On the wall in our summerhouse, I have a model of one of my favorite ships, Restauration, a sloop built in 1801 in Hardanger, Norway. Restauration set sail from Stavanger on July 4, 1825, with 52 people aboard, a small religious group who were followers of lay preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. Known as the Haugeans (“Haugianere”), the group was searching for religious freedom and better economic opportunities. The Restauration holds a special place in Norwegian American history, and this year we celebrate the 200-year anniversary of that first emigration from Norway to the United States of America.

Even before the most recent hurricane (Milton) hit Florida, Vigdis and I were planning a long drive visiting six states and both the East Coast and Gulf Coast of Florida. The purpose of this trip was to experience with our own eyes how the recent storms have impacted individual locations and, for me in particular, the effects on the transportation industry. As a Norwegian, we have little experience with hurricanes, and I believe we don’t get the full picture through the news as we will discuss further in this article. That’s why we wanted to do this trip before we returned to Norway for Thanksgiving. We expect many questions from family and friends about the election and all the storms, so we wanted to be better prepared. What’s better than talking to local people and seeing it with your own eyes? Relative to the election, this trip was also to experience the so-called “divided country.” We did not find a divided country, but we did find a lot of love, unity and hope, my theme for this year.

One way we know that Fall is coming in Norway is when our dear HM The King goes onboard the Royal Yacht, Kongeskipet MS NORGE, for the last time to inspect the crew and honor them for their service. Called the debarking, it marks the end of the season for this beautiful ship. This year, as in so many before, he was accompanied by HM The Queen and The Crown Prince. The ship was used this year for royal visits to local communities, like their visit to Agder and Rogaland. On June 1st, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit used the yacht to attend an anniversary celebration at Moster in Vestland marking the 1000-year-jubilee of the first Christian Laws of Norway introduced by King Olaf Haraldsson and Bishop Grimkjell at Mostratinget (a court meeting) in 1024. 

This summer I have enjoyed a coolcation in Norway with Vigdis, our granddaughter Elma and our dog, Buddy…and let me just state that we were not alone. I have never seen so many foreign-registered cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles! In addition, many cruise ships travel along the coast and numerous people from other countries in Europe are traveling by train as the railroads offer hiking tickets and interrail tickets for all ages.

Traveling to Norway for the summer in mid-June always connects us with Americans traveling to Norway, at the airport and on board the plane. I use the opportunity to ask where they are going, why they selected Scandinavia and their possible previous experiences. Scandinavian Airlines and Iceland Air benefit from land vacationers and cruise passengers during the summer which compensates for the lack of business travelers not traveling as much as other times of the year.

“Hope is not a passive exercise in wishing, but an active approach to life, arising when there is something we want when we've got a clear goal in mind. And though it may be tough going, we’ll develop a plan to get us closer to where we want to go.”

I certainly hope to see many of you this year at Carderock Park on May 12th to celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day. Why do we celebrate May 17th? Norway's Constitution was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly at Eidsvoll on May 16, 1814, and was signed the following day, May 17, 1814. The actual celebration of Constitution Day began in 1836 when the day was instituted as a public holiday. People are dressed up in their absolute best clothes and, if you are lucky enough to have a bunad -- the Norwegian National costume -- May 17th is the day to wear it. The 17th of May is often called Children's Day, as opposed to many other countries celebrating their constitution day with military parades. The first children’s parade was arranged in Oslo in 1870, after an initiative by the famous poet and Nobel Prize winner, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The first parade was for boys only; girls participated starting in 1889. School children and school bands go together in the parade, where the children wave Norwegian flags and shout hurray or sing along when the band plays. Everyone else stands along the parade route and watches and waves to the children. It is a full day celebration, from early morning to late evening.

Just before Christmas, I was diagnosed with cancer. When you receive a diagnosis of a serious health issue, your priorities change. Having time to think over Christmas and going into the new year, I decided to make Hope my theme for the new year -- hope for my personal life, hope for our community, and hope in the world. Without hope in my life, I would probably not be writing to you today. In this life, there is no escaping heartache. Sorrow is a natural emotion, and the tears that go with sorrow can be healthy. Hope allows us to feel the pain and then work toward healing. It keeps us from staying stuck in sorrow or the pit of despair which is neither healthy nor natural. Sharing with you what I am concerned about gives me hope. If you share your concerns with your friends, it can give you hope as well.

My father always said, “when someone loses, someone else wins.” I think this is certainly true when we talk about the conflict in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal where Houthi rebels began firing on U.S. military and commercial vessels after a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on October 17th, a few days after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis, who support Palestinians under attack by Israel in Gaza, claim they only target vessels heading for or with ties to Israel, but others have been hit as well.