Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Autumn in the City

@brittarnhild

Trondheim on the first Saturday in November.
The temperatures makes you believe winter is still far, far away, though the wind makes the leaves dance.

Nordre (North),  the main shopping and pedestrian street in Trondheim.
As is has been since I was a little child.

Terje and I went downtown for a Saturday stroll in the city.
Met Torgeir and had lunch with him.
Listened to Giorgio playing his accordion.
Enjoying the autumn colours.

Having your coffee outdoors at Nordre in November doesn´t happen every year!

 

Farmers Market, which we have one Saturday a month here in Trondheim, is always a pleasure.

Terje is picking out a pot of local honey.
We will save it for Christmas when blog readers Jane and Lanny from California will come and stay with us.

I can never resist a skein of lokaly produced yarn.

 

Now we are back home, and it is time for coffee and some lefse we bought at the market.

 

A Love Story

@brittarnhild

She was only 27 when he brought her from Denmark to a farm far up north in the world. They were deeply in love, but God gave them only one year together. Then death hit and he was left alone.

On her grave he planted two small copper beeches, the people on the nearby farms had never seen a tree like it. Deep red like the hair of his beloved.

He fertilized the two trees with all his love, watered with his tears.
And they grew, ribght up into the sky...

 

......where they lived together for ever and ever.

We were visiting the medieval church Hustad when the guide told us the story behind the two copper beeches. A fascinating story. I wish I could have learned more, but I can of course always make up the rest in my heart.

A garden with glass and metal

@brittarnhild

Friends of us have bought a summer appartment at Inderøy, a penninsula in the Trondheimsfjorden, a couple of hours to drive from us. They are spending their summer vacation there and invited us to come for a visit. Yesterday we had no other plans, and decided to spend the day with Inger and Roger.

 

Let us know if there are anything special you want to see during the day, Inger texted me a few days ago. I never got around to reply to her message, and I am glad I didn´t, for Inger and Roger had made plans for us. Great plans.

Like taking us to a garden filled with plants, flowers, glass, metal and a lush of creativity.

As we walked around, my eyes got bigger and bigger.....

.....and bigger and bigger.......

.....and bigger and bigger.

In the end I had to pinch my arm.

My camera was busy. There were so many things I wanted to remember. Ideas I wanted to bring home to The Blue Garden, or just keep in my heart for rainy days.

Today, after work and dinner I eagerly started to do a few whimsical changes in my own garden.

No big changes, but the small touches,
here, there, everywhere.

The artist behind the garden at Inderøya has a webpage which you can find here. Some of the garden photos here are a bit out of date though, but you can also follow her on facebook here.

 

PS - the difficult part of writing this post has been to limit the photos. I want to show them all, or even better, I want to take you to this very special garden :-)

 

Sharing dreams

@brittarnhild

 

With no snow for cross country skiing up in the hills behind The House in the Woods, there is no possibility for my husband to do cvross country skiing. I don´t mind, for now he comes with me on my morning photo walks. Every morning a new place in Trondheim.

 

The weather has changed since yesterday. Rain in the air and a fresh wind, but still quite mild.

We talk as we walk. Sharing dreams.

Somewhere we passed a huge poster, a movie promotion.
Stop dreaming, start living!

I am not sure if the creator of the words knows what he is talking about.

Dreaming is part of living.
Sharing dreams,
is an important part of a marriage long as your life.
An important part for life long lovers.

 

Midnight Opera, and a proud big sister

@brittarnhild

We went to the midnight opera last night, at Steinvikholmen, a tiny little island out in the Trondheim fjord. The story behind the opera was historical, from when the last catholic archbishop lost to Lutheranism. An opera which has been performed every summer for as long as I can remember. But never before with the conductur of this summer....

 

....my little brother Torodd.
The maestro :-)

Big sisters are allowed to brag.
Always!

Terje and I went out to the island Steinvikholmen early.
The sun went down while we sat on a stone drinking our coffee.

Sitting on the shore at low tide.
Listening to the flow of the sea.
That´s a sacred place for me.

And then, while darkness covered the island, watching the opera, knowing the important part my little brother Torodd played.

Majestic.

 

 

To let nature disturb you.....

text and images britt-arnhild

A few hours on the road.

 With the meeting and the following lunch finished, I wanted to drive back home as soon as possible.

But when nature along the road disturbes you like this.......

.....the only thing to do is.....

....to stop and......

.....let nature disturbe you!

The Wet Walk

text and images britt-arnhild

With no skiing, no hiking,
Terje wanted to go with my on my photo walk,
so after the gallery visit,
we walked down to a part of the harbour we seldom visit.

