This morning a group of Sons of Norway members landed at Gardermoen airport in Oslo, kicking off the 2011 Presidential Tour of Norway! If you haven’t heard about this already, you’re really going to be bummed about missing out on it. The tour of Norway is being led by Sons of Norway International President, Dan Rude and our amazing travel partner, Borton Overseas. Over the next week or so those on the tour will visit a number of cities in Norway, including Oslo, Bergen, Balestrand and more! They will be taking in the sites at a number of cultural and heritage-related locations, like stave churches in Lom, an emigrant museum and the world famous Hadeland Glassworks!
This is going to be such an exciting trip for everyone involved, and we wanted to do what we could to share the trip with all the members (myself included) who weren’t able to attend. So, over the next week there will be a number of blog posts, where we interview Dan Rude to recap the excitement of the day and share as much as possible with you, our respected readers.
In addition, my colleague, Melissa, will be posting interviews with Nancy Madson who is this year’s Norwegian Experience Recruitment Contest winner. Thanks to our partnership with Borton Overseas she and a guest have been awarded two of the coveted spots on this year’s Presidential Tour. So be sure to check back on the blog to get her insight and thoughts on the trip.
So, with that, here’s the first interview with our International President, Dan Rude:
SofN: So, Dan, I know you’ve just gotten into Oslo today after traveling from Montana. That’s a long trip. How are you feeling?
DR: I’m jacked! (Sidenote: No, seriously, that’s a direct quote.) It was a long trip, but as soon as my feet hit the ground in Oslo I was ready to go! I’m so full of adrenaline on trips like this. I figure I’ll sleep for a couple of days when I get home, but right now I don’t want to waste a minute.
In fact right after we arrived, we took a nice tour of Oslo that gave everyone a good taste of old Norway. We went past the palace, the opera house, Oslo Fjord, and Akershus castle. It was a great way to kick off the week.
SofN: That’s great, Dan. It’s good to hear you’re excited. How are the rest of the tour participants feeling after the long journey? Are they as excited as you?
DR: Oh yes! Everyone has been talking about this tour for a long time and are now very excited to actually be here!
SofN: So, tonight was the welcome dinner, right?
DR: Yes, it was a great time and it gave everyone a chance to get to know each other. Then, after dinner we had dessert with some Sons of Norway members who live here in Oslo. That was a real treat!
SofN: That sounds like a lot of fun, Dan. I’m sure everyone is pretty tired today, but what have you got planned tomorrow?
DR: Tomorrow is going to be a big day! First are visiting Vigeland park, which I think is a must for anyone traveling to Oslo. Then, after the park, we are going to the Oslo Folk Museum where we’ll see our first stave church and see the Viking ships they have on display.
In the afternoon I’m planning on going back to Akershus fortress to visit the WWII Norwegian resistance museum. It was built since the last time I was here, so this’ll be the first time I’ve seen it. I’m really excited about that.
Then tomorrow night we are all going to visit the Parliament to meet with my good friend Terje Bekkedal, who is a MP. He’s going to give us a behind the scenes tour of Parliament, then he is leading a dance presentation by the group, Steinsgardskroken. It’s going to be a very full day!
And, with that, we close the first day of the Presidential Tour. It’s going to be a full week for everyone, so be sure to keep coming back for daily updates!