Rosendal

Rosendal - Malmanger Mt. on the right (without the snow)

     Could you find a more beautiful setting?  Rosendal is located at the mouth of the Hardangerfjorden, which is the second longest fjord in Norway.  Due to its location and beauty, it was the first of the fjords to be visited by tourists in the mid-19th century.  Many people from the Rosendal area emigrated to Story City and, thus, the two cities became partner-cities sometime in the 1970s.  Mom, Dad, and Craig were part of the first group of people from Story City to make an official tour to Rosendal in 1980.  Craig climbed Malmangernuten (the peak) with Kaare Mehl, Jon Mehl, and Thorleif Hellesoy (Aase-Marie Mehl's husband).  Mabel Malmanger and her cousin Earl Malmanger also joined the tour.  This was the time Mom and Dad first met Margunn and Toralf.  In 1982, Else & Jacob (Toralf's parents) and another cousin, Kristine Steinsletten Skromme, visited Story City with the tour group from Rosendal.

     This was a day of R & R for us so I've included some photos of the area with highlights of  Rosendal.  Margunn always prepares a wonderful breakfast:  homemade wheat bread, cheese, roast beef, cucumbers (from her greenhouse, built by Toralf), red pepper, tomatoes, shrimp salad, raspberries, and blueberries.  After breakfast we enjoyed seeing photo-books from Kari (Margunn & Toralf's daughter) & Hans.  I attended their wedding (wearing my Hardanger bunad) in the Kaupanger Stave Church just after Christmas 2009.  They have two boys, Olaus (almost three) and Bjornar (almost one) and they live on Hans' family farm in Songdal just north of the Sognefjorden.  The photo-books were of their wedding and the baptism of the boys.  Kari is a wonderful singer - folk and jazz - and teaches in an elementary school with a combo of teaching upper grades and music.  Her husband Hans teaches music at the Hogskole (a college, which includes teacher preparation) in Songdal and farms.  

     For middag (main dinner of the day around 2:30) we were served a typical Norwegian meal of meatballs, smashed peas, boiled potatoes, and carrots.  After middag we visited Else Malmanger, Toralf's mother.  Her granddaughter Goril and a friend, Marianne, were also visiting for a few days.  They served us coffee and pastries and we all had a good time talking about the various times we have seen each other in Story City and Rosendal.  When we went home, we enjoyed playing of game of dominos (Margunn won!).

     For the Norwegians reading this blog, please understand that I don't know how to use the special Norwegian vowels.  I can do that on my computer and iPhone, but haven't figured out how to do it on the blog!  Cutting and pasting from another document didn't work.

top of the map and down:  Rosendal, Dimmelsvik (in Omvigdalen - Dimmelsvik is misspelled on the map!),
Uskedal (where Donhaug is located - Grandpa Alfred's grandfather was born there), Bjornebole (center, Bjornabole
is an alternate spelling), and the island of Halsnoy (the Saetre farm is near Saebovik - Grandpa Alfred's grandmother was born there)

Kay, Sylvia, Margunn & Toralf  in 2010 during the children's choir tour

three of the top sites in Rosendal:  Kvinnherad kyrkje, Steinparken (Stone Park),  Baroniet 

Kvinnherad kyrkje or kirke

Baroniet - the Barony from 1665 (one of Dad's ancestors descended from the first Baron's family) 

one of the stones in Steinparken (Stone Park)

Rosendal Turisthotel or Tourist hotel

Kay - turning 94 on July 4 and Else Malmanger - turning on 97 on October 12

Goril (granddaughter of Else) and her friend, Marianne

Malmanger farm at the base of Malmanger Mt. with a nationally famous ash tree,
which is included in a botanical book and a large picture book about Rosendal

Rhododendron bush by Margunn & Toralf's home at the base of Malmanger Mt.

Cucumbers in Margunn's greenhouse

Margunn and Mother in the greenhouse