Trysil III

August 16, 2008

Today was a relaxing day (for me) in Trysil. After I finally was up and had breakfast, we didn't have to watch the Olympics for long before Liv Marit began cooking lapper (thick pancakes, like American ones). We ate them with combinations fresh strawberry jam, brown cheese, sour cream, and butter.

Then, Else and I took the row boat out on the river. After watching the Norwegian rower, Olaf Tufte, get the gold medal in men's single sculls we were inspired. We are not, however, Olympic rowers, so we just paddled around in the calm bay where the boat was kept. We took pictures, enjoyed the weather, and did some boat tricks.

After dinner out at the local Chinese restaurant, we found ourselves at the closing concert of the Trysilutvandererstemne (Trysil Emigrant Gathering). It wasn't really surprising that we were there, Else, Peder, Inga, and Martin (her brother, sister, and uncle) were part of the program. Else played for dancing. Inga and Martin (yes, that Martin Myhr) danced. Peder got the high honor of dressing as the bear that got chased, shot, and then danced around; he was excellent. Martin also recited two poems that were really quite moving. There were also performances from the men's choir, the children at the music school, and other musicians. It was a great show.

In addition to the great show, there were speeches by the mayor and the head of the visiting American delegation. The mayor spoke in English and Norwegian, with some interesting omissions or additions depending on how you look at it. Then it was the American's turn. He had several gifts and kept turning away from the microphone to present them to the Norwegian members of the committee. This prompted calls from the audience. I'm not sure how many times we heard "MICROPHONE!" from the audience in a nice clear Minnesota accent. I do know that if I'd heard it one more time, I would have started laughing out loud and that can be difficult to stop.