*originally written 6/29*
7:30am. Uffda. We met our multitude of cousins, uncles, and aunts (gaggle? brace? who knows) at the dock in Bergen (called Strandkaiterminalen) for a bus tour of the countryside. We all packed up our luggage and away we went!
Our first stop was in Seim, to see the graveyard where my great-great-great-great-grandparents, Rasmus and Helena, are buried. All the tombstones in this cemetery are old and weathered enough that you can hardly read most of them now (but I love looking at old tombstones, so I don't mind at all). Because of this, we're not exactly sure where in the cemetery Rasmus and Helena now rest, but we know it's here. After the cemetery,we went over to Håkonshaugen on Kongshaugen Seim (Håkon's Hill on King's Hill, Seim) to see the burial mound of Håkon den gode (Håkon the good - the first official king of Norway). What a cool experience. Håkon died in 961 after being wounded in battle and was buried within sight of his mother's homeland (Seim) and the royal farm - very close to where he was born! Now, my awesome moment of the day: think about this, here I am, in 2012, standing on the same ground my ancestors walked on in the early 1800s, which is also a royal burial mound from the 900s. The amount of history on that ground is staggering. We then visited the Strilemuseum. Some background: a strile was a countryman, someone who lived one days's ride from the city (any city). Strile were usually farmers, usually lower middle class (working men with enough cash to own their own land) and lived on the hill and mountain-sides of Norway. The museum, though small, was a good stop in my opinion. We were shown a movie on traditional Norwegian farming methods of the Strile. Unfortunately, because of advancements in technology and farming, and a lack of interest by younger generations, the old farming methods are slowly being forgotten (hence the purpose of the Strilemuseum). It was really sad seeing these old filmed interviews with 80-some year old farmers who are still doing all the same chores they've always done, with little to no help, and are living with the knowledge that their entire way of life is dying out. I'm so glad the Strilemuseum exists, but I wish it were closer to Bergen so that more people could see it and hear their message.
Our next stop was Spurkeland Farm, where my great-great-great-grandmother, Anna Spurkeland Thorsheim (yes, it's pronounced the same as my name), was born and raised. Anna lived at Spurkeland until she married Ivar Thorsheim, the son of Rasmus and Helena. Spurkeland is still a functioning farm and is now also used as a historic reenactment site of sorts. The family who owns the farm (Ulwe Christian, his wife, Silje [pronoucned like Celia], and their two daughters) operate a tour/historic reenactment type business where people come out to the farm and the family dresses up in traditional costumes to illustrate what some parts of Norwegian farm life were like. While we were there, they were dressed in medieval costumes and catered lunch for us. We had a delicious wild sheep soup - vilsø suppe - made from local animals (wild, in this case, means not ever kept in a barn, not necessarily wild mountain sheep). We sat at long wooden tables, on benches that were covered with thick, furry animal skins. The only light came from a large fireplace at one end of the hall and the torches on the tables. (They had also placed medieval knight helmets on the tables, which dad, of course, tried on.) A barn cat also appeared; he was excited to have so much attention... every time anyone put their hand behind them (whether on purpose or just leaning back on it), the cat raced over to rub against your fingers and get some lovin'.
After lunch it was back to the bus. We drove by Furubergtunnel (which, in 1927, was Norway's longest tunnel) on our way to Toskheim, the site of Rasmus and Helena's farm. The Thorsheim family still owns Toskheim today - its a busy farm on its own and the family has added a small shed museum to commemorate our history and genealogy. It was really amazing to see all of the family trees; a huge thank you to all the relatives, past and present, who have put so much time and effort into the upkeep of these family trees. You have no idea how much it means to me.
Lastly, we drove past Eikanger (the community where Rasmus is from) and øvre Mundal (Helena's former home) on the way back to Strandkaiterminalen so we could catch the ferry to Bømlo. I spent the 40 min wait at the dock hunting down postcards (sorry, Coe friends, no Norway postmark - I don't love you enough to pay postage here) and was quite successful.
