Trip to Trondheim

Finally we’re getting a few nice summer days.  Saturday (the 14^th of August) I drove to Mosjøen and took the train to Trondheim.  I saw a part of Nordland and Nord-Trøndelag that I hadn’t seen before.  About 50 or 60 miles from Trondheim I began to see fields of golden barley.  It hadn’t occurred to me before that barley can’t grow so far north in Nordland.

I had to laugh at myself: as the train was coming into Trondheim I thought, O wow, Trondheim is such a big city.  I’ve been in Sandnessjøen too long.  I need to get out about once every 4-6 weeks.

Sunday morning I went to Ilen Church (busman’s holiday).  The organ there is from the 1880’s and is the model on which the organ is Sandnessjøen is built.  The only difference is that the acoustics in Ilen are much better.  I met Øyvind Kåre after church and we went to Hospital Church to see the 1841 Albrechtsen organ, recently restored.  Unfortunately the humid weather wreaked havoc with windchests and there were constant ciphers.  We then went to Hoeggen Church to see a modern replica of a small French choir organ.  Very beautiful.  From there we went back to the center of Trondheim, picked up John Mosand (who recently lost his wife, Gayle), and went to a restaurant called Tavern near Sverres Borg.

Monday morning I did a bit a shopping and caught the 4pm train back to Mosjøen.  The road between Mosjøen and Sandnessjøen is very narrow in places.  It’s only about 60 km in distance but you can’t drive fast on hairpin-curved roads.

The weather is still very nice.  On Wednesday it got up to about 80 F.  You could certainly tell who hadn’t used deodorant.  On Saturday I took a hike up to Åsen – The Ridge which divides Sandnessjøen into the sea side and the mountain side.  (Sandnes, the name of the settlement on the mountain side, goes way back to the Viking Age.  Sjøen or sea, is where the fishermen lived.  When the two communities grew together the area was renamed Sandnessjøen).   The views from “The Ridge” are spectacular.

I woke to rain on Sunday morning.  But it didn’t really matter.  It stopped about noon.  Two services: one at 11 and one at 4 on the island of Austbø.  Attendance at the 11 am service in Sandnessjøen was about 50.  Three people came to the service on Austbø.  Wherever two or three are gathered together….

Sunrise on 22 August is at 5:10 am, sunset at 9:15.  It’s now completely dark at night.  I hope to see the northern lights soon.

History being made

Week 31: Monday I had free.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I worked, mostly getting choral repertoire ready for the choir.  Friday was a beautifully clear day.  I decided to take a boat trip up to Træna, a group of islands north of here about 60 km (40 miles).  The arctic circle intersects Træna.   When I got off the boat I wasn’t really sure where to go, but I found out that Husøy (the main island of Træna) is so small you can’t get lost.  The church, from 1773, was open and I walked in.  Organ music filled the church.  It turned out the organist was Chris with whom I had played a concert in June at Alstahaug Church.  Chris is the director for Helgelands Chamber Choir and he was there for a wedding that took place later in the afternoon.  Small world (on a small island).  I walked up to the Petter Dass chapel, built in 1997.  It was designed to look like an upside-down boat.  The building is very small, maybe 50 or 60 can sit comfortably.  The acoustics are great.  The atmosphere is intimate.  The artwork is beautiful.  It’s a perfect place for contemplation and meditation.  From the chapel I walked the short distance to the water tower, one of the highest points on Husøy.  On a clear day you can see Sweden.  (I couldn’t and probably wouldn’t know what to look for).  On the island of Sanna there are spectacular caves and evidence of people living there 9000 years ago.  I didn’t get there this time, but that’s on the agenda for the next trip.  The weather held off until the boat trip back.  About 8 pm it began to rain, but not steadily.  I arrived back in Sandnessjøen about 10 pm.

