Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Travel diaries, Laos.

I am a little behind with finishing my travel diary. Some time ago I told about my Italian travel last summer (on blogspot). In September / October I spent two weeks in Laos with a Norwegian organisation called Norwegian Church Aid. We travelled around in different part in Laos. Our goal was to meet people and be able to tell about the situation in the country when we came back to Norway. Norwegian Church Aid has a lental campaign every Lent, and this year the campaign focused Laos and the country's problem concerning traficking and opium.

I took hundreds of pictures. The first one I will show you today is  girls dancing a traditional dance. They belong to one of the small tribes up north east in the province of Bokeo.

The second photo is showing women from the same tribe. These people live deep into the huge forests of Laos, and have almost no contact with the rest of the world. So they found us light skinned Norwegians very strange :-)

Travelling in Laos was a challenge. We used speed boats on the Mekong river to come to the Bokeo province and while there we used three of the five cars (!) in the whole province. Travelling further south and into the country, to Loang Prabang, we went by river boat, a fantastic 10 hours travel. And of cours in Loang Prabang we had to try "tchuck tchuck" on our way from temple to temple.

Loang Prabang was a city I never will forget. We came there in the evening, after the dark had come, and after checking in it at the most charming hotel, with a garden filled with orchids, and eating dinner, we walked around in the town, visiting the outdoor night markets. On the markets women were sitting doing their crafts. The next day we visited quite a few of the more than 30 old temples. Loang Prabang is on UNESCO'S heritage list because of all these temples.

I will probably be writing more from Laos later, but will tonight share with you one of my favorite pictures from the trip; me watching a local woman south in Savannaket doing some housework - she is weaving bamboo to mend her roof. This woman was sitting outside her house when we were on the way to some paddy rice fields. We stopped and talked with her, and she invited us into her house. I will never forget her friendliness.

Extra working hours or birthday celebrations

Marta was invited to a double birthday today. Two of her friends are celebrating their birthdays in Tyholttårnet, the Tyholt Tower, which you can see in the picture to the left. I use the opportunity to dig my way through some of the paper piles in my office, so I am sitting right under the red roof to the right in the right picture :-). The sun is shining. I can't see it from where I sit, my small window is almost hidden under the roof. But I can feel it's heath! And I know it is perfect for the growth in my garden.

Still I am quite content to be here though, and I try not to think of my sunny garden where I could have been enjoying a nice cup of tea and some ice cream right this moment. The paper piles were too high here on my desk, and if I shall be able to concentrate on my studies the last days before the exams, I can't have these piles on my mind. And being in my office in the afternoon means that I can work more concentrated. Somehow my office tends to fill with people during the day. Very nice, and I love it, but not very work effective....... Tomorrow I fly down to Oslo for a day meeting, and Saturday morning we are going to the cabin for the week-end. So studies will have to wait.

This last photo I found on the web today. Isn't it a beautiful photo of the Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace? You are welcome to Trondheim for a visit. As a tourist or as a pilegrim. Just let me know in advance, and I'll be happy to be your personal guide.

Early spring in Norway

Spring has come here very early this year. Friends from other parts of the world have told about blooming trees and flowers for a long time, here we don't plant annuals untill mid-May. But this spring the weather has been special mild and sunny.

Spring is my favorite season, and from now on and untill September we spend as much time as possible out in the garden. This afternoon I took a garden walk together with my camera. There are not very many colours to bee seen yet, but I enjoy every little glimpse of colour popping up. New life is always a miracle showing me the greatness of the Creator.

The primulas are always good friends in April, and so are the crocuses. I love to have them in different colours, like these yellow ones sparkling from the brown earth. The tulips are very small yet, but if this weather continues they will be blooming in a couple of weeks.

The rhuburb was covered in snow less than two weeks ago, and now I can soon make the first pot of rhuburb soup :-) Surely a sign of spring.

The last photo is from a hidden favourite spot of the garden, where our small trolls live. We have never seen the trolls, they only come out during the night when everybody is fast asleep. But we can often see signs thay they are busy carrying on with their lives. And I think that a couple of the troll kids sometimes are awake during the day and are curious to get a look of us. And who knows, if you look closely you might even catch a short glimpse of them in this photo!

This was my garden of today. Welcome back another time.

Early morning walk

I work in the Archbishop's Palace, the house next door to Nidaros Cathedral. Untill this winter my office had a great view of the cathedral park, and I especially loved watching spring through my office window. A couple of months ago I had to change office though, so now I have quite another view, actually almost no view at all, and to the opposite side. But still I walk through the park every morning on my way from where I park my car and to the office building.

The Nidaros Cathedral is built upon the grave of St.Olav. It is the biggest, and of course most beautiful cathedral in Scandinavia. Untill Martin Luther and the Reformation the archbishop used to live next door to the cathedral, and the Archbishop's Palace was built for that. Unfortunately part of the buildings were destroyed by a terribe fire in the 1980ies. About 10 years ago the new building were finished though, and the diocese administration of Nidaros could move in. Our office buildings can be seen to the left in the photo.

