Telemark Canal at Norsjø in Norway is ideal for active holidays. Biking or enjoy the canal in a canoe, you will however always find peace. It can be done at your own pace, as an active holiday here gives you the peace back. That’s what I found during the weekend in the heart of county Telemark in Norway when also celebrating our University College Class Reunion (35 years since finished). As always, I gladly take you with – let’s start with the celebration and place: Lake Norsjø viewed from the hotel.
It’s hard to believe we graduated 35 years ago, but it was some special bounds developed during our two years together in Bø, Telemark, As a matter of fact we’ve had these reunions every 5 years since 1985! As always, when we meet up; nobody or nothing has changed – or has it (click picks to bigify & enjoy)? Left: The football team in ’74 – Right: This years reunion.
The arranging committee had done a tremendously good job in planning for a 2 days reunion. We had a wonderful time on the deck in front of the hotel; catching up, sort out gossip and facts since five years as well as memorising the lovely, inapprehensive time in collage. Also in the evening, we had a delicious gourmet meal with great vine as well as coffee avec and were dancing and talking in the nightclub all night long. I’m sure you understand that I don’t go into details, but there is one special adventure in the afternoon before dinner, I can’t resist sharing: A boat trip on Lake Norsjø in M/S Telemarken. Let’s start with the breath taking view of the valley and mountains (the weather & company was perfect): Lunch in Telemark gives you the peace back!
The boat M/S Telemarken:
The Motor Ship “Telemarken” was built at Västervik yard in Sweden in 1951 and was one of the boats in the Stockholm archipelago. Her first name was M/S “Freja” and eventually renamed M/S “Karson “. In 1988 the boat was put into operation on the Telemark Canal and was named M/S “Telemarken”. She is 26m long, 5.6m wide, protruding 1.6m deep and takes 140 passengers: here you see her anchored: M/S Telemarken & Norsjø Hotel on top, right.
Find you’re peace back in Telemark:
Sailing along in sunshine, enjoying the magic in nature, what can be more recreational? To convince you, let me give a taste of the lake, the landscape and the locks from Norsjø up to the river Eidselva and back: On Lake Norsjø Left: The locks to……. Right: …. Eidselva (a wide but very quiet river)
Eidselva lies in Nome municipality in Telemark. It rises in Flåvatn, runs into Norsjø in Ulefoss with 4 locks and is an important part of the Telemark Canal. I am from Telemark, so maybe a bit disqualified, but admit it’s a natural beauty: The river Eidselva.
Blues session on Lake Norsjø:
The top of the cream, besides the weather, the food, the nature and the company (who could actually ask for more?), was the unforgettable concert on the boat by the blues musicians: Jostein Forsberg & Morten Omlid. They are very much involved in Notodden Blues Festival, the biggest in Scandinavia (25.000 spectators in 2010) and gave us one good blues pearl title after the other, combined in a jam sessions with Norwegian folk music:
So then I’ve saved the best for last: Filming with my compact Cannon G11 – Here you see Lake Norsjø, the monumental landscape and can listen to the blues guys who sat an adventuress atmosphere with their magic tunes – touching our soul and heart:
These are memories that stay forever and friendship staying the same way. For me the rural and being within the natural elements: Earth, Water and Air – when almost untouched – is the most inspirational and recreational there is. By this post I hope I have given you an idea of what I mean by that and why I love to be outdoors to charge my batteries!
The Oslo Blog Gathering exploring Norway and our capital’s architecture, culture, traditions and history – was a thrill and an adventure for about 30 Social Media active participants from all over the world. Some had been to blog meetings before, while other had only met friends in Blogsphere so far. One thing is for sure this blog gathering developed some real friendships which will last for a lifetime. So it’s a bit sad to sum it up and tell about the last day, however it also created new magical moments to remember in the future and I gladly share them with you.
The grand historic Oscarsborg Fortress: My wife DianeCA. invited those who wanted to join her for a trip to Oscarsborg Fortress. It stands on Kaholmene in the Drøbak Strait and has been there for more than 350 years. Build as a Coastal fortress in the years 1643-1644, its name was given by royal resolution on August 23, 1855 after a visit by the Swedish/Norwegian King Oscar 1.
Oscarsborg is best known for the sinking of the German battleship “Blücher” on the 9th of April 1940, WW2, and one can still get a whiff of the creosote (lignite tar) from the battleship. So the Fortress was military territory until 2003, but then made a publicly available resort island. We can tell you that many local families enjoy taking the boat out to the island fortress and having an enjoyable afternoon on the scenic grounds and visiting the charming seaside café.
Champagne on historical ground:
The Medieval Park in the Old City of Oslo (called Bjørvika) is the largest contiguous area of preserved ruins from the Middle Ages. It was here that the urbanization of Oslo started around the year 1000. In the 1300s there were six churches, three monasteries, royal residence and the bishop’s residence in this small urban society.
