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Explore Your Past on Brekke’s “Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour”July 29—August 10, 2008
Do you have ancestral roots in the district of Sogn og Fjordane, Voss or Valdres that you‘ve always wanted to explore? Our Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour provides the perfect opportunity for you to discover your roots all while traveling with the comforts and conveniences of an escorted group tour!
Your journey to the homeland begins on July 29th when you board your transatlantic flight to Oslo. Upon arriving on the 30th, you will be met by your guide and transported to the classic Grand Hotel in Oslo. Enjoy a welcome dinner with the rest of your group and then you are free to enjoy the remainder of the evening. The next morning takes you to the major sights of Oslo including the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum. The afternoon is yours to spend as you wish in Norway‘s capital city. On Day 4, you‘ll drive through the beautiful Hallingdal Valley and then continue down the spectacular Aurland Valley to Flåm. Enjoy a dinner and a relaxing stay at the enchanting Fretheim Hotel. Spend Day 5 touring the Flåm area. Begin with a visit to the Flåm Church and the Brekke Farm. Afterward, cruise the dramatic Aurland and Nærøy Fjords (placed on UNESCO‘s World Heritage List in 2005) from Flåm to Gudvangen. Now it's on to the Undredal Church. Built as a stave church in 1147, it is the smallest church in Scandinavia. End the day with a trip to Eldhuset for an introduction to the tradition of farming in the mountains as well as the making of goat cheese. Dinner and entertainment follow your educational treat! After breakfast the next morning, drive to Aurland where you will visit the local History Center and the Vangen Church, which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2002. Continue on to Otternes and tour the Otternes Bygdetun Museum with its 26 restored buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Return to Flåm and board the Flåm Railway, ranked as one of the top 20 train rides in the world. Within 13 miles ascend 2800 feet to Myrdal, where we change to the famous Oslo/Bergen Railway and continue by train to Voss. Savor a delightful dinner and a peaceful evening at the historic Fleischer‘s Hotel. Day 7 is reserved for sightseeing in the Voss area. You will travel to Finnesloftet, a banquet hall built around 1250; Voss Church, built in 1277 in Romanesque style; and the Voss Folk Museum (Mølsterunet), a farmstead with buildings from the 16th century and a rich collection of folk art. The next day brings a choice of farm visits or an excursion into Bergen. For those of you with roots in the Voss or Aurland areas, this day is free for you to visit your family‘s ancestral farm. A team of local genealogists are eager to connect tour participants to area farms and families. Visits to other areas, such as Vik or Hardanger, can also be arranged upon request. For our other tour participants, an excursion to Bergen awaits! A 3-hour city sightseeing tour is the perfect way to get familiar with Norway‘s second largest city. The tour includes a visit to Troldhaugen and a guided walk through the historic Hanseatic Wharf. You will have time to shop and explore Bergen on your own before returning to Voss for dinner and overnight at Fleischer‘s Hotel. Say goodbye to Voss the next morning as you head to Stalheim where you ascend the 13 hairpin bends of the thrilling Stalheim Road. Cross over the majestic Vik Mountains and stop in Vik to visit the 12th century Hopperstad Stave Church, a replica of which is found in Moorhead, MN. Take a side trip to Feios, home of Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug, on your way to Vangsnes where you will ferry across the Sognefjord to Hella. From Hella, drive along the fjord to Sogndal where your dinner and comfortable bed wait for you at the Quality Sogndal Hotel. On Day 10, drive through the Jostedal Valley to the Norwegian Glacier Center. You‘ll have lunch in Skjolden before driving past Feigum Falls and along the eastern shore of the Luster Fjord to Ornes. Visit the Urnes Stave Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ferry to Solvom before returning to Sogndal for dinner and overnight at the hotel. The next morning, cross the Sognefjord to Lærdal where you will tour the Norwegian Wild Salmon Center situated on the banks of one of the most famous salmon rivers in Norway. Drive the scenic lower Lærdal Valley. Visit Borgund Stave Church, one of the most interesting and best preserved of the remaining stave churches. Continue across the Fillefjell Mountains to Fagernes in the heart of the lush Valdres Valley. Dinner and overnight at the Quality Hotel & Resort Fagernes. Your final full day in Norway gives you the option of visiting family farms or taking a sightseeing adventure to the Valdres Folk Museum and the studio of Sigmund Årseth, noted for the art of rosemaling. Return to the hotel in Fagernes for dinner where you can share your stories of connecting with your roots with other group members before setting off for the Gardermoen Airport in Oslo the next morning for your return flight back to the US. For those of you wishing to stay longer to connect with your roots, we will be happy to help plan your tour extension in Norway or other parts of Scandinavia! Don’t miss out on these upcoming events in Norway and in the US!