The ferry was relatively boring; nothing much to see from where we were sitting and too windy on the deck for me! But mom and I chatted with cousins, journaled, and cat napped. Or at least I cat napped. We're good traveling buddies, Mom and I.
Checked into the hotel in Bømlo now and have finished the "opening dinner" for the reunion. Asta, Aina, and Inta Tove (the cousins who organized the reunion) have done fantastic job taking care of us all (there are over 100 Thorsheim relatives here!). Mange takk! We played a fun get-to-know-you game after dinner (steak and salmon, for those keeping score at home): a scavenger hunt - which I managed to complete! Not bad for never having met more than 3/4 of these people before. It was called "Finn nokon som..." (find someone who...). Items included:
Someone:
- named Thorsheim (som heter Thorsheim)
- who loves herring (som elsker sild)
- who plays soccer (nokon som spelar fotball)
- who plays the saw (spelar på sag)
- who is in Bømlo for the first time (forste gang på Bømlo)
- who is in Norway for the first time (er forste gang i Norge)
- who can name more than 3 chief Anna and Ivar's children (kan navngi fleirae enn 3 av Anna & Ivar sine born)
- say hello to someone new! (snakk mi nokon nye!)
- who makes Kumle or Lefse (lager Kumle eller Lefse)
- who just bought a house (akkurat kjøpt hus)
- who is younger than 25 (yngre enn 25 år)
- who gets seasick (blir sjøsjuk)
- find a grandparent and grandchild (finn eit barnebarn & ein besteforelder)
- find an "Anna" (finn en Anna) [I helped a lot of people with this one]
- find the two oldest first cousins (finn dei 2 eldste søskenbarn)
What a great way to meet all the cousins!
Speaking of meeting new people, I got to meet cousin Linda today, who is also blogging about the reunion. Her blog is far more high tech than mine right now, she's able to post pictures on the go! (I'm jealous.) Linda and I are teaming up to share all the fun times that this reunion has to offer, so if you're up for some light reading, check out her blog, Reunion in Bergen.
A note on the title of this post: "slekta mi" is Norske for "my relatives" or "my family." This phrase is featured on our reunion t shirts and I thought it was also appropriate for these next few blog posts!
What a busy day. Tomorrow's plans include a tour of Moster (the oldest church in Norway), shopping, and dinner at Hiskholmen (an historic smokehouse), but for now, it's time to introduce Peter to television in a different language. Hello, Norwegian MTV.
7:30am. Uffda. We met our multitude of cousins, uncles, and aunts (gaggle? brace? who knows) at the dock in Bergen (called Strandkaiterminalen) for a bus tour of the countryside. We all packed up our luggage and away we went!
Our first stop was in Seim, to see the graveyard where my great-great-great-great-grandparents, Rasmus and Helena, are buried. All the tombstones in this cemetery are old and weathered enough that you can hardly read most of them now (but I love looking at old tombstones, so I don't mind at all). Because of this, we're not exactly sure where in the cemetery Rasmus and Helena now rest, but we know it's here. After the cemetery,we went over to Håkonshaugen on Kongshaugen Seim (Håkon's Hill on King's Hill, Seim) to see the burial mound of Håkon den gode (Håkon the good - the first official king of Norway). What a cool experience. Håkon died in 961 after being wounded in battle and was buried within sight of his mother's homeland (Seim) and the royal farm - very close to where he was born! Now, my awesome moment of the day: think about this, here I am, in 2012, standing on the same ground my ancestors walked on in the early 1800s, which is also a royal burial mound from the 900s. The amount of history on that ground is staggering. We then visited the Strilemuseum. Some background: a strile was a countryman, someone who lived one days's ride from the city (any city). Strile were usually farmers, usually lower middle class (working men with enough cash to own their own land) and lived on the hill and mountain-sides of Norway. The museum, though small, was a good stop in my opinion. We were shown a movie on traditional Norwegian farming methods of the Strile. Unfortunately, because of advancements in technology and farming, and a lack of interest by younger generations, the old farming methods are slowly being forgotten (hence the purpose of the Strilemuseum). It was really sad seeing these old filmed interviews with 80-some year old farmers who are still doing all the same chores they've always done, with little to no help, and are living with the knowledge that their entire way of life is dying out. I'm so glad the Strilemuseum exists, but I wish it were closer to Bergen so that more people could see it and hear their message.
