Scandinavian American. [volume], January 01, 1946, Page 10, Image 10

About Scandinavian American. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1945-1958

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
10
Scandinavia ls Already Busy
Preparing For U. S. Tourists
By Julius Moritzen in The Christian Science Monitor
It may be too early to apply
for a passport for a pleasure trip
across the Atlantic. However. the
Scandinavian countries are now
preparing for the reception of
American visitors who will find
Denmark. Norway and Sweden
better able perhaps. than most
parts of Europe. to care for trav
elers in any considerable number.
German occupation of Norway
and Denmark wrought havoc with
both the lands and the people, but;
Scandinavian resilience, with the;
expulsion of the Nazis asserted it-‘
self. so that the scars left by the;
intruders are scarcely visible. As}
for neighboring Sweden. her new“
tral position during the war enw
abled her not only to plan for thel
future, but to lend a hand to herl
fellow Scandinavians across the!
Sound and the Skagerak in their1
darkest hours. :
From the visitor‘s point of view.!
the geographical positions of Den-3
mark. Norway and Sweden con-=
stitute a trinity that lends itself
most excellently to observing much I
in the shortest possible time. With;
air transportation increasing con-.
stantly in speed and efficiencyfi‘
and the early resumption of travel}
by sea. there is every reason to}
believe that Scandinavia will focus‘
the attention of Americans who
will find the Danes, the Norwe
gians and the Swedes ready to
welcome visitors in an environ
ment as democratic and cultural
as their own United States. It is
this kinship which makes a trip to
Scandinavia a. never-to-be-forgot
ten experience. In addition to the
well-known northern hospitality.
English-speaking people are found
everywhere in Denmark, Norway
and Sweden.
Starting in Sweden
Assuming. then. that you make
Sweden your starting point in
Scandinavia, it is logical that
Stockholm. the capital, shall claim
your attention. This “Venice of the
North," as it has been justly called
because of its surrounding waters.
is conspicious for its architecture
that has reached a very high de
gree of national originality. An
outstanding example of this is the
Stockholm Town Hall, with which
the name of Ragnar Oestberg, its
architect, is inextricably associ
ated. Mirrored in the open waters
of Lake Maelaren. a masterpiece
in design and purpose. the Town
Hall contours melt into the frame
of the landscape and the perspec
tive of the city. The architect’s
creative imagination found still
freer play in the interior. where:
the Blue Hall. the Golden Ban-3
quoting Hall. the Prince‘s Gallery}
afford fascinating examples 0:;
modern interior decoration.
A “must“ while in Stockholm is;
a visit to the Nordic Museum.
which aims at giving a picture
of Sweden‘s culture from medie-.
\‘al times. and in connection with
the museum is “Skansen.” where;
a number of authentic buildings
and objects have been collected
from various provinies represent.
ing the daily life of various strata‘
of the population. l
The National Museum owes its}
origin to the collections acquired:
by Gustavus lIl. Among its great
paintings is Rembrandt's “‘Clau
dius Civilis." The State Historical
Museum is another great estab
lishment that should be included
in the program of the visitor.
Modern hotels, many places at
amusement, restaurants and what-l
ever else makes for a great cap-1
ital, an- at the disposal of the
visitor who, if time is short. may;
now want to deive further into
what inrludos Scandinavia.
By Canal to Denmark ‘
For that purpose you can do;
no better than leave Stockholm by,
way of the famous Goeta Canal.
which intersects Sweden from the.
Baltic to the North Sea. The Goeta'
Canal links up a series of lakes:
and rivers. and on the arrival at
Gothenbu’rg you can prepare to;
cross over to Copenhagen, the cap-t
ital of Denmark. ~
If the sobriquet, “Venice of the
North," belongs rightfully to the
Swedish capital, that of "Paris oh
the North" has been bestowed on
Copenhagen for certain qualities
not dissimlar to those character
izing the capital of France. The
Danish temperament is reflected in
many things called Parisan. Even
during the five cruel years of Nazi
occupation the people of Copen
hagen maintained their equanim
ity and good humor and offered a
resistance to Nazi aggression that
drove the German invaders to
despair.
A hundred and one things may
claim the interest of the visitor in
Copenhagen. The Danes are a
pleasure-loving people. and while
this does not interfere with daily
duties in home or shop, or what
ever may be the occupation of the
individual, time off for recreation
is an almost religious observance.
Centered in the Royal Theater,
dramatic entertainment is an es
sential that the visitor will do well
to enjoy. As an agricultural coun
try Denmark has much to show‘
in the way of co-operation. and
a visit to a Danish dairy reveals
just why such a Danish product as
butter is so famous. Then there
is the famous Danish bacon that
you enjoyed as part of your break
fast.
