As much as I’m tempted to say that this card originated from somewhere in the Ozarks, it actually came from Olga, a Russian woman living in Norway.  Even before I saw Olga’s name on the card, I could tell that her handwriting was distinctly Russian, especially from the way she writes her lower case “b” and “g”.

This card of very recent vintage was published in Norway by Normanns Kunstforlag (Normann Art Publishers).

I love these rare occasions when folks not only send me a postcard, but also write my blog entry for me.  But this card also marks a couple of firsts: not only is it my first card from Norway, but it’s also the first time anyone has sent me a postcard containing a message of nearly 300 words.  Anne was very descriptive with regards to her town and to the views on this postcard.  I’m guessing she was inspired by the stamp, which contains the first 30-40 words of Ja, vi elsker dette landet (“Yes, we love this country”), which is Norway’s national anthem.

Even wearing my glasses, I found it much easier to scan this card into the computer, rather than try to read it at arm’s length.  Anne writes, in part: “Here is a card for you from central Norway. The municipality of Verdal is about 95 kilometers northeast of Trondheim. We have a lot of rivers, lakes, woods and mountain areas. The name Verdal is very old. It means the valley with the tranquil river.

“Verdal has 14,000 citizens. About half of them live in the small city centre of Verdalsøra. But Verdal is much bigger, 1,543 km², stretching from the Trondheimsfjord to the border of Sweden. Verdal is most known for the historic site of Stiklestad. The battle at Stiklestad (on) July 29th, 1030 is one of the most important events in Norwegian history.

“The pictures are: Top left: Molana at Stiklestad Museum is built in the traditional building style of my area of Norway. Top middle: Verdal’s railway station. Top right: Part of old Verdal centre. Bottom: Part of Verdal, picture taken to the southeast. The dominant mountain in the background is Hermanssnasa, Verdal’s second tallest mountain (1,035 meters).

“Verdal is divided in two by the main river. Verdal has trade, agriculture, small and medium size businesses, off-shore industry and we export limestone. Both the E6 highway and the railroad connecting northern and southern Norway pass through Verdal. In addition, we have the road across the border to Sweden.

“…Now it is summer, and the days are long. We have 20½ hour(s) of sunshine at this time, and no real night at all.”  That’s it! She’s not sleeping and had time to write all this!  Seriously, though, I appreciate Anne’s time and effort even more than I appreciate the postcard itself.