2008 Natural History of Norway Program

Bill Ganzlin and the 17 students participating in the Natural History of Norway program departed on May 17th and returned on June 3rd. Below are blog entries and photos they sent throughout their journey so that everyone back home could read about their adventures. 5/17/08-5/19/2008 We departed about 7:30 p.m. on May 17th, Sytennde Mai-Independence Day in Norway, and flew first to Iceland, then to Oslo and finally arrived in Trondheim about 9 hours later. We took the train back to Steinkjer on the 18th and faculty from HiNT took our luggage back in a trailer.  Arrived in Steinkjer about 5 p.m. Norway time (7 hr. difference), ate dinner and quickly moved into our dorms and got our first real sleep after a long trip. We spent our first day mainly in the field.  A visit to an important historical site - Stiklestad - where King Olav was killed in the year 1030.  We also visited two interesting geological sites - one in Verdal where a "quick clay" slide killed hundreds of Norwegians in late 1800's and limestone caves nearby. Our group is 9 men and 8 women and our lead instructor - Bill Ganzlin from CFANS. It's light here 24 hours a day.....sunset about 10:30 p.m. and sunrise about 3 a.m.; the hours in between are like dawn/dusk in MN. More in a few days..... 5/20/2008 Today we had a series of lectures that outlined some of the history and background of Norway and its natural resources. We got an overview of Norwegian history and a look into agricultural history from the HiNT school’s dean, Hans Wilhelmengel Thorsen; Norwegian forestry practices from Asbjørn Kjellsen; a comparative lecture of Minnesota’s forests from Bill (Ganzlin); and a look into Norway’s geography from Sonja Ekker. We had the night off and several students went hiking on a nearby trail. As has been the norm for the past couple days, it started to rain about half way through the hike. We saw first hand some of the forestry practices we learned about in class on the Norwegian countryside. A few student’s orienteering skills were put to the test as they took a hike home, as well as some rock climbing by one of the students, Bill S.! Some of the other students took an expedition Nedre Lø, a stable in the area. They met Karin and Mai, some teenage girls who were warming up a horse. Sarah W. was able to have a conversation in Norwegian with the girls and they invited us to the stable. We watched an english riding lesson and then headed home. 5/21/2008 Today the sun shined on Steinkjer for what seemed like the first time this week.  Although there were some intermittent showers throughout the day, the mostly sunny skies provided an excellent opportunity to appreciate the Norwegian countryside from a non-classroom setting.  The day began with a lecture on the policy and management of Norway’s environment.  Norway is a country very concerned with its natural resources and seems to be working in the right direction for effective and sustainable natural resource policies.  The lecture also covered hunting practices in Norway.  Much like fishing opener or deer season is in Minnesota, Moose opener in Norway makes it very hard to schedule meetings because everyone is out in the woods hunting moose. After the classroom session, a one-hour drive to Snåsa shifted the focus to the Sami people and their role in managing reindeer herds in Norway.  The Sami people are the indigenous people of northern Europe, who inhabit Russia, Finland, Sweden, and mainly, Norway.  The Norwegian Government grants the Sami the right to herd and manage their reindeer on properties that they themselves do not own.  A visit to the Sami museum and cultural center in Snåsa gave the students a much better idea of Sami traditions and their role in modern Norway, and a chance to test their skill at reindeer wrangling. On the way back to Steinkjer, a short detour provided a chance to view rock carvings from the Stone Age, approximately 6,000 bc.  These paintings depict a reindeer, a bear, and a man who is skiing.  These very famous and ancient rock carvings were located near the shore of Lake Snåsa, which in the Stone Age, was a Fjord connected to the ocean. Wednesday evening’s weather was as beautiful, and provided students with an excellent opportunity to hike local trails without being rained on.  The dean of HiNT led a group of students on a hike to the top of a mountain near Steinkjer.  Everyone managed not to slip off the top of the mountain, and nobody got lost on the way down.  5/22/ 2008 Today was the best day by far for weather in Norway. We started out the day right away, heading out right after breakfast for the boreal rain forest on the western coast of Norway. When we got there we encountered a few problems. There was construction taking place on the dam that we were going to use to cross the river. Without this dam, the only way to cross the river was a small rowboat owned by the construction company. Tor (our ring leader) was in charge of rowing and by making many trips back and forth, everyone was able to safely make it across to the other side of the river and trek into the rain forest. In the rain forest one of the professors from HINT, Hakon Holien-an expert in lichenology, showed us a variety of species of lichen and the conditions and habitats that best suit each. We also learned about what makes a forest a boreal rainforest, such as tree species composition, ecology, and the amount of rainfall. After the trip back over the river, we traveled to the seashore, where we saw coastal heath, covered in heather, moss, and rock outcroppings. Here we also were able to visit several sea meadows, unique and rare Norwegian habitats, and the seashore where everyone enjoyed collecting shells, rocks, and looking for other marine life. Today was also a good day for animal viewing as well. We saw four or five moose and a roe deer on the way to and from the rainforest, and were even able to stop and take a few pictures. We had a very special treat for dinner tonight – Atlantic salmon.  The salmon was baked with vegetables in butter…..very tasty.  Karen, one of our cooks, prepared enough salmon so all who wanted more could have two pieces.  Upon return home to our apartments, many stayed home to rest and write journals, and others went for walks in the community and a small group of boys and Bill went for a hike to Overhalla, a steep mountain climb several miles out of town with a beautiful view of the Trondheims fjord and the town of Steinkjer. Tomorrow we have a half day of lectures and will have the afternoon and the rest of the weekend free to do what we want.  Some have plans to travel to the Arctic Circle to hike and camp, others plan to go to Sweden and Trondheim, another horseback riding, and yet another group will attempt to catch an Atlantic salmon in the River Bjorra. 5/24/2008 - Saturday fishing trip After a week of brutal (wink) studies and hiking to different places in central Norway, we were finally allowed to have some free time to do what we pleased.  Craig, Caleb, Luther, Bill, and our fearless leader Bill Ganzlin, decided to take a fishing trip to a river with some Norwegian students from HiNT.   Thomas, Cato and Gisla, we were told were hard-core fisherman, and that we were sure to have good luck.  The day started out absolutely magnificent, sunny and not a cloud in site, and very mild temperatures. After about a two hour drive and a couple pit stops to get some fishing gear, licenses and the appropriate snacking and beverage items one might want to take on a fishing trip, we had made it to our spot next to the Bjorra River at about 2pm. This was the perfect spot; we could hear the fish begging us to catch them.  We were situated in a forested area adjacent to a small field. We assembled our rods and tied on our lures, spread out along the river bank and commenced casting and retrieving our appetizing lures.  Bill and Caleb managed to catch a rock on the other side of the river, that wouldn’t let go, while Craig managed to make a spaghetti dish out of his line, of which very patient Cato spent 20 minutes untangling the mess.  At the same time, Caleb hiked his way to a river crossing and went to retrieve his and Bill’s lures from the rocks on the other side of the river that simply wouldn’t let go.  Luther and Bill Ganzlin seemed to be doing pretty well, casting and retrieving without much trouble. Thomas was fishing using a fly rod, and managed to hook a Salmon, which put up a fight and managed to wiggle itself free from the hook.  The Minnesota clan wasn’t having much luck at all, a few mussels here and there and a tree branch now and then.  The weather was so beautiful, though, we ate lunch and dinner by the river, and drank coffee made from the cleanest river water anyone might see anywhere. Before we knew it was approaching midnight, the sun was still shining, and the only fish that was caught was a small Brown trout caught by Thomas.  All said, it was a magnificent day, in the freshest air, with some great people.  After all a bad day fishing is better than good day at school! 