Valle, Norway

“Chet, pull over.  Emily is getting sick.”  The contents of Emily’s stomach ended up in a ziplock bag and the side of the road.

We drove a VW van along a sinuous road making hairpin turns up a mountain and then back down again.  The views of mountain tops, lakes, rivers, and countless waterfalls were stunning but the route itself left most of us feeling queasy.  A steep road down the mountainside finally led us into the Setesdal valley, our desired destination.  We traveled a bit south along the Otra river and were happy to settle into a simple cabin in Valle. 

Valle, Norway has a population of about 1,300 and is part of the traditional district of Setesdal.  The Setesdal valley is separated from the neighboring valleys in the east and west by large mountain plateaus.  (Emily left her mark on the eastern mountain.)  The Otra river flows through the valley and south to the sea.  Setesdal valley is one of Norway’s most traditional and conservative regions.  Just like small towns in the US, the population is declining.  People are employed in government and community jobs.  A small hyrdro-power plant employs about a dozen people.  Farmers and herders must take on additional jobs to make ends meet.  In the global world, farm goods are not keeping up with the cost of living.  On the other hand, life appears to be good in Valle.  The air and water are clean.  The school kids have a trail up the hillside as part of their outdoor school.

Valle is infrequently visited by tourists; it’s not labeled in the guide books as a top destination.  However, my family was given a couple of books a while ago: Harstad Heritage and A Short Record of Some Familes from Saetersdal, Norway.  They include family trees, pictures and stories.  The family tree begins with Kittle Aanondson Harstad and Eli Espetvedt, born in Saetersdal, Norway (1834, 1837 respectively).  They emigrated and lived in Minnesota and North Dakota.  Their oldest son born in Minnesota, Oscar Andreas Harstad (1867-1929) married Carrie Fjeld (born in Valdres Norway 1874-1941).  Their son, Casper (1897-1978), is my great grandfather, the father of my dad’s mom.  Norwegian customs, traditions, and language may possibly have been followed for the first two generations but likely by the time Casper was growing up the Old World ways were forgotten; they were a new people, Americans. 

I feel it’s unfortunate that we American have few long-standing traditions.  I do like Thanksgiving.  It’s neither commercial nor religious.  Perfect for our family: celebrating a harvest festival with loads of yummy food.  I wish I would have asked my grandma more about her past.  I’ll at least have to start making the strudels she used to make.  Tomorrow we’ll celebrate Midsummer’s day with the Swedes.  They’ll have the traditional Midsummer pole, songs, dances, costumes, and food (strawberries and cream and pickled herring).  Now that I have a child (and another one coming) I ask myself what kinds of traditions I want to instill in our family.  We are not religious so we’ve been celebrating the seasons.  Doing art projects and crafts to reflect the changes of the year and putting nature based spins on the religious holidays. 

While living so close to Norway, I wanted to physically visit Valle.  I don’t know really why, I suppose it’s interesting to see an Old World connection even though I’m a mut.   Prior to our trip, I used Google Earth to fly around the Setesdal valley to locate and “see” the present landscape that matched the photos in the family books.  Upon arriving in Valle, I picked up a tourist pamphlet at Valle Motel and found a walk that began at the Valle church and went up the road to Harstad.  According to our family book Harstad was once a large farm several generations ago.  Over time it became subdivided and split among family members and now seems to be part of the town marked by a sign.  I asked the lady at the front desk for some directions to Harstad and mentioned my family connection.  She said she could call a Harstad in Harstad.  Even better.  He appeared at our cabin door excited and willing to tell us stories and give us a tour.  He led us up a hill and walked us around Gangshei, the farm where Kittil Harstad was born and lived with his family.  Five generations ago Kittil Harstad left Valle and immigrated to America to make a better life.  I looked around at the lush quiet valley and steep mountains and thought how wonderful it would be to live there.  I see the landscape and think about all the hikes, ski trips, and river trips I could do.  I have no way to really understand what life was like to survive off a small farm during years of famine. 

Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants series has allowed me to read about fictional Swedish settlers that immigrated to America during the same time period as Kittle Harstad.  I picked up the first book about six weeks ago and had a hard time putting all four of the books down until I read the entire story.  Vilhelm Moberg is such an amazing author that his written words allow me to abstractly feel and understand the history.  These books have given me a glimpse of what life may have been like for Kittle Harstad when he decided to emigrate and tells of the struggles and rewards of settling a new land.  Kittle Harstad must have been successful in America.  According to the family books, he was able to send money for his other family members to immigrate to America and even sent money to buy food for people remaining in Valle.  

I highly recommend The Emigrants series, especially if you like historical fiction.  Vilhelm Moberg is like the Howard Zen of Sweden.  He has also written A History of the Swedish People.

We left Valle, Norway after only two nights there.  I feel fortunate to have met Tjornliv (spelling ?) Harstad and to have seen the sights imprinted in our family book.  However, I hope that perhaps I’ll be able to visit again someday and stay a little longer to further explore the landscape and to learn the traditions and customs of the area.

Perhaps some of the nature loving culture has been passed down to me over the generations.  I am finding that my reserved somewhat aloof nature is similar to the Scandinavians I’ve met and observed here. And I do find it curious how much I love the mountains of Montana and feel at home there.  Valle, Norway is strikingly similar to a valley in Montana.  As we drove away from Oslo and towards the mountains Amelia asked, “Are we going to Montana?”  We’ll be living here in flat Sweden for another year but I will do what I can to settle us back in the mountains where I’ll start making Norwegian strudels.