The majority of our time there was spent researching relatives of my mother's maternal family around Stjordal and Hell, Norway. The owner of the B&B took time to drive us to where my Great Great Uncle farmed. We met the couple that own the farm now and they gave me some of the history of the farm and my uncle. Our next stop was to the farm that my Great Grandmother and her parents lived at until they immigrated to Minnesota. We were not as successful there but the owners were most accommodating. Then on to the library to do more research. While we were at the library there was a phone call for us from the owners of my Uncles farm. They may have found a living relative. So on to see if this could be confirmed. We met with a 81 year old man and the people that own his farm now. They were a delightful couple and were our translators as the 81 year doesn't speak English, We are not sure if we are related but they are going to do some more investigating and we will contact them when we are back from our travels. I can't tell you how helpful everyone was that we met.
Farm of Great Grandparents
We did tour the Hegra Fortress that is a series of underground tunnels and living quarters. This was built in 1908-1910 to protect the border against the invading Swedes. It was not until German invasion in the 1940 that it was first involved in action. And for a month around 200 Norwegian resistance fighters held out against the German attack. The fortress is eerie as it is still in its original state.
There was a chance that we would have to skip our trip to Ostersund; So much rain had fallen that the roads and railway had slides and they were both closed. Fortunately for us the road opened and we were transported by bus from Norway to the first town in Sweden where we caught the train. We were met in Ostersund by Ake and Margaretha. We had a great visit with them and tour of Ostersund. We hope to see them in Calgary as their son and daughter-in-law live a few blocks from us.
Our accommodation by Stjordal
The railway station at Hell
Ake and Margaretha's Home
Hi Carol and Gary,
ReplyDeleteI am so enjoying your trip. Jay and I feel like we are right there with you. Whew, that night with the university students was pretty lively. Hope you can have a peaceful trip from now on! I guess you never know what to expect when you travel. I have posted this to my Facebook page which is made up almost entirely with my Mitchell/Laing relatives.
Happy traveling and we hope to see you in the fall. Amazing that you met someone associated with Gordon Castle right near your own home. What are the odds of that!
Hi,
DeleteI came across your page because I will be soon traveling with my family to Sweden and Norway (we are from MN too). For part of our trip we will be driving along E14 from Trondheim to Ostersund and it's difficult to get much info about this drive, so I'd love to hear more about your experience and if you have any tips.
contact me if you are willing to share: Heidi.Wilson@spps.org
Thanks,
Heidi
I came across your page because I will be soon traveling with my family to Sweden and Norway (we are from MN too). For part of our trip we will be driving along E14 from Trondheim to Ostersund and it's difficult to get much info about this drive, so I'd love to hear more about your experience and if you have any tips.
ReplyDeletecontact me if you are willing to share: Heidi.Wilson@spps.org
Thanks,
Heidi