Leaving the Homeland
Emigration from Norway to the United States occurred in great numbers throughout the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century. During the early 1800s, the majority of Norwegian emigrants were family units from rural Norway. Single people left Norway as well, but more men left during this period than women. By the mid-1860s, extensive emigration was taking place, and more and more of these individuals were younger, often unmarried, individuals.
Why They Left and Why They CameThe reasons people left Norway are numerous and varied. Sometimes, several reasons were combined to help Norwegian citizens make the decision to leave their homes and to make new lives for themselves in the United States.Because many of the early settlers were farm families, it is no surprise that the promise of finding land in the United States led many Norwegians to the United States, and to Minnesota. The Homestead Act of 1862 opened up land to settlers who promised to farm and live on the land for five years. Other government actions, such as treaties with Minnesota Indians, opened up even more land for white settlement. Land in the United States was also quite inexpensive. In Minnesota, land costs were as low as $1.25 per acre by the mid to late-1800s when purchased from the government, or $5 to $10 when purchased from private corporations. The difference between America and Norway socially and politically also pulled immigrants to the United States. Socially, people in Norway lived under a strict social system. Under this system, people were expected to show public signs of respect to members of the upper classes. For example, if a man of a high social class were to talk to a man of a lower class, the man from the lower class was expected remove his hat as a sign of respect to the other man's higher status. This was a very humbling experience for the man of lower status. Because the United States did not have an official caste system or such strict protocol for interactions among people, many Norwegians looked at the U.S. as an appealing place to live. Politically, America also seemed like the land of opportunity and freedom to Norwegian immigrants. The fact that the U.S. was a republic where the people held regular elections to place political officials in power was appealing to many people in Norway. During the nineteenth century, Norway only gave the right to vote to an elite minority of the population. Suffrage in the United States was not given to everyone in the nation, but white men were given universal suffrage in the 1820s, and by the end of the 1860s many states were looking into the possibility of allowing some women the right to vote as well. The possibility of voting rights was quite appealing to many Norwegian men and women. Large numbers of Norwegians also left their homeland during the middle of the 1860s due to the ever-increasing population. Although there was a higher Norwegian population, there were less jobs for these people because many jobs that had previously performed by humans were now being performed by machines. Also, little farmable land was available to the average Norwegian. A great deal of the country was covered with mountains and forests and could not be farmed, and what little land was available for that occupation was extremely expensive. Those individuals who did have land to farm also faced crop failures and farm foreclosures during this period. Because of this, many people sought out new jobs and/or available farm land in the United States. For those individuals who were not farmers, the potential wages available in the United States were far more attractive than those in Norway. For example, by the late 1800s, a sailor on an American ship could earn three to four times the wage of a sailor on a Norwegian ship. Also, jobs in the growing American cities offered work and high wages for Norwegian immigrants. A laborer in Norway, for example, could earn $40 to $50 a year, while a person involved in such activities as crafts in an American city could earn as much $4 to $5 a day when times were good. Also influencing emigration from Norway to the United States was the promotion of the U.S. by emigration agents, newspapers and writers, and earlier settlers. Many American states had their own emigration agents as did various organizations such as the Northern Pacific Railroad. These individuals worked to advertise the benefits of the United States to the people of Europe, and Norwegians were no exception. Also, in 1862, American consuls in Norway were urged to promote the employment opportunities that America had to offer. Newspapers and authors also praised America and Minnesota to potential settlers in Norway. The Bergenposten, for example, advertised the many mining jobs that existed in the Lake Superior region during 1864. Handbooks were also published and circulated throughout Norway praising the climate and condition of the United States. One such book was Ole Rynning's Sandfaerdige Beretning om Amerika (True Account of America), which was published in Norway in 1838. As occurred with other European groups, earlier Norwegian settlers to America often sent letters back to friends and family in the homeland. These letters told of the benefits of living in the United States, and they sometimes urged the receivers of the letters to immigrate to the U.S. These letters helped increase the "America fever" (the desire to leave Norway for America) that was growing throughout Norway. 
