The one place to see before you die

ANITA ALAN Contributor- Carmel, CA

NAW Contributor, Anita Alan, takes us on the adventure of a lifetime, aboard a 2007 Prairie Home Companion Norway Cruise

The ms Veendam Face it, not everyone will discover all one thousand places in the Patricia Schultz best-seller, 1000 Places to See Before you Die, but one is enough if you choose the right place. Start with Norway. This expansive country exceeds all expectations. This summer, while much of the Continent sweltered through a deadly heat wave and nearby London and faraway Texas endured floods, 1266 fortunate travelers sang and danced their way along the Norwegian shoreline, through breathtaking fjords and by waterfalls that laced thousands of feet down steep rock faces. With an occasional light drizzle scattered between days of perfect shirtsleeve weather, the 10-day cruise provided fascinating ports and smooth sailing between them. Whether visitors hoped to find isolated villages or cities and cultural centers, rain or shine, Norway did not disappoint.

Garrison Keillor Guests aboard Holland America’s SS Veendam wanted for nothing. We streamed in from directions all over the map to converge upon this complex world-class ship that in quiet times, one could equate with the earth itself. The interdependence between us took on a sense of immediacy as, Captain James Russell-Dunford’s orders, we donned the uniforms we hoped never to see again—orange life vests. In that Titanic moment, Friday the 13th it was, we formed a sea of bright vests that skirted the decks next to our respective life boats, a form of transportation we fully expected to avoid. As we helped each other with straps as if we were kids playing dress-up, the mood fell between celebration and seriousness. The lifeboat drill (mandatory) meant business, but once we stowed the vests in the stateroom, the trip of a lifetime began.

Say you were to take just one ocean-going excursion, then “A Prairie Home Companion 2007 Norway Cruise” with host Garrison Keillor would be the ultimate, unforgettable journey. From the stirring moment we left Copenhagen, until our return to the same port 10 days later, we experienced one life-changing adventure after another. The ship left port, its aft navigation deck packed with cheering passengers and the Prairie Home Companion crew, all of us singing The National Anthem, followed by Keillor’s Norwegian National Anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet, all eight verses. From that moment on, we were one people, heading on a voyage our Viking ancestors could never have imagined. The Sail-Away Party bonded the group with song after familiar song. As we set sail for Flåm, it began to sink in that we would need to make choice upon choice, all of them superb, all of them difficult. Keillor and the All Star Shoe Band, Robin and Linda Williams, Prudence Johnson, Fred Newman, and a cast of seemingly endless talent gave two full shows each night. One could stay on the ship and still never take part in all the learning experiences and entertainment planned. Naturalists made themselves available on the Navigation Deck at 5:30 AM and again at 5 PM, counting and categorizing the pelagic birds and marine mammals, as well as giving information on the unique geologic and oceanographic features of the day’s surroundings. Specialists provided lectures and slide presentations on The Natural History of Norway, The History of Lutherans in Norway, Ice Ages, Fjords, and Flat Mountains in Norway, The Birds of Norway and the Northeast Atlantic, Nordic Vegetation, Plate Tectonics, Ecophysiology of Diving Mammals and Birds to name a few.

had many choices as well. Each day, Phoebe Hansen conducted “Wake up and Write” or “Wind Down and Write” sessions, beginning with stretching and exercises designed to get fingers and brain synchronized. The Ballast, Cruise Norway 2007’s daily newsletter, invited writers to submit contributions to the paper, with its circulation of approximately 1300. Marcia Pankake conducted the ship’s Book Club—with Norwegian-related reading suggestions given out prior to the cruise. She even went to the trouble to order copies of the July 21 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Their location aboard ship remained a closely guarded secret until the book release moment. The cruise ship also had a lending library of books, videos, and DVDs. Writer or not, sending home cards with stunning scenery was an irresistible temptation. However, though every port has ample electronic mail, on board email has not yet filtered through the fjords, and even on the open ocean, it mostly ranged from slow to slowest.

Keillor himself, not especially keen on email during our trip, filled the main lounge with his Writer’s Seminars and sessions on Storytelling. “Writing is an amazing democracy,” he said in his writing workshop. He spoke of immigrants and families. “The reader is restless and curious to know about mysterious lives.... Family history—that’s where writing begins.” For Keillor, writing is rewriting. “It’s the pleasure of tinkering with sentences that I love.” For all aboard, hearing waves and calling sea birds, song and verse, announcements and conversation, gave the trip its flavor. “There is a connection with the pen and the ear,” said Keillor, who had just finished putting a novel on an audio book. “It’s exquisite punishment,” he said.

About the author Keillor, the perfect host, gave as many as five appearances a day for cruise-goers, sometimes singing late into the night then taking time with everyone the next morning for coffee and conversation from 7 AM to 8 AM or later. He wanted us to “see things we’ll remember for the rest of our lives, and come home happy and rested.”

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Norwegian American Weekly

Norway Magazine

View the January 2008 Travel Issue here. Use your mouse to turn the pages. Find Anita Alan's articles on pages 18-9 and 24-5.

Travel 2007