Umbrellas and good shoes,

... and some very interesting motifs for my Nikon. 

I have lived in this city all my life, almost......

still, there is always something new to see and explore.

Unfortunately it is impossible to combine a photo walk with a hand in hand walk. Terje tries, but then there is always something I want to photograph....... "please, can you step back......no, don´t go there, you are ruining my picture......ok, you go along, I´ll be there in a minute......."

My photo walks work best as solo trips (don´t tell Terje),
but I must confess:

I love to make it a hand in hand one..........sometimes. 

A photo gallore in the making

text and images britt-arnhild

Since I started to use instagram, my htc decire cell phone has become my best friend. It is always in my pocket, and many times a day, sometimes many times an hour, I stop to shot a photo.

Being a photographer, with the phone, with my small pocket camera or with my more professional Nikon, is a real eye opener. The world has got a new dimension. Now I see beauty, or just interesting spots everywhere.

Old trees, a red housde, a river, fallen leaves.
I can't just pass by, can I?

In the city, at home, in the countryside.
My new eyes catches it all.

Do you have a smart phone with a camera?
Do you use it?
Do you have a photo to share?

Why not tell about it in the comment section?
Why not post a link to your blog or your instagram site or wherever you post your images?

Why not send me a photo, and I'll make a blog readers' photo gallore.

 

Photos: all from my cell phone from the last week

 

 

Pilgrims and The green Pilgrimage Network

text and images britt-arnhild

The city of Trondheim and the diocese of Nidaros are a part of the world wide Green Pilgrimage Network. This week representatives from Europe have been gathered in Trondheim to work on the program for a huge, worldwide conference here next summer.

Parts of our days have been meetings, parts have been getting to know Trondheim better. And the very best thing to do for a pilegrim net work is to do a pilgrimage. Of course it is.

So yesterday we took the tram up to Lian, a restaurant where they serve local food, and where they have a magnificiant view of Trondheim and her surroundings.

One of the first days of October.
Bright. Crisp. Colourful.

A pilgrimage where you leave something, you live something, you walk towards something.

 

A pilgrimage can be so many things.
It is about life. To live as a pilgrim. On your way.
At the same time living here, now, with an open mind.
Open senses.

Starting up in the hills we walked through the autumn forest.
Towards the city.

Farms.
Villas.

From the quiet to motre and more people.

 

Always
LIFE
LIVING

Feginsbrekka
The Mountain/hill of joy,
where you see The Goal for the first time.

The cathedral

A rest.
Some refreshments.

Looking for the small signs which show you that you are following The Way

Near the cathedral is a sign, a memorial of Nicolaus Breakspear,
who later become Pope Hadrian IV.

Breakspear was the founder of the diocese of Nidaros,
in 1153.

He came from St.Albans north of London,
where one of the pilgrims, one of the Green Pilgrimage partners lives today.

 

The Goal.

The Cathedral.

 

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Links to

Alliance of Religions and Conservations

Green Pilgrimage Network 

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A day at work.
A pilgrimage.

Can you see why I have the best job in the world?

 

To climb the old church spire

text and images britt-arnhild

"May I climb the steep ladder up the spire, please?"

We were in the almost 400 years old church as part of a 60th birthday celebration, and the guide had told us about the fantastic view from there church spire. And also about the steep, steep ladder you had to climb to get there. This intrigued me. It sounded too exciting to let go. So instead of walking out to the graveyard surrounding the church, which was the guide´s suggestion, I couldn´t help myself asking:

"May I climb the ladder up the spire please?"

The guide was right.
The ladder was terrible steep.
And the view was terrific!

The village of Leksvika, the Trondheim Fjord and all the way out to the little monastery island Tautra.

Leksvik church has several treasures, among them a crusifix from the 1200 century. Its history is unknown, though the guide has her own version, which I love:

"As you know we are close to the island Tautra. The first Cisterciencer monks came there around 800 years ago. They built a church on Tautra which also became the church for the inhabitants here in Leksvik. The people was happy, they didn´t have to row all the way to Lade church in Trondheim, Tautra was much, much closer. Then one year a bride to be and her groom drowned on their way to the church at Tautra, during a heavy storm, and the inhabitants here in Leksvika decided it was full time to build a church in their own village. When the tiny little log church was finished the monks at Tautra, which were originally from France, came rowing over the fjord with a gift; this French crusifix"

 

There are tales for many a book hidden inside the walls of Leksvik church.
Our guide has materials for some them. 
A collector of words is needed to write them down.

Here you can read more about the church.

By the way, did you know that many old family portraits also have the dead children of the family included? They were often painted with white skin.