Summer, finally

Nothing unusual this week (5-11 July): one funeral and two weddings for Saturday. Summer has finally arrived here. There were one or two days of rain but otherwise sunshine. I feel sorry for my friends in Boston with the heat wave. Here in northern Norway the warmest it has been so far is about 70 to 75 F.

Friday I went hiking in one of the Seven Sisters Mountains. It had rained on Thursday so parts of the path were slippery. At the end of the trail I slipped. Fortunately I didn’t fall but I caught my 4^th finger on a fence. Nothing serious but it’s a little sore. So I guess that’s a sign to give up mountain climbing.

Two weddings on Saturday the 10^th. Fortunately they were at the same church (Alstahaug). Both weddings were planned in detail. There was a singer for each and instrumentalists for the 2^nd wedding so extra rehearsals are needed. A trumpeter played at the 2^nd wedding. For the postlude they also brought in a tuba player, a drummer and a 2^nd trumpet player. Most of the wedding music is new to me. There are Norwegian wedding marches that are traditional here. So far the only wedding music that I knew are the Mendelssohn and Wagner marches, and also the Purcell Trumpet Tune.

After the service on Sunday I took a boat trip to Vega, an island south of here. We stopped at several islands on the way and back. The round-trip tour took about 5 hours. It was a perfect was to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Rain is predicted for Monday.

(12-18 July). And this time the prediction for rain was correct. We had 3 lousy wet days. My relatives Turid & Gunnar arrived on Tuesday for a couple days. On Wednesday we drove to Dønna and Herøy but we couldn’t see much. Thursday was a gloriously beautiful day. Unfortunately that was the day they left for the trip back south. Friday was equally beautiful with heat. Rain was predicted for Saturday but they were wrong! Another beautiful day. Norway really is the land of extremes. Friday afternoon I picked up my passport from the local police station. My residence permit is stamped into my passport. Now the major bureaucratic obstacles are behind me.

There is a nest of little seagulls near the roof on the parish house. Sometime on the weekend the young ones got out and were walking around on the ground near the front entrance. When I arrived at the parish house on Saturday morning I was dive bombed by seagulls. It felt like I was transported to Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. What an strident screech seagulls make when they are angry.

Sunday morning we had 4 baptisms. There were about 70-80 in church. During the postlude the congregation usually sits quietly and listens. With all the children in church there was quite a racket during the postlude. As I told a few people at church, I would rather have screaming children than screeching seagulls.

4th of July

The Sunday services on 27 June went well, about 70-80 people attending the 11 am service in Sandnessjøen (with 4 baptisms). The bass trombonist is a great player. He was a godparent for one of the baptisms. The 3 pm service in Tjøtta went well. Many people said they hadn’t known that organ in Tjøtta Church had so much color. It makes me wonder how well my colleague plays. She’s mostly a pianist. Less about her later.

Sunday evening I took off for two days in Oslo. The flights were on schedule and I arrived in Oslo about ½ hour earlier than expected. Monday morning I met my 2^nd cousin Arlayne and her husband Chris. We went to the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, Akershus Castle, and finally to the new Opera House. It was great to be with them, and to catch up of the gossip from that side of the family. Chris is an architect. It was very interesting to get his opinion on all the various buildings we visited. Tuesday I had expected to visit friends, but they were either suffering from bad colds or otherwise engaged. I used the day to visit music stores, bookstores, and walked around the Botanical Gardens, and the ruins of the medieval St. Hallvard’s Cathedral. The trip back to Sandnessjøen was on schedule. The weather is Oslo was quite warm, and thankfully sunny. It was about 80 F and dry. I’ve been told that since I now live in northern Norway (county of Nordland) I can’t complain about the weather.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were regular workdays. The weather has greatly improved here. Friday evening I took a hike up into the mountains. I got up about ¾ of the way up Grytfoten, one of the peaks of the Seven Sisters. Not unexpectedly, I woke up on Saturday morning with stiff legs. On Saturday afternoon I had two weddings at Alstahaug Church.

The lilacs and rhododendrons are finally in full bloom. With all the wet weather we’ve had the insects, especially mosquitoes, are out in full force. As of today (3 July) sunrise is at 1:41 am, sunset at 12:42 am. The length of day is 23 hours. It appears that daylight decreases by about 12 minutes a day.

Sunday, the 4^th of July. In Dan’s family they used to say, “the best way to celebrate the 4^th of July is to drink a fifth.” Two services today: 11 am and 6:30 pm, with two different ministers. Sometimes I feel I have to play 35 hymns each Sunday, well 32, when each minister chooses different hymns. Today isn’t so bad except the opening hymn at the evening service has 10 verses. I’m afraid of miscounting.

