The Mail-Journal, Volume 12, Number 34, Milford, Kosciusko County, 17 September 1975 — Page 4

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed.. Sept. 17. 1975

A Scandinavian tour; Bergen, city of seven mountains

(Continued from page I) up at 1 a m. We landed at Bergen at 2:20 a m Indiana time, but it was 8:20 ? a.m. in Norway. It was a short night, indeed, as we came out of low clouds to land on a short air strip that was as sway-backed as the proverbial broken down horse. Bergen was to be our home for the next three days. Our chubby guide (“just call me Gerd,'' she said, with great good humor) soon had us aboard a bus and into town at the Orion Hotel, an old but comfortable hotel. Bergen is a city of some 150.000 people. Gerd told us, but if one includes the outskirts it comes to about 225.000. It nestles among the mountains at the North Sea shore where fingers of water jut inward called fjords. It is sometimes called the city of seven mountains. All of Norway has only three and a half million people, and its mountain ranges run the full length of the country We were reminded a I moist parenthetically that Norway was a paw*n during World War II Not at all a belligerent people, it was handed over to the Nazis by Quizhng following a shelling of its major ports. Later on. as German vessels came to its port cities, the English did their share of shelling of the ports Norway is almost completely Lutheran, with less than one per cent of the population being Catholic Our guide told us all religions combined outside the Lutheran faith make up less than two per cent of the population. ;The country was under Danish rule for 400 years, but now is a peaceful Monarchy Visit Bergens Tidente Bergens Tidente (Times), the city’s largest daily newspaper, was on our afternoon agenda on our first day in Bergen We were met in the lobby of this ultra modem printing and publishing plant by’ two look-alike brothers who are principal owners of the newspaper — Johan William and Daird Lie Eide Their grandfather. Johan Wilhelm Eide, founded the paper in 1868. and now a fourth generation is assuming active control of the paper. It was interesting to watch the two affable brothers, enthusiastic about their paper, in an almost Alfonz Gaston manner as they greeted us and announced plans for our tour. First, though, each of us had to have a small glass of’sherry — strictly European. We just couldn’t imagine this happening in an American plant Bergens Tidente has two editions with a total circulation of 89.000, their circulation being doubled the combined circulation of their nearest three com petitors They print an average of 32 pages daily, with about 52 per cent advertising Their press has a 92-page capacity and was designed by a German firm for this paper There is no other press exactly like it in the world, we were told. While the plant was converted to photocomposition several years ago. about the same time and in much the same manner as The Mail-Journal, their press is letterpress From the paste-up they go to a raised plastic plate, called Letterflex by an American manufacturer, and it is from this raised plate that the printing is done The Bergens Tidente is splashed full of color and its printing quality is superb for letterpress. “But we aren't satisfied.” says Johan Wilhelm Qur group was broken down into three groups for the purpose of touring the plant, and our guide was 48-year-old Per Eide,

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who represents the fourth generation. A handsome man with a well trimmed beard, he shows every sign of interest in publishing that promises to keep the Bergens Tidente alive and kicking. The whole plant is computerized, right down to circulation. We noted their computers are German and English manufactured, and asked why. We were told. “Your American makes are too expensive.” Following the tour, we were returned to the dining room where-open faced sandwiches of a wide variety were served to us Our tour guide. Gordon Seavey of the Belmont Citizen, Forge Village. Mass . thanked our hosts for the visit and their hospitality. Beloved Cyrene Dear of Dear Publications and Radio. Inc., Washington, D. C., who had known the Eide brothers from a visit they had made to Washington several years ago. offered a “thank you" in Norwegian. She did a magnificent job. stumbling a little over the pronunciation of several words, but as she told us later, “it was from the heart " Lesson In Inflation We were forewarned that there was inflation of the worst kind in the Scandinavian countries, and we found it to be a fact. The exchange rate with the American dollar is anywhere from 5.25 to 5.45 Kroner per US dollar, depending upon where one makes the exchange That makes a Kroner slightly less than 20 cents US. We found out gasoline is $2 per gallon All cars are small ones, as one can imagine, and all foreign. There are no vehicles manufactured here, and all gasoline is imported Last night, our first night in tow’n. the Pfeiffers and John and Jean Benson of Columbus. Ohio, decided to go out for dinner Walking distance from the Orion Hotel we found a block-long clump of three-story frame buildings we figured would be a prime target for urban renew al if this country should ever embark on such a program. In toto they are called Bryggen A tour booklet we picked up said there was a quaint eating place among these buildings, and so we set out to find it. We turned into a darkened boardwalk between a cluster of these buildings, noting little other than darkness The leaning buildings were timbered with huge Bxß beams like one might find in an old barn at home. Finally, in a distance we sawsome ights. and upon drawing nearer, we saw some young folks drinking beer around small tables “Was this it?” we wondered We went through a quiet little bar where a lot of young folks, girls in informal jeans and boys mostly bearded and uncombed, were standing around drinking beer from large glass mugs Conversation seemed subdued and orderly The whole atmosphere reminded one of the English pub or the German stube We went upstairs to a rustic but clean dining room- where we ordered from the menu And here the price hit us! An eight-ounce mug of Hansa beer was eight Kroner, or nearly $1 60 All food on the menu was a la carte. We ordered trout, pan fried It was 34 Kroner each, or about 56.40. It included a verysmall salad That was it: trout and some French fries No drink, no bread, butter or dessert Another young couple in our tour group. David and Janet Hardy of Canon City. Colo , came in and sat close to us. We commented to them about the food prices, and were told of their experiences “You should have seen the prices back at our hotel dining room.” Dave told us. He said he and Janet had gone into the hotel bar and a gin and tonic cost them S 3 50 each Our unanswered question was. “How many did you drink?” We all figure we have more of the same coming