Settlement in MinnesotaThe first Norwegian emigrants to come to the United States often settled in the eastern Midwest. From these new homes in America, the settlers would write to family and friends back home, praising the U.S. and urging these people to move to the U.S. as well. These letters were often successful in recruiting new immigrants to America, resulting in a rapid increase in population at the original Norwegian settlements (which was helped along by a high birth rate). Thus, as more and more Norwegian settlers arrived in the U.S., immigrants often first came to the original Norwegian settlements, but would later decide to move westward where land was plentiful and less inexpensive and where new settlements could be created.Norwegian immigrants then began to populate these newer settlements in the west, resulting in a great many farmers and laborers finding themselves compelled to settle there. In Minnesota, land was inexpensive and much was available due to treaties with the American Indians. Farmers also often persuaded additional Norwegian immigrants to come to these new settlements by paying for their tickets to America. Norwegians settlements in Minnesota occurred all over the state, but the first permanent settlements occurred in the southeast. One such settlement was the 1851 colony in Goodhue County. Settlements soon followed in Fillmore and Houston Counties as well, and by 1860, half of Minnesota's 12,000 Norwegians resided in Goodhue, Fillmore, and Houston Counties. Ten years later, these three counties were home to nearly 25,000 of Minnesota's 50,000 Norwegian residents. Norwegian settlements in Minnesota also increased after the Civil War and the Dakota Conflict of 1862, especially to the Minnesota River Valley, where land was made available through the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. Settlement to this area continued to increase as the railroads were being built in the middle-to-late 1800s. Immigrants also came to the Red River Valley in northwestern Minnesota, settling in the counties of Clay, Marshall, Norman, and Polk. During the early 1870s, the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad helped increase migration to the Red River Valley. As a result, by 1875 Norwegian immigrants made up a 30 percent of the total population of the counties of Polk and Clay. Later, immigrants also made homes in Grant, Pennington, Red Lake, Roseau, and Kittson Counties. Duluth was also a center for Norwegian immigration. Its location on Lake Superior provided Norwegian fishermen with ample employment. As a result, the Norwegian population of Duluth increased dramatically between 1870 and 1900. While in 1870 only 242 Norwegians were counted in Duluth, by 1900 the population had reached 7,500 people of Norwegian ancestry. By the middle of the 1880s, Norwegian migration to Minnesota began to shift to the cities. Most of the new Norwegian immigrants were single people who were accustomed to city life. Many also planned merely to make some money in America and then to return to Norway. The city of Minneapolis saw a large influx of Norwegian immigrations during the period from the 1880s to early 1900s, although settlement in St. Paul occurred as well. Today Minnesota continues to have strong ties to its Norway. If you’d like to learn more about your Norwegian roots, contact us for assistance! Current Travel SpecialsStill looking for a great deal on a summer vacation? Then check out these travel specials!
