"Norwegians are rigid", "Norwegians are very self-absorbed", "Norwegians are closed-minded". Just some cries I keep coming up with whenever I read something about Norwegians. After five long summers in Norway, I still don't know where to find those stiff, introverted, closed-minded Norwegians. I am writing this newsletter on the ferry from Kristiansand to Emden*. I am on my way home. After more than 10 weeks in Norway, I have met nothing but cordiality, openness, hospitality and helpfulness. And I am not just talking about the people I work with, but also the cashier, the campsite manager, the bus driver, the train driver, and so on and so forth. In short, Norway feels like a warm bath, a home...
No, I'm not moving, in case you were wondering (I get asked a lot). Although I would love to live there. But for the next few summers, I will definitely continue to work there. And that work is only expanding. While the first routes were still my own initiative, the latest project, making the coastal pilgrims' route 'cycleable', came as a request from the pilgrims' organization from Norway. And in the meantime, other fledgling cooperation initiatives have arisen (so fledgling that I won't say anything about them just yet...).
I wrote the previous newsletter during the last day in Hjerkinn where I was summer guide that week. Meanwhile, I have had a wonderful press trip. The coastal pilgrimage route is mainly for sailing pilgrims. Along the way, they visit 26 so-called key places that have relevant significance in the Norwegian history. This press trip went from Stavanger to Bergen. We were on the sailing ship Caroline af Sandnes, for five days, visited some of the key sites and walked parts of the pilgrims' route. "We" being Wenche and Lauritz, two pilgrim coordinators of the coastal route, Mattias from the national pilgrim centre and six guests (journalists, tour operators and a cycling guidebook writer).
When I was invited to this press trip, I said 'yes' since it seemed useful because of the amount of information you gather on such a trip. Information that I will soon need for writing a guide. But apart from that useful aspect, I discovered something much more important: I will soon be working with some of these people and how nice it is to have spent a week together, getting to know each other (better) and having a great time together! We had daily excursions and in between we went for walks or sailed from island to island. Meanwhile, I have sea legs, know the Norwegian history better than the Dutch one and am already getting used to sea swimming again.
And then the long summer in Norway came to an end. And I couldn't have imagined a finer last weekend! Wenche (from Regionalt Pilegrimssenter Avaldsnes) and her husband John had invited me to spend time with them between the end of the press trip and my departure from Norway. I arrived at their place on Saturday evening and spent a whole day at their hytta on Sunday. Wenche and I cycled there (50 km total) and John waited for us to cover the last stretch by row boat. We kayaked, John caught trout, picked chanterelles and berries. On Monday, all three of us had to work and yesterday I said goodbye to them with melancholy.
Tusen takk Norge, det var veldig, veldig bra! ??❤️?
A big thank you to the following people: Cyril & Annet ter Bogt, Louis Bouman & Pieter Jan Nellestijn, Ingeborg Collin, Trond Otto & Torhild Dahl, Renée Dekker, Lizzie Enfield, Joar & Magni Fjellstad, Ragnild Godal, Lauritz Haar, Mattias Jansson, Sacha Kraan, Steinar Larsen, Boyoung Lee, Wenche & John Lindtner, Janke Meijer & Tom Skånsar Borgersen, Sissel Nervik, Anne van Oorschot, Bøye & Vigdis Prestegård, Halldis Prestegård, Janne Sollie (en haar familie), Lars Sollie, Tonje Ramse Trædal, Anna Runesson, Rachel Runesson, Tone Stræte, Ria Warmerdam, Willem Warmerdam, Øyvind Wold.
Agenda
I will give a number of lectures in the Netherlands in the coming months. However, these are only in Dutch. Perhaps of interest, though:
- Saturday 17 February 2024: present with a stand in the 'Nordic corner' of the Pilger-Messe (pilgrim fair) in Hamburg, also presentation of the English translations of the guides by Ria Warmerdam and me (Gudbrandsdalsleden).
* After arriving, I drove home in the car from Emden, via a meeting in Amsterdam. On the way, many messages came at my phone. Arriving home at the end of the afternoon, I read to my utter amazement that the ferry service had stopped immediately due to financial problems. I was on the last boat.
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