On the train pulling out of Trondheim on the way to Rognan.
My seat.
Out at an interesting cataract near Rognan. The water swirls around in great whirlpools under the bridge where two fjords come together far inland from the sea. I wouldn’t have wanted to try to sail a small boat across it!
Frode standing in the rain on the bridge overlooking the cataract.
Rognan. There were about a dozen Somali (if I recall correctly) refugees who had been recently settled in the town. They were learning Norwegian and were slowly becoming accustomed to their new, very non-Somalia surroundings. Rognan is well above the arctic circle and gets a lot of snow in the winter. Even though it was just light jacket weather for me, the groups of Somalis I saw walking around town were bundled up in so many coats that they looked like parade balloons. I wonder how they are doing in Rognan. It’s such a small town and so far from anything bigger. At least they’re in a safer place than they were before but wow what a change!
Wild and beautiful country surrounds Rognan.
A World War II cemetery near Rognan. There are Yugoslavians and Germans, among others buried here. Not too far from Rognan there was a forced labor camp. The railway from Oslo to Bodo was build with slave labor during the war. The plan had been for it to continue all the way to Narvik and even further north than that. The Nazis were kicked out of Norway before the final stretch from Bodo to Narvik could be completed. The partially finished rail bed was later converted into the road that now runs to Narvik. This small cemetery, secluded and away from town and probably hardly ever visited, is one of the few signs in the area that Norway was occupied.
Frode in front and one of his friends.
A Yugoslavian mass grave is here. 572 people all sit in an unmarked grave.
A monument to the dead. There was a similar monument to other nationalities including Germans who died at this camp.
The road to the cemetery and labor camp sight.
At a little cultural park in Rognan. Several old buildings and boats were on display from the early days of settlement by Norwegians from southern Norway who displaced the Sami people up higher into the hills. People only really started settling Rognan within the last 100 years.
Old mining equipment. People first came to the area from the south to dig for gold.
A rainbow over the fjord. Someday a mountainside down the fjord will collapse into the water and send a tsunami 300 meters tall toward Rognan, wiping it off the map. The government says it will happen at some point but when I was in Rognan no one was too concerned with it happening anytime soon.
Frode and I eating some whale meat goulash that Frode’s mother made. Whale is legal to hunt and eat in Norway. It was surprisingly good. The meat was similar in flavor and texture to beef. It was darker than beef though. This particular whale had only been caught one or two days before we ate it. When I inquired why whales are hunted in Norway, I was told that they had to keep the whale population down so that the salmon runs stay strong. I’m not sure if that was a Norwegian joke or if they were serious. Either way, the whale goulash was absolutely delicious.
My plate of whale goulash. Yum!
Looking out the window from Frode’s family’s house into town.