Home - TripSailor - June 2008 / Now in Norge
June 2008 / Now in Norge
Posted 1 month, 29 days ago
June 2008 / Now in Norge
Ahhh Norway, the land of my father’s people. Crossing the invisible watery boundary line between Sweden and Norway felt tangible to me, a fourth generation half Norwegian returning (under sail in a nice SW wind) to the father’s land. We sailed all the way from outside Havstensund Sweden across the border in the Skaggerack swells and up the long narrow 10 mile interisland aproach to the mouth of the Glomma River where we finally dropped sail and motored hard against a 2 knot current to gain the 300 year old efortified town of Fredrikstad. Was it my bias or was the climate warmer, the people friendlier, the boats more numerous, and the town more beautiful in Norway than in Sweden? Of course the Sweden of the Bohuslan Coast we had been travelling in had been Norway for most of its history until 1814 when Swedes had attacked and taken fortified Fredrikstad and the Norwegians ceded Bohuslan to the traditional enemy. Talk about sibling rivalry!Glad to report that hostilities seem to have decreased (although Norway won’t join the EU). Walking around looking at the old town fortifications and the money and effort spent by a little town so long ago on defense we could only wonder at the collosal idiotic waste of time and money. And the wars of man and the waste of money are beyond all comprehension today. What have we learned since Fredrikstad was fortified three hundred years ago? Nothing if Iraq and world arms sales are an indication. But we can change: pray for peace and be peaceful in all your thoughts and daily interactions with other beings, practice compassion and unconditional forgiveness, bring peace wherever you go and take action for peace. We can all do this.We learned today we will sail north to Oslo from here to meet our friends Joel and Belen who will help us then sail south south south before winter hits northern europe (in a few days or something). Full Story »
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