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Brekke’s Travel Adventures - 2008If you haven’t visited our website in a while we invite you to come back and take another look! We are excited to offer our clients a variety of unique and exciting tour destinations this year in addition to escorted and independent travel to Scandinavia.http://www.BrekkeTours.com/
Be Enchanted by "Majestic Norway"
Experience the splendors of Norway on our
11-day Majestic Norway tour starting July 5.
You will tour the beautiful Telemark area,
travel through the stunning fjord country and
see the highlights Norway’s greatest cities have
to offer!
Begin your stay in Norway with a greeting from our helpful tour guide who will escort you to the historic Grand Hotel for a peaceful evening in downtown Oslo. The next day, meet your group and head out on the city for a morning sightseeing tour which includes a visit to Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum. Your afternoon is free for shopping and independent exploration of Norway’s capital city. On Day 4, you will embark on your journey through Telemark, an area rich in cultural traditions. In Rjukan, stop and tour the Industrial Museum where the Nazis produced “Heavy Water” for their atomic bomb experiments during World War II. Afterward, continue on to Setesdal for dinner and a stay at the Hovdestøylen Hotel in Hovden. 
Get a taste of Norwegian history and craftsmanship the next day as you travel on to Stavanger. After a drive down the Setesdal Valley to Valle, you’ll stop at a local silversmith shop. Then, cross the mountains to Sirdal and continue on to Dirdal and Byrkjedalstunet in Rogaland. Here you will enjoy a traditional Norwegian dinner in what was formerly a cheese dairy. In addition to thousands of candles produced in the candle shop, there are souvenirs, Norwegian handcraft and Norwegian wool products. The next morning begins with a sightseeing tour of Stavanger, which includes a visit to the Stavanger Cathedral. Stavanger, a charming mixture of old and new, retains much of its 18th century charm. Your afternoon and evening is free to explore this eclectic city. Tunnels, islands and fjords are all on the agenda for Day 7 as you start your day with a drive through the underwater tunnels from Randaberg to Rennesøy. After a couple of ferry rides, stop for lunch, then take a scenic drive to Rosendal, situated at the mouth of the Hardanger Fjord. Visit the Rosendal Barony, a renaissance castle from the 1600’s surrounded by a lovely garden and park. Your day ends in Os, south of Bergen, where you will have an evening to relax at the exquisite Solstand Hotel situated along one of Norway’s beautiful fjords. 
After a short drive to Bergen, enjoy a morning
sightseeing tour including Troldhaugen, the
home of Norway’s renowned musician the late
Edvard Grieg. End the tour with a guided walk
through the historic Hanseatic Wharf. Your
afternoon is free for shopping, exploration, or
any number of activities. Take a short drive
before dinner to Voss, where you will overnight
at the historic Fleischer’s Hotel.
Day 9 promises to be one of the most memorable days of the tour as you start out with a train ride on the famous Oslo/Bergen Railroad from Voss. At Myrdal, change to the Flåm Railway, ranked as one of the top 20 train rides in the world. Within 13 miles descend 2800 feet to the idyllic fjord community of Flåm. Afterward, drive through the world’s longest tunnel (15.22 miles) from Aurland to Lærdal where you will visit the Borgund Stave Church, one of the most interesting and best preserved of the remaining stave churches. Have your camera ready as you drive through the beautiful Valdres Valley to Fagernes where you will have dinner and spend the night. An Olympic-size adventure awaits you the next day as you travel from Fagernes to Lillehammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. You will have time to view these sites, do a little shopping, and explore on your own before sitting down to a farewell dinner at a local farm. You then return to Oslo for your last night in Norway. Say goodbye to your new friends at breakfast the next morning before heading out the airport for the return flight home. Although your adventure in “Majestic Norway” is now over, we hope that the experiences you’ve shared with us over the past ten days will stay with you for many years to come! The Nazi Occupation of NorwayNorway was largely unprepared for the German military invasion when it came on the night between April 8 and April 9, 1940. On the pretext that Norway needed protection from British and French interference, Germany invaded Norway for several reasons: strategically, to secure ice-free harbors from which naval forces could