03.03.2010 News from Norway
The ferry in Oslo
Johannes Klemm, a stonemason by trade, was granted a Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for vocationally qualified people last December. He is currently carrying out his six-month work experience in the site hut at Trondheim Cathedral in Norway. He e-mailed us to tell us about his first two months in Scandinavia:
"It was bitterly cold (around -23 °C) when I arrived on 8 January to Oslo with the ferry, so I decided to give the tour of the city a miss that evening, also because Oslo didn't seem very inviting to me at first glance. The journey to Trondheim the next day was all the nicer for it - sunshine, snow-covered forests, wide, hilly countrysides, and first a pale violet and then intensive blue sky shimmering over the white mountains on the horizon at dusk.
I'm sharing a 4-bed flat in a student quarter here in Trondheim (the room was organised for me in advance) with a Norwegian and two Greeks. We get on well with one another, often cook together, play cards and will soon be going cross-country skiing together. I've just bought cross-country skis - one of the few items here that are not much more expensive (and may even be cheaper!) than in Germany.
Johannes Klemm (third from the left) and some of his colleagues
There was certainly a lot to get used to when I started in the workshop - in a good sense. Normally I work with machines all day. It's loud, dusty and not exactly warm in the workshop during winter. But the most important thing is getting everything done fast! The relaxed atmosphere here was almost eerie at the start. I've already carved out two small profile pieces. Currently I'm working on a somewhat larger chunk. I have quite a lot of freedom here. I can divide up my time as I wish and I'll probably have a closer look at the other workshops, such as those of the smithies, plasterers and glaziers.
His first workpiece in the new factory
I'm also trying to learn a bit of Norwegian. There's a Norwegian course at the university that I can attend free of charge. (I've kind of smuggled myself in and the teacher has kindly agreed to put up with me. The normal courses actually don't begin again until mid-March.) Otherwise, I try to read the newspaper, which I manage quite well, unlike daily communication with my colleagues, who all speak the Trondheim dialect.
This is a really nice spot. I have nice colleagues and I'm sure I'll continue having a good time here."