On Saturday history was made at Tjøtta.  The sogneprest (pastor of Tjøtta and Alstahaug parishes) married her partner.  The civil ceremony took place at the Tjøtta parsonage.  This is the first same-sex marriage at a parsonage in Norway.  After the marriage ceremony everyone got on a boat and went to the island of Skålvær where the union was blessed in Skålvær Church.  What I found moving was the welcome and support  from the community.  After the actual marriage ceremony a few cars passed celebrating the event by bearing Norwegian flags.  When we arrived in Skålvær there were two welcoming boats with flags waving.  The bishop in Bodø supports the sogneprest and the union, as do almost all of her colleagues.  Norway is a very modern country, no longer a romanticized version of the land of our ancestors.  It is gratifying to be in a civilized country, and to see history in the making.

On Sunday there were 4 baptisms at church so it was quite noisy.  About 80 people attended.  After church I went on a bike ride to Søvik, then by ferry over to Herøy, cycled to Dønna, and took the ferry back.  In all about a 40 km  trip.

As of 8 August the sun rose at 4:20 and set at 10 pm.  It’s almost completely dark at 1 am.

Dark Nights Begin

The week began with more rain.  It seems we have 4 or 5 days of dreary weather, then 3 days of glorious sunshine.  Being so far north I’m not used to the arctic summer.

Gary and Luana (from Mattapoisett and Rødven) arrived on Saturday afternoon.  I showed them the Petter Dass Museum and Alstahaug Church.  Sunday we went by boat to Skålvær, an island west of here a few miles.  It is still within the Alstahaug municipality.  The weather was glorious.  (I told them to bring good weather and they brought the best weather so far).  There were about 60 people on the boat (Gamle Helgeland – Old Helgeland).  A church service took place at 12 noon.  Many people attended – around 95.  It is very unusual to have so many attend church.  Since services are held at this church only 3 or 4 times each year, and the weather was great, people decided to go to church.  It is rather difficult to get to Skålvær, and practically impossible to get there and back in one day, unless a special event with transportation is arranged.  It was a great occasion and I’m glad Gary and Luana got a flavor of Nordland.  They left for Bodø on Monday morning.

The weather is moderating a bit.  There was a passing light shower on Monday afternoon, and mostly overcast on Tuesday, but fairly warm (for arctic Norway).  Most of the staff at church is on holiday so there were only 5 at our weekly staff meeting.

I finally figured out how to use the music data program at church.  Vegard (my predecessor and for whom I’m interim) showed me how it works.  For the past few weeks I’ve been assembling choral repertoire for the choir.  Norway doesn’t have the rich liturgical music tradition that you’ll find in other countries in Europe.  Most of the pieces I’ve chosen are from the last century but are easy and flexible.  Rehearsals begin at the end of August.

On Thursday I took a bike ride to the island of Dønna, just north of Sandnessjøen.  The trip began with a ferry ride over to Bjørn, the ferry landing on Dønna.  From there I cycled north to Dønnes, stopping at Nordvik Church to take a few pictures.  It was incredible seeing Dønnes Church for the first time, almost like a Disney feature film.  Dønnes Church is a medieval stone church from about 1200.   A mausoleum was added in 1690.  In 1866 the church was enlarged and an onion dome was added.  In 2006 the church was voted the most beautiful in northern Norway by Radio Norway listeners.  After Dønnes Church I went up to Dønnes Mountain and took in the great views of the surrounding area.  From Dønnes Mountain I continued north-west a few kilometers and saw the monument to Ole Edvard Rølvaag who was born here in 1876.  On the northeastern side of Dønna, in Glein, there are Viking Burial Mounds.  On top of one of the largest mound, Valhaugen, is a marble phallus measuring 89 cm high x 50 cm diameter (roughly 3 feet x 20 inches).  It dates from the Age of Migration, 300 to 700 AD.  The stone phallus is associated with fertility rites in the Viking religion.  The bike ride back was a breeze with tailwinds.  In all I must have cycled 65 kilometers.

Friday we had more rain.  I still have the heat on in my bathroom, but it’s off in the living areas.  Being so far north there is no need for air conditioning here.  Sunrise on the 1^st of August is about 4 am, sunset about 10:30 pm.  Tomorrow (2 Aug) we will begin to have completely dark nights.