The Disney movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is probably the first movie I remember having seen at a movie theater as a child. It scared me so much, I have never been able to forget the scenes of Snow White running through the woods...but I also loved the dwarfs! And something deep inside every little girl connects to Snow White singing "Someday my prince will come"...Barbra Streisand has a beautiful version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0mURZzBpnE
It is of course a very different experience when you know what day the prince will come...and when you are responsible for the logistics of the visit, and absolutely not the reason why the prince is coming. And so the last few months have been filled with meetings, e-mails, telephone calls, field trips and all that is generally known as planning. It has taken me around Rio in a completely new way, and I will take you along, I just have to retrace my steps a bit, because there was not really much time to take notes nor pictures.
As for the Prince, he actually came one day earlier than planned! His arrival coincided with the terrible terror attacks in Paris, and it happened one week after the worst environmental disaster in Brazil, when a dam burst in Minas Gerais and caused a toxic mudslide, killing people, contaminating rivers and now the ocean.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/13/brazils-slow-motion-environmental-catastrophe-unfolds
But, for those of us working hard to make the visit a success - the terrible events were somehow left to deal with later -we had a show to put on the road!
The first day was spent in Brasilia, and the Crown Prince remembered the Paris Attacks in his speech:
http://www.seher.no/royal/kronprinsen-hedret-paris-ofrene-83024
The next day was spent in Rio de Janeiro, and as the Crown Prince went to a supermarket to promote Norwegian cod fish he made headlines all over the world.
In Brazil: http://g1.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2015/11/principe-noruegues-prova-churrasco-de-bacalhau-na-zona-sul-do-rio.html
In Norway: http://www.seher.no/royal/kong-bacalao-83038
And in the USA:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-18/world-s-worst-currency-rout-turns-norway-prince-into-fishmonger
The day went on with a visit to CENPES where he promoted Brazilian- Norwegian cooperation in research: http://siu.no/For-media/Nyheter-fra-SIU/Kronprins-Haakon-markerte-videre-Brasil-satsning
And later he opened a factory in Itaboraí, quite distant from Rio de Janeiro:http://www.vestviken24.no/vv24naringsliv/kronprinsen-apnet-jotuns-nye-anlegg-i-brasil/s/5-83-21780
It was a crazy day - a logistical nightmare! We only made it because of the police motorcycle squad opening a path for the motorcade. They did such a great job that the Crown Prince agreed to take a picture with them. That gesture made me very happy!
The Crown Prince also found time to greet the Consulate staff, and so I got to shake the hand of a real prince. Will I remember it for the rest of my life? Absolutely, but I will also remember all the work and all the worrying about all the details...
After Rio de Janeiro the Crown Prince Haakon of Norway went on to Belem, and even if our job was only done after he finally left Brazil, we could relax and enjoy the pictures of the Crown Prince in the green:
And as we say in Norwegian: Snipp, snapp snute og så var eventyret ute! The prince has left my life and now life must go on, and the project going on fifty as well!