News from Norway
A Voyage of DiscoveryBergen is currently getting ready for this year‘s Tall Ship Race. The fleet and their crews are set to arrive in Bergen on August 8 amidst a flourish of excitement and celebration. More than 60 sailing ships have signed up for this year‘s event and Bergen is focused on giving the ship‘s crew an opportunity to become more familiar with shanty and sea song tradition. Along with the ships and their crews, Bergen will be the destination for thousands flocking to the docks for a view of these great ships.Don‘t miss out of this opportunity to view the Tall Ship Race for yourself. Brekke‘s Splendor of Norway Tour still has openings and will put you in the heart of the action from August 10-12. Contact us today to reserve your seat and the chance to participate in this unforgettable event! Stavanger’s “Open Port”The Stavanger region of Norway is the European Capital of Culture in 2008. Programs and projects have been scheduled throughout the year to celebrate this achievement. Known as "Stavanger 2008" this program will be Norway‘s largest cultural event. The Stavanger 2008 vision is expressed through the concept "Open Port". This can be understood both in its English sense - "an open harbour", - and in its Norwegian meaning of "an open gate".The "Open Port" vision for the program offers opportunities to join in for everyone – to those who have never thought of themselves as 'creative' right through to those for whom the highest forms of art are daily bread. Open Port - openness towards the world - is about challenging the region and its people to be even more open and inclusive towards each other, art, ideas and opportunities. Stavanger 2008 programs aim to build a legacy long into the future by bringing together local, regional and national artists with the most potent creative forces from elsewhere in the world to challenge and explore each other‘s ideas, to build new competence, to create excellence and to encourage openness, curiosity and adventure. If you would like more information or a list of upcoming events, please visit www.stavanger2008.no. To book your trip to Stavanger or any other region of Norway, please contact Brekke Tours at WWW.BREKKETOURS.COM and we‘ll be glad to assist! Festivals and EventsBelow is a list of Norwegian-related activities scheduled in the near future:Norwegian Sesquicentennial Celebration October 18 - Rochester, MN As Minnesota celebrates the 150th anniversary of statehood, the Norwegian Statehood Pioneer Project will recognize those Norwegian pioneers who were here when the state was born and contributed to the development of its institutions and culture. Join the celebrations at Mariott Hotel in Rochester on October 18, 2008. There will be displays and demonstrations, an afternoon program with speakers and entertainment honoring Norwegian-Minnesotans who lived in the state at the time of state-hood, and an evening banquet to end the day. Info: www.mn-nspp.org Norsk Høstfest 2008 October 1-5 - Minot, ND Norsk Høstfest, North America's largest Scandinavian festival, is celebrating its 31st year. Tens of thousands of people attend the event annually to celebrate and partake in the Scandinavian culture and entertainment. The Beach Boys, Kenny Rogers and Daniel O'Donnell are some of the artists that will entertain at this year's festival. Entertainment is definitely on the menu at Norsk Høstfest. But then, so is food, with dining ranging from family style at numerous food booths around the complex, to upscale, at the acclaimed En To Tre gourmet restaurant. The cuisine as well as the clothes, art and jewelry are authentic, fine quality and exquisitely Nordic. More than 200 internationally recognized artisans, craftsmen and chefs participate. The Nordic history and heritage are alive from the Clog Shop and the Import Shop to the Sølje Shop and the General Store. The experience is an eclectic array of contemporary and traditional. Info: www.hostfest.com Nordic Roots Festival Sept. 25-28 - Minneapolis, MN Hot sounds from cool traditions. The 2008 Nordic Roots Festival is the "10th annual and final" - the culmination of a decade of celebrating the new sounds of old music from the Nordic countries. Beginning in the fall of 2009, the festival goes international and becomes the Global Roots Festival. Nordic music will still be part of this annual event as well as the Cedar Cultural Center's season-long programming. Bands featuring Norwegian musicians include Frigg and Waltz With Me. Concert and workshop program to be announced online. Info: www.nordicroots.org 
A Tasty Summer Treat: RekesmørbrødTo assemble this Norwegian summer treat, follow the steps below:
Fuel (and Money) Saving Tips
With the cost of gas skyrocketing over this summer, we here at Brekke Tours are always looking to find ways to help you save whether you are traveling abroad or close to home. Here are some tips we‘d like to pass on to you!
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