Travels Northward

For much of March and April I was on the road, visiting relatives and friends and talking to salmon fishermen and fisheries scholars in Trondheim and Tromsø. I thought it would be best to do the whole circuit at once, although packing becomes slightly more difficult when you need clothes both for visiting relatives in springy, sunny Ålesund and every single piece of winter clothing for Svalbard’s -30º C.

The first leg of my adventure was aboard the Hurtigruten, the coastal steamer that departs Bergen each evening and makes its way up the coast as far as Nordkapp. I felt a bit out of place with my large backpack and hiking boots amidst the elderly German and Norwegian cruise guests in their evening attire, sipping their wine in the lounge. The passage from Bergen to Ålesund was beautiful with calm seas and enough sunshine to sit on deck sunbathing. The trip from Ålesund to Trondheim several days later was quite the opposite, with huge seas and snowstorm.

I had a wonderful, although all too brief, visit with the Sandvik relatives in Sykkylven, a town just east of Ålesund known for its production of furniture – and for being the birth-place of the frozen pizza brand, ‘Grandiosa.’ (If you were a student in Norway you would know and love Grandiosa, believe me.) I heard stories about my grandpa Oscar from Olav and Malmfrid, and stories about other past visits of the Alaskan relatives. We ate fresh cod, including the roe and cakes made from the codliver – they sound horrible but are amazingly delicious. Oddmar and Terje and their buddy Henning took me on an amazing ski trip up into the hills to a view of the fjords surrounded by the Sunnmore Alps. I love skiing, although I must say I’m really confused about how Norwegians, or anyone for that matter, can use regular old traditional cross-country skis to go up and down steep mountains. I want metal edges, damnit!

In Trondheim I got to speak with landowners from the Gaula River about the importance of wild salmon to their region. There was a ski trip (with metal edges) arranged by my fellow Fulbrighter, Matthew. And of course there was Easter – there were many guests from Bergen visiting our friend Sonja. Margrit and Sonja colored Easter eggs and we had a good old fashioned Easter egg hunt around an old fortress up on the hill.

Svalbard. I didn’t see any polar bears, which is both a good thing and a bad thing I suppose. I missed the Northern Lights. I figured that close to the equinox would be the perfect time to visit, because I’d get half light and half dark. But 8 days after the equinox it was already 24 hours of daylight, if you count twilight. My friend Allison reported a few days ago that as of late April they’ve already got midnight sun up there at 78º N. There were snowscooter trips and crazy parties, and major preparations anytime we needed to go outside.

In Tromsø I stayed with Benny and Bård Berg, friends I met through the Norwegian Ladies Chorus last year in Seattle. Bård arranged many great meetings for me with people who know about Sami salmon fishing. I also got to meet many of the fisheries social scientists whose books I’ve been reading all year long.

The final stop of my journey found me in Harstad, close to the Vester and Lofoten Islands. Sandy is a family friend who traveled to Norway when she was 20 years old, fell in love with the farmer’s son, and has now lived in Norway for 30 years. Her husband Andreas and their Belgian farmhand, Hans, were busy in the barn with spring calving. I enjoyed drinking real milk – something that everyone who grows up on a dairy farm must find commonplace, but I found thrilling. Sandy and Andreas live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, right next to the ocean with snowy mountains in view.

Whew… back in Bergen. And it’s Spring!!