 |
| The cemetery where Rasmus and Helena are buried |
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| Håkonshaugen |
After lunch it was back to the bus. We drove by Furubergtunnel (which, in 1927, was Norway's longest tunnel) on our way to Toskheim, the site of Rasmus and Helena's farm. The Thorsheim family still owns Toskheim today - its a busy farm on its own and the family has added a small shed museum to commemorate our history and genealogy. It was really amazing to see all of the family trees; a huge thank you to all the relatives, past and present, who have put so much time and effort into the upkeep of these family trees. You have no idea how much it means to me.
 |
| One of the family trees |
The ferry was relatively boring; nothing much to see from where we were sitting and too windy on the deck for me! But mom and I chatted with cousins, journaled, and cat napped. Or at least I cat napped. We're good traveling buddies, Mom and I.
Checked into the hotel in Bømlo now and have finished the "opening dinner" for the reunion. Asta, Aina, and Inta Tove (the cousins who organized the reunion) have done fantastic job taking care of us all (there are over 100 Thorsheim relatives here!). Mange takk! We played a fun get-to-know-you game after dinner (steak and salmon, for those keeping score at home): a scavenger hunt - which I managed to complete! Not bad for never having met more than 3/4 of these people before. It was called "Finn nokon som..." (find someone who...). Items included:
Someone:
- named Thorsheim (som heter Thorsheim)
- who loves herring (som elsker sild)
- who plays soccer (nokon som spelar fotball)
- who plays the saw (spelar på sag)
- who is in Bømlo for the first time (forste gang på Bømlo)
- who is in Norway for the first time (er forste gang i Norge)
- who can name more than 3 chief Anna and Ivar's children (kan navngi fleirae enn 3 av Anna & Ivar sine born)
- say hello to someone new! (snakk mi nokon nye!)
- who makes Kumle or Lefse (lager Kumle eller Lefse)
- who just bought a house (akkurat kjøpt hus)
- who is younger than 25 (yngre enn 25 år)
- who gets seasick (blir sjøsjuk)
- find a grandparent and grandchild (finn eit barnebarn & ein besteforelder)
- find an "Anna" (finn en Anna) [I helped a lot of people with this one]
- find the two oldest first cousins (finn dei 2 eldste søskenbarn)
What a great way to meet all the cousins!
Speaking of meeting new people, I got to meet cousin Linda today, who is also blogging about the reunion. Her blog is far more high tech than mine right now, she's able to post pictures on the go! (I'm jealous.) Linda and I are teaming up to share all the fun times that this reunion has to offer, so if you're up for some light reading, check out her blog, Reunion in Bergen.
A note on the title of this post: "slekta mi" is Norske for "my relatives" or "my family." This phrase is featured on our reunion t shirts and I thought it was also appropriate for these next few blog posts!
What a busy day. Tomorrow's plans include a tour of Moster (the oldest church in Norway), shopping, and dinner at Hiskholmen (an historic smokehouse), but for now, it's time to introduce Peter to television in a different language. Hello, Norwegian MTV.
This is terrific Anna. You know how to capture the event and the meaning of it. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteTakk!
From Linda, your Dad's cousin.
Linda, your comment made my day. Thank you so much for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteLove the kitty lovin'. Love the Coe shout-out (even if it was about /not/ getting Norwegian postmark). Love the family scavenger hunt. Too. Much. Fun.
ReplyDelete