End of June

This week my free days are Monday (the 21^st) and Friday. I’m in another bureaucratic problem but this time with the bank (Spare Bank Nord-Norge). I can’t log into my account because of the change of my Norwegian ID number. They ordered a new credit card for me but it hasn’t arrived yet. But at least my credit card works at the stores. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I had funerals each day (each at a different church). Tuesday evening there was a thank-you party to those who were involved in this past year’s confirmation class. On Wednesday evening there was a Sankt Hans party at church. They served the traditional meal: rømmegrøt. Thursday was a wonderfully sunny and warm day. Unfortunately I had to spend most of the day indoors: midday prayer service, a devotional service, a funeral, and a rehearsal with a trumpeter. But on Thursday evening I rode my bike to one of the Seven Sisters trails (Botnkrone) and hiked up to see fantastic views of the area.

The lilacs are just now beginning to bloom. I’ve notices a few rhododendrons are also beginning to flower.

Friday evening we had a terrific down pour with thunder and lightning. The lightning knocked out many TV’s in the area. People were upset that they couldn’t watch the soccer matches. The lightning also knocked out the wifi that I’m hooked up to. Hopefully it will be fixed soon. In the meantime I’m using someone else’s that isn’t locked.

Saturday I had two weddings: 2pm and 3pm at different churches. I was able to just make the 3 pm wedding (arriving at 2:55). A very good trumpeter played at the 2^nd wedding. During the morning I rehearsed with a bass trombonist who will play a piece for the 11 am Sunday service.

Longest Day

Here in Norway the week ends on a Sunday. In the U.S. the week begins on a Sunday, at least according to the calendar. At end of this week (24) there was celebrations for Petter Dass (1647-1707) who was a clergyman/poet here in Alstahaug community. He wrote many hymns, several are still in the Norwegian hymnal. On Sunday morning there was a festival service at Alstahaug. The Bishop from Bodø attended and preached the sermon. During the afternoon I rehearsed with the Helgelands Choir for the program at 6 pm. For the concert there was a good turnout, about 100 to 125 attending. It was a great success. The director, Chris Eva, lives in Lurøy (north of here about 25 miles). He’s a Brit who has lived here for about 15 years. The program included several pieces by Norwegian composers, a few British pieces (Purcell, Gibbons & Tallis) and a Buxtehude cantata on Jesu, meine Lebens Leben. The program was well performed and was very well received by an appreciative audience.

Today (or tomorrow) is the longest day of the year. Tomorrow the days will begin to get shorter, and hopefully warmer.

Last weeks of increasing sunlight

Monday, the 7^th of June. This week promises to be great weather. (If it’s good weather in southern Norway it’s usually stormy up north, and vice versa) I took a bike ride in the Botn area and saw my first tulips of the season. Temperature was only about 50. I received notice that my residence permit has been approved. Tuesday morning I took my paperwork back to the police station. They will let me know when my passport can be stamped with the permit. The Folkeregister people took back my application and will process it. I don’t think I’ll need to go back to that office any more. Tuesday is a great arctic summer day – you only need one pair of long johns!

Thursday evening I played a few accompaniments for the men’s chorus here. This year is the 100^th anniversary of Bjørnsterne Bjørnson’s death. You ask, who? In the 19^th century Bjørnson was more famous than his contemporary, Henrik Ibsen. A hundred years later practically no one outside of Norway has heard of Bjørnson. He received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1903, was a prolific writer, poet, and fighter for human rights. He is the author of Norway’s national anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet (Yes, we love this country). The Norwegian national anthem isn’t much better than the Star Spangled Banner (musically), but at least the texts speak of peace and love, not guns and bombs exploding. The men’s chorus presented a concert consisting of several pieces with Bjørnson texts.

The weather this week has been great. All early flowering plants are in bloom. Saturday I cycled to Alstahaug and back (32 km roundtrip). This time it didn’t seem so hard. Maybe I’m getting in shape. I walked around the Petter Dass Museum and bought a few cards. In Saturday’s mail delivery came my new resident number/tax number from Folkeregister. Now the only bureaucratic item left is to get my passport stamped with the resident permit.

Sunday was a busy day. At about 9:40 am I met our senior minister-dean and his wife at the office and we drove to the ferry connection to get to the island of Tro. There were about 20 people attending this 11:30 service at a school. After the service we took the ferry back. Olav Rune (senior minister-dean) and his wife Marit invited me to dinner at their house. They grilled some pork tenderloin, sausages and mushrooms. We ate outside with their daughter Marta under a summer enclosure. The weather wasn’t so warm, but at least there was not a steady rain. After coffee and dessert I went to the church to prepare for the evening service at 6:30. Everything went well.

At the end of week 23 (June 13) sunset is about 1 am, sunrise is at 1: 15 am. The sun is now spinning around us in one large circle.

Monday morning: there must have been a power failure during the night. Both of my electric clocks were two hours off and my alarm clock was two hours late. Tuesday I waited about ½ hour in line at the bank to get a new credit card. My new resident ID number requires that I get a new credit card which gives my id number. I can’t access my bank account by computer but at least I can continue to buy things by credit card at the grocery store. The bank official said a new card has been ordered and it will be in next week. On Wednesday the staff at church had a going away party for Kristine Almås. She directs the gospel choir and the Friends choir. Wednesday evening I attended the church council meeting. They wanted to know my thoughts and intentions on the choral program.

