Blogs from Southern Norway, Norway, Europe - page 2

We have cruised all the way down the Western coast of Norway and wended our way through the Southern channels. We reached Lillesand, a pretty and popular seaside resort with white clapboard houses all very neat and tidy with lots of roses in the front gardens. It is small enough to walk around so we didn't do the official tour. Don't know why they bothered organizing one really but they hadn't been here before. There is a small church, a museum, a bandstand and the odd statue and that is it. It is too small for cruise ships to come to so our boat is the largest in the harbour. We were lucky to have a warm, sunny day so it was a perfect place for a stroll followed by a beer on the front. Can ... read more

As many of you know, the summer solstice is a major event in Scandinavian countries. Some say that because the Nordic people were the last Europeans to adopt Christianity, the pagan rituals involving the longest day of the year have persisted. It seems to me it is because the solar cycle near the arctic circle is so dramatic and simply because the Scandinavians enjoy an opportunity to party! Above the arctic circle, the sun never sets this time of the year. We experienced this while visiting Harstad and the Lofoten Islands. But, even Oslo at about 60 degrees north experiences about 20 hours of daylight. It is actually difficult to sleep for those of us from lower latitudes. This year the solstice was on Wednesday, 21 June but the Norwegians made Friday the official holiday. That ... read more

Due to rain, we stayed another day in Bergen. Used the time to go into the city to get supplies and be ready to hit the road. The weather cleared in the afternoon so we hiked up the mountain behind the Hostel. Turned out not to be the smartest thing to do, but it was a great hike. Amazing, the number of people running up the mountain, even on the steepest trail where we were. Woke to a relatively clear morning! A great day to ride! We struggled to find our way, but people really helped pointing the way. We did a paltry 20 miles to a campground and beat the rain. Luckily we took a basic cabin, because shortly thereafter my bad knee swelled up and refused to bend! A rough night but in the ... read more

We've made it to Norway, but now we're stuck in Oslo. We had to change planes in Reykjavik and the baggage handlers decided to put only 1 bike on the plane! After a great deal of searching we found the 1 bike. We went to the baggage claim office and after a good deal of clicking we were told the other bike was still in Reykjavik. We had a train reservation to Bergen the next day and were assured they would get the bike to the hotel in time for us to get to Bergen. So now we sit without the bike and the train has long left. No available train seating until Sunday. So a flurry of changing reservations and now we continue to wait for the missing bike. At least we'll get a chance ... read more

The Norwegian nature and various cultural and industrial heritage sites In the previous blog entry I wrote about the production of heavy water in Norway during the second world war and the events around that. When I visited Lake Tinnsjo, Rjukan Railway and Vemork Power Station, some of the key places in Nazi-Germany's quest for heavy water, I also went to some places unrelated to World War II. In this blog entry I will write about that. OK, I will also write about Vemork Power Station but only for its significance as an industrial heritage site. When you travel through Telemark District the dramatic landscape and the beautiful nature is what you will remember it for afterwards. There are waterfalls everywhere and they come in every size. There are big thundering ones cascading down, there are ... read more