Anders Nyberg's blog

The hunter-gatherer... In this weeks issue of Science Magazine there is an article on "Origins and Genetic Legacy of Neolithic Farmers and Hunter-Gatherers in Europe" . Based on DNA evidence it shows that agriculture in Europe has not spread from human to human via word of mouth but rather been introduced across the continent by people moving from its point of origin in the Middle East 11000 years ago to Northern Europe where it was introduced about 6000 years ago. The farmers lived side by side with the hunter-gatherers for thousands of years before an assimilation took place and the two ways of life and peoples became one. But still today you find more hunter-gatherer genes the further North in Europe you go and more farmer genes in the South.  When you are out walking like we are here in the North you cannot but make the reflexion that all this sounds very plausible. "The path" surely brings out a hunter-gatherer in you… . Of course we as manki...

Today I am having a day of rest. Yesterday I walked alone and let Peter rest, today I am resting. And what did I do on my day of rest? Well, I went on a promenade... And I came across this sign. I had to turn right, but I must say that this country is heavenly beautiful wherever you go. I am grateful that my body is responding as it is has been so far. Surely this could be a road to hell with a body who doesn’t want to follow. And there have been alarms in both back and knees lately. Our track profile shows that we are climbing to the summit of our trek during  the second week  and then there is basically four months of downhill with a small exception of Småland. The fact that due to the snow in the forests we cannot use the small paths but have to stay on the bigger roads means also that we are walking mainly on tarmac. Man has made tarmac but he is not made for tarmac. It gets you. Right in the knee. So walking during my day off is a good sign. A sign saying ...

Our view the first night; the last sunset by the sea until we reach Malmö! But the day started with mass in Nidaros Cathedral. If you look closely, you can spot a priest at the altar and parts of a congregation... But for me it nevertheless became an "intimate" event of preparation before departure. When I opened the hymnbook it fell open on the page with "Thuma mina - Send me!" I did not even know that this hymn, that I by grace have been instrumental in sharing to the Norwegians, was in their hymnbook... Outside the Cathedral Peter was waiting, staff in hand! It is good to have long legs when you walk! Peter and I are viewing the Trondheim-fjord in the evening-light. Peter is trying out a possible nightnest... °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° Började i Nidarosdomen med högmässa. Om ni tittar längst...

The Choir "Liv laga" in "Vår Frue Kirke" Trondheim Ragnhild and I create new! Directly upon arrival in Trondheim I had a meeting with the choir "Liv Laga". We sang together in "Vår Frue Kirke", an open church, a home for the homelss in the middle of central  Trondheim.  They sang walking songs for me and I for them. When we tried to sing the Irish blessing "May the Road" we had different versions, so I improvised a bit on the piano and Ragnhild, one of the singers was quick to find her own melody, which has sung within me ever since. I goes like this: (Sounds very Norwegian to me - has anyone heard it before....?)  °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° Kören "Liv laga" i Vår Frue Kirke Ragnhild och jag skapar nytt! Direkt efter ankomst Trondheim hade jag en liten träff med kören "Liv Laga". Vi sjöng tillsammans i Vår F...

On the road… With a very mixed feeling of both sadness and joy I depart from the known to the unknown. I kiss sleeping children and understanding but tested wife and off I go. I will walk one week in Trondheim Norway, to the Swedish border, where the family will hook up again. If everything goes according to plan I will on and off this summer walk towards the future. The project ”The Path” is a ”song-walk” beginning in Trondheim in April and ending in Copenhagen in September. During the trip through three countries and three seasons (close to four; up in the mountains some distance away from Trondheim there is still lots of snow on the paths…) and we will go through three themes; Environment, Integration and Existence. (Make “Environment” “Mother Nature” instead - and you have our Swedish acronym MIX!)                       Through walking, talking and singing we are ...