Text and images Britt-Arnhild Wigum Lindland
The posts my last days have been from Tønsberg, south of Oslo, where I have been in connection with the annual Synod of The Church of Norway. The hotel where I stayed is situated along the canal, and right outside the hotel a Very interesting project was going on, a building of a copy of the most famour Norwegian Viking Ship - Osebergskipet.
Most of the time I saw a couple of men working, with the help of their hands only. From time to time a group of school children came to help.
The project is amazing, from the size of the ship down to every single detail.
The ship, Osebergskipet, was originally built southwest in Norway in the year 820, and it was found near Tønsberg the 10th of August in 1903
You can find a link to more information about the ship, and its museum in Oslo here
Marta, Terje and I visited this museum in July 2009, then I wrote a blog post about another famous Norwegian ship. You find it here.
Inside the hotel, not far from the reception area, I found a big weaving loom. One day a woman was working there and curiosity got me. "This looks so interesting. I used to have my own weaving loom once, well, as a matter of fact I still has it.....somewhere. What are you working on?"
She looked up from focusing on her dancing hands: "I am weaving a sail for the Viking Ship"
She let har hands rest and shared with me and my friend information about the work she was doing with a small group of women.
Old traditions in wood, in textile, woven together through the centuries.
