Jotunheimen – June 17, 2007

Today was probably one of my favorite days of the whole trip – I just get all happy and happier when I get to be around mountains and making it into Jotunheimen National Park, while a long day trip from where we were staying, is a definite highlight! The weather wasn’t great, but that didn’t matter. After the morning drive through Gudbrandsdalen, we got a chance to actually go into a stavkirke, the amazingly well maintained and beautifully decorated Lom church. Then the road took us up into the mountains within just a few minutes of leaving Lom. As the driver I didn’t get a chance to turn around and see ALL the gorgeous views and sights, but it was a joy ride with breathtaking scenery, with new ooooohhhs and aaaahhhs around each corner. the mountain ranges are not as ‘peaky’ as in the Alps, more rolling, gentle, snowcovered peaks, topping out at about 2500 m, with the tree line already at about 1000 m. We took a 90 minute time-out from driving and actually did part of a hiking trail up one steep slope – even on a cloudy day it was a fantastic adventure. Later, we drove along with sheets of snow on either side of the road higher than our car, at about 1350 m. I threw snow balls, Carl did his first June snow angel ever in Norway. The drive back ‘home’ through the Valdres valleys rounded off a beautiful day, leaving us with many memories of incredible scenery.

Lillehammer - June 16, 2007 By Christian

Today we went to Lillehammer. This city hosted the winter Olympics in 1994. There is a museum about the history of the Olympics in Norway and the rest of the world. We got there two hours before it closed, but that still wasn’t enough time to see everything. We had to hurry through the last few exhibits so we would be able to catch the movie at the end. This museum was one of my favorite things that we have seen to this point. Each holding of the Olympic games had its own section. It was very interesting to see how the games have evolved over the years. After the museum, we went to the top of the ski jumps that were made for the ’94 Olympics. We went about halfway down, then went back up and drove to the bottom. There they had a downhill skiing/bobsledding simulator and Carl, Andrew, and I decided to go on it. It was fun; Andrew couldn’t stop laughing. After this we drove back to our little cabin (without taking any major wrong turns, for once) and had a relaxing evening before going to bed.

Valdres - June 15, 2007 By Carl

Our day today was very spontaneous (we just kept seeing different points of interest on our map). The first stop was the Valdres Folk Museum, which is an open air collection of old Norwegian houses and farms. It was very interesting to see how the people back in the 16th and 17th century lived. One thing that I found funny was the people would build the upper floors of their houses bigger than the ground floor; this was because the property taxes were based on the size of the foundation. In one of the cabins we got to hear some traditional music. After the Folk museum we drove to the Hegge Stavkyrke (stave church). This was unfortunately closed. But not to worry, mom soon spotted another stavkyrke in the area. So after another short drive and miniscule hike we arrived at the beautifully carved Lomen Stavkyrke, which was of course also closed. But I still managed to take the picture you see. In the Lomen Stavkyrke parking lot mom, while looking at a map of the area found the Einangstein which is the oldest rune stone in Scandanavia still in it’s original setting. This was probably my favorite part of the day. The rune stone marks a grave yard that was used when Vikings still ruled Norway. On our way home we took a slight detour and looked at some of the kinds of farms my ancestors decided to leave behind and head for America. Then we went back to our hytter (cabin) and had a quick dinner of Smørbrød (open faced sandwiches). Then after a long day we hit the hay.

