Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

A coolcation day

@brittarnhild

 

Have you already heard the new word, coolcation?  More and more tourists from further south are coming to Norway and the other Nordic countries for vacation now. They flee the heath waves further south, to enjoy the cool, fresh air up here. Terje and I have no plans to go far this summer. We will divide our time between home and the cabin, and may be drive up to Lofoten for a week in August to visit family. Just now we are at our cabin, on the western coast of Norway, enjoying our cool weather, and also feeling blessed when we from time to time get days like yesterday, when the sun was out and the temperatures reached 20 degrees Celsius, almost. Today was another chapter. The sun had again hit behind the clouds, beaten by rain showers. We are stubborn descendants of the vikings though, we grabbed our waterproof coats and headed for a day in the nearby town Kristiansund. And had a most agreeable coolcation day.

 

 

 

It started last night

@brittarnhild

It started last night. Baking the cake, polishing the shoes, ironing the bunadskjorte.The night of May 16th is a busy night for the mothers of Norway, and also for many of the fathers, to get everything ready for May 17th, our Constitutional Day, the birthday of our country. In the picture you see the silver which belongs to my bunad, the Trønderbunad, which I wear since I come from the county of Trøndelag. The shoes which belongs and the purse. It is a tradition that girls in Norway get their bunad for their confirmantion. I did not, but a few years later Terje presented me with one for our wedding, as a morgengave (translated: morning gift, an old tradition with the husband giving the wife a special gift after their wedding night) A cousin of my mother embroidered and sew my bunad, but this purse I embroidered myself.

 

After breakfast this morning Terje and I walked over to the school area of our two oldest grandchildren, Leander 9 and Milian 6, to watch the parade. All school children in Norway take part in parades this day. Most schools in Trondheim take part in the huge parade downtown, though some of the ones in the suburbs have their own. First a parade, then the speech of the day, the singing of our National anthem, and then sausages, cakes, ice creams, loads of ice creams, and games for the children.

After a long period of rain and cold, the værgudene, weather gods, showered us with sunshine, and everywhere was filled with happy people.

It is a long time family tradition to have the family here for sodd (a traditional, regional soup) for dinner. So we did this year as well, but first Terje and I drove to my mother to make sodd for her. Aged 95 she preferred staying at home today.

We also brought her a piece of the pavlova I hade made for dessert.

 

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The day is almost over. Yet again we feel blessed and thankful for living in peace and democracy, sending prayers for peace for all.

 

Slow Flowers

@brittarnhild

After discovering the instagram account @onebouquetperday I have been reading and searching more about the Slow Flower movement. For years I have trying to live my life as much as possible according to the Slow Life movement, and Slow Flower is for me a natural extension of these thoughts.

I still have a lot to learn and to reflect upon. Like, which flowers to buy, where to buy them, are they local, which footprint are they making.......

Flower shops are closing down fast here in Norway, while supermarket sell more and more fast growing plants. I never buy flowers at supermarkets, I always support local flowershops.......but there is of course so much more to this. And knowing myself I know I will love exploring more of these "slow" thoughts.

I just ordered Amy Stewarts book Flower Confidential, The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. Can't wait to start reading it.

I will continue to do my slow flower one bouquet a day, like this one I picket at the small island of Smøla today, and will post at @og_en_liten_blomst tomorrow 

 

"I was born here. I know everything about everything"

@brittarnhild

We have spent the day on the bird island Runde on the western coast of Norway. We did a long hike up to the sea bird colony and saw so many birds I've never seen before. I took pictures with my camera, not my cell phone, and don't have the equipments I need to transfer the images from the camera to the computer with me. I hope to share another post with you after coming home, with a few of my bird photos, today I just want to share with you words I heard from the owner of the camp site where we started our hike:

"I was born here. I know everything about everything"

Quite a motto, isn't it :-) I think I will bring it with me.......I was born here, I know everything about everything :-)

On the road again

@brittarnhild

200+ kilometers by car.

Three ferry rides.

A few stops along the road.

I am sure many of you can see where the picture above is taken.......

An old telephone booth.

Now transformed to a used book kiosk.