seek to control the North Atlantic; to secure the availability of iron ore from mines in Sweden, going through Narvik; to pre-empt a British and French invasion with the same purpose; and to reinforce the propaganda of a Germanic empire.Consistently with the doctrine of Blitzkrieg, German forces attacked Norway by sea and air in Operation Weserübung starting April 9, 1940. On establishing a foothold in Oslo and Trondheim, they launched a ground offensive against scattered resistance inland in Norway. Allied forces attempted several counterattacks, but all failed. While military resistance in Norway had little military success, they had the significant political effect of allowing the Norwegian government, including the Royal family, to escape and form a government in exile, primarily due to the sinking of the German cruiser Blücher in the Oslofjord on the first day of the invasion, and the pitched battle fought between German forces and an improvised Norwegian position at Midtskogen. Norwegian mobilisation was hampered by the fact that much of the best equipment was lost to the Germans in the first 24 hours of the invasion, the unclear mobilisation order by the government and the general confusion caused by the tremendous psychological shock of the German surprise attack. The Norwegian Army rallied after the initial confusion, what units could be mustered were thrown into the fighting and on several occasions managed to put up a stiff fight, delaying the German advance. However, the Germans proved unstoppable due to their superior training and equipment. Allied reinforcements came too little, too late, and as the British and Norwegian Forces were ground down in the Gudbrandsdal valley. The campaign in Southern Norway came to an end on the 2nd of May with the evacuation of British forces and the surrender of the Norwegian 2. Division in Gudbrandsdal valley, 4. Division in Valdres and 5. Division north of Trondheim. Learn more about the Nazi occupation of Norway and the effects of WWII on our “Majestic Norway” tour this summer! North Dakota: The 'IT' Scene
The last few of weeks have
been huge in Grand Forks history.
The capital of “nothing to
do” became the “it” place all of
a sudden.
In case you’ve missed all the excitement, here’s what you’ve missed: 1) The World Championship of Curling. The World Cup, if you will, of people who throw giant stones down a sheet of ice and then chase it with brooms. Oddly enough..its a worldly sport that’s popular and everyone was here in Grand Forks. The Chinese Team is staying at a hotel next door to Brekke Tours and the last few mornings. I've seen this pack of 10 similarly dressed people jogging around. 2) Author Salman Rushdie was in town last week for the writers conference at University of North Dakota, UND, and was even available for a meet/greet/book signing. It was interesting knowing one of his books cause such an uproar and earned him a fatwa from Iran and here he was in lil’ ol Grand Forks! 3) The major event was on April 4 - the start of the North Dakota Democrat convention. This year’s convention was in Grand Forks, and the usual keynote speakers just wouldn't do...so this year they invited Barack Obama. Then midweek it was announced that Hillary Clinton would be the second keynote speaker. Even if you are not a follower of politics, what an exciting event it was. So we went! We walked a mile to stand in line for 90 minutes and took nosebleed seats at the Alerus Center to listen to his 30 minute speech. Mr. Obama got the usual Grand Forks welcome gift...a hockey stick...and it was an exciting time to be there to hear what he had to say. We sat so far away it was impossible to see him except on the big screen. As we were driving home, we were stopped from making our right turn by flashing police cars blocking all intersections. In the distance was a motorcade of Expeditions and large touring busses leaving the Alerus. So we rolled our windows down, and Teri stood on the sideboard of the truck and waved. The first car turned towards the airport and sitting in the back seat was the man of the hour. He turned and looked right at us and waved and smiled, his car honked twice as he rounded the corner. That 2 second moment that he was 20 feet away from us was thrilling! He looked at US and smiled...we were like kids at a candy shop. Written by Jennifer Behr Taking your kids to Scandinavia - Part 2
You may remember from our
last newsletter a list of kidfriendly
activities and places
located in Scandinavia. For
those of you traveling with
older kids, or if you’re like me
and your married to one, there
are numerous activities in the
Aurland and Flåm areas of
Norway that are geared to
those with lots of energy and
enjoy being outdoors.