Leaving Copenhagen by rail. at
the city of Nyborg you will take
the ferry for the island of Funen,
and on the arrival at Odense. your
chief objectiVe should be the Hans
Christian Andersen Museum where
has been brought together many
things bearing on the life of the
famous writer of fairy-tales. Few
success stories equal that of the
lad who from poverty and obscur—
ity rose to be acclaimed among
the greatest writers of his era.
Next to Norway
West of Odense is the town of
Middiefart, where you take the
ferry across the Little Belt to
Fredericia, and boarding the train
for Aaarhus, the capital of Jut
land, and leaving a more extended
inspection of the peninsula to some
other time. you may either take
a plane for Norway, or board one
of the regular steamers for one 61'
the Norwegian ports.
Long before the coastline of
Norway comes into View it is the
towering mountains that tell the
story of a country where scenic
beauty may be said to constitute a
big asset. While industry has at
tained a high place in Norwayi
and the utilization of water power}
has been carried to a point where‘
electricity and heat have been]
carried to the farthest part of the
country. it is the natural beautyi
of the land with its interchangingl
highlands and valleys that dawn‘
upon the Visitors as a picture to
remember long after it leaves the
sight. '
As the city that for five long
years defied the Nazis, and sufo
fei'ed uncomplainingly until de
liverance finally came, Oslo could
tell the world a story of heroic
resistance unequalled anywhere in
Europe. However, the people of
Oslo as well as those elsewhere
in Norway are not likely to speak
of this to visitors. Their hospital
ity will turn on making a stay
among them pleasant and profit
able. and one will be bound to
come away from there imbued
with the thought that Scandina
vians as a whole know how to
make the best of situations as they
arise, and that, in their ideology.
it is rugged individuality that
dominates their actions.
NEWS IN BRIEF:
More American soldiers and of
ficers have been invited by the
Swedish Traffic Association to
spend their leave in Sweden. The
dearth of hotel accummodntion
makes it necessary for the time
being to restrict the number to
about 100 a week. however.
Swedish National
Sanatorium Is A
Great Monument
It can truthfully be said about
Dr. Charles A. Bundsen, the found
er, and the Medical Director of
The Swedish National Sanatorium
in Denver, that he made time
live, and he made time liVe not
only for his own personal good
but for the common good of man
kind‘
Dr. Bundsen. who was born in
Bohuslfin, came up the hard way;
and as a young man he worked
his way from Sweden to this
country aboard a sailing vessel.
That was fifty-four years ago
when life at sea on a sailing ves
sel was tough. After working a
few years as a laborer in the
Rocky Mountain region he took
his little savings and enrolled in
the Colorado State .University as
a medical student. When the
Spanish-American war broke out
he enlisted in the Army Medical
Corps and served in the Philip
pines. When the war was over he
settled in Denver and began to
practice medicine.
He soon found that many of our
Swedish people suffered from T.B..
particularly the younger people
of the working class; and know
ing that that condition existed not
only in Denver but all over the
nation he thus conceived the idea
of The Swedish National Sana
torium. That was already in 1904,
or before we had our public health
program, and when most of the
people suffering from the White
Plague were confined to bed in
their homes, and thus became a
menace to the rest of the family,
particularly in the crowded homes
of the poorer people. Dr. Bund
sen realized the need of .3. Sana
torium where even those without
funds could come from any part
of the nation for rest and medical
care.
. Today The Swedish National
Sanatorium is one of the outstand
ing Swedish national monuments.
The Sanatorium, which is com
posed of several substantial and
attractive buildings is situated in
the middle of grounds covering
about thirteen acres. beautifully
landscaped, with green lawns,
fountains. shrubbery, flowers and
a variety of trees.
All of the buildings are modern
and beautiful and have all con~
veniences, but the one that at
tracts most is the Mayflower Pa
villion which represents an in
vestment of $150,000 and was paid
for entirely from the receipts oi
the sale of the Mayflowers. It
has thirty-two rooms with private
toilet and sunporch, with one per
son in each room. It also has a
modern surgery and laboratory
and a very attractive reception
room; and one does not need to be
here very long until he finds that
the Sanatorium is well managed.
Dr. Bundsen. as well as all the
nurses and the other personnel.
contribute so much to the wel
fare and happiness of the pa
tients. that it is not only a San—
atorium, but a “‘haven of rest."
A Sanatorium is different from
the general hospital where the
average stay of the patient is two
or three weeks. In a Sanatorium
the average stay is two years.
