This story is about an American family who recently visited Aurlandsdalen to take a closer look at the place their ancestors left in the late 1800s. The article is directly translated into Norwegian with permission from the family's local American newspaper.
As the American Almen family, from Little Falls, Minnesota, were descending from a hike in Aurland, they couldn't help but wonder what life had been like for their ancestors.
Mark and Kathryn Almen, along with their son Nathan and Mark's brother Josh, traveled to Norway to meet their Norwegian family and learn more about their Norwegian roots.
It was Mark's great-grandparents, Ole and Kari (Teigen) Almen, who left old Norway and emigrated to the USA in 1891.
Ole was the first to leave, followed somewhat later by Kari.
«Maybe they were boyfriends. We don't know. We think she worked in Crookston and he was in Cannon Falls before they got married and moved to Dennison,» Mark told Sheila McCoy in the local Morrison County Record newspaper.
The family from the US fell in love with the stunning views from the mountains of Aurland. The experience was all the more powerful for them, as they knew that their ancestors could once call the mountain home.
«It felt a bit like time travel. You go back and realize this is where it all started,» said Mark.
In the old days, three families lived in Aurlandsdalen - Teigen, Sønnerheim and Almen. [Ed. note according to the American article]
With very little land suitable for agriculture, life was rather difficult in the valley. Today, most of the agricultural areas are rocky after years of rock slides from the surrounding mountains. Mark's impression of the valley was that farming must have been very challenging, both sun conditions and rocks must have provided plenty of challenges for the three families.
During their visit to Aurlandsdalen, the Almen family learned that people back then were extra creative to make life easier. It was all about survival.
«There were many elm trees there. When bad weather made life difficult, they cut branches from the trees and used them to feed both the cows and the sheep,» Mark told his local newspaper. «And if life became particularly difficult, they would crush the bark of the trees into flour and make bark bread.»
Mark found it hard to understand how his ancestors, and the others who lived in Aurlandsdalen at the time, managed to survive at all.
The Almen family first visited the farm Sønnerheim (Sinjarheim). Despite the fact that the farm and associated buildings were very simple, it was this farm that gave the family the greatest impression. Kathryn could tell.
The family didn't have time to visit the Teigen family farm.
At the bottom of the valley, under a large rock that protected the buildings in the event of a rockfall, the American family could see the Almen farm.
A special moment for Mark was when he was able to observe his own son's enthusiasm for the place where his family had originated.
«It was a very powerful experience. Seeing the historic properties gave me an even greater appreciation for what our ancestors have had to go through,» he said. «Just raising money for a trip to America.»
Occasionally, the Almen family went to the nearest market town to buy and sell goods.
Mark and Kathryn were surprised to learn that the Almen family were sheep farmers, just like themselves.
«I guess it runs in the family,» he said.
On their wanderings in Aurlandsdalen, they could regularly see sheep.
A unique opportunity that their tour provided was the chance to touch the stones in the clearing cairns. These clearance cairns could be dated all the way back to the 1620s. Kathryn was particularly excited about the closeness this provided to the past.
«It was a spiritual experience to touch the same stones that our ancestors had lifted up and placed in the clearing trenches,» she said.
The American family felt close to all three families from Aurlandsdalen. Mark explained that Ole Almen married Kari Teigen. Kari lived with the Sønnerheim family until she emigrated to the USA.
In the days when many left Norway in search of a better life in America, Kari's family was no different. After they left, she moved in with the Sønnerheim family and stayed with them until she chose to emigrate as well.
During their hike in Aurlandsheimen, the American family took the opportunity to fill their water bottles with water from the mountain stream. The water was very clean and cold, Kathryn said.
The family had lunch at Vetlahevete, the largest Ice Age pothole in the valley.
"The acoustics were very good in there," Kathryn recalled.
The family also visited the world's longest road tunnel - the Lærdal tunnel. At 24 kilometers, it stretches between Aurland and Lærdal.
Other places they got to visit, while in Norway, were the Flåm Railway. The historic railway line was built in the 1920s.
The highlight of the visit to Norway, apart from seeing the farms that the family once came from, was spending time with their Norwegian relatives. They had only met once before, Mark said, in Minnesota in 2014.
«I really appreciate the contact we've had. They've been so good with us,» Mark said.
The Almen family from the USA are planning another trip to Norway, hoping to bring their daughters Kassandra and Rachel with them.
«We had a great time,» said Kathryn.
The article is reproduced in Norwegian with permission from the original writer Sheila McCoy / Morrison County Record in Little Falls, Minn.
Notice: The link leads to a newspaper that has not opened up for European IP addresses, due to GDPR. A VPN solution must be used to gain access.
