I've had a really successful day of interviews today, which is lucky. Both Ynvge and Elna were really imformative and had fascinating things to tell me.
I started off by getting a cab from my hotel to the Bergen archives (cost about £30 GBP for a fifteen minute journey- Norway is not cheap!). When I arrived I went to the front desk and let them know I was there to meet Yngve. Yngve came down to meet me and we set my camera equipment up in a quiet room to conduct the interviews. Afterwards, he offered to show me around the archives downstairs. It was almost scifi-like security getting into the actual archives, but there was some fascinating stuff down there- some from the 17th century.
Once I'd finished filming, Elna arrived at the archives to meet me. She knew Yngve through her work with the war children, and he took us upstairs and made us a pot of coffee.
I was really hoping to conduct the interview at Elna's home, so it would have a more personal feel. However, I didn't know exactly where in Bergen she lived, and was wary now of the expensive cabs. I was also typically British and didn't want to impose. Remembering my lecturer's advice not to let my politeness get in the way, I asked Elna if we could get to know eachother over the coffee, then carry out the interview elsewhere. Thankfully, Elna suggested we conduct the interview at her house, about half an hour's drive from the city. I wasn't sure how I'd get back, but I bit the bullet and took the opportunity.
I'm so glad I did.
I ended up spending the rest of the day with Elna and her husband Jschal. They lived in a typically scandic cabin with a beautiful balcony overlooking the fjords. Elna had phoned ahead to let her husband know we were on our way, and he had put a kettle of tea on the stove ready for when we arrived. Soon the table was full of sandwiches and cakes, and the more I got to know Elna and Jschal, the more excited I was for the interview. We laughed at our cultural differences (Jschal noting my pony emblazoned jumper and use of the phrase "let's crack on").
I showed Elna my questions so she could begin to form answers in her head before asking her on camera. Luckily, she was wonderful to interview- not looking at the camera once. She told me such fascinating stories and I'm gutted that so much is going to have to be cut out to fit the 7 minute time constraint.
After the interview, we sat outside for a cigarette and she told me what she had learnt of her adoption. Her mother (Theresa) had given birth to her whilst engaged to her German father. However, his family were not happy with him involving himself with a Norwegian woman, and when the war ended he returned to Germany. Theresa was living with her sister at the time, who had also just had a baby. The flat they were living in was too small for both children so Theresa was forced to give Elna up. She put an advert in the paper looking for adoptive parents, and a couple who seemed eligable came to collect Elna. Somehow, they soon found out about her German heritage and dumped the newborn baby on her mother's doorstep- Nazi symbols scrawled over her shawl and the door. Theresa then had to find someone else to look after her baby (and relive the pain of doing so), when the couple who later became Elna's adopted parents applied.
Elna flicked her cigarette and said "I shouldn't smoke. I've had lung cancer already."
I could have spent all day with Elna, but soon the sun began to set and I had to leave as I have an early start tomorrow. Elna drove me all the way back into central Bergen and pointed out buildings that were used by the German authorities. Various offices and birthing homes were dotted around the city, now massage clinics and office spaces.
Tomorrow, I'm waking up at 5am to hopefully get a shot of the sunrise for a time lapse. Then I'll be taking the Fløibanen up the mountain to get some shots of the town from one of the 7 mountains it is surrounded by.
In the meantime, I have added a clip from my interview with Elna detailing how her parents met- it won't fit in the documentary, but it makes a good watch!
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