A Long Walk

The Germans invaded Norway on April 9 1941. Ill-prepared Norwegian troops fought heroically, but in vain. Casualties on both sides were high and first aid facilities, especially in the countryside where most of the fighting took place, were few and far between. In the cities, Red Cross workers and students volunteered to help and were sent to field hospitals and clinics close to the action. When the fighting was over they returned home to find everything changed, a new `government', and an oppressive occupying power.

Eva and Vaar, sisters in their early twenties, were two of these volunteers. After six exhausting weeks at a field hospital they returned to Oslo penniless and jobless. They had had no contact with their family in Northern Norway for almost two months. What would you have done? They decided to walk home - just like that. In sports clothes, stout shoes and wearing their Red Cross armbands, they took a tram to the outskirts of the city and bagan to walk up the road towards Trondheim.

Here is their story, as told by Eva

Keeping a careful eye out for German military vehicles they managed to hitch a few rides and on the evening of the first day they walked over the bridge at Minnesund. At Hamar they approached the driver of the train and told him their story. "Jump in" he said, and they emerged safely at Lillehammer. "We walked, and walked and walked - do you realize how far it is from one end of the Gudbrandsdal valley to the other?" asked Eva and continued:

"We felt safe in flagging down a post office van - but it was driven by a German soldier. He didn't seem to think there was anything strange in two young women hitching a ride in the middle of nowhere. He was so busy trying to talk to us that he didn't see the car turning out of a side road - and certainly didn't stop when the car clipped the rear end of our van.

We hid and slept in gardens or under trees, washed in the river, begged food from farms and shops - you've no idea how good cold porridge with sugar tastes when you're really hungry. We rode in a hearse but the driver assured us there was no body. We were even happy one day to sit in a horse-drawn cart. On the Dovre mountain plateau we came across a band of Norwegian war-prisoners working on the roadside. They said we were safe with them - there was only one German guard and he was reassured by our Red-Cross armbands. We sat in their trucks and drove with them to their camp at Hjerkinn. Then we took the spectacular mountain path down Gauldalen.

Two men in a car stopped and gave us a lift on the outskirts of Trondheim. From the way they spoke about the political situation we realized that they were Norwegian Nazi sympathisers - not very nice men at all. Vaar began to moan and say that she was not feeling well and was about to be sick. Fearing for the interior of his new car the driver stopped, we jumped out - and ran as fast as we could - not even thanking them for the lift. After a few minutes we were in the streets of Trondheim that we knew so well."

The sisters had visited their aunt in Trondheim many times before but never had they arrived so unexpectedly. The aunt, uncle and two cousins welcomed them warmly and listened almost open mouthed as the girls related their recent experiences. The girls were told that there was no chance of them continuing their journey because the fighting had intensified and the grip of the invaders had become firmer - they were welcome to stay as long as they wished.

But Eva and Vaar were determined to continue and next morning at 5 they left silently and started walking again. Their interim destination: Eva's godmother who lived in Mosjoen - some 450 kilometres north of Trondheim.

"Namdalen seemed even longer than Gudbrandsdalen. At night we wrapped ourselves in the blankets we had brought with us and tried to sleep in the woods. A steady stream of heavily loaded bombers droned overhead and later we heard that Bodo had been bombed to smithereens", is how Eva remembered this part of the journey.

Tired, weary, and bedraggled after several days' toil they finally reached Mosjoen. Eva's Godmother was married to the local doctor so they were in good hands. A fisherman offered to take them along the coast to Glomfjord but the girls, afraid of mines and bombs, refused.

"I don't know why. After all the dangers we had faced you wouldn't think a sea journey would scare us - but somehow it did" said Eva.

So the doctor drove them to Hatfjelldal where they hitched a ride on a railroad maintenance locomotive to Mo I Rana. Eva continued her story:

"Uncle Anton lived in Mo i Rana and we stayed with him to plan the last leg of our journey. The main road was impassable because of the fighting so he got someone to row us across Langvatn and we continued on a trail that led alongside the fjord and then up towards the mountains. In the meantime the fishing boat from Mosjoen had reached Glomfjord and our parents were told that we were on our way home by way of the mountain pass from Mo i Rana. When Uncle Anton arrived back in Mo, he found that a fisherman named Simon had been sent by our parents to look for us because a German plane had made an emergency landing right in the middle of our planned route. Simon crossed the fjord again in his fishing smack, cruised parallel to the shore looking for us and went ashore when he reached the innermost farm. When we got there, and heard the greetings from our parents we both broke down and cried. Although still light, the midnight sun had disappeared behind a bank of clouds and a gale force wind drove the snow straight into our eyes. The mountain snow was melting, we were wading up to our hips in slushy snow, and would never have survived without Simon's help."

At one point, a roaring waterfall-fed river blocked their way. A thick, tree trunk spanned the river as the only way across.The was soaking wet, slippery and buffeted by hissing spray. Simon showed them how to cross, sitting on the trunk, and hitching forward keeping both hands firmly gripped in front. Eva went after Simon. Then Vaar, but she was so afraid that Simon had to go back to her and they crossed together with her holding onto his back. The river was their final obstacle. Shortly afterwards they arrived at Melfjordbotn, Simon's home, where his parents took care of them with food and comfy beds for the night.

The next day, June 17th, in Simon's motorboat, they arrived in Glomfjord and went ashore wearing the only dry clothes they had - their nightdresses. They were welcomed by a crowd of people, including a weeping but happy mother and father. They had travelled about 1500 kilometres in 17 days and counted 17 different means of transportation. "We didn't have a day's sickness and our only `injury' was sore feet" was Eva's summing up. Northern Norway at that time was a major battle arena. They could hear the sound of bombs falling on Bodo and the Germans arrived to take over the Glomfjord's important aluminium plant at the beginning of July. Two years later Glomfjord was the target of a daring Allied raid by 12 commandoes who managed to so damage the plant that production could not be resumed until after the war.

This is one part of Eva's experiences in Norway during the war. You may read the whole story at www.wwiinorge.com

Geoff Ward
Asker, 13 Oct. 2006

Other Articles

Fred Kavli and the Kavli Institute - 12/15/07 Agent 24 on a Pedestal - 5/19/07 Facts about Erik Bye - 10/14/04 In loving memory of Trygve Bauer-Nilsen Jr. - 9/8/04 Sissel in Concert Schedule - 4/22/04 When things in your life seem almost too much to handle - 10/10/03 17th of May Celebration in Washington DC - 5/22/03 Norhouse To Operate The Nordic Countries From Copenhagen - 3/17/03 Letter from the Chairman - 1/10/03 Hostfest 2002 - Minot, North Dakota - 10/18/02 Norsk Hostfest 2002 - 9/27/02 2300 miles in 4 days... - 9/1/02 Where have we been lately? - 6/21/02 Attack on America - September 11th, 2001 - 3/11/02 Greetings from the Chairman - 12/28/01 We do Remember . . . - 12/11/01 Hostfest 2001 - Minot, North Dakota - 10/22/01 The Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Incorporated

The NorHouse Staff

The NorHouse community begins with us. Our employees are committed to providing you with the best possible service and the best selection of Norwegian goods and services. We intend to work closely with our shop owners and site partners so this site is a place you can call home. It's our house and yours too. Meet the people of Norhouse.

If you have any questions about a NorHouse shop or partner, just send us an e-mail message at office@norhouse.com. We also welcome questions and comments on our site and our service. With offices in both the U.S. and Norway, we'll respond as quickly as we can. If there is something you'd like to know about Norway, or if you have a suggestion on a product or service you'd like for us to add to the site, just let us know.

NorHouse Merchants

Shop owners are a very important part of our community and you can find more about them by clicking on the "About Us" link on each shop's navigation bar. You'll learn a little about their histories and what makes their products special.

If you are interested in adding your store to the NorHouse cybermall or in becoming part of the NorHouse community, please write to us at office@norhouse.com or call us at our Norway or U.S. offices. Our addresses and phone numbers can be found on the About Norhouse page.

NorHouse Partners

Building a home on the Internet truly calls for community spirit and our partners are excellent examples. The organizations listed below have been involved in our development efforts and we wouldn't be where we are today without them. For those of you who want to know more about our partners, links to their Web pages are provided. If you have questions on our working relationships with these people or their resources, please drop us a note at office@norhouse.com. If you are interested in becoming a NorHouse partner, please let us know. About Norhouse will tell you where to write or call.

The NorHouse cybermall was developed using Site Server Enterprise Edition software and other support tools from Microsoft Corp..

The Norway Post and the United States Postal Service are the shipping partners for NorHouse. This partnership will guarantee you the best delivery for the lowest cost.

For the latest travel information from Norway, there's no better partner than the Norwegian Tourist Board..

Flagship is a software house and part of the Bloksberg Group together with NorHouse, located outside Washington DC and our mission is to provide quality information technology products, services and support to the international trade community.