Across the Tyrifjord to Djupvarp

Just down the hill from the Bønsnes Kirke is a boat loading area. There we met Truls who would take us by boat to Djupvarp - the summer home of my Grandma Nosterud’s family. This summer home (or cottage in Canadian parlance) was across a large bay from the Nosterud farm. As we leisurely motored across the lake I imagined my grandfather Lauritz rowing a boat across these very waters to meet his sweetheart Aarny (who became his wife and thus my grandmother). It would be a little ways to row, but young love provides lots of energy. From the Djupvarp property one can look across the water and clearly see the Nosterud farm (and vice versa).

We took some time to look around the outside of Djuvarp - unfortunately there was no one home to let us in to see the inside of the house. I noticed that there was a major addition since the last time I saw it in 1980 (a deck and sun room). Arriving by boat gave me a new appreciation for the beauty of the buildings and their setting, it truly is a special place. The current owners have done a nice job of maintaining the buildings, and even making the new additions blend in stylistically. I was glad to see that it was still in good condition, obviously well loved and used.

The rest of the group drove around the bay by car and met us at the property. Here on the shore we had a picnic lunch enjoying another hot and sunny day. The Norwegians love the outdoors, and we did as much eating and visiting outdoors as possible, and they especially took advantage of nice weather like we were fortunate to have.

A few interesting notes from our visit to Djupvarp:
- the two little cannons on the property have been restored since my last visit.
- Thor (Per & Truls’ father) made the iron gate to the entrance to the property.
- glancing in the windows we could see that the kitchen was a mixture of modern and traditional.
- leaving the property it became obvious that the easiest way to Djupvarp was by water, the road through the trees was rather rough and difficult to navigate (how much more difficult with horse and cart).

One final thought, after seeing the beauty of Djupvarp I found myself thinking of the incredible contrast my grandmother must have experienced coming to the prairies of Canada. Going from living in relative comfort and a certain level of wealth to living in poverty in a non-insulated wooden grainary must have been a monumental shift in experience. Even just the weather would have been enough of a contrast, southern Norway does not get nearly as cold as the prairies in the winter, and seldom gets as hot (though it was plenty warm when we were there). I don’t ever recall my grandmother as a bitter person, which would suggest to me that she came to accept this huge shift in her life and would simply make the best of it. I admire both my grandparents ability to survive such a life-changing move, though I know it was very difficult… it makes any problems we face today seem tiny in comparison.