Scandinavian Syndrome

An intermission in the theater of house hunting brought me, myself and I, to Sweden to care for our Grandcats, Pico de Gato and Kiwi, while Kenz and Diane communed with family and friends in the US. It was a good break to reflect on this past year. Youssef stayed behind to polish the details on a possible home. More to follow on next post...

Sweden brought back the memory of our Scandinavian tour earlier this year, in what seems like a life time ago.

While traveling in Scandinavia I recognize that I have a case of Scandinavian Syndrome, characterized by a combination of emotions, behaviors and opinions.

I am a mixed mutt variety with 3 of my 5 heritage countries being Denmark and Norway on father's side and Sweden on my mother's side. I exhibit many of the Scandinavian Syndrome qualities that I observe here.

Generally, we like to be outdoors as much as possible doing things, even creating hobbies to give us an excuse to be doing things and then turning them into a sports activity (hockey, speed skating, ski jumping, curling, handball, biathlons and axe throwing for the shortlist).

We are direct in our conversations, honest, dare not boast and never pry or stare too much. Individualistic but always in context of the group's needs. N.ikolai F.redrik S.everin Grundtvig was often quoted in our household for his concepts of equality and egalitarianism, not rising above others.

We like careful planning, team activities and individual pursuits. The saying lagom sums us up, “not too little and not too much".

Our train tour earlier this year took in a pretty sweeping panorama of Scandinavia starting in Oslo, where my grandfather's mother, Marie Rasmussen emigrated with her young son on a boat to Ellis Island in 1892.

NORWAY

Oslo

Forests and Fjords give Norway its dramatic scenery but also limits train tracks which prevented us from venturing too far on our rail passes. Still we saw a fair amount and weren't disappointed.

Oslo has an edgy waterfront feel sweetened by the striking Oslo Opera House.

Oslo is a city on the verge of revealing its identity, over shadowed by its prettier, cousins Stockholm and Copenhagen. Munch Museum blends in nicely with its edgy reputation.

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian artist known for his timeless painting The Scream.

Munch’s art,The Scream, exhibits the Fear we all feel in various moments of our lives. His hugely popular piece was influenced by illness, bereavement and an undiagnosed mental condition.

He made 2 painted versions, 2 in pastel and numerous prints of The Scream. The museum exhibits one from each category.

People like to steal his art. One version of The Scream was stolen from the National Gallery in 1994. Another version of The Scream, along with one of his other controversial paintings, Madonna, was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004 in the middle of the day and extensively damaged. All the art was eventually recovered and restored.

The selection of artwork in Munch's exhibit highlights his different artistic influences and perspectives with his torment, loss of loved family members and successes searing in their portrayals.

Thor Heyerdal

Famous Scandinavians were important to us Minnesotans growing up. We loved to see one of our own heros becoming known to the world and Thor Heyerdahl's exploits were massive for this young farm girl.

Heyerdahl's famous sailing adventures, to prove his theory of migration (people from South American populating Polynesia), were the makings of a Jules Verne book. 1947, he and 5 fellow adventurers sailed The Kon Tiki 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built bolsa wood raft. It wasn't supposed to work but it did and he defied all the nay sayers.

His success led to subsequent sailings, Ra and Ra II, to prove that expeditions over long distance ocean crossings with ancient boat building techniques were possible. While Ra wasn't a successful sailing, Ra II, built from Ethiopian papyrus, sailed across the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados. After WWII when hero stories were needed his adventures attracted attention, while his theories were widely discredited in the scientific community.

Heyerdahl's true legacy was an increase in interest for anthropology and ancient history. I am the perfect example.

The Flam Railway and the Fjords

The Flam railroad is famously advertised as the worlds best train journey. Of course we had to test that claim. Not as hard as Heyerdahl's journey but the Norse god Thor took over for Zeus to test our resolve.

Starting our journey from Oslo to Myrdal on the Bergensbanen to catch the Flam railway line, we ran into some ancient Norse curse. After 3 hours of unsuccessful track work, train officials said the heat had warped the tracks so bad we had to return to Oslo! Seriously warped tracks in Norway? We knew better, it was Thor (looking like Chris Hemsworth)

He struck his hammer on the railroad line stopping us in our tracks, so to speak.

