Our House

"We
bought
you
a house,"

Tora told
us

when
we
arrived

earlier
today.




"We thought
you'd be
more
comfortable
staying here

all together

than
spread out
among the
relatives."






Then she smiled

and went on
to explain

the incredible
circumstances

of the purchase

just two
months ago.





The owner –

Tora's school-
days classmate –

had recently lost her
husband and desired
to move into town.

Tora and Kjell
had been considering
moving to Verdal to
spend retirement
in their childhood
hometown.















This home's location – with the Trondheimsfjord view – as well as its spacious living areas and multiple bedrooms enticed the couple to buy the home now, giving them time to fix the place to fit their future needs.

As a bonus, they could house us – their six family members visiting from America – for a few days in August.





Kjell told us

he had just

one qualm

with the

whole plan.



He asked us to write a letter of recommendation to the neighboring farmer explaining why it's essential for him to sell a piece of the barley field to Kjell who needs space to build a proper garden.

To Bjørga

Shortly
after
6 PM,

our driver
hopped
into
the van
and
prepared







to

take

directions










for
transporting
us












around

the

hills











hugging

the

fjords






past

the

golden

grain

fields










To

Bjørga –
















The


Hillside.

Better Homes and Gardens

Following our
afternoon snack

and later
after dinner,

Tora encouraged
us to relax

before the
next leg of
our journey.





From the deck,

we strolled

into the

living quarters,








and
realized


that
this
place –








inside
and
out –



would
make

be a great
feature










for

Better
Homes
and
Gardens!

Verdens Beste

Out on the deck, Tora served afternoon "kaffe," including not only cups of the dark, hot beverage,
but also a
delightful dessert – whipped up by their grown son – for us, their American family.



As we tasted this light-meringue cake filled with pudding and topped with slivered almonds,

we understood why the recipe is a famous one from the Trøndelag region...






...so
scrumptious,

it's know
simply as:

The World's Best.






(Click on photo to enlarge recipe.)

Gargantuan Gardeners

Cousin

Tora


and


her

husband

Kjell









overwhelmed
us


with
their


gardening
talents.









From
the
lush
hedge

enclosing

thriving

plants







to

the

backyard

orchard









with


ruby
red


cherries.











Puttering
in


his
vegetable
garden,







Kjell
pulled

long
orange
carrots

for
our
dinner...







...and
credited
Tora








with
the
flower
fettish











extending
from



their
home's
walls








to
the
pots


and
even


in the
furniture
fabric





of their
cozy home

that
long ago

served
as the
village
store.

The Rental Van

Alas,
it was time


to walk to
the AVIS office,


fill out
paper work


and get
the keys


for our
rental van.



Then we
walked
farther

toward
the river,

past
Peppe's Pizza,

to a service
station lot


for a
BIG
surprise –

a nine-
passenger
vehicle

with lots
of room

for luggage.



With such space,
all eight of us
hopped in
to ride to the
train station,

gathered our
luggage from
the storage
lockers,

packed up,

got Kjell's car




and

hit

the

road


going

north






through
tunnels –


some
even


a mile
or more

long –




to our
first stop –

where Avis
had her photo
taken with
the AVIS van –

at our
hosts' home.

Crown Regalia

Following

our

interior

tour

of

the

cathedral,





we
entered


the
courtyard


of the
Archbishop's
Palace.



The museum here holds the Norwegian crown jewels.

A new exhibition of the Crown Regalia opened in 2006 with King Harald V, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Princess Ingrid Alexandra representing the Royal Norwegian lineage.

The princess is the first female heir of the Norwegian throne.

(To illustrate how "real" Norway's royal family is, I love to tell the story about how my host mom's cousin was Prince Haakon Magnus' ninth-grade teacher in the regular public school in Oslo while I was an exchange student in 1983-84. At the time, Brita called the prince a handsome young man with a sense of humor.)

Spontaneous Song

As our group entered the Chapter House on the northeast side of Nidaros Cathedral, our quiet voices carried in a rolling motion off the curvatures of chapel's stone foundation. I tallied chairs and estimated the house might seat an audience of 70.

I pictured Christmas Eve, a small wedding or some other intimate gathering. To the others, I turned and asked, "Can you imagine a concert here?"

All agreed: That would be something.

Something within this mini-cathedral moved me to sing the first line of the Norwegian table prayer – the one Dan, the boys and I sing at home in three-part harmony. As "I Jesus navn går vi til bords" reverberated off the stone ceilings, I marveled at the magnificence, gained confidence and finished the song with goosebumps.

The comments rang: "Wow!" "You must sing in a choir!" "That was incredible."

"What's incredible," I said, "is this place. It makes an ordinary voice sound extraordinary."

Truly an awesome moment of Spontaneous Song.

Home of Saint Olav

We
continued
walking


toward
the
tower


of
the
west
entrance



over
the
courtyard

and

turned
around


for a
full view.




Here we zoomed in for a better look at the large rose window and the some of the 59 eight-foot-tall statues depicting the Apostles, Biblical prophets, judges and kings plus Norwegian kings and saints...


ones such as

St. Sunniva (left), an Irish king's daughter whose ship foundered, leaving her stranded at Selje where she was killed by heathen Håken Ladejarl in the year 996. She was the first saint ever declared in Norway.

Love (right), one of three heavenly virtues that stands to the left of the rose window. A group of four secular virtues stands to the rose window's right.

St. Olav (center), who was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 and one year later was declared a saint, Norway's Patron Saint. According to legend, his body lies under the high altar of this very cathedral...


a
place

that's
drawn
in

thousands –

maybe even millions –

of pilgrims





over


hundreds


of


years.