Friends In The Fjords

The Norwegian countryside with its classic routes, and a very special woman for a guide—timeless.

- Sheila Sivanand

MY SCANDINAVIAN JOURNEY began when I befriended Bente Brenna online 10 years ago. Bente was feisty and bright and in her 50s. Although worlds apart, we soon became like neighbours gossiping over a virtual fence. I listened to stories from her Norwegian village and much of what Bente knew about India she learnt from me.

We finally managed to meet five years ago. I was in London and Bente took the short flight across the North Sea, laden with creamed cod, smoked salmon and mussels she had gathered from the fjord. She used to call me “little Indian lady” and I imagined her to be this tall statuesque blonde. How we laughed when it transpired she was petite and I the taller one. Back home, she sent me surprise packets through the post with wild mushrooms she’d picked and dried.Their mossy scent transported me magically to a Norwegian forest.

Our children left home, our husbands neared retirement as we kept each other posted. Meanwhile, Bente’s witty repartee caught the eye of a TV crew and she became the star, along with husband Pål, of Sofa, a popular Norwegian reality show.With an empty nest, she also started taking bed-and-breakfast guests at her home in Hvitsten. She called it her “car-wreck hotel” because Pål enjoyed retrieving and restoring old campervans that were let as rooms.

“I will perish if the temperature goes over 25 degrees,” Bente often declared. Since I couldn’t guarantee that in Mumbai, I finally went over to Norway instead with Mohan, my husband, last autumn. Bente immediately shut her B&B business for the 12 days we were to be there and planned a road trip.