Norway Day 3 (Continued)

We have really enjoyed visiting and the view from Arfin and Brit's home is stunning, however, the jet lag was proving too much for Mom during our visit, my favorite remark from Mom was when we were talking about Norwegian holidays and Mom asked; "Do you celebrate Thanksgiving too?" (Sorry Mom-I had to share, I am still laughing about it).

Norway Day 3 - April 29, 2011

We woke up and had a WONDERFUL breakfast at our Hotel. The Norwegians believe in very hearty breakfast buffets, a special treat for us. (Included in the room price, saved us likely $50) They even have you make sandwiches to take with for an afternoon snack. Arfinn Nilsen our Norwegian Cousin met us at the Hotel and picked us up in his very nice Mercedes Benz and gave us a lift to explore Buvika (the Nilsen Homestead) and treated us to some wonderful Norwegian hospitality.

Our first stop was the family church where everyone was babtized and where many of the Nilsen's are buried. (Of course, I had to take lots of pictures of gravestones, but they were lovely). We also learned that one of the Nilsen's son's was the first and only people that were involved in a political murder in Norway's history. (He had the largest tombstone! He is considered a hero of sorts). Arfinn also took us to the family home, which is in the same spot, but has been remodeled overtime. (He arranged to get us access to the home, which was right on a fjord). That was extra special for Mom!

Afterward, he invited us back to his home to meet his wife, Brit and his grandson, Orjan and a reporter. Yes, you read right a reporter, someone is doing a story on our visit, apparently the relatives of the Nilsen's are famous! Can't wait to see that article, notice I didn't say read it-as I don't think we will ever be able to read it.

Brit treated us to some coffee and norwegian pastries. Afterward, we had a real norwegian meal. I have no idea what I ate, but I have a picture of it. Yes, I did eat it!

Norway Day 2-April 28, 2011

We have arrived in Trondheim Norway! A smaller airport, but our luggage made it and we are ready to meet our relatives, of course after some sleep. The language however, and the cost of transportation has been a challenge for us. Everything in Norway is VERY expensive. So we elected to grab a bus to our hotel, The Britannia Hotel in downtown Trondheim. We didn't understand the driver, and he didn't understand us...so we were dropped off about 4 blocks from our hotel. However, we found our way! The hotel is very historic and nice, but nothing like we are accustomed to in the United States, very small and simple. We decided to grab a bite at a close retaurant that was supposed to be good, one beer, one pop and some pizza-$54 dollars later, we had to laugh. Needless to say, the jetlag had taken us over, we tucked in at 2:00 p.m. in afternooon.

Patty and Penny's Norwegian Pilgrimage...2011

Day 1...Yes, it is true, I have accompanied Mom on her journey to reconnect with her Norwegian roots. After months of email exchanges with her Norwegian Relatives (using google translator) we have embarked on a long journey east. (With nearly 3 weeks of planning under our belt)! We made it to the airport with plenty of time for Mom to learn that Delta, no longer cares about customer service. Despite the fact that our tickets said we could be upgraded to 1st class, they gave our seats to someone else and stuck us back in coach! Ouch-long ride--with no sleep!