Surrounding the ruins is now a park and the old coastal line is recreated as it was in the middle ages by the creation of a water table to provide parkland quality and character. Before the grand finale in the evening, TorAa suggested this place as the perfect surroundings for popping the cork and toasting a successful gathering:
Through Exhibitions and Events the park already communicates experiences, stimulating activities and even more: provides knowledge about Oslo City’s origins, and the role of Oslo as the capital and the Norwegian Middle Ages. The most famous yearly event is The Øya Music Festival, so we where in the right place to have a party:
The grand finale celebration:
Three hectic days (and nights) were coming to an to end but we weren’t ready to give up without a fight, or rather a party. My wife DianeCA and I were exhausted, but we still had a jolly good time with the whole gang at Dubliner Folk Pub. It was a mixed feeling of sadness for having to say farewell, but also the loud buzzing and talking about all the excitement we had experienced. Nobody wanted to go home and all had a lot more they wished to see and do. I was thinking: All in all, many good reasons to come back:
Lawrence aka BeaverBush came up with the party idea and made the reservations for us at the pub. He was so nice and gave me a bottle of very nice champagne on behalf of all the participants. I was happy, thankful and proud of course that all went so well. It was hard to make a small thank you speech – very emotional for me:
Celebrating the Mayor’s birthday in the City Hall:
I have decided to end the report from OsloBG with the most Magic Moment of all: the opening ceremony as the reception by the Mayor in Oslo City Hall. Being aware of that the Mayor had his birthday that very day, I’d asked the participants to bring a small gift from their homeland to give to him. My wife had my Nokia X6 mobile phone, to capture the moment:
My wife DianeCA and I have worked hard on planning OsloBG for over one year and now that our mission is accomplished and my dream has come true, I want to thank everyone again who participated. We made the plan and invited the guests, but it was really each and every OsloBG participant who made the event what it was. Everyone played a key roll and it would not have been the same without them!
So far, all their posts about OsloBG is collected at the gatherings guest list. I will soon make a post to present all of them – so stay tuned!
Oslo offers a pulsing city life, but the fjord with its islands as well as the mountains and deep woods are also right on your doorstep. Exploring the environment in this compact capital of Norway was the aim of the Oslo Blog Gathering’s participants. Since VisitOslo gave everyone the Oslo Pass, we had the use of free public transportation, including the boats to the islands in the Oslo Fjord. One evening we took a ferry to one of the local islands for dinner. It was Mrs. Trøen, the Sales Manager of our HUB, the First Millennium Hotel, who came up with this splendid idea and reserved a large table for us. As always, I gladly share these magic moments with you, starting from the harbour at the City Hall, passing Akershus Fortress:
Five minutes later we had left the urban city life and were enjoying the nature (click pics to bigify & enjoy):
The ferry is relatively small and in just 15 minutes takes you to Bygdøy Island with lots of historical museums: Closer and closer to the Fram Museum: Fram = the boat Roald Amundsen used at his Polar Expeditions (the first to the South Pole in 1912)
Five minutes walk from there and you take Norway’s shortest ferry trip to the island where we were dining: Max 11 passengers and one minute drive.
The restaurant at little Herbern Island:
This small “hide out” is a hidden gem and a peaceful and idyllic island which should be on every Oslo visitors wish list. People started to come out here when the restaurant first opened in 1929, and it has been known as a small and precious pearl in the Oslo gastronomy scene since then, beautifully situated on a natural beach it is open yearly from May – October.
It could be taken for a private Scandinavian summer home on the outside, however inside the restaurant has seats for 65 guests and 130 outside on the terrace with a fantastic seaside view. The restaurant’s interior is bright, with big windows, white table cloths, wooden chairs and a beautiful parquet floor. I’m sorry I didn’t take any pics from the outside, but here are some from the restaurant late in the evening: Fantastic sceneries through the panoramic windows.
I have pics from our gastronomic adventures as well so join the Oslo Blog Gathering gang from all over the world and let me share the menu:
I guess it would not surprise you that seafood is their speciality and to me of course; the choice was easy. So first things first; the starter – bon appétit: Scampi on a crisp salad with balsamic vinegar dressing Left, the main course: grilled salmon on pureed potatoes – Right, the dessert: cappuccino pannacotta
After the one minute ferry back to Bygdøy Island, we took the bus back to Oslo – a 20 minutes drive and we were back in the city and First Millennium Hotel again.
This was Friday night’s menu and we were all getting to know each other quite well – making friendship for life. According to the OsloBG program, we still had one more day and night of fun and adventures, so stay tuned there is more to come!