So they backed the train to Oslo and wished us luck. We returned a few days later to restart our adventure.

As soon as the train leaves Oslo the Norwegian countryside opens up to green verdant farm land that stretches out for miles then rises into spruce, dark pine and birch forests. The deeper west you head to Bergen, the lakes and rivers spring up like mosquitos on a Minnesota night, small villages and farm houses fan out like sentry guards, planed lumber lay in stacks and I keep my eyes open for the roaming mighty Norway Moose.

The Norwegian cities of Asker, Hokksund, Flat, Gol, Aal and Finse fly by our window and none of these names sound as they look. The density of lakes and forests is impressive on our way to Myrdal.

Lumber is a major part of Norway’s export and they are the first country to ban deforestation meaning it will not award government contracts to companies that engage in clear cutting.

From Myrdal we can hop on the Flam rail service for the quick descent to Flåm.

From the comfort of a vintage train compartment, you can enjoy the changing scenery of the Flåm Valley. Before ascending into the more impassable sections of the valley, the train runs through agricultural landscapes, the old Flåm village centre and the old church. The sparkling blue rivers follows the railway for large parts of the trip, and we pass small farms in locations seemingly deserted.

The train takes a five-minute photo stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall where you are enchanted by the maiden in a red dress singing, feel the intensity of the falls and return to the carriage soaked through with another new experience.

Flåm is a charming village with summer in full swing, something for everyone, even a floating sauna station.

As if the excitement wasn't rewarding enough we still had The Fjords to view.

Fjords are long narrow sea inlets with steep walls and tumbling waterfalls. Most inhabitants commented on the lack of snow everywhere in the changing global scenery.

Hearing our first "you betcha" on the trip we stumble across the Luren singers from Decorah Iowa and Minnesota touring Norway, many of them descendants of the first organized emigration, Norwegian Quakers, from Norway to US in 1825.

In typical Norwegian fashion their motto is “if you are too busy to sing, then you are too busy”.

Leaving Flam with 19 hours of sunlight, sunrise at 4 am and sunset at 11:00 pm returning to Oslo, lakes surround us with red roofed cottages and homes woven throughout fishing villages, trees running down to the lakes edges, tiny islands with one tree each. Does that count as an island?

We climb to higher elevations with snow levels.

Norwegians like their troll legends and according to trollogy, trolls “dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings.” I wonder if it could be a direct action of what humans have done to nature as we hear once again, how little snow there is every year due to climate change.

DENMARK

Gruntvig may have expressed the values of equality and egalitarianism, not rising above others which was ingrained in us, but growing in a Danish community, we intrinsically knew we were special. In our small Danish town of Askov Minnesota where the high school was called H.C. Anderson, the mascot was the Viking, and our Danish grandfather was one of the original settlers, how could we not be!

Aarhus-The City of Smiles

The second largest city in Denmark is not to be overlooked when journeying in Denmark. This year Aarhus hosted the Ocean Race, sailings greatest round the world challenge, starting in Spain sailing to South Africa, South America, North America and return to Europe. We got to see several of the boats in port.

There are 5 racing teams with the goal to compete and win but also each team has taken on a responsibility to track global ocean change from plastics, over fishing, pollution and ocean warming. In September these findings were brought to the UN to inspire change.

Den Gamle By-The Old Town

The open air collection of 756 historical buildings from all over Denmark based on Town Culture was fascinating to walk through and experience the people locked in time we met along the way.

Copenhagen

I could sum up Copenhagen with this one mermaid, probably all of Denmark, because that is the iconic image that comes to mind for most people. And based on all the tourist buses nearby her, the Little Mermaid may be the only thing they see in Copenhagen.

But I hope she isn't the only place you will visit when you come because there are so many other sites to see. Regal Rosenborg Castle, Christianborg's Palace, people transporters, Kastellet Fortress, almost too pretty to eat Smorrebord Sandwiches and the spacious Botanic Gardens.

Bakkebølle-Finding My Roots

Investigative research had been ongoing by family members and mainly my brother Bruce to trace the mysterious woman, Marie Rasmussen, that I had mentioned earlier. My grandfather's mother emigrated on a boat, the Helka, from Oslo to Ellis Island on Columbus Day in 1892.

