example--there are dozens that I was swooning over). After we got home I started making the Lentil stew from a previous post again. It smells so good I could pass out. Here's a peek:

It's time too for an update on what I am calling E's "Steinerskolegenser" (Waldorf school pullover). Thus named because it is turning into such a hippy sweater:

As you can see I'm almost done with the first sleeve. I'm running a little low on yarn, but I'm still hoping there's enough to make a turtleneck at the end.

As I was uploading these I discovered the few snapshots I took while on the conference excursion to the Österlen region of the Swedish province of Skåne, and some turned out kind of fun, so I'll post them here. First up is a couple of the old timbered houses in the town of Ystad, which is also home to Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series:

The second is purportedly the oldest existing timbered house in Scandinavia, and it also happens to be the childhood home of the late Ernst-Hugo Järegård. He's the actor who played the angry Swede in Lars von Trier's Riget.

After our guided Wallander-tour of Ystad, we drove to Kåseberga, where we had a gourmet lunch on the seaside patio at Vendel Ales Stenar restaurant and then walked up the hill to view one of Scandinavia's most impressive Viking age sites, Ale's stones:

It was swarming with people, but still impressive on such a bright and sunny day. There was a whacked out self-titled tour guide there pontificating on his theory about the original function of the stones, which are set up in the shape of a large ship. I have no patience for that kind of new age pseudo-science, so I didn't stick around to listen or pick up any of his home-produced brochures.

Vimsete

I got back from Lund late last night. All in all, it was worth the effort, though it was by no means the best conference I've ever been to. It's a little sad that the best connections I made were with the people I already work with, but I suppose it's not a bad idea to strengthen the network I already have. I found out about an absolutely perfect job opening that has unfortunately already been filled: research consultant at the National Library. Apparently it's a 50% research 50% consultant position where you help other people with their research. OMG I would have loved that. But now that I know, I can follow along in case a similar position opens up in the future.

Otherwise, I felt my paper went relatively well. I think a lot of people realized there was a gap in their knowledge regarding the text, period, and themes I talked about, so that was good, but it certainly wasn't anything groundbreaking. The best paper I head was from one of our PhD students, who talked about Lars Ramberg's Liberté, which was selected to decorate the interpretive museum at Eidsvoll (home of the Norwegian constitution). I hadn't heard about the furor that this work produced (it was later deselected), and I found both the work itself and the debate really thought-provoking. But other than that one paper, there was very little else that got me excited.

I almost missed my flight home. I got a late start from Lund (too busy socializing!), then the train I was taking to the Copenhagen airport had technical problems, so we had to get off and wait for a new one. I made it to the airport 30 minutes before the flight, but amazingly was able to check in (hand baggage only, thankfully), make it through security and get a seat at the gate. Yay Copenhagen airport. I could have never done it in the US. When I got off the bus in Oslo and walked to the ferry I was pleasantly surprised to find a huge music festival on the water. It was a little disorienting at first, since nearly all of the hundreds of people milling around were Pakistani, but quite cool. I felt like I'd been transported to Karachi for a moment. It was actually just the MELAfestival, which was something I knew nothing about before stumbling upon it.

This morning E, KE and I walked down to the marina and mucked about in our boat. We had to bail it and scrub it down some and KE tried to get the motor going. It starts, but cuts out pretty randomly, which isn't a good thing when motors are concerned. It was a beautiful summer morning though, and it was fascinating to see all the stinging jelly fish in the water. This is a record year for them.

Hey, have you tried the Battleground God game, which is a test to see if your professed beliefs are consistent? Pretty interesting quiz.

Oooh, I just discovered this site where you can make maps of where you've been:


visited 28 states (56%)
Create your own visited map of The United States


visited 14 states (6.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Clearly I need to work on the southern hemisphere!

Ut på tur, aldri sur

One of my biggest fantasies about our new life in Europe is that we will become one of those geeky families that travels around in a VW van visiting historical sites all over Europe, and that we will do tons of hiking and cross-country skiing all over Norway. The problem with the fantasy is that I don't like getting dressed or off the sofa, and would always rather read a good book than go outside, so I'm a little concerned that the fantasy is more of an impossible dream.

The latest issue of Norway.com Magazine (didn't know that the magazine existed, although I do refer to the website occasionally) contains lists of the top ten hikes and cross-country skiing. Clearly I have to do those things, even if it means getting dressed to do so. The whole cabin-to-cabin thing maintained by Den norske turistforening fascinates me. Here they are:

Top hikes:

• Besseggen: of Peer Gynt fame. They say that over 35,000 people hike this trail each summer, which really doesn't sound very fun, even though I would love to see this topographical oddity first hand.

• Knutshøe: An alternative to Besseggen itself. Apparently you get great views of the ridge and lakes from here.

• Mugnetind: An easy trail just inside Jotunheimen, apparently.

• Rasletind: A 2000 meter climb in Jotunheimen.

• Skogstien: This is the easy hike at Beitostølen. Even at my worst this one wouldn't worry me. Apparently there are some pilgrim sites along the trail.

• Bydin, Eidsugarden, Olavsbu, Skogadalsboen, Ardal: A four-day trip across Jotunheimen.

• Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind: Scale Norway's two highest mountains in three days. I'm not sure that this is realistic. It should be the last one on the list for me.

• Lappstien, Heinseter, Rauhellern, Marbu, Krossbu, Helberghytta, Rjukan: A six-day cabin to cabin trek. This one sounds less grueling.

• Haukeliseter, Hellevasbu, Litlos, Sandhaug, Lagaros, Mogen, Rjukan: Okay, so I've actually hiked the first three stations along this route, before veering off toward the western fjord country. It practically killed me. I was carrying a heavy pack, which is essentially suicide when hiking in the Hardangervidda. You don't need a pack as long as you can make the full stretches between the wonderfully stocked cabins along the route. The guide book will tell you something like "seven hours" between cabins, but that means without any breaks at all (and no dawdling at rivers where the bridge has been washed away and you need to figure out how to get across rushing glacial run-off). I did this when I was 20 pounds lighter. I'd like to think that I will do it again with my additional wisdom of what not to pack, but I'm not sure I have the courage and stamina. We'll see, and I'll keep thinking about it.

• Skala
  

The top cross-country ski tours are supposedly:

• Bymarka (outside Trondheim)

• Oslomarka (outside Oslo): this I could probably manage. They say to start at Holmenkollen at the base of the ski jump, and also mention a 6 kilometer trail from Sognsvann to Ullevaalseter or to Kikut (14 kilometers). What they don't mention is all the hills. Cross-country skiing is great except for the downhill parts. Yiikes.

• Lillomarka (also outside Oslo): also reasonably likely. They say to start at Maridalsvannet and ski to Lilloseter (12 kilometers).

• Geilo

• Birkebeinerrennet: a traditional 56 kilometer race. Not in a million years would I participate, although I will happily watch it on television!

• Hallingdal

• Kruk i Valdres

• Hafjell

• Trysil

• Drammensmarka