Scandinavia has a fixation with the microphone. Last weekend I watched a Danish program on music on television. A wind group (flute, oboe, clarinet, flute, horn and bassoon) played a few pieces together, and then each player demonstrated his instrument. The music was all classical – mostly baroque. At the end they had a vocalist with a microphone sing something in a pop style. I don’t understand this mixing of styles, and I probably never will.

The church in Sandnessjøen has two groups of singers in which each singer has a microphone. Maybe Scandinavians have a karaoke complex. I don’t understand it. I’ll ask some musician friends who can explain it. At the Friends concert they used a cd player as accompaniment: music minus one. (Which reminds of the definition of a castrato: music minus two).

Friday I played for a end-of-term ceremony/church service for a nursing school. I keep on forgetting that there is no separation of church and state here. The ceremony marked the important step for the graduates. The service included 4 hymns, prayers, a biblical reading, sermon, Lord’s Prayer, creed, and Ten Commandments.

Friday afternoon I finally got a car, actually I’m leasing a small van. The vans are cheaper to rent/buy than a passenger car. The van I have is no longer than a regular car, but it is higher. There is only one passenger seat, so if I have more than one guest I will have to rent a regular car. But on the practical side I can put my bike in the back.. Not having driven a car in nearly 2 months it was a little strange at first.

After the summery weather last week, we’re back to early-spring weather. This past week was mostly cold and rainy, but at least it didn’t snow.

First week in June

The end of week 22. We’re getting closer to the summer solstice. Last week it seemed to be getting warmer with hints of summer. This past week put an end to thoughts of summer: we didn’t have snow but it hailed on Friday. The temperatures didn’t get much higher than 50 F.

I was finally able to open a bank account. More about that in a later post.

The wedding season gets busy later this month, especially at Alstahaug – the medieval stone church. I had a wedding on Saturday. Beginning in late June there are 2 ceremonies each weekend.

On Sunday there were two confirmation services at Alstahaug Church: one at 11 am and the other at 1 pm. About 150 at the first service and 200 at the second. It’s amazing that the minister (Katrin Wiegmann) got through all the liturgy and blessing of each confirmand in just under 45 minutes for each service. Sverre Rattsø played alto saxophone for each service. Everything went very well.

I need to get a car, especially for this summer. With all the weddings and other services/devotions at the other churches I can’t depend on local bus (they don’t run on Sunday mornings. On weekdays there is one at 7:15 am. The next one is at 1 pm). The best solution seems to be to rent long term. Not knowing how long I’ll be here, this seems to make the most sense.

Today sunrise is at 2 am, sunset at 12:20 am. Length of day: 22 hours, 20 minutes.

Catch 22

Week 21 began with the last of the holidays in May: Pentecost Monday. On Thursday the church staff (ministers, musicians, and religious education teachers) went by boat to Herøy, an island about 45 minutes west. The purpose of the meeting was to plan next year’s activities for the confirmation class of 2011. After the meeting I rushed back to play a funeral. (On average there is about 1 per week). I still haven’t heard anything from Folkeregister about getting an ID number. I am probably caught in some sort of Catch-22 situation. Folkeregister won’t give me an ID number until I’ve received a residence permit. A bank won’t open an account for me until I’ve received an ID number. And I can’t get paid until I get an ID number and bank account number. The residence permit takes time – up to 8 weeks. This is week 7. I’ve been to the police office to inquire about how long I will have to wait. No answers yet. In Norway’s bureaucratic jumble I am being shuttled from one office to another, only to be told that they aren’t responsible. And then back. It’s frustrating. Is this the Peter principle in action, or passing the buck? I’m sure there are plenty of examples in the U.S.

On to a more cheerful subject: on Saturday I had a rehearsal with the Helgelands Chamber Choir (Kammerkor). They are preparing a program for a concert in June at Alstahaug Church as part of the Petter Dass celebration week. (Petter Dass was a famous poet/clergyman who lived here 1647-1707). I am the accompanist for this concert. The concert will be conducted by Christopher Eva, a British musician, who has lived in this part of Norway for 15 years. The program is very interesting: quite a few pieces by Norwegian composers, a cantata by Buxtehude and two pieces by Purcell – the large “Rejoice in the Lord always”, and the short “Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts”. The concert will be on June 20.

Sunday morning services were in Sandnessjøen. (Today is Trinity Sunday). There were about 50-60 in the congregation. Pretty much all the leaves are out now. People are mowing their lawns. Everything is green -- quite a difference from 3 weeks ago.

Today sunrise is at 2:30 am; sunset at 11:45 pm. Length of day: 21 hours, 15 minutes.