Life In Northern Lands - Norway (1954)

[Music] [Applause] a city by the sea and beyond the city high mountains [Music] can you guess where we are we are coming into a harbor city of norway the name of the city is bergen [Music] in the harbor are ships that bring trade from many land fishing boats too are in the harbor close to the busy docks now we are on a nearby hill looking down at the harbor and town let's find this town of bergen on a map of the globe first in europe we find norway here is bergen on the western coast it is a northern city if we draw the line of latitude that bergen is on the line passes through northern canada alaska siberia northern russia and sweden these are northern lands of high latitudes in many of these lands as in alaska there are vast mountain ranges covered with snow and glaciers in such lands living is difficult there are not many settlements but in some northern lands such as southern alaska and norway warm ocean currents help make a warmer climate to find out more about farmers in norway let's go about 70 miles from bergen to a farm located here we make the trip by water on a boat going up the fjord the fjord is a deep inlet of the sea when we see the word fjord this is what we might think of along the fjord are farmlands and farm houses there is not much level land so the farms are small this farm belongs to the ericsson family in the garden mrs erickson is pulling turnips she will soon be making supper for her family the erickson farmhouse overlooks the fields where mr erickson and his son are putting up hay to dry mr erickson's oldest boy is named sven he is a good worker mr erickson too works hard especially during the summer months he and sven must get all the hay hung on the fence for it would spoil if left on the damp ground after it dries in the sun it will be used for cattle feed in the winter what other crops do they grow grains such as oats grow well in a moist climate and they ripen before the short summer is over are you wondering if they're cut on this farm we'll have to look at the highest slopes for the cattle now we're up in the high pasture the two children watching the cow are the youngest children of the ericsson family sonja and carl they spend their summer vacation here high above the farm and the fjord the mountain pasture where the cattle graze in summer is called a satyr this is another norwegian word we read in books about norway carl and sonia are part of a group of neighbors who stay here the woman in charge of the seder sees that the milk is sent into the village each day and this is the way the cans of milk are sent down after the day's work the children enjoy their evening meal of fresh milk cheese and bread and now although it is almost eight o'clock in the evening it is still light in this latitude in summer the sun does not set until almost 10 o'clock and north of the arctic circle in norway the sun is still in the sky at midnight this is why norway is called land of the midnight sun but these long days occur only during the brief summer what about winter it is a cloudy winter day in bergen fishing boats are at the dock one of the fishing boats is leaving the harbor if we follow it we'll see one of the important winter activities fishing this is what many men of norway do during the winter especially during february and march when enough fish have been caught the boats returned to bergen harbor do you recognize the young fishermen in the cap and sweater it's sven erickson in winter when there isn't much farm work span works as a fisherman as many other norwegian men do with his earnings sven sometimes go shopping along the streets of bergen there's a store that looks interesting sven has found something he has used many times skis now he's wondering if carl and sonia are skiing yes back home sonia and carl are putting on their skis like many children of norway they use skis traveling to and from school now school is out off they go for home doesn't that look like fun here they come right into their own backyard most norwegian children know how to ski it's one way of getting from place to place in winter it's also the national sport of norway it will feel good to get into the warm house the children are wondering if their father is through with his work for the day on the mountain slope near the farm are trees that mr erickson cuts for firewood during the winter this is the last tree for today time now to think about going home from the mountain slope he can see the farm below him it isn't long before the ericssons are all together for the evening meal can you guess what they might be eating there are fish from the sea and potatoes and other vegetables from their garden and for sonia and carl there's always plenty of fresh milk winter evenings are long but after supper there are things to do mr erickson reads and sonia and carl write a letter mother is busily knitting this is going to be a warm sweater for carl maybe it will look something like the one sonja is wearing now the letter is almost finished they're writing their brother sven in bergen they tell him they hope the fishing has been good and that they are looking forward to summer when they will all be together again on the farm do you remember where the ericsson farm is in norway remember some of the many things we learned about this northern land this word for instance or this word [Music] we learned that summers in a northern land are short does this affect the kind of crops people grow in norway or in alaska or in other northern lands remember what sven and other men do in winter when they are not farming what are some of the things sonia and carl did there are many more things to find out about life in northern lands in a land such as norway [Music]