5/24/2008-5/25/2008 - Weekend in Trondheim On Saturday, we took a train to Trondheim. Once in the city, we went shopping for souvenirs. We also saw the Nidaros Cathedral where Saint Olav was originally buried. We took a ferry to Munk Island which was originally and execution ground, then a monetary, then a prison. Now, it's a place where people go to have picnics. Then we went to Kristiansen Fortress which once defended the town against the Swedes. It was used by the Germans during the occupation. We ended the night at a super sweet hostel: Vandrehjem. On Sunday, we met Becky at the train station. We went to a university's natural history museum, the Archbishop's Palace museum, the royal regalia, and took a tour of Nidaros Cathedral. The larger of the two organs has 9000 pipes! We also walked past the old royal residence. -Sarah W. and Ronnie 5/24/2008-5/25/2008 - Spelunking Adventure So everybody ...a select privileged few where given the opportunity to have an amazing experience of going spelunking into the depths of Norway's Limestone caves containing the hidden secrets of the past. Our story starts with Rolf our tour guide or as I like to put the leader. He graciously opted to pick us up at the school as the three chosen ones do not have a car. We drove 40km outside the city under the assumption that we would only be able to enter one cave as the other was flooded with water from the massive amount of snow fall this past winter. When we arrived at our destination we were given full body wet suits to put, we naively assumed that we would just be wearing our wet suits. We were wrong. Not only were we to wear wet suits, but over these wetsuits we were to wear oversized full body bright yellow rubber suits, which did not breath at all. We also were to carry our battery packs for our head lamps on our helmets. I know it seems odd that we would have such a huge battery pack for a head lamp, but as our journey continues you will see why it all makes sense. Our first cave was the one that we "couldn't go into" after hiking about a mile we reached the opening to cave numero uno. I don't know what you think a cave is, but anytime I enter the ground and it's wet and slimy I assume it's a cave. Well, apparently Rolf doesn't consider it a cave unless you are wet. So we went inside and walked in a very narrow passageway until we reached a hidden underground water fall which was 70meters down. Now, I guess if it hadn't snowed as much we would have lowered ourselves down to the waterfall. But it was too deep this early in the year, so the only thing that was dramatic was Chris almost slipping down into the waterfall and falling a 70meters, and Becky leaning over as far as she could to take pictures of the water fall with out dropping her camera. Valerie provided the highly entertaining commentary in the first cave. After we trekked out of the first cave I assumed we were going to the second cave since we hiked another monster hill. Let me remind you that we were wearing a wetsuit, rubber suits along with layers of warm clothing that Rolf insisted we wear. We arrived at some more waterfalls, and out of nowhere, he pulls out these wooden cups and chocolate. For a moment it reminded me of Hans and Gretal but then I realized it was the wrong country for that Norwegians are too nice. After cooling off in the waterfalls, and by that I mean that I assumed we going to the next cave. So, I willing waded through the water and was then drenched by a waterfall only to wade back through the river to where we had started and finish having my chocolate and coffee. After our short intermission at the water fall, we packed up and headed for cave two. This cave were informed on the way had a door to it because people where entering it and taking stalactites and mights. In case you don't know a quick Geo lessons it takes 1000's of year for these guys to grow and they are only found in limestone caves because a of chemical reaction between the combo of air, water and cave. On our way to the cave Rolf pointed out the we where 10km from the center of Norway and 2km from a brand new National Park. So after our short stops to talk about Norway geography we reached the second cave. We entered the whole in the ground which was treacherous with steep cut throat rocks on our way down. Number two started out like any other cave with a narrow passageway with a small stream flowing through it. We then noticed Rolf scaling up the side of the of the cave with the agility of a fox. He was opening the gate which consisted of a iron sheets cubes stacked to the ceiling and a small hole for a hand to fit through to blindly unlock the padlock on the other side of the cave. He opened the door a cube actually which was about a 3*3 door. We then were expected to shimmy up the wall to reach the door. After going through the door we were then expected to walk along the edges till we reached a point where we would be lowered into the waterway. At those moment we all looked at Rolf as if he were crazy which he responded to "trust the mountain , the mountain is your friend".We then marched following our fearless leader through the cave while Rolf pointed out all the Stalactites and stalagmites along with mineral deposits. After