Here is a better photo of the cathedral.

The first photo is taken from my parking lot. If I turn around I can see the river Nidelven, and the old and famous warehouses along the river. And also part of an old bridge "gamle bybro - Old City Bridge" which we are very proud of.

Trondheim, or Nidaros which is the old name of the city, is a famous goal both for tourists and for pilgrims. The season for both groups has started and the city is getting more and more people every day now.

Today has been a beautiful sunny day, quite warm for the season, and we had the first dinner of the year out on the garden. Enjoy the photo :-) Seen

is Marta and her friend, Øystein and Terje.

Orchids

I have collected orchids for many years. Just because they are beautiful! And because when I started to collect them it sounded so exotic!

I have ten plants now. Some periods of the year most of them are blooming, but right now only two are overwhelming me with their beautiful flowers.

For years I used to fill our house with plants. There is no time for that any more, not enough time to take care of so many plants, so together with a few big plants for decoration, the orchids are the only ones. They are so easy to take care of, and pay me back with such a remarkable amount of beauty. I will not trade them for anything.

There is a special orchid nursery here in Trondheim where I have bought a few of my plants. Now orchids are getting more and more common everywhere, so I haven't been there in some time. But when I have finished my exams of this year I will treat myself with a visit and may be buy a new plant or two.

Only the most common of my orchids are in bloom now. I enjoy their beauty, and meanwhile I am tending the other ones with green fingers. Suddenly one day one or two, or may be even more of them will surprise me with the gift of new flowers.

I love Sundays

And today is no exception.

With the busy life I live, Sundays become more and more essential. Slept long this morning as we always do, had a nice breakfast together and then Terje and I walked to church. It is so nice to walk in the neighbourhood during these early spring days. Almost all the snow has melted now, and though there is still not much green, we can see changes from day to day. Loved watching the bright red tulips in the garden of old Lars today. His garden is always such a pleasure to wander or drive by.

A choir was guesting our church, the student choir Con Anima. Their singing and playing was so fresh and filled with life, it set us all in a very good mood.

Back home we had coffee out in the garden, and then Marta and Terje took a bike ride while I took a walk in my beloved woods. I haven't been there in two weeks, and so many things have happend. Last time there was snow everywhere, though I did manage to find the first "leirfivel" - tussilago farfara (in latin). Now alot of the snow has melted, though there were still alot left and hard to find good places for walking. And I picked my first wood anemones (hvitveis) of the year. For as long as I can remember I have been out as soon as possible when spring arrive, to search for wood anemones. I think they must be my all time favorite flowers, though I know that as the weeks go by now, more and more "all time favorites" will grow. The anemones are always most beautiful when they are growing naturally, but I couldn't resist bringing with me quite alot home to decorate my desk.

The last two days I have spent in Tromsø, one of the northern cities of the world. I was in meetings most of the days with Norwegian Church Aid, but we had a night service in the Tromsø Cathedral Friday night, and we also did a walk in the city on Saturday. And a long, long pub visit on Friday night after the service. The light when you are thus far north is exceptional, so you can't sleep away the nights :-)

On Saturday we had a seminar on Indiginous People and Minorities. Very interesting. A Sami woman from Norway told her story, and then a refugee woman from an indigenous tribe in India told the very strong and sad story of her people. It made me realise how poor I am to know so little about the people of our world. And how rich we are as human beings being able to get to know each other across the borders. A big thank from my heart to these two strond women!

Two days in Oslo

My life is still filled with travels. I am flying north to Tromsø tomorrow morning for two days - will try to remember to bring my camera. And the two first days of this week I was down in Oslo. Had meetings all day, only time for a nice Indian restaurant in the night. But had to run out during one of the lunch breaks to buy a few more books for my studies and then took a few nice pictures of the King's castle.

Our royal family has had a very turbulent spring. Our King Olav V has had two heart surgeries, and after three weeks in hospital he was allowed to spend the day home today, but had to go back to hospital in the evenings. It seems like he is recovering quite weel though. And a couple of weeks ago our princess Märtha Louise and her husband Ari Behn got their second daughter. She has the beautiful name Leah Isadora. Our queen has had a busy two weeks with the illness of the king, the birth, and the funerals in Rome and Monacco. And on top of this all her regular program. God bless her.

I have my first quiet night in a very long time at home. Marta has been to handball practice. She has just had a bath and I will now read her her goodnight story - our favorite time of the day :-)

Welcome to my House in the Woods

Today I moved my house in the woods from another blog site over here to typepad. I had some problems with the other side that I did not manage to solve by myself, so now I hope I will be able to manage it here :-)

The photo of my house was taken a couple of months ago, while it was still full winter. Spring has arrived now, and though there is still some snow left in the garden one can almost hear the spring flowers grow. This is my favorite season, and we spend as much of the day as possible outdoors.

I wish I could say that these crocuses are from my garden. They are not. I took the photo in Oslo two days ago, in the park outside the royal castle. Though I live in Trondheim I travel quite alot to Oslo. Was there all last week, and fly down again tomorrow morning with the morning flight.