During the forty years the San
atnrium has been operating 2.510
patients have been cared for, rep
resenting aii sections of our coun
try.
After regaining their health at
the Sanatorium. many patients re
main in Denver, in order to live
under the Colorado sun in the high
altitude of the Rocky Mountain
region because It is beneficial to
those who have lung trouble.
At present Dr. Bundsen is on a
var'atinn trip to California where
he will remain for sevoral
months. After a well-deserved rest
he will return to Denver and his
beloved Sanatorium,
Buy Victory Bonds
News from Denmark
PLEBISCITE IN FAEROE ISLANDS
TO SETTLE INDEPENDENCE ISSUE
COPENHAGEN—A plebiscite to be held this spring in
the Faeroe Islands, halfway between the Shetlands and Ice
land, will decide whether those islands are to remain a part
of Denmark or to form an independent state.
A separatist movement has existed in the Faeroes ever
since the beginning of this century, but not ’until recently
has it been able to muster sufficient followers among the
25,000 inhabitants of the islands. At the general elections
(last October) of the 23 Faeroe
representatives. 12 favored and
11 opposed upholding the ties with
Denmark.
Chief cause for the rise of the
independence party is the 15-per
cent drop in the value of the Da
nish currency since VE-Day. Many
of the .Faeroe people. whose main
trade is with England. think that
they would be safer financially if
they separated from Denmark and
either established their own eur
rency or adopted the British one.
IOOO Danish Censors
To Work In Germany
About 1,000 Danes able to read
and talk German are wanted by
the British occupation Army in
Germany for a vast censorship
body. Earlier considerable num
bers of Frenchmen, Dutch and
Belgians were called to the Reich
for this purpose. Before starting
on their jobs of controlling letters
written by Germans. the censors
are given a week's instruction by
British officers.
A Dane who asked for how long
his servicces Wflllld be required,
was told that no decision had been
reached yet but that the censor
ship might well be maintained for
the next 20 years.
Danes Refuse U. S.
Offer For 40 Ships
COPENHAGEN. Jan. 15. Da
nish shipowners have refused an
American offer of $23,000,000 dam
age for 40 Danish vessels taken
over by the United States during
the war and are ready to submit
the matter to arbitration or to the
American courts, a spokesman for
the shipowners said today.
Crown Princess
Ingrid Broadcasts
In November. Crown Princess
Ingrid of Denmark made a lengthy
address on ‘3 short wave transmis
sion from the Kalundborg station.
The speech was heard everywhere
in the world where Danes reside,
and in her address the crown prin
cess dwelt briefly on conditions in
Denmark during the five dark
years. when normal contacts with
THESE named and mud prison". were found by Amexican troop}
in a German concenmdon camp. They no among me millions you
an help by giving clothing, shoes and bedding to the Viccoty Clam»,
Collection for overuu tenet. What can you up». that any can m
,THE SCANDINAVIAN AMERICAN
Danes abroad was curtailed.
Danes Okeh World Fund
COPENHAGEN. Dec. 27. ——
Denmark has accepted the Bret
ton Woods monetary stabilization
plan, the Danish foreign office an
nounced yesterday,
"Donmork" Returns
To Denmark
' The Danish square rigger 'Dan
mark" which served three years
in America as a training ship for
U. S. Coast Guardsmen, arrived
in Denmark last month. and thou
sands of persons lined up along
the Copenhagen harbor to wei
come the popular ship.
When “Danmnrk” left Cupen
hagen for the United States in
August 1939. 120 cadets were on
board. Of these only 7 returned
with the ship; 14 had lost their
lives and the rest remained in
this country.
New Investigating
Committee Selected
The. Rigsdag Investigation Com
mittee. established shortly after
the liberation to review the events
leading up to the German inva
sion on April 9, 1949, had finished
its task before the_elections. In'a
volumnious report the committee
stated that it had found no rea
son for indictments against any
of the responsible persons within
the Danish Government the
Stauning Cabinet —at that time.
The new Folketing will. how
ever. select a new investigation
committee which will examine the
period from April 9. 1940. to Au!
gust 29, 1943. when the Danish
people rose in open rebellion
against the Germans. the. Govern
ment withdrew from office. and
King Christian declared himself
a prisoner of the Germans. The re
sults of this investigation cannot
be expected to appear before some
time in the early spring of 1946.
Crown Prince Olav and Crown
Prince Mflrtha of Norway recently
paid a visit to Gothonburg to open
an exhibition showing how the
Nurwegian prcss functioned dur
ing the occupatimi.