MY FIRST VISIT TO MY MORMOR MINNA

I was ten years old the first time I met my “Mormor Minna”. 

Suddenly one day my mom said: “You are going for a holiday to your Mormor Minna”.

At that time, we lived close to “Enghave Plads” on Vesterbro in Copenhagen, Denmark with my mom and my sister Birgit.

I had never before met my grandmother on my mother’s side -  whose real name was Christine Rasmussen.

Nevertheless, she did not tell my grandmother that I was coming before “after she had sent me off on the bus”.

Sjoltevej 25, Præstø County

Well, of course I was all excited when she put me on a bus in Copenhagen, to travel to Sjolte – about 100 kilometers south in the Præstø county. Nevertheless,

 I never knew before later in my life that she did not tell Minna that I was coming before I was on the bus, so when I arrived in Sjolte and met a grandmother – for the first time – she did not look happy at all to “see this strange child”.

Minna and her husband Karl Christensen (not my grandfather) lived Sjoltevej 25 on a small mini farm where they had one cow, pigs, a cat.

It was Karl who came and picked me up from the bus, that “just stopped by the road” to drop me off.

I slept “upstairs” in a small room with a down that was filled with “goose feathers”. It was so heavy that I felt I was sleeping with a huge brick over me.

Nevertheless, I had a really nice view of the fields etc. For me to be “out in the country” was like “coming to heaven”.  Everything was so green and my Mormor had apple trees etc.

Karl Christensen

Mormor Minna with some of the Houman children

Karl and Minna

My Mormor Minna and ?

Mormor Minna milking the cow

Mormor Minna

My Mormor

After I had been there for about three days, my Mormor became more friendly and my three weeks there ended up with that she invited me come back next year.

My Mormor Minna and I ended up as “really good friends”.  

When uncle Karl passed away in 1952 Minna moved in to a small townhouse in Præstø town.

I ended up visiting my grandmother every year until she passed away.  One year I biked all the way from Copenhagen to visit her.

My sister Birgit finally met her when she was 22 years old and my mother also finally was invited to my Mormor.

I am happy that I got to know my Mormor.

Vibekesonja.blogspot.com

Mormor: In Denmark we call our grandmother on the mother’s side for “Mormor”.  If it on the Fathers side it is “Farmor”.