marching and scaling walls into the depths of the earth we reached what we assumed was the ending point. Rolf looked at us and asked if we wanted to go further another 200meters. We then persisted to army crawl on our forearms 200 meters further occasionally getting stuck to due to our bulky battery packs which we were grateful for in the pitch black darkness. At last we finally reached the end we took our picture and then proceeded to exit the cave which provide just as physically demanding as it was getting in. All we have to say is that something like this would never happen in the US, it is one of those experiences strictly kept to phenomenal places like Norway!!! Peace out Valerie, Chris and Becky 5/24/2008-5/25/2008 - Fishing on the Sea in Flatanger Today a group of nine students went deep sea fishing near a town called Envika.  We arrived a bit earlier then expected and the captain had not arrived.  Around 11:30, after the captain arrived we set out to sea.  The Captain brought us to a secret fishing spot of his where we were guaranteed to catch some fish; little did we know what would lie ahead.  He gave us four rods, hooks and lead weights to put together.   Each line had five hooks.  Some had fake worms or fake flies as bait, no live bait was used [fish are dumb].  When we began fishing we couldn’t believe how fast we were catching fish.  The minute we dropped the line into the water, the fish were biting.  We were catching multiple fish at a time. Katie won the award for most fish caught at once (she caught 5).  We thought we were cheating the system because of the large amount of fish we caught.  What made things even better was that these weren’t your normal bass or sunnies from MN; we were catching nice sized haddock and large cod.  In total we caught over 100 fish which weighed over 30 lbs in just fillets.  One of the cod that was caught was over 30 lbs unfilleted!!!  Bill, our leader and some guys went salmon fishing all day yesterday and didn't catch a thing!  We definitely made up for it today.  After we came back from fishing, the fisherman had a nice set up for filleting the fish.  We spent the afternoon filleting.  We had an assembly line going: Bill G. cut off the fillets, Myah and Amanda tag-teamed de-boning the ribs, Caleb skinned the fillets, Bill S. cleaned the fillets, Katie and Luther bagged the fillets, and at the end of the line were the rest of the crew (Ann and Craig) threw the head and guts to the birds.  Some of the carcasses were so heavy they sunk to the bottom of the ocean right away.  After filleting we cleaned up and took care of the money business.  Turns out we got a great deal for our day’s adventure.  We decided since we had so much fish we should have a huge fish fry.  The guys in the group went to the grocery store and picked up a few items while the girls went to collect sea shells.  When we returned to the apartments we used two kitchens to prepare the food.  We had a batch of potatoes and fish frying on both sides.  We had the food done in no time.  Everyone and a few guests were able to get food (even people who had already eaten joined in the fry). After all the fish and potatoes were gone Bill G. says “Do you think we could eat another batch?” Every one agreed we could, so in went another batch of fish cooking on both sides of the kitchen.  We stuffed our selves full of fish.  We still have over half of the fillets (uncooked) to eat this coming Sunday.  Gotta’ love fish! 5/24/2008-5/25/2008 Hi everybody! Thanks for staying updated on our adventures in Norway! It's been a marvelous trip so far!!! I especially enjoyed the free weekend. Friday I went to Trondhiem. Saturday I was part of the spelunking group; and Sunday, I had an adventure of my own! Anne, a faculty member here at HiNT, heard that I was interested in going horseback riding, and she offered to bring me for a trail ride on her horses. She only owns two horses, so she and I left the university around 11 am to enjoy an afternoon on horseback. We went directly to her farm that is located on the coast of the fjord. It is without question one of the most beautiful farms that I have ever visited. Her two horses, Minya and Bujohn, were eager to leave the stable and explore the countryside. Anne and I walked, trotted, and then galloped through the hillsides of Steinkjer. We crossed forests and passed by fields as the sun shone down upon the majestic Icelandic horses and their riders. The scenery was beyond words, and the memory of the trip will last a lifetime! Sincerely, Val 5/28/2008-5/29/2008 - Arctic Adventure Sarah Collins, Steve, Jason, Spencer On Friday afternoon we set out for our free weekend adventure. We drove north from Steinkjer to the Arctic Circle. The drive took over 7 hours and we got