Dear Cha-Wel-Dor-Sue:

It has been said that "Into each life, a little rain must fall", but this certainly did not apply to our visit to England (June 1985 - highest rainfall on record), and to Norway in July (July 1st to July 12th) when it rained nine out of 12 days. In fact, on our fourth day in Norway, aboard the Midnat Sol, I noted for my DAD-O-GRAM the following: The less things change, the more they remain the same. Mist, mist, mist, and rain, rain, and rain had so obscured the views from the ship that all I remember of the trip, at least so far, is that of hazy mounds of islands on both the port and starboard sides of the ship. Part of one day (Molde to Kristiansund) the sun did appear, and appeared, in fact, no brighter or larger than any view of it I have ever seen at home. Small fishing villages are seen from time to time on isolated islands and only the extreme necessity of survival would ever prompt me to such an existence, especially in the winter, when the sun disappears for months at a time.

However, our spirits were not totally depressed, as we knew that sooner or later, the sun would indeed shine again, and it did later on and after we had passed the North Cape. While we were on the North Cape, the mist and the fog were so dense that if Pat had not had a foghorn, I am sure I could not have located her whereabouts. We did, indeed, take some pictures and they will tell the story.

Friends of ours were on the steamship line one day ahead of us and we were told that it was a beautiful day on the North Cape and nary a cloud was to be seen.

Throughout our travels, we have been subjected to the vicissitudes of the weather but I must say that by and large, we have been treated rather fortunately. Had Pat and I each had a walkie-talkie on the North Cape, we would have had no trouble keeping in touch with each other. Fortunately, the area is rimmed with a fence for to wander over the edge would have meant a fall precipitously of almost 1,000 feet.

Our Norwegian adventure began in Bergen and it is said of this city that "It stops raining in Bergen more often than anywhere else in the world." I would add that it could be said of Bergen that "The last time it rained in Bergen was yesterday", and one could say this every day of the year. I did read of Bergen that if it rains only once a day in Bergen, it is considered a "dry day". However, I should add, that some thirteen or fourteen years ago, my children and I had been in Bergen and the sun must have shined for at least a brief period of time for we do recall going up the Funicular and viewing the city from the highest point on the mountains.

Our trip was essentially a 12 day, 2,500 mile trip along the west coast of Norway and around the North Cape to the very border of the Soviet Union. In traveling these many miles, we stopped at some 32 ports of call for longer of shorter periods of time depending upon the time required to load and unload the ship of its cargo and to pick up transient passengers. These stops afforded us the opportunity to see how efficient the Norwegians were in their coastal shipping and also afforded us the opportunity on at least five occasions to take bus trips, either to see the city visited in depth or to travel from one fishing village to another. This served to break up the 12 days at sea, although I must say that the ship was a very sound one and traveled with very little disturbing motions. The food aboard was superb and each morning, there was a smorgasbord or buffet type of breakfast and luncheon. In the evening, there was usually a sit-down dinner. Perhaps the only disturbing fact for me was the high cost of a bottle of beer, which was $3.50 per bottle anywhere in Norway.

Today, the Scandinavian Air System Airline supplies flights to virtually every one of the remote areas of Norway and it may be that in the future, the Norwegian coastal shipping service will be archaic and everyone will fly to every little hamlet and cove along the coast. For the moment, at least, we feel that we have been part of history and our moments on the "Midnight Soul" were memorable. Our accommodations were more than adequate and the service and facilities were wonderful. I'll never forget the innumerable fishing villages, fjords, the occasional glacier, and particularly our visit to the Lofoton Islands which are the principal fishing areas of northern Norway.

To enumerate all of the towns that we visited in their respective order would not be greatly meaningful to you but I will mention a few of the highlights. The termination of the trip northbound was in Kirkenes, the capital of Finnmark. This is the most northerly and largest of the Norwegian counties or communes, as they are called, and our trip there will remain one of the highlights of the trip. The day was indeed a beautiful one and we took the occasion to take a bus trip to the Soviet border. It seemed strange that we were not permitted to take a camera within 15 kilometers of the border and for those of us who have carried a camera all over Russia, it seemed like an unnecessary precaution, as there are no real fortifications that could possibly be photographed at this site. It might be of interest to tell you that Kirkenes is at the same latitude as Point Barrow, Alaska, the site at which Wiley Post and Will Rogers died in a crash among the ice floes.

One of the pleasant aspects of our trip was the constant companionship of Hal and Edith Pratt of Windsor, CT, friends whom we have known for some time and whom we met through the Nutmeg Camera Club. Hal is perhaps one of the finest photographers I have ever met and I was in a position to observe his artistry.

