Today is going to be an incredible day! Strange that it’s all about me, but
incredible all the same!
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| Henriette and I about to take off to go meet my family for the first time! |
I woke up around 9:30 and had breakfast with the crew. Then, went back and got dressed for the day
in my best outfit. At 11:00, I met Kristofer
and Brita in front of the hotel and had a short walk out to a field where there
was Henriette, a film crew and a helicopter!!
After getting everything set up, we boarded and took off! It was just me, Henriette and the pilot in
the chopper at first. We did a quick
flight up and out and then back to pick up the cameraman and sound guy. (We did that first run just to get some
additional footage.) I was told that we
weren’t far from my family farm, so we ended up flying around the area for a
little while (including flying over the concert grounds from the night before)
and just shooting some extra footage.
The ride was incredible! We were doing
some crazy flying! At one point even,
Jan Kenneth (the cameraman) put duct tape around his seatbelt, opened the door,
and leaned out to get crazy shots! At
that same time, the pilot tilted the helicopter on its side and started flying
sideways. It was absolutely
amazing! I’m staring out the side door,
which was wide open, and I was looking directly down at the ground! The whole time we were doing this, Henriette
is freaking out and clenching onto my arm!
She was hilarious!
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| Coming in on the helicopter and look out to see my family on their farm!! |
Eventually, after about 20 minutes of flying around,
Henriette screamed, “Look!” We started
to settle down over a farm and there were about 50 people standing in the
middle of a field, waving their Norwegian flags at us! Along with that, there was also a large
banner that read “Velkommen Todd!” on their barn. What a greeting!
We ended up faking the landing and taking off 2 more times
before actually setting fully down, so they could get some additional footage. One time, due to the height and angle of our
helicopter, it looked as though we were going to take out the whole family
along with some trees! (That would have been
a bad ending!) When we finally landed
for good and they turned the helicopter off, there I was, about 50 feet from my
Norwegian family, which is where I stayed.
In order to get the cameras set up properly, they needed some additional
time and didn’t want to miss our first time meeting each other. We ended up sitting there for about 15
minutes, waving at each other and just waiting!
Finally, they gave me the go ahead and had Henriette and I get out to
meet them. We first met the head of the
family, a very nice gentleman named Torgrim. After that, I spent the next 20 or 30 minutes
going around trying to meet all of them.
There was a good mix of guys and girls, elderly and young, but all of
them were all very nice and very welcoming!
The only issue was that even though most of them spoke great English,
some there were several struggled with it.
There was even one elderly lady who spoke no English at all, but had
pictures of our family that my mom had sent over 15 years ago! The whole experience was surreal!!
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| The Garberg Family! What a great group of people! |
After meeting everyone, they pulled me aside to specifically
meet two people, Aage and Inger (I think this is how you spell it). They told me that they had converted a barn
into a museum about Norwegian emigration to American and some of it
specifically addresses my ancestors.
They asked if I would like to go check it out, which I was happy to
do. At that point, we broke for
lunch. I spent the next hour or so
getting to know everyone from my family.
Again, some very nice people and some great stories!
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| The barn that was turned into a museum! |
After lunch, they took me to another farm that had that
museum. We did a short intro with the owners, but then they mentioned they had
a special guest. Knowing that my wife
couldn’t be there, I had a strong feeling that it would be my Mom and I was
right! Out came my Mom, and we had a
really good hug. Then, in a crazy twist
of fate, I realized it was her birthday and wished her a happy birthday over
and over! What a cool way to celebrate!
After the meeting with my Mom, she mentioned she had a
something very special to show me. I was
really hoping to see my girls come out the barn doors, but I had a feeling it
wouldn’t be. I assumed my Mom would be there
and knowing that you weren’t going to be able to make it, I also assumed that
taking two three-year olds with her would be tough and probably wouldn’t
happen. Sure enough, out came a video
with you and the girls. I tried to act overly
happy and even tried to find some tears, but I couldn’t do it. Unfortunately, all I could think about was
the fact that all of you weren’t here and weren’t able to share this once in
lifetime moment with me. I hid it, but I
was pretty upset. I’ll get over it.
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| Our family dinner! What a great family! |
We spent the next two hours touring the museum. It had some very interesting information,
pictures and artifacts, but the best part of the show was our hosts. They were a very funny couple and kept
fighting over the pointer stick, excited to point out the next piece of
information! They were cracking us
up! When finished, we headed back to the
family farm for a dinner. When we got
there, they had us walk up the driveway.