Tour The City This morning our schedule called for a tour of the city. We found ourselves in the hands of Inger Ostenjo, an attractive young guide who spoke with a British accent, and did an excellent job Our bus wandered around the city streets, past the famous fish and flower open market near the waterfront. Inger pointed out some of the larger shops where the ladies might be interested in shopping later in the day.

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She also pointed out statues of famous people in the history of Norway, and we could not help noticing the little grassed areas throughout the city, with painted park benches, the area trimmed in bright flowers. Unlike so many American cities. Bergen appears to be clean, free of litter, wholesome. There is something wholesome about Nordic people. And so many of them speak English well, especially the shopkeepers and tradesmen. It rained much of the time during our morning tour, and Inger pointed out that Norway has about 72 inches of rain per year. Seeing the opportunity for a pun. Jack Nisselius of the NewsRecord. Gillette, Wyo., said, “Yes. and were enjoying two inches of it this morning.”

We were told that Norway was founded by a Norwegian King in the year 1070, as part of a rapid and knowledgeable flow of information from our guide. We finally reached a point atop one of the seven mountains that surround Bergen. It was the home of Nina and Edvard Greig, the latter being a famous Norwegian musician and composer. His statute appears in one of the small parks in the city. Anyway, Edvard Greig was discovered early on to be a boy prodigy on the piano and his parents sent him to Leipzig. Germany, to study- under old masters. He is a hero in the national sense The house we visited was built in 1885 by this man who looked like a composite of Mark Twain. Albert Einstein and Albert Schweitzer. He had a full flowing

mane andWge mustache, much in keeping with his times. Encased in glass were several of his original musical manuscripts, and his piano reposes in a corner of his living room. They called the area Troldhaugen. Before we returned to our hotel, however, we had to visit an old, 800-year-old wooden church called Fantoft church on another mountain peak. We got there only after a breath-taking walk up a small trailway. The church is now owned by Norwegian shipbuilder and is used only ceremonially. A little side window opens where lepers could come to the church and hear the services from the outside. And finally we re back in our hotel where we hope to catch up on some rest and a little writing. Our room here is small and

austere. The large wooden headboard supports twin beds that are somewhat sunken, but comfortable. There's a board in the center of the beds which Della has dubbed a “chastity board,” and I believe it. Instead of sheets and a comforter as we know it, the beds have a double sheet filled with some sort of down, real European style. But, the water’s hot, the heat is adequate and we have piped in American music coming from a station in Ireland. This afternoon, with hotel umbrella in hand, we toured the downtown shops in a lazy-day fashion and stopped by a small pastry shop for coffee and pastry. Everyone visits Sundt’s department store, and we had to also. It’s something like Harrod’s in London, expensive but tasteful.

Finally, we walked back to our hotel, for we could see the ominous signs of rain, and sure enough, we made it just in time to miss the deluge. Shops close at 5 p.m., and they mean it. In fact, at about 10 minutes until five early preparations are being made so that shopowners can turn the key promptly at five o’clock. Tonight we are joining a group for a ride on the Funicular, a cable car that will take us to a restaurant on top of a mountain. It should be interesting. TREATED AT HOSPITAL Elwood Foster, Jr., 20, r 1 North Webster, was treated by the Syracuse first aid group at 2:06 p.m. Thursday after becoming ill while at work at the Syracuse Rubber company.