In all group travel, a large part of the enjoyment is provided by the courier or tour guide. In our case, Grete, of German descent, was our courier, and she announced all events in Norwegian, German, and English, and with very satisfactory accents. She was concise in her remarks and provided some additional humor. When I asked her if she had a degree in linguistics, she replied to the effect that she had not and that furthermore, she was hired because she spoke only a few words of Norwegian, English and German and accepted the job in order to make a living. This was a most masterly understatement!

A brief comment on some of the cities might be of interest.

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and has a very natural harbor which explains its prominence in commerce and seafaring activity. It was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre and during the 12th and 13th centuries, was where the Norwegian kings resided. It was here that the Hanseatic League conducted their Norwegian activities and acquired a monopoly of foreign trade. We visited the oldest building in Bergen, which is the Church of St. Mary, built in the first half of the 12th century, and in our little city tour, we did pass the University where my family and I stayed during our visit to Norway many years ago. We did not take the time to visit "Troldhaugen" the home of Edvard and Nina Grieg.

We did spend part of a day in Molde, which has been called "The town of roses". It was of interest that many plants that really belong to far warmer climates grow here on the sheltered slopes and in this regard, it is interesting to note that at no time are any of the ports on the western coast of Norway ice-bound and this is due to the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. This is in marked contrast to the ports in Sweden and Finland which are absolutely ice-bound during the greater part of the winter.

Trondheim is Norway's third largest town with a population of 135,000 and is particularly noted for its Nideros Cathedral. It is the largest medieval building in Scandinavia. It is believed to have been built over the tomb of St. Olav and in prereformation times was one of the major goals of European pilgrims. It apparently has been and was a shrine for many years and people would traverse tremendous distances to visit this holy site. Seven kings and three queens of Norway have been crowned in this cathedral and nine kings and most of the archbishops lie buried here. Certainly, we saw too little of Trondheim for me to even comment upon the interests of the city but on any return visit, I will certainly allot a lot more time as there was a great deal of interest to see there. During our short visit, we did visit the Musical History Museum at the Old Ringve Manor and this is Norway's only museum for musical instruments. It is well worth a visit.

Tromso is another very interesting city and represents the largest urban community in northern Norway. Today, it is an educational center as well as a trading, shipping an service center, most of which are based mainly on fisheries, canning, cold storage and refrigerator plant and processing factories. During the war, Tromso acted for a short while as the capital of free Norway and it was just off the coast that on November 12, 1944, the German battleship Tirpitz was attacked and sunk by British planes. The ship had been under the observation of Norwegian agents. Tromso is also interesting as it has been the point of departure for expeditions to the Arctic and Roald Amundsen's statue stands in a small park there. History has recorded that the Italian, Umberto Nobile, took off from this general area to fly with his dirigible to the North Pole. Apparently, an accident occurred and he and his crew were marooned on some ice floes. Roald Amundsen, along with 20 of his fellow Norsemen, took off in a French plane in June of 1928 to render assistance and they were all lost. As fate would have it, Umberto Nobile and his crew were ultimately rescued. Lastly, there is a beautiful cathedral there, known as the "Cathedral of the Arctic". This was well worth a visit and I have many pictures of this beautiful edifice.

The last town that I shall briefly mention is Hammerfest which has only 7,500 inhabitants and which is the world's northernmost town, its exact latitude being 70°, 39 minutes, 48 seconds latitude north and it is here that the summer day lasts from the 17th of May to the 28th of July and also it is here that darkness lasts from the 21st of November to the 23rd of January. While we were in this small town, we visited their Polar Bear Museum and Pat and I joined the Polar Bear Club of Hammerfest. During the Second World War, the Germans used Hammerfest as a Naval base and forcibly evacuated all of the inhabitants and razed the town to the grown. After the war, a cathedral or Catholic Church was built there largely by German Catholic volunteers and the mosaic work on the facade, depicting St. Michael and the Dragon, consists of over 10,000 pieces.

During the entire trip, I took a great many photographs and in each town, endeavored to photograph the name of the town, wherever it could be found. I thought that this would help me in sorting out my slides after I got home but it was perfectly apparent after a while that the fishing villages look so much alike that the task was impossible so that now, I have organized the entire trip in general subjects and would never attempt to take one along with my slides in the precise order in which we made our odyssey.

Certainly, Pat and I can recommend a trip on the Norwegian mail boat, for it would be a restful, enjoyable, interesting, and, depending upon the weather, a most beautiful and memorable vacation.

Below is a map of Norway which included the names of many coastal towns, a few of which I have mentioned.

Love,

DAD

CEJ/ngb