There, in the middle of the buildings was an incredibly long table with
all 50 people sitting around it! As we
got closer, they all stood up and gave us a standing ovation. What a cool feeling! We then spent the next hour or so having dinner
and making speeches. Torgim, our host,
gave a very nice speech and then it was my turn. I tried to give honor to you, my Norwegian
family and all of Norway. I don’t think
it was as great as I was envisioning it would be, but I think I got my point
across. Finally, Torgrim’s father gave
our final speech. I couldn’t understand
any of it, since it was in Norske, but based on the family’s reactions, it
seemed to be very interesting!
After dinner, I did my final interview, which was
interrupted by having to do a video of the whole family doing what would probably
be the end of the show, which was really cool.
That was my whole goal going into it and there it was, the final moment;
myself, my Mom and all 50 or so Norwegian relatives, cheering in front of the
camera, “ALT FOR NORGE!!” The pinnacle of
my trip!
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| "Alt for Norge!!!" |
After filming the closing scene, we headed back to finish up
my interview. (By the way, funny moment
was when Torgrim had to leave the farm and drive a couple kilometers away to a
local farm, so that he could ask the local farmer to stop using his
tractor. Even from that distance, it was
disturbing the sound. However, it speaks
tons for the small community of Selbu and how he was willing to do so without hesitation!) The director Kristofer sat me down and
continued to fire his series of questions at me, ending it with one that was
very profound and to which I gave a very profound answer. I thought it was a great way to end it……then,
he thought of another one. He asked a
very anti-climactic question about a present that I had received. Ha! (After
this incredible journey, that’s how we ended things!) As soon as I answered it, I heard Kristofer say,
“That’s a wrap!” I didn’t know they
actually said that, but it was official!
The filming of Alt for Norge Season 3 was over!! The crew was hooting and hollering! Everyone was hugging! It was really neat to experience that! Those are the moments I’ll remember most!
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| The Garberg Family!! We'll see you soon!! |
Now that everything was done, it was time to say
goodbye. My Mom and I spent the next
hour or so saying our goodbyes. I wish I
could’ve stayed for another week, but it was time to head home. What an incredible day and an amazing way to
wrap up the experience of a lifetime! I’m
so glad that I was able to meet these people and I definitely will have to make
it back with family in tow!
In a funny twist, we all headed out to a local restaurant around
8:30 p.m. for one of the worst dinners we’ve had while being in Norway. It was too bad that was how we had to celebrate
the end, but it made for a funny story!
Then, we headed back to the hotel, said goodnight to my Mom and went
back to the lobby to have a few more beers with the crew. Nothing too crazy, but still good times.
At around 1:00 a.m., I headed to bed. The season is complete! The experience of a lifetime! About four months ago, I told the casting
director and producers that if I was chosen for this show and if I was going to
be gone from my family for an extended period of time, I guaranteed that I
would win and that’s exactly what I did!
I experienced some incredible highs and some sad lows, but it was much
more than I ever imagined it would be.
From the people I’ve met (cast, crew, locals, and my Norwegian family)
to the things I’ve now done and experienced, I can definitely say that this is
the craziest and most amazing thing I’ve ever done! My only wish is that I could have had you
here by my side to experience it all! (I
guess we’ll just have to plan some time for the both of us to get back here and
trace all of my steps!!)
Get ready wife, I’m coming home!!
Day 63 Over!! Alt for Norge, Season 3 OVER!!!
Our helicopter for the day!
Jan Kenneth our cameraman. Funny thing,
he's actually very afraid of heights, but can
cope when he's looking through the lens!
Are, our sound guy! He needs a haircut!
A look out as we fly!
Jan Kenneth putting his life in the
hands of duct tape!!
"Velkommen!"
Saying goodbye to our helicopter.
The patron couple of the farm!
A look at the family home on the farm.
Some of my relatives taking a break from the cameras.
I was on cloud 9 that day!
A look out from the family farm!
One of the many structures on the farm.
What a great place!!
A couple of my family members!
The family bunad!
Another look at another building on the farm.
My mom and a couple of our hosts at the museum.
A look up at the family farm.
Our host for the day, Torgrim! A great guy!
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