Border divides and unites Swedish twins separated by COVID

Border divides and unites Swedish twins separated by COVID

SVINESUND, Norway: They haven’t been allowed to have each other over to their homes for a year now because of COVID. So come rain or shine, two 73-year-old Swedish twins have met every yesterday each on their side of the border, on a bridge that links Norway and Sweden. Every week, Ola and Pontus Berglund each keeps well behind a thin, yet impassable line on the ground, toting camping chairs, thermoses, sandwiches-and plenty of good cheer.

“We’re not allowed to cross the border. I have to stay one meter (yard) away on my side and he has to stay back one meter on his side,” Ola explains, the little Norwegian and Swedish flags they’ve attached to the bridge fluttering in the wind. “So basically there has to be two meters between us,” he says, pushing his chair back, suddenly aware that he is too close.

At his feet, painted on the road, is a simple white line, the words “Norge” and “Sverige” on either side. The pandemic has put a halt to the identical twins’ weekly visits to each other’s homes. Ola lives in Halden, in southeastern Norway, where he moved almost 40 years ago for love, while Pontus lives a half-hour