Molly’s Medical Mission to Ecuador
Oprah found it. Bill Gates figured
it out. No, what they “found”
wasn’t a way to make millions of
dollars (I think they already had that
taken care of). They have found the
great satisfaction of sharing some of
their financial resources and time
with people in need. Most of us
have no where near the money,
time flexibility, and support that
Bill and Oprah have. But we have
vacation time, we have our minds
and bodies, and, very likely, we
have some extra “change.”
In the past few years, I’ve been fortunate enough to also “find” the great rewards of spending time and resources with some people that can use health assistance, love, and dollars. A few months back, readers were told about the trips I have taken in the past five years to the country of Ecuador where I’ve served as a team physical therapist each February. The amazing people and heart-rending stories were repeated again this year as I spent two weeks in Ecuador. This travel experience provided wonderful results to share, in the hope of challenging potential Bill Gates fans to seek the path of giving with impact. In previous years, an obvious need for the children seen by the orthopedic team of Medical Mission Ecuador has been the lack of wheelchairs to transport the children who cannot walk because of disabilities such as cerebral palsy. Last year I resolved to find a way to bring mobility to some of the children who could not walk and whose mothers carried them, large and small, blanket-wrapped across their backs. Shipping wheelchairs to the country would be a very expensive venture, not counting the expense of buying wheelchairs in the US. Through a new contact met in Ecuador last year, I was connected to a man in Quito, Ecuador who had a business making wheelchairs. And the price was very affordable, compared to US standards. We agreed that he would make several wheelchairs and bring them to the Mission. 
Then came the question of how to
buy the wheelchairs. Quietly mentioning
this need to friends and
family had tremendous results.
Resources came in big enough
quantity to buy six wheelchairs.
That is pretty small compared to
the Oprah scale, but for the mothers
who watched their children
being specially fitted into a new
wheelchair, it was huge!! Tears
were shed, backs and arms were
relieved, and children got a new
perspective on life as they faced life
looking forward from their chairs,
instead of up, down, or sideways.
Another area of great need was the orphanage named Casa de Fe in Shell, Ecuador. Riding the bus down the curving mountainsides brings me to this town on the edge of the Amazon jungle that I long to return to. Last year, I had an introduction to the many children who benefit from the care and love given them at Casa de Fe. This year some familiar faces greeted me, but many new children also occupy the larger rental building required for this expanding group. Malnourished bodies, neglected hearts, and abused spirits have been added to the group, so that the population has grown to 41. The limited time I shared there allowed me to train some staff in exercises, encourage children in walking or sitting abilities, and spread hugs and smiles to as many children as I could reach. Because of the poverty, superstitious beliefs about disabled children, restrictive adoption laws, and inability for some parents to care for their children, the needs of this “light” in the jungle are expected to increase. Property was purchased a year ago, and building has started on a complex that will provide several smaller homes for 4-6 children each. Teams of volunteers from churches or other benevolent groups are scheduled intermittently to come and help this dream become reality. But much is needed to build the infrastructure of the complex as well as individual homes. The work may be slow, but it will get done. For those that might be interested in a scaled-back version of the Bill Gates experience, the orphanage website www.lacasadefe.org gives information on how you can sponsor a child, donate toward the new complex, or just send money for the day-to-day expenses of food and clothing. If you have any questions, please contact me at Brekke Tours, 1-800-437-5302 or by email at mailto:molly@brekketours.com. Ken’s Punchbowl CakeKen recently shared with those of us in the office his infamous Punchbowl cake. It’s easy and delicious!
Connecting the Past and the PresentHave you ever wanted to go to Norway and connect up with your ancestral past and try to bring those ancestral connections into the present? If you have then I think you should think about going on our “Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour.”
One of the favorite things for me to do in life is
to help others connect to their past. My favorite
place to connect them to is Norway. When I tell
people about all the great things that can be
found when doing Norwegian research or in
helping to get people to the places in Norway
their ancestors lived I am often told “I sure wish I
had some Norwegian blood in me”.