Crossing the border – Sweden to Norway – June 14, 2007

After a truly wonderful, restful and peaceful time in Rättvik, where it was easy to understand why Lisa so treasures her time spent there, we encountered some of our most exciting adventures on drive to the Hamar/Lillehammer area. No Autobahn/highways, just two-lane country and mountain roads guiding us through beautiful forests (much like MN!) and vast areas of nothing but true nature. It’s easy to see and understand how Sweden must be one of the top wood producing countries in the world. The adventure that day really started when suddenly traffic stopped in the middle of a straight stretch of road during a fairly strong rain storm. We had passed the last signs of civilization about 10 miles earlier. Several big, mature pine trees had fallen and were blocking the two-lane highway; with deep ditches on both sides of the road. Now what? How would Swedes and others respond? Some turned around and drove away, others just turned off their cars (like us) and watched the rain beat on the road, waiting for someone to do something. We were thinking maybe we should just go out there and try and drag, with the help of others, the trees at least far enough out of the way to open up a one lane. Then, from behind us, an ambulance appeared and drove right up to the tree. The driver got out, recruited the help from another person who happened to have had a chainsaw in his trunk and started cutting into the trees. It was still raining pretty hard. Soon three police motorcycles appeared, then another ambulance that actually was on an emergency call, and a fire truck. Within about 20 minutes the trees had been cleared out of the way and the road had been swept, safe for passing. For the rest of our drive that day, we kept watching the outdoor temperature drop to -1 degree C, and rain turn into snow. Suddenly, without much fanfare the road sign said: Velkommen til Norge!

Rättvik, Sweden – June 13, 2007

In 1989 I spent part of the summer volunteering at Stiftsgården, a retreat center operated by the Swedish national church. It is a beautiful location on Lake Siljan. It was fun to show my family all of the cool things in and around Rättvik. We walked around town and shopped. Then we took a hike to Gammelgården, which is an open-air museum, where Midsommar is celebrated. They were getting ready to decorate the maypole for the festivities.
We hiked up to St. Davidsgården, where there is a famous religious book store and meditation center. Then we went to a local Dalahäst artist’s studio. We could see Dala–horses in production from the hand carving to the painting and detailing. We bought some of the artist’s creations and learned about this family business now in its second generation.
We enjoyed the peace and beauty of Stiftsgården, as well as the atmosphere of fun and spirituality. Swedish confirmands come here and enjoy weeks of programming similar to Bible Camp in the U.S. The Rättvik church is central to the community and right across the way from Stiftsgården. While we were there, two different schools used the medieval church for their graduations and end of the school year celebrations.
On our way out of the area, we stopped in Nittsjö at the pottery works. Nittsjö pottery is famous and we couldn’t resist bringing a little home with us. We bid the Lake Siljan area a fond good-bye. I hope that someday I will return. The memories I have from 1989 and now 2007 will always be special to me.

Gränna, Sweden – June 12, 2007

In Andrew’s words: It is really fun in Sweden. I am glad I am able to use my Swedish. Before going on to Rättvik, we spent the morning on Visingsö, an island across from Gränna in Lake Vättern. On the island we visited the ruins of the first royal castle of Sweden. it was built in the 1200’s. Carl and I had fun imagining what the castle really looked like before part of it fell into the sea. My mom was most impressed with the still intact King’s latrine chute. Here’s a picture of Christian, Carl, and I patrolling the overgrown castle walls. There also are other ruins on the island from a castle that burned down in 1700’s, a couple of decades after Sweden held Russian prisoner’s of war there.
Gränna is also really well known for its handcrafted peppermint sticks. We were able to watch them make some in a couple of small shops and guess what… now we have enough in our bags to last us for the rest of our trip.

Gränna, Sweden – June 11, 2007

After a whirlwind trip from Innsbruck to Fulda (on Thursday) and from Fulda to Schönwalde (on Friday), then laundry/repacking and on through Denmark to Sweden (today), we are now in a campground on a beautiful lake. We will write more about our travels later. Suffice it to say, we are happy, healthy and have started our Scandinavian adventure in good spirits. Here is a picture of Christian, Carl and Andrew on the ferry between Germany and Denmark. We are ready for some nordic fun!

Innsbruck – June 7, 2007

Wow, my baby brother turned 40! Happy Birthday (May 31!) David!! On the subject of birthdays, we can report that Christian celebrated his 16th birthday in style! Yesterday, after a delightful birthday breakfast, we toured Innsbruck. It is a lovely city surrounded by the most beautiful mountains. In the afternoon we had Walnußtorte und Kaffee and then went to a lecture on “Braukunst und Baukunst” (Brewing and Architecture.) During the reception afterwards, Christian was surprised to hear the little local band play “Happy Birthday” in his honor.