On the picture you see Terje with a book we found. Written by my father´s first cousin. All about the intellectual history of sports!?!

Terje wanted it. 

I am not going to read it.......

.......or may be I will, some day.

An old house spotted along the road.

I wonder if it has been a hotel, some time.

 

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My Caffe Avec blog, my travel tales blog, is up running after a long break.
It is in Norwegian, but you can always use google translate.......

Caffe Avec

Welcome over, anyway.

 

 

 

 

Royal preparations

@brittarnhild

The Danish King Frederik X and his wife Queen Mary arrived in Oslo this morning. Terje and I were on our way to the National Art Museum and had to pass the harbour where they would arrive. We had planned to have a coffee before the museum, instead we stopped, watching the royal preparations.

Well, royal preparations are not quite like other preparations.......

The Norwegian King´s Guard were there,

The police were there.

King Frederik X and his Queen arrived by boat, to be greeted by our Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Our King Olav and his Queen Sonja were there also, but from where we stood, it was hard for use to see them, impossible to get pictures.

 

When the nights are filled with daylight

@brittarnhild

Terje met a childhood friend today and had lunch with him. I have spent the day with some of my old colleagues, from the time when I worked in the Church of Norway. We met some time during dinner, and then went for a long walk.

After a rather cold spring so far in Oslo, summer temperatures have finally arrived and "everybody" are outdoors enjoying.

Baby geese are busy eating their first meals on their own,

swans have arrived for the summer season,

and we enjoy this rather "new" area of the city, Bjørvika.
Here you see the new Munch Museum and the amazing sculpture Mother by the British artist Tracey Emin.

A few days in Oslo

@brittarnhild

Terje and I took the train south to Oslo this morning. Early breakfast, 7+ hours on the train, arriving in time for coffee, a long lovely walk, early dinner and a concert in the Operahouse.

The photo above is from the park surrounding the Royal Castle, "Slottsparken", slott is the Norwegian word for castle. Tomorrow the new King of Denmark and his wife will visit Oslo, today the slottet was empty.

The cherries are in bloom. Here is a statue of the late Crown Princess Märta welcoming them. Märta was married to Olav, our previous king. She died young though.

Since our oldest son, Torgeir, moved to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, more than 7 years ago, we have fallen in love with that city. But coming to Oslo is always a treat. Especially when the weather is as beautiful as it was today.

 

Opera night in Kristiansund

@brittarnhild

Kristiansund, a small town along the coast of Norway, south west of Trondheim, loves opera, and every year in winter, an opera festival is arranged here. The concert hall, Festiviteten,  is small and the festival has grown out of it many years ago. A new concert hall will be ready some time next year, meanwhile Festiviteten has to manage as best it can.

     

Kristiansund is not far from our cabin, and for many years Terje and I have gone there.......for opera. Last night we watched La Traviata, with my brother Torodd Wigum as the conductor. An amazing night.

Yesterday it was snowing. Today we woke up to a most beautiful winters day, with a bright sun shining from a blue sky, so after breakfast we went for a walk, me, Terje and Torodd, along the harbour in Kristiansund.

Kristiansund is an old fishing village, historically best known for its stockfish.
The statue shown in the above picture is called klippfiskkjerringa, the stock fish lady.

During the WWII the town was bombed and set to fire and most of the houses burnt down. My father was a boy then, and lived with his parents, five sisters and a little brother on an island just across the bay. He can remember he heard the bombs and saw the smoke from the fires.

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We have arrived at our cabin now, and will spend the weekend enjoying this view.

 

Statsraad Lehmkuhl, the three-masted barque

@brittarnhild

I had an appointment downtown near the harbour this morning. I was out early, the day was beautiful and I went for a walk along the fjord. A very special ship is visiting Trondheim these days, the three-masted barque Statsraad Lehmkuhl. During the weekend it was possible to get on board as a visitor. We did not have the chance to do that, but seeing it today was also quite something.

The ship was built in Germany in 1914, and in 1921 it was bought by the Norwegian cabinet minister Kristofer Lehmkuhl. Statsråd is the Norwegian word for cabinet minister, hence the name.

You can read more about Statsraad Lehmkuhl here.