This is one of the reasons I became involved with the Brekke Tours “Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour” as the Genealogical Guide. I have helped with the tour for a number of years and it has been a joy each time. It seems that everyone with Norwegian ancestry is so nice and through helping with the tours I have met so many wonderful people. The Heritage Tour is unique because it provides tour participants the opportunity to have their ancestry researched, the opportunity to possibly meet relatives still in Norway and the opportunity to get to the actual farms and areas in Norway where the participant’s ancestors lived. What I do for the tour involves a variety of things. One of the first things I do is to try to promote the tour to people that I know or meet so they can become aware that such a tour exists. Once we start having people register for the tour I then communicate with them via e-mail, regular mail and telephone. I find out what they know about their ancestors, such as their names, where they came from in Norway, where they lived in the USA, names of siblings, children etc. Some people know all sorts of information and others know almost nothing. Then I get to work and use a large variety of resources to find out as much as I can about the person’s ancestors. I use USA census records, state websites, county websites, birth indexes, death indexes just to name a few. There are many websites in Norway that have a large amount of data on them; the main one is the Digitalarkivet. This has the 1801, 1865, 1875 and 1900 census records available for searching plus numerous other immigrant databases, church record databases etc. One of the newer things on the Digitalarkivet that has become a wonderful tool is their section with Digitized Parish Records. I am able to access the actual church records to search for material. For example this can be very helpful if someone thinks that great grandma may have came from Voss and they are sure her birth date was on such and such a date. I can go into those records and see if I see a match. This is one of the ways to get started or a way to help verify that I have found the correct person. Once I have figured out exactly where someone came from in Norway I then use as many resources from that area as I can to fill in as much of the ancestry as I can. With the Sogn/Voss/ Valdres Heritage Tour I have a little advantage as I have ancestry in those areas myself. Also with all the research I have done I have gathered a lot of resource materials from those areas. In doing the research I have made contact with some wonderful people in Norway who are as interested in connecting Americans/Canadians etc. to their roots in Norway as I am. These people have become valuable resources for me. I think it surprises people in America when they learn there are people in all the areas of Norway who are interested in finding out where the immigrants went and what happened to them. In each of the areas the tour goes these contacts actually help me set up the farm visits. Examples of the things they help with are to locate and call tour member’s distant relatives to arrange meetings, some are willing to drive tour members to their ancestral farms, they are so helpful in a variety of ways. The tour offers farm visit time for each of the areas we are in. Several areas have a farm visit day scheduled in as a choice while in that area. Also we have a number of farm visits that take place in the afternoon or early evening on the days when we have been touring. This works out very well for the participants as they can do the tour events and then still go to their ancestral farms. Below is a listing of the basics of my part of the Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour:
One of the joys of the Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour is actually being with the tour members when they arrive in Norway and can actually be in the land of their ancestors. My first time going to Norway was so emotional; I couldn’t believe I was actually there. Then the even better part comes as each of them get to the actual farm/ homestead or area where their own ancestor lived. We have a rented Brekke car that we use for some of the farm visits and I have the honor of driving the car to many of the ancestral farms. I have seen some very emotional family meetings and all the wonderful reactions people have when they actually stand on the ground or see the view their great grandparents or grandparents etc. had. Everyone is thrilled to see the beautiful churches, the various museums and history centers, the wonderful mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, fjords and all the other beautiful scenery. Also you don’t want to miss out on the beautiful hotels we stay in which serve some of the best food in the world. Keep in mind “you won’t go home hungry”. This tour has a fabulous Norwegian Tour Guide who meets us at the airport in Oslo and is with us for the entire tour. You will learn so many new things about Norway with having this guide, plus you will be very well entertained by the guide. The Sogn/Voss/Valdres Heritage Tour is a tour I would recommend to anyone who has ancestry that came from the Sogn/Voss/Valdres areas or from areas near the tour route. One other thing to keep in mind is there is always the option of extending your Norway visit by several days if you have ancestry from other areas of Norway and you would like to see those areas also. Just ask your Brekke Tour travel specialist about the possibility of doing this. To learn more about the events of each day of this tour please go to the itinerary for the tour on the Brekke Tour website: WWW.BREKKETOURS.COM. Please do feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the research I do for the tour and what I might possibly be able to do for you or your family members. Maybe we will then meet in July/August and we will all have a wonderful trip to Norway. Jean Marthaler Tour Genealogical Guide marwendt@charter.net |
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