The Grand Finale!

Today was the last day of our trip and we spent it in Norway's capital, Oslo. Our first stop this morning was the history museum which boasts 9,000 years of Norwegian history, from prehistoric times through the Vikings and Middle Ages. It was interesting to see the trade artifacts that archaeologists have uncovered. Having just been to England and Scotland, I was rather delighted to see Celtic motifs and mention of the Book of Kells. There is an interesting similarity between some of the Norse designs and the Celtic designs. One Norse design style favors interlocking snakes, which is very much like the Celtic motif of never ending snake loops. Snakes in Celtic beliefs are not representations of evil, rather, eternity, and I assume the same goes with the Norse. The exhibit had many artifacts from graves and one interesting thing the museum had done is arrange them in order of social class. For example, the wealthiest woman would have tortoise shell broaches and perhaps some other pieces of jewelry and symbols of womanhood. The man would have spears, swords, chain mail etc. Next down the line is the craftsmen, them the farmers and finally the trolls, which are from Scandinavian mythology. Speaking of graves, there was a model and picture of a prehistoric burial cairn and it looked exactly like the Clava Cairns we saw in Scotland. There are also cairns just like these in Ireland as well. In fact, they date back to the same time period, around 3000 BC, which raises some anthropological questions about this group of people. One other interesting artifact (or artifacts as the case may be) that the museum had was the stave portal. These stave portals are the doors or entry ways to he old stave churches, few of which now exist. The stave churches are made of wood and the portals are magnificent. They are tall and large intricately carved with flowers, leaves and figures from folklore like Sigurd and the dragon. Sigurd is a hero in Norse folklore and although there are many versions to the story, basically he is tricked into killing Regin's brother Fafnir who can change his shape into a dragon. Fafnir had a hoard of gold which had left him cursed. Sigurd kills Fafnir, takes the gold and lives happily for awhile with his wife Gunnar. But since the gold is cursed, Sigurd is killed by a jealous rival (in some versions it's Gunnar's brother and in others it's a woman who had wanted Sigurd for herself and was tricked). The reason Sigurd is on a church door is because the carver (and other Norse) likened him to St. George who slayed the dragon, and in those respects, it was deemed acceptable. Also, there was a model of a stave church and you can see both Christian symbols and those of Norse deities. It was a safety measure in case one deity failed or got angry, there was the other. 

After touring the history museum, we walked down past the parliament building and palace and went down to the harbor. At the harbor is the Askerhus Fortress and Castle. After touring various castles and palaces in England and Scotland on this trip, and having toured other European castles as well, I was curious to see what a Scandinavian castle looked like, especially since Scandinavian countries live rather simply. The Askerhus Castle is not opulent, large or majestic. In fact, it's rather simple as far as castles go, and a big departure from, say, Holyrood or many of the other castles I have visited in Germany, England etc. Askerhus Stoll was built around 1300 by King Håkon V. It's purpose was to defend Oslo, Norway's capital. In the 17th century, King Christian IV had the castle rebuilt in a renaissance style and fortified the fortress even more. The castle fell into disrepair in the 18th and 19th centuries but was later restored. During WWII, it was taken by the Nazis and turned into a prison and execution site of Norwegian resistance fighters. The castle and it's fortress now serve as the headquarters of the Norwegian military, although the castle church is also used by the Royal family for burials as their mausoleum lies within the castle. Here are some pictures which I think will demonstrate the Scandinavian simplicity...

The tapestries on these walls are mid 17th century and were woven in Brussels. 

The tapestries from this room are from the 17th century and were made to decorate the bed on the wedding night.

The chapel altar, dating to mid 1700s. Note the Hebrew script at the top. 

Royal mausoleum-in the white marble sarcophagus is King Haakon VII (1972-1957) and Queen Maud (1869-1938), in the green sarcophagus is King Olav V (1903-1991) and crown princess Märtha (1901-1954). When my dad was at the University of Washington, King Olav came to visit and my dad saw him wandering around the campus.

After touring the castle we watched the changing of the guard and while the plumes on their hats are nice, I think kilts are classier!

Then we went to the Resistance Museum. This museum was excellent! It covered the five years, from 1940-1945, of Nazi occupation in Norway and the staunch resistance of the Norwegian population. It was amazing to see how, despite the Nazi threat of death and number of Nazi troops on Norwegian soil, the Norwegian people found ingenious ways to sabatoge, organize and inform. When the Germans planned on invading Norway, they thought it would be easy, but they learned quick that it wouldn't be. As the first Nazi ships entered the fjord, they found themselves under fire by the Norwegians. Their battle cruiser, the Blücher, never made it to its destination. It was a new cruiser. Norwegian teachers refused to teach Nazi propaganda, even after many were sent to prison camps. Bishops and priests rebelled and even when churches were closed, continued to hold services in secret. In one case, a cross was made of three pieces of wood and each piece was kept by a different person, only to be put together for a covert service. When radios were banned, the Norwegians found ways to hide them, even in prison camps. One man hid his in his dentures! No matter what the Nazis tried to do, nothing worked. General Ruge said it best as he surrendered to the Nazis, "The war will continue on other fronts, and there Norwegians will fight on." The resistance groups were also aided greatly by the British. One of my favorite stories involves the HMS Glowworm. This ship was the misfit of the British navy. You "failed" to get into this ship. It was tasked to be part of an escort to British war ships, who were sent to look for a German fleet in Norwegian waters. When a man went overboard, the Glowworm was sent to look for them. They got lost. When it came out of the fog, all alone, it came face to face with the German fleet. Unfortunately, the Germans saw them, but weren't sure if this ship was part of a larger fleet. The Glowworm knew it was in trouble and sent out a plea for help even though they weren't supposed to use the radio. Then, with all the greatness of British perseverance, attacked the four German destroyers. They attacked with such ferocity that the German destroyers tried to flee and called for help. The Admiral Hipper, a German cruiser came to confront the Glowworm. Instead of surrendering or fleeing, the Glowworm surprised the Germans and attacked the Admiral Hipper and continued to attack even after it was on fire and guns destroyed. So, they did what any self respecting Brit would do in this situation, they charged and rammed the Admiral Hipper, ripping a hole in the German ship's hull and sending one German sailor overboard. The Admiral Hipper had to return to Germany for repairs but never saw any action as the RAF continued to find it in the dry dock and bombed it. The captain of the Admiral Hipper was so impressed that he later contacted the Royal Navy through the Red Cross and recommended Lt. Roope for a Victoria Cross. The Glowworm was mentioned in the Norwegian resistance museum because the Norwegians felt that this sole ship did a great service to help them, despite its misfit reputation and it epitomized the Norwegian resolve to not give up regardless of the odds.

It has been a whirlwind of a trip but it has been absolutely fantastic to be able to visit so many places that are connected to my family. To see where my ancestors lived, to walk where they walked, and glean a better understanding of the world they lived in has been incredible. I feel like I have gained a better understanding and appreciation for my family and who I am as well. People keep asking me why I am doing what I am doing, researching my family. One person commented that she is more interested in the thoughts and feelings of the living. Perhaps that may be more relevant, but each of us has been shaped by the actions and ideologies of our ancestors so to know who they were is to know who we are as well. 

Cheers!

Elizabeth