there around 9 PM but it was still light as day out. Once we arrived at the closed visitor center we had so much daylight to burn we decided to build a carin, the second tallest one in all the land! We camped in the Arctic Circle and experienced the land of the midnight sun (bright out at 1 AM). The next day we woke up to the blazing hot sun, shed layers faster than lightning to the sound of whaling birds just outside the tent. We drove south to Mo I Rana and bought our first and last meal of the weekend, we ate it outside in the midst of a fjord-side carnival. We took a detour through Sweden, bought chocolate there and moved on to camp somewhere in Norway for our second night. We camped next to a large crystal clear lake and woke up at noon on Sunday. On Sunday we drove home and indulged in nearly 50 freshly caught deep-fried fish outside one of the cabins-which tasted extra good after a weekend of PB&Js and crackers. In conclusion, we created memories on this trip that will last a lifetime and more! Our free weekend was this past Saturday and Sunday and it involved many fun activities that divided our whole group into smaller fraction took us on excursions all across Scandinavia. On Saturday four of the girls rented a car and drove across the Norwegian border and into Sweden. Since it is impossible to rent an automatic car in Norway, one of the girls had to take a crash course in learning how to drive a stick shift!!! It was a little challenging and jerky at first, but as the day wore on the ride became smoother and smoother, and we survived without crashing into anyone or anything! 5/24/08-5/25/08 - Sweden Sweden was fun, it's about a 4 hour drive one way but because there is so much daylight in Scandinavia we decided to take advantange and use all the daylight available by making a really long day of it. We left bright and early at 6 am and had a little trouble with directions that had been gotten off the Internet, but we found the right way eventually. Along the way we saw a moose who was just standing there in the middle of the road and who calmly turned and trotted across the road after spotting us. We also past by a herd of elk grazing with a random cow on the side of the road. We took different routes to and from Sweden. The drive there brought us right into the mountains, along the Norwegian/Sweden border and provided us with some of the best scenery on the trip so far. Our final destination in Sweden was the town called Ostersund. When we arrived, we spent some time walking around downtown for a little bit, enjoying the springtime atmosphere with people out exploring the town. We were able to do some souvenir shopping and paid to use some disgusting public toilets. :( After those adventures we went down to the Fjord waterfront and enjoyed the water and sunshine down at the docks. After relaxing for a while we crossed the bridge and made our over to the island of Froso. The Froso Tower and cafe gives a scenic view of the Fjord and the neighboring mountains. While it has been rainy off and on throughout our time here, we enjoyed beautiful sunshine the entire day we were in Sweden. After enjoying the beautiful view, we went back to Ostersund to find a restaurant to enjoy our dinner, only to find that everything in our price range had closed at 3:00pm. We were able to find a fast food Greek joint that served us felafel's and hamburgers. Swedish dinning at its finest! While enjoying our picnic back down at the waterfront, we were entertained by some classic American cars and their drivers. There was apparently a classic American car show in town for the weekend. It provided us with some American music and culture in a foreign land. After that interesting experience we headed home on the scenic route of E16. This route also provided us with many photo opportunities of the mountains and snow and ice runoff. The mountains were beautiful, we pasted through the mountain town of Are, which is a huge downhill skiing center. They have national and world championships there quite often. As we were passing through the Norwegian/Sweden border, we noticed a town named after one of our members, Ann, of course we had to take some photos for memories sake. Also on the way back we had to stop down in a valley to enjoy a beautiful waterfall and the rushing river. We made it back to our apartments just as the sun was setting, around midnight. It was a very long day but totally worth the trouble. 