Here in Innsbruck we have so enjoyed visiting Martin’s uncle, Rainer and his aunt, Erika. They have generously opened their home to us and have made us feel most welcome. Rainer and Erika live in a beautiful old country house near a farm. We really appreciate the mountain view and the quiet surroundings.

While visiting we have had many wonderful Tyrolean experiences. It started off with the European Alpine Logging Championship. We watched teams of horses drag logs through an obstacle course. No Paul Bunyans, but very interesting to us Bemidjians! Other Tyrolean experiences included watching the rain fall on the mountains while enjoying our lunch at a Wanderhütte, hiking to an altitude of over 2000 meters and getting (a little) lost, shopping at the Geiger outlet store, and to top it off Andrew met a guinea pig at the neighboring farm/Gasthaus that he wants to take home with us. We have had a wonderful time!!

Riesa – June 2, 2007

We have been having a fantastic time in Riesa and so, here are a couple of last minute pictures. On the left are the boys – Fritzi, Richard, Andrew and Christian. On the right are the Stenzels and Graefes (except for Gunter. He’s taking the picture!) at the Volkswagen Gläserne Manufaktur.

Riesa/Dresden – June 2, 2007

We are now in Riesa, where we’ve been generously hosted by Heike and Gunter Stenzel and family. Richard Stenzel is the Rotary exchange student who stayed with us for six months last year. It’s been great for all of us to see where Richard grew up and lives now, spend more time with his parents and brother, and meet his grandparents. He is doing very well; it was a treat to see the four boys, along with Fritzi (Richard’s younger brother), connect again. We couldn’t help but reminisce about ‘old’ times! It really reinforces the richness of people-to-people exchanges between people from around the world.
This area is so rich in things to see and do, with many cultural gems of Germany are in this region; we really only scratched the surface. Besides sightseeing some of the traditional spots in Meissen and Dresden, we also toured the Riesa noodle factory as well as the fully glass-enclosed, high tech final assembly factory of VW’s high-end Phaeton in Dresden. The noodles were famous to us from packages Richard received from his parents/grandparents while at our house. Other highlights included a visit to the office of Saxony’s prime minister’s office, an exhibit of 16th century armaments in the Zwinger. It is amazing to realize how much work has been done to rebuild Dresden in recent years. The Frauenkirche, truly a pile of rubble for forty years, with only two small sections surviving the bombing in February of 1945, now stands again proud and tall, restored outside and inside to its original state. Finally, we squeezed in Kaffee und Kuchen with Urte Haertwig, a cousin of Martin’s mom in Dresden, who has been doing all the family genealogy research. Carl walked away with a photograph of a namesake, great-great-great-great-greatuncle, Carl Heinrich Poppe!

Leipzig – May 29, 2007

First we want to wish our cousin Kaia a happy belated birthday!! She turned 3 on May 25th! We have been having a wonderful weekend of making family connections in Leipzig. Cornelius Schröder, Martin’s second cousin, has been our host. The boys stayed at his apartment while Lisa + Martin stayed in a hotel. We ended up being here Pentecost weekend, which for many Graefe relatives includes an annual get-together to celebrate the music of the Leipzig area, centered for the family each year around concerts of medieval church music. The final concert took place on Sunday afternoon in an old church in Wechselburg; it was packed to standing room only which included about forty people, relatives and friends, connected to the Graefes. In the Biergarten afterwards, with everybody sitting at one looooong table, Andrew said it best: “I always had thought our Graefe family was small!” It was truly amazing to all of a sudden be in the middle of so many relatives; the boys met three third cousins; Martin met two descendants from his great-grandfather’s brother! To top it all off, we ended up going to one more concert, on Monday and heard a concert on Saxony’s oldest organ, recently restored last fall, accompanied by a violin. Christian even talked with the violinist and got to play a few notes on her 400 year-old violin. It was all around quite impressive and a great way to top off a weekend with family and truly exceptional music. Before we left Leipzig, Cornelius showed us the highlights of the city itself, including the Thomaskirche, where JS Bach is laid to rest; the Nikolaikirche, credited with facilitating the peaceful revolution that led to Germany’s unification in ’89; and the Coffe Baum, Leipzig’s oldest café, which was in the family for about 100 years, starting in 1798.