We had her Danish journal and correspondence to track, but through time and the passing of family connections we didn't have all the information. With Kenz's help we took a trip to meet a distant cousin, Lis, who works with the Vordingborg archives to connect the dots. Kenz's ability to decipher language and research made the process so much easier.

One of the big mysteries was to figure out where this picture was taken with my Grandmother Mari who married Frede, Marie's son. Like a rune from ancient times the property owners names through history are engraved on the property marker.

We were happy to finally locate the property marker on the farm Marie grew up on in Bakkebølle on the island of Zealand. A connection to my Danish side was complete and satisfying.

Næstved near Bakkebølle

The bigger town with the train station closest to Bakkebølle had charming scenery.

Roskilde

On the island of Zealand, Roskilde is known for:

• its yearly rock festival - the largest in Northern Europe ongoing while we were in town

• the Domkirke where most Danish Kings and Queens are buried

• Contemporary Art Museum

• the Viking Ship Museum

Youssef is sitting on the current Queen Margrethe II's memorial to be unveiled at her internment. Her husband, Prince Henrik, who passed away in 2018 requested not to be buried next to his wife because she never made him King.

1,000 years ago Roskilde was an important trading town. In AD980 Harald Bluetooth had constructed a stave church, the first in Zealand. To stop invaders from accessing Roskilde's harbor, 3 ships were sunk into the Roskilde Fjord near Skuldelev sometime in the decade between 1060 and 1070, during the intermittent war between Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, and the Danish King Sweyn II over control of Denmark. Several years later under King Sweyn II's rule, 2 more ships were sunk to reinforce the barricade creating an effective defense system.

Their underwater discovery was a mystery until archaeologist's further research revealed the reason they were sunk to protect the harbor and more importantly gained the additional knowledge of Viking ship design. There was obviously no written documentation on building Viking ships on "wikiHow" in the 1060's!

Each ship had a purpose and special design. Research is ongoing to learn more about Viking life, trade, seamanship and more importantly ship building with ancient practices continuing onsite.

Weather was perfect in Scandinavia, granted we were experiencing summer in these cities but I could imagine how never-ending winter months would be.

SWEDEN

Stockholm

Oslo is the Munch edgy city, Copenhagen the liberal, artistic, smorgasbord, nightlife city, Stockholm becomes the Royal Princess cake with it's chain of 14 dazzling islands connected by 57 bridges.

Big year for the King. Unbeknownst to us we happened upon the celebration of the 100 year celebration of Stockholm's city hall. To honor the occasion King Carl Gustav sailed past us on his royal barge "Vasaorden". Youssef is sure King Carl waved at him. King Carl is also celebrating 50 years of ruling in the house of Bernadotte and 500 years as a Swedish independent nation.

King Carl Gustav is an honorary chair of the World Scout Foundation having a big interest in scouting since becoming a member in 1955.

Mora

I was born in Mora, Minnesota which is a community modeled after Mora, Sweden so it was a necessary visit especially during Midsummer's party.

Midsummer's Party

Finding a party turned out to be trickier than we thought. So we follow the music.

We see one lady with a fiddle then another and come across a fiddler party. Eureka we have found the holy grail of Sweden. This is the most authentic region for celebrating Midsummers and some would claim the nucleus of the tradition!

We followed the fiddlers who followed a young girl on a pony to the raising of the midsummer pole. Dalarna region, as this is called, is known for its patriotism big and little.

Midsummer is a celebration of summer and the agrarian economies since the Middle Ages. Flowers are collected and used for magic and mystery as healing powers and predictions of the future. Dancing, drinking, cleaning the house and singing are all a part of the party. The feeling is that the best times are still ahead.

Each little hamlet had a pole to use for celebrations. As the hamlets became cities, the poles still remained so you can find 2-6 poles in one town sometimes each with their own celebration.

Raising the pole celebrated and encouraged fertility in nature and people. It is the highlight of the day followed by the bonfire at midnight when loud behavior and lighting bonfires are encouraged to scare away the evil spirits. Oh and they dance a weird jig called the frog dance.

