Vik i Sogn, Norway
The community of Vik i Sogn is located in Central Sogn in the county, or fylke, of Sogn og Fjordane. It is situated along the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest of the many Norwegian fjords and the longest fjorde in the world. The Sognefjord stretches more than 100 miles inward from the sea to the foot of the highest mountain group in Scandinavia, the Jotunheimen Mountains. The setting of many Scandinavian legends and Henrik Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt,”Jotunheimen means "home of the giants.” This mountain range is topped by one of the highest mountains in northern Europe, Glittertinden, a glaciated peak that can be seen from a great distance. To the north and east of Vik lies the 300 square mile Jostedal Glacier, one of the largest ice fields in Europe. Snow remains on the high meadows well into July. Not until the mid-1950s was a road blasted out of the mountain connecting Vik to Voss and thereby the rest of Norway.
Brekke Family Reunion 1999
During the summer of 1999 the descendants of Ragnhild Anfinnsdatter Seim and Mikkel Endreson (Smidje of Feios) Brekke gathered at Brekke in Vik for a family reunion. They say that over 350 people showed up, including a dozen of us from North Dakota. Dad's cousin, Yvonne Brekke Midtlyng, and I were hosted by Ase Brekke Balvoll across from Brekke at Balvoll. Midsummer in Norway...it starts to get a little dark around 2 AM and a couple hours later it grows light again. As I made my way from Balvoll to Brekke on the day of the reunion I experienced something amazing and unforgetable. From all directions, Brekke descendants of every age, dressed in their native costumes, emerged out of the mist that lingered in the mountain air. We were all walking together toward Brekke where an enormous Norwegian flag flew from one of the tallest flag posts I have ever seen. It was a fantastic day. Here we are standing in front of the house where Endre Mikkelson Brekke and his sister, Kari, were born nearly 2 centuries ago. The chief in charge of the reunion was Ola Brekke who is easily identified. He is the redheaded gentleman in the green sports coat and gold shirt standing to the far right behind all those kids. Toward the left side of the picture I see Lars Brekke, my 3rd cousin, the farmer on Brekke today. Close to him stands my uncle, Roger Brekke, my dad's brother, who heads up the Brekke farm in North Dakota today. Torstein Honsi's Vik farms website: http://vikjavev.no/gardar/
Hopperstad Stav Kirke
