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Background: Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994. Conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that was to last for more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.




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By Lana62
September 1st 2008
Family Tree Europe » Norway » Vestlandet » Sognefjord
Gyda's home
Gyda's home
Lovely two story home. Lots of very nice wood and cozy! Pear tree in front and huge strawberry patch out back.
Gyda has corrected me - there are only 275 people in Fresvik and I do believe I am related to most. It's quite funny! Today Reidar introduced me to his parents, Kåre (pronounced Cora) and Ragnhild. Ragnild was a Høgheim...which was changed to Hoium when my Great Grandfather moved to Canada. Ragnild's Father, Peder is my Great Grandfather's brother. You should see the notes and notes and family tree I have taken. It's turned into a family 'forest' instead of just one 'tree'. Reidar's parents do not speak a word of English so that was an interesting visit. There were times [View Full Entry]

Lana62 - Lana Mass | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
289 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 14 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 1st 2008 | 85 Views | [diary=318576]

Olav & Øydis's youngest boys
Bøtun Farm
Hiking

By Lana62
August 31st 2008
More Fresvik Europe » Norway » Vestlandet » Sognefjord
Fresvik
Fresvik
This picture is taken from the public beach looking back at Fresvik
I just can't believe how beautiful this place is. It is so peaceful and calming. Yesterday we met Olav and his wife, Øydis at the hut for breakfast. They have renovated the original hut that they family used to milk the cows and bring the sheep down from the moutains. This is what Olav and Øydis were on their way to do that day. The hut looks old and original from the outside but the section that used to be for hay storage is now a bedroom. It was like a playhouse. Very cool!!! Then we hiked all the way up [View Full Entry]

Lana62 - Lana Mass | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
365 Words | 3 Comment(s) | 9 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 31st 2008 | 90 Views | [diary=318247]

Kirsten, Ronny & I
The Hut
Darlene, Lana, Øydis, & Olav

Meeting the relatives
Meeting the relatives
Ingvar, Gyda, Lana, Anne Marie (Mia), and Inge
Hello My Friends! We have finally made it to Fresvik. This is where it all started for me folks! This area is truly the heart and soul of Norway. Very Very Scenic and full of traditions. This is a place where generation after generation still live in the same house and maintain thier farms. The Bøtuns (my relatives) are farmers and grow raspberries, apples, strawberries and raise sheep. We have discovered the raspberry patch and the organic apples!!! The raspberries are huge and the apples taste like none other. Fresvik lies right on the Sognefjord nestled in a valley with mountains [View Full Entry]

Lana62 - Lana Mass | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
618 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 6 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 29th 2008 | 84 Views | [diary=317700]

Fresvik
Bestebakken
The View

Darlene & Arild at Holmenkollen
Darlene & Arild at Holmenkollen
Checking out Oslo's ski jump
We have had a couple of really early days BUT well worth our while!! Our tour guide, Ørvind, has been FANTASTIC! The knowledge that he has of Norway is incredible - I guess he should, considering he's Norwegian. We have decided that we need to bring him home with us to teach us Norwegian and other things.......hmmmmm........ We left Loen and made our way to the Stalheim Hotel - which is at the very top of a mountain on a road full of switch backs. We have an amazing bus driver, to say the least. The Hotel over looks Sugar Mountain [View Full Entry]

Lana62 - Lana Mass | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
386 Words | 7 Comment(s) | 19 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 20th 2008 | 109 Views | [diary=314243]

Stave Church
Olympic Ski Jump at Lillehammer
Olymipic Site

Hello All! Many apologies for not being in touch for so long, it´s been so hot that we simply haven´t been able to stand staying in an internet cafe long enough to write a blog!!! Anyway, we´ll have a go now. I´ll put this into a number of blogs so that you cn read through them at your leisure, pretend you got them a few days apart! So part 2 - The fjords. If you´ve ever seen a picture of the Norwegian fjords on a cruise brochure or holiday programme it is as beautiful as it is portrayed. We decided to [View Full Entry]

RossandHeather - Ross and Heather Roberts | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
436 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 14 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: July 29th 2008 | 98 Views | [diary=305878]

The coast
Entering the fjord
first waterfall!

Norway countryside
Norway countryside
View from the bus on the nutshell tour. The water in the glacial lakes was so perfectly still you can't tell which is up and which is down.
Today was almost an entire day of traveling. Contrasted with the previous few days in which we spent almost the entire day on our feet and walking, this was a cake walk. We left Bergen this morning and, as usual, were running to the train station for an 8:40 train. On the way, in the middle of the cobblestone sidewalk (with these incredibly painful gutters breaking up the sidewalk every 15 ft or so) one of the wheels on my suitcase finally gave up the ghost. (I'm still impressed with how far it made it and how much crappy terrain I [View Full Entry]

Doc Nic - Nicole Cassler | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
1248 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 21 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: June 5th 2007 | 877 Views | [diary=166092]

Norway countryside
Norway countryside
Norway countryside

All the way inside the fjord Europe » Norway » Sognefjord By Olivi3r May 3rd 2007After one full day in Flam and its peaceful landscape, i took the boat to reach Bergen, 5 1/2 hours along the longest fjord in the world (204 km), i wish i had a little canoe to explore all the hidden places of this wonder of nature ... [View Full Entry]

Olivi3r - Olivier | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
98 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 11 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: May 3rd 2007 | 101 Views | [diary=159521]

See you later Flam
The fjord, always
Sognefjord

Up North to Flam Europe » Norway » Sognefjord By Olivi3r May 2nd 2007 The SognefjordAfter few very peaceful days in Oslo with Carina, i took the train to go further north, to Myrdal, in the mountains, then, the famous raiway Myrdal - Flam, amazing first part of the trip... Again and again surprising landscape, drea [View Full Entry]

Olivi3r - Olivier | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
160 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 32 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: May 2nd 2007 | 99 Views | [diary=159510]

Landscape...
Landscape...
The train

Myrdal-Flam-Gudvangen-Voss We took a 5.5 hour train ride to Myrdal, along the way we caught great views of the mountains in fall color. We were lucky to see a few glaciers. The area seemed to be a hotspot for mountain bikers. They were at every train station we encountered. Once in Myrdal we caught the Flamsbana, aka The Flam Railway, it is a trek from down a canyon to Flam, located on the Sognefjorden, Norway¡¦s deepest and longest fjord. The train travels from 865.6 meters to 2 meters, with a maximum gradient of 55%. We passed through 20 tunnels. The train [View Full Entry]

Sam Scott - Samantha & Scott Gillett | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
280 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 61 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 11th 2006 | 1091 Views | [diary=94544]

Glacier close to Gol on trip to Myrdal-
Mountainscape on trip to Myrdal
Mountainscape on trip to Myrdal

August 17, 2006 So Thursday was devoted to the Norway in a Nutshell tour of the Sognefjord. Due to my tight schedule, I didn’t want to spend an overnight anywhere along the way, so the entire Thursday was a roundtrip tour from Oslo. The trip broke down something like this: Starting at about 6:00am 5+ hour train ride from Oslo to Myrdal 1 hour train ride from Myrdal to Flam 2-hour fjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen 1-hour bus ride from Gudvangen to Voss 5+ hour train ride from Voss to Oslo. Ending at about 11pm. Roughly 16 hours of traveling [View Full Entry]

yzarCritS - Matt Anderson | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
1168 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 16 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 19th 2006 | 329 Views | [diary=82904]

Glaciers Near Finse
Myrdal View
Fjord Rainbows


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