We arrived by car (rented) from Oslo on Sunday morning expecting to find Torill and Leif Martin at home and to have a fine day with the family despite the persistent rain. Torill seemed upset, hadn't slept, she said, and had canceled plans for dinner at home. Ole, her brother was ill, his wife and dau would not come over either, Torill said.

After coffee, I said that I wanted to visit the Church at Efteløt more than anything else. She suggested that Labru and Kongsberg should be included. You may recall that I have always been puzzled about where I was taken in 1956 that had been identified as the Kongsberg and Efteløt churches, but have since been proved false by correspondence I have had on the Norway-L mailing list.

She wanted Leif to drive in their car, which we did. The church in Kongsberg was uninteresting, from the 18th/19th Century and of wooden construction. painted in a dull bluish grey. A number of groups of parishioners were saying final greetings, so that wandering around did not seem appropriate. I had never seen this church before. I know of no connection with our ancestor's family.

Labru is located on a falls in the Lågen River and was the local power station. It was as I remembered it. The power station had been turned into a museum. Torill showed us the control bridge where her father, Ole, worked as a control engineer. The instruments and general situation was just as it was when the station was shut down for the last time. A very interesting model of the valley of the Lågen River from Kongsberg down through Efteløt showed every power station point of interest, but also included a cross for every church along the way.

We then stopped at Efteløt Church. See the slide show or photos attached to this report. Rain was continuing, and some drops unfortunately got on my lens, making some blurred spots on the church pictures. Even so, the photos are interesting. Around the altar, on the wall and on a section of the back wall some plaster has been removed revealing the original decoration. Remember, this church celebrated its 800th anniversary some 20 years ago and was built in 1183. The original decoration reminds one of the type of decorative work done on Church doorways when Christianity and church building first arrived in Norway. Photos are self explanatory.

On our arrival, there were 15 - 20 cars in the parking lot, the church doors were wide open, coffee and cookies had been served (and remainder still hot, thank you), and no persons to be seen. It turned out that there was a mission meeting in an adjacent building where all had gone after a service in the church. Fine opportunity for picture taking.

We went to the graveyard and took some gravestone pictures. There were Anton Sommerstads alright, but they were not known to be related. I did see Hans Sommerstad's stone and include a picture. He was a really nice guy whom I met in 1956 while visiting the farm.

I would say that it was an absorbing and moving experience to visit grandmother Alwilda's and Aunt Gunda's church of baptism and confirmation.

I took a picture of the river valley including one of the several Sommerstad farms; this one on the valley floor. (There are some five Sommerstad farms, I have been told.) We went to the Sommerstad farm of our family. Took picture of the house and the barn. Nobody was home (or answered the door, anyway).

I had hoped to see the situation looking at the church from the opposite side of the river, just like it is seen in the old photo. But the bridge was so changed (by reconstruction), and the tree growth so high along the river, that it was not possible.

We did not learn anything new about the genealogy of the Sommerstad family on this trip.

Torill suggested that we eat at Picasso's Cafe‚ in Drammen, which we did. This restaurant, now worn out and understaffed, was once the "in spot" to eat for the local up-and-coming young folks.

Here is the related set of photos: