Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

May I take you for a walk in the cathedral park?

@brittarnhild

 

 

 

 

 

Reached the goal

@brittarnhild

As we are getting closer to July 29th, St.Olav´s Day, Trondheim is filling up with pilgrims, with Nidaros Cathedral as their goal. Most pilgrims come from far away, but there are also more and more locals walking. Some longer distances, some shorter. Today pastor Torstein in the cathedral, and pilgrim pastor Elisabeth from Denmark who comes to Trondheim every summer to welcome pilgrims, arranged a pilgrim walk for inhabitants at ome of the senior homes here in Trondheim. I am working with a project on pilgrim walks and diaconia, and when I heard about today´s walk I asked if I could join.

So some time after breakfast, we were a group of all together 18 people, walking from the senior center towards the cathedral. Ending up at Nidaros Pilgrim Center, where we had a late lunch.

Walking slowly, three of the pilgrims with their walkers, all of us helping each other up and down hills, we had several stops along the way. Pastor Elisabeth led the walk, gave us words from Jesus, showed us the old cross on the cathedral wall where pilgrims through centuries have put their fingers, shared pilgrim tales from other caminos, challeged us to walk two and two sharing from our hearts, let us drink from the St. Olav spring, prayed with us.

Three hours on a morning in July. People I had never met before, but by walking, by sharing, by reaching the goal, we all set marks of love on each others hearts.

 

Life close to the cathedral

@brittarnhild

 

There is always something going on in and around a cathedral. Walk three times around one, and I am sure you have ideas for a series of blog posts. 

Today I met my two best friends at the cathedral restaurant for a birthday lunch (worth its own post, but everything can´t be shared.....). After the lunsh we went out and met these two young men busy photographing the old stone wall of the cathedral. Curiosity got me and I asked: "What are you doing?"

Apparently they were happy about my question, and soon we were deep in a discussion about old stone mason signs on the cathedral walls, writings, cartoons, signs and so on, and today´s technology to discover the age of the different writings.

In a few years there will be a millenium since some people started to build a church upon St. Olav´s grave. 

Since then hundreds of masons have left their personal marks.

All this history in the walls, in the old stones. All the life lived. Stone masons and other cathedral builders traveling through all of Europe, using their skills to praise The Creator.

 

From different angles. Trondheim and the Nidaros cathedral

@brittarnhild

I had a lot of fun during my photo walk to capture the cathedral from different angles.

Down near the river it can hardly be seen. The Archbishop´s Palace, where I have my office, can´t be seen at all.

The catheadral is built on St.Olav´s grave.

The oldest part is almost a thousand years old.

An old spinster, she used to be a friend of my mother, worked all her life as a teacher for children downtown Trondheim. She loved to tell the children stories from the city, she wrote them down, and after she retired she typed them, printed out the sheets and stapled them together.

Years ago I stumbled upon one of these books at a garage sale, and bought it of course.

And now I can enjoy the tale of the two children, a boy and a girl, who finds some magical boots which take them from present back till the start of our city.

Trondheim, or Nidaros as it has also been known as,
celebrated a 1000 years anniversary in 1997.

 

Dedicated to Advent

@brittarnhild

If you have read my blog for some time, you also know about my Advent traditions and my Advent basket. Christmas doesn´t start until the 24th of December in Norway, or at least it used to be like this. Now we are getting more and more influenced by traditions from other part of the world where Christmas starts the morning after Thanksgiving, or even some places early in October..... I am fighting my own little fight against this. The 23 first days of December is Advent in my life. The colour is purple and the days are for reflections and contemplations. For many years this meant that there were no signs of Christmas in our house untill lillejulaften Little Christmas Eve, the 23rd of December. And as everything was meant to be ready the next morning, julaften, Christmas Eve, the 24th, which is the main day of celebration in Norway,  lillejulaften turned out to be a day in a frenzy, where everything had to be done.

Years ago I found the time ready to change this, and I started my Advent basket tradition. I made myself my own Advent calendar, a basket which I every night filled with items from my collections - a nativity, a cd with Christmas music, a homemade angel, a snow globe, a snowman, a vintage Christmas magazine......and so on. Then, before breakfast the next morning, I "opened" the basket, found a place for the creche, played the cd and so on.

This way The House in the Woods slowly, slowly gets into the Christmas mood, though it is still Advent which dominates.

 

Every year I find it more and more challenging to keep up this tradition. Christmas is everywhere, Advent is hard to be found. Even purple candles are difficult to find in Norway now. Everybody are asking for the red ones.

May be it has to be like this. After all Advent is leading up to Christmas, a time for preparations, a time for waiting, a time for fasting while waiting for the grand feast!

 

May be it has to be like this?

 

No!

As long as Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods is running, the three first weeks of December will still be dedicated to Advent.

 

::::::::::::::::::::

The cd in my Advent basket today was Bach´s Christmas Oratorio. I am playing it now, while I sort my photos from yesterday.

We have a group of Sami people in our diocese. Now we are working with a project to see how we can make this visible in the cathedral. We had a meeting working on this yesterday, and to look at possibilities, we did a site visit inside the cathedral.

 

A new, main organ is being installed in the church these days.....or rather these months. The completion is planned to May 17th, Norway´s Constitutional Day. So much work is being done. And part of the cathedral is closed for months.

To look at possibilities we were taken "behind the scenes", and got a first glimpse of what the cathedral will be like with the new organ.

Next year I am sure Bach will be played on it.

 

:::::::::::::::::::

Have you started your Christmas celebrations, or are you still in an Advent mood?

 

 

The love of a city, a cathedral

text and images britt-arnhild

I have lived in this city all my life. Almost 55 years. I have worked downtown for the last 13 years. Every day I pass the cathedral.

I can be east of the sun, west of the moon, travelling the world.
But this cathedral, this city,
I always carry it in my heart.

I have a busy period of travels ahead.
But a piece of my heart will
always stay behind. 

 

Lunch break in the sun

text and images britt-arnhild

Our days are getting longer, lighter.
Slowly, slowly still, yet, I can feel the difference from day to day.
I am back to work, with the last rest of my cold as a daily companion,
and the few light hours of the day are mostly spent indoor.

Yesterday we had an all day meeting with the deans in our diocese. Lunch was at a restaurant not for from the Archbishop´s Palace, and while walking back there after the lunch, I decided it was time to take a few minutes in the cold, sunny January day, walking a detour through the cathedral park.

 

My only camera was my HTC Desire cell phone,
luckily today´s cellphone, even this "old" one from 2010, has
quite good cameras.

Both our bodies and our minds need light.
I am looking forward to longer, warmer days,
but even a few minutes in the bleak, cold winter sun,
makes a huge difference.

:::::::::::::::::::

Thanks a lot for your comments yesterday.
And thanks for your nice words about my English -
I am beaming :-)

The swans live in.............

Sorry Lorrie, they are not in Oslo,
nor are they in Denmark Susan, though I would love to be there at one of my brother´s concerts.
Wendy, no, they are not in Sweden,

but
Joan and Dagmar.....YES, they are from Iceland, from the small pond in the middle of downtown Reykjavik.

I am goind there next weekend, to celebrate my brother´s 50th birthday, and to see my nephew acting in Macbeth at the National Theatre.
Lucky me :-)

Do you remember Àgùst taking part in Oliver Twist two years ago?
I promised Àgùst then that I would come over ever time he got a big role to act, and an aunt can´t break a promise, can she?

 

Yes, Dagmar, please tell me why you knew?
You got a postcard from me two years ago, didn´t you?

And you will get another one now. I already have your address :-) 
Joan, will you please email me your address.

What about the rest of you?
Who else want a postcard from Iceland?
Please leave a comment, and then email me your address.

::::::::::::::

My lunch break walk in the sun is over,
yesterday is over.
Today is Saturday, and it is time to pack away Christmas.

 

Playing ball with the sun

text and images britt-arnhild

Three pm. Me walking from my new office over to the Archbishop´s Palace and the old office.
Sun in my eyes. Made it hard to see the pathway. The ice. Made it easy to see that longer days are on their way.

It started with a letter. A penpal through 17 years. Bad news.
I couldn´t believe when I read,

It continued through out the day. A phone call, an email. Words across a table.
The more I got the smaller I became.

In the end I felt I could creep into the wall and become invisible.
Hide from the world.

But the days are becoming longer. The sun is rising.
Life will go on.

I will survive.

Shadows are here to show us the difference between light and dark.

When Friends Share a Passion

text and images britt-arnhild

 
Sunday we had lunch together. With the king. Monday we took part in the same seminar. About structures for the Church of Norway in the future. A long day. Sitting. Listening. When we got a 15 minutes break my best friend looked at me "Do you have your camera with you?" Seeing my smiling nod she continues, "Let us run out in the cathedral park for photos!"

 
A long, ordinary seminar day can me transformed to an adventure when best friends share a passion.

 
With hidden treasures under every tree.

A gate open. More adventures ahead.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Do you have a passion you share with your friend?

The historical event, with no tricks......

text and images britt-arnhild

I had planned to watch it all on television. But because of the delayed surgery I was able to take part. The inauguration of a presiding bishop in Norway, bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien.

For the first time in modern history Norway has got a leading biskop, and this also means that the diocese of Nidaros now have two bishops.

This was celebrated yesterday with a service in the cathedral. With the 12 bishops of Norway, several visitings bishop and church leaders for all over the lutheran world, our king, members from our government, and a full cathedral of other people.

Norwegian television was there, you can see the whole service here, and because of the filming, the cathedral was enlightened by 400 spotlights. I have never seen the cathedral so beautiful, and started to shoot photos........until we were told "no photographing"....and I decided this was not the time to be mean, do my silver hair tricks :-)

After the service we walked over to the Archbishop´s Palace.

But first time for historical photos outside the cathedral

...

A red carpet waiting patienly to be unrolled for the king.

A lunch worth both a king and a silver haired woman waiting for a delayed surgery.

A silver haired woman proud to eat her lunch with the king :-)

The king´s laughter...........nothing I said, this silver haired woman was seated next to her best friend and was busy eating and chatting.