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Anne Shabez and her family (daughter Lisa, son David, daughter-in-law Peggy and grandchildren Jake and Jamie) spent almost two weeks vacationing in Norway last month. It was a "first" for all of us, never having been there before.
We started out in Bergen where we sampled all sorts of delicacies from the sea: monkfish, shrimp, herring, caviar, whale, cod, trout, mackerel, and the best salmon ever! A steep ride up the side of the mountain via the Floibanen provided a spectacular view at the top, overlooking the city of Bergen and its harbor. The market at the water's edge presented an opportunity to see, taste and feel the diversity of a quaint but bustling old fishing town, and also a perfect chance to act like tourists and purchase some souvenirs. We walked the downtown area, toured the city via sightseeing bus, visited Edvard Grieg's home, Troldhaugen, stopped in at a Stave church, and dined out at a great restaurant called Bryggeloft/Stue, on the waterfront.
Next we traveled via ferry and motor coach to the Skei Resort on Lake Jostedal, a lovely, secluded, quiet retreat from whence we set off on daily excursions visiting the surrounding countryside. We saw beautiful lakes, tumbling waterfalls, rushing streams, magnificent glaciers, deep placid fjords and serene small villages nestled among the mountains. The views were breathtaking.
The next part of our adventure brought us north and east to Flam, where we rode the mountainside train straight up (well, almost straight up) to Myrdal. We then transferred to an overland train which took us to Oslo, as modern and chic a city as can be found anywhere. We had time to take in a few museums and another superb restaurant, then rented a car and drove north to Stange, in Hedmark, where we saw the church in which my grandmother was baptized. The surrounding countryside consisted of beautiful rolling hills of farmland and pasture, the homeland of both my maternal grandparents' families. This was the jumping off place for the long flight back home to America, all of us very weary but happy to have experienced such a fantastic voyage!
Tordis Kaczmarek's grandson, Ina Dutkiewicz, graduated from high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Thursday, June 7. Gene and Tordis attended the graduation as did several other family members. Ina has something else taking place very soon. A few months before his high school graduation, he enlisted in Har du Hørt (Continued on page 3)
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