Special foods for midsummer, pickled herring, salmon, strawberries and cream with washed down with schnapps. Every special occasion in Sweden involves a special song. Our inn owner, Maria, serenaded us with the midsummer song.

Legend of the Vasaloppet

King Christian II invited all the Swedish aristocracy to a reconciliation party in Stockholm knowing the noblemen opposed him and in a scene out of Game of Thrones, they were massacred, including Gustav Vasa's parents.

Fearing for his life, Gustav Vasa fled to Mora on his way to Norway. He wanted to convince the populace, knowing them to be particularly patriotic, to start a rebellion against King Christian II.

The people of Mora refused so Gustav strapped his skis back on and headed to Norway to elicit support. The Mora crew rethought his offer and sent 2 brothers Lars and Engelbrekt to find him and let him know he had their support and they would join his rebellion.

I'm not sure I buy skiing from Stockholm to Oslo, but hey it's part of the Scandinavian Syndrome. Of course these outdoor hardy people made a ski race of it. The famous Vasaloppet ski race takes place in March for 56 miles making it the oldest race in the history of cross country skiing. The race takes place in both Mora, Sweden and Mora, Minnesota.

Dala Horse-Nusnäs

Dalarna is the heartbeat of the famous Dala Horse. The horses importance as tool and workmate made it the perfect figure to carve out of scrap wood on dark winter nights around Lake Siljan creating the iconic Swedish horse.

Brothers, Nils and Jannes Olsson started carving in the baking shed of their home in 1928 in Nusnäs to bring in cash for their family. The Swedes adore the red painted, brightly decorated little wooden horse and it became an important tradition for every Swedish family to have at least 1 and often more. It's a phenomena even Swedes can't explain.

We decided to get ourselves to Nusnäs to tour the factory where it all started and see the process from carving to painting and marvel at another Swedish phenomena.

Falu rödfärg

As you travel around Sweden, you can’t help but notice that virtually every timber structure is painted deep red. It is practicality combined with an age-old tradition. In Sweden’s severe climate, wood needs special protection from the elements: the red paint contains a natural copper preservative. Known as Falu rödfärg, this paint is Sweden’s aesthetically more pleasing answer to preserving the wood.

Stockholm Syndrome-history lesson

My Scandivanian syndrome made me curious about the other syndrome. It a term that Nils Bejerot, a Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist invented after the Stockholm police asked him for assistance with analyzing the kidnap victims reactions to the 1973 bank robbery.

August 23, 1973, Jan-Erik Olson walked into a Stockholm bank and for 6 days held people hostage. Olson requested that Olofsson a famous bank robber currently in prison be brought to the scene.

Request granted, Olofsson arrived and calmed the hostages down reassuring them he would protect them, becoming a buffer between Olson and hostages. The hostages developed more trust in the kidnappers than in being rescued by the police.

The police sprayed gas into the building on the 6th day freeing everyone. In a sign of bitterness toward the police the hostages refused to testify against the captors.

People believed the hostages were under a spell similar to brainwashing. That has been dismissed by psychiatrists who have since described it as a “defense mechanism that helps the victim” cope with trauma.

Östersund

Stretching over 1000km from Mora to Gällivare, north of the Arctic Circle, we took the privately operated Inlandsbanan, the Inland Railway, as a final farewell to our glorious 3 month train trip. We traveled from Mora to Östersund which is in the middle of Scandinavia and the middle of Sweden.

The Inlandsbanan runs one train a day on a special gauge track with 2 old fashioned carriage cars and a charming hostess to entertain and enlighten us with stories. We slowly took our time to spot reindeer and moose stopping in the delightful town of Sveg.

Arriving in Ostersund with very long daylight hours we found an extremely sports oriented city often hosting the World Championships, Biathlons and Nordic Games.

Lund

The world's only Penny Farthing race took place for 3 days in Lund. Fascinating process to watch the riders mount, dismount and race in the rain.

Hedgehog in the strawberries. Swedish strawberries are the best due to the long sunlight exposure making them deliciously sweet.

Garden cottages are a great way to pass the long Swedish days freeing our thumbs and attending soccer matches.

Truly a dream journey come alive.

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Time to return to France and answer the Big Question: Did we find the house of our intentions and will the slow machines of French Bureaucracy approve? Stay tuned.