5/21/08-5/22/08 - Runde On Wednesday morning we excitedly loaded the bus and headed immediately to the island of Runde. After a long trip, we were introduced to several of the community leaders on the small island, and we started our expeditions in the morning. We met up with a marine biologist in the late morning on Thursday. She educated us on the marine life in the tidal pools. Sea weeds and kelp were the two main plant species that we focused on. We also caught sea worms, starfish, crabs of all shapes and sizes, and a strange looking land/water fish. We ended with a look at the rank-smelling, pink sulfuric acid pools. The next activity for the day was a boat tour around the island to view the thousands of birds that inhabit the island. We snapped pictures left and right of the adorable puffin, the viscious sea eagle, and the puking fulmar. There was only one victim of the day, Bill S. By victim, I mean that he got pooped on. Don't worry, we've got pictures to prove it! The sea captain pointed out too many birds to name. Also, he told us about the history of the light houses and the mystery of the treasure of Runde. There have been several ships that capsized near the coast of Runde, and there is still buried gold and silver that scuba divers search for. It seems that there are many mysteries of Runde that none of us will ever fully understand. After the final boat tour, we quickly went for a hike up the mountain. The first rest stop that we took was near a steep ledge by the nesting site of the Fulmar, the puking bird. The Fulmar has been given this nickname because it uses its terrible smelling vomit as a projectile defense mechanism. Fortunately, none of us fell victim to the Fulmar! We made a few more rest stops on the way to the top, and we finally reached our destination - the puffin viewing area! Not even three minutes after we all settled onto our viewing rock, a precious little puffin emerged from a rock right at the corner of a roped off area. No more than two feet from where several of us were waiting, the little fellow stretched his wings and wobbled even closer to us. The puffin was in search of its nest. There are not words to describe the excitement! We stayed about an hour longer and saw dozens of puffin pairs enter and exit their nests as they settled in for the night. The puffin made the experience unforgettable, but the scenery alone was worth the hike! The sights here in Norway never cease to amaze! As we hiked back down the mountainside, we filled our cameras and our imaginations with the beautiful landscape. We stayed one more night at the sweet little hostel in Runde and left the next morning. Our next adventure occurred in Alsund at the aquarium. We explored the exhibits, touched the starfish and sea cucumber, and watched an Atlantic salmon feeding. Alsund was also the perfect shopping town, and we spent about an hour and a half bumming around the town. Our next stop was in Trollstigen. The museum there was full of artifacts from early living in the area. The people of Trollstigen are known for their wood carvings, and now we all understand why. They are also, of course, known for their trolls! 5/31/08 - Blog for Dovre National Park and Trollstigen Today we left our hostel in Runde Island and headed to our new hostel in Trollstigen. Before we arrived, we made two stops along the way. The first stop occurred once we realized the snow was higher than the bus. We drove a little farther to where we could get off the bus and play in the snow. It quickly turned into a massive snowball fight where it was everyone for themselves. The second stop was in mountain pass in Trollstigen where there was a large waterfall. The group decided to walk half way down on a rocky hiking trail alongside the waterfall. The journey was somewhat dangerous where we had to cross many streams from other waterfalls. The climb down was also very steep. The following day we headed for Dovre National Park. On the bus, we had our first encounter with muskox. We got out of the bus to take a closer look at them with the telescope and binoculars. They are very large animals with a massive amount of hair over their whole body and head. Our next stop was for a picnic and a hike up an alpine mountain. The hike was very wet through the bog. Once we reached the top there were many cairns (rock towers) and scenic views of snow-capped mountains in every direction. The last stop in the National Park was along side the road to search for a rare flower native to alpine meadows called the Mugop. We were lucky to find a few still in flower because they were just in the last stages of blooming at the end of May. Chris

Image Gallery: Photos from 5/17/08-5/19/08

Image Gallery: Photos from 5/20

Image Gallery: Photos from 5/21

Image Gallery: Photos from 5/22

Image Gallery: Salmon Fishing - May 24

Image Gallery: Weekend in Trondheim - May 24-25

Image Gallery: Fishing on the Sea in Flatanger - Sunday, May 25

Image Gallery: Arctic Adventure - 5/23-5/25

Image Gallery: Sweden - 5/24-5/25

Image Gallery: Runde - 5/28-5/29

Image Gallery: Dovre and Trollstigen - 5/31