Forest Fall Colour photo hunt in Norway

posted on 15th October 2010 under Fall, Habits, Nature

Autumn has arrived with its characteristic blasts of colour over most of Norway. The hills, forests and mountains are ablaze and waiting to welcome hikers, bikers and all who headed off on a photo hunt like DianeCA, my wife and I last weekend. You see thermometers have dipped below the freezing point at night in the Oslo area and the chill is bound to bring forth even more fall colours, as the greenery of summer gives way to the red and gold of autumn. My mind races to past family trips to see the changing of the colours in the woods, especially along lakes. Let me start with one pic from our trip last weekend to give up an idea:

On our way by car – just 15 min from home – deeper into the forests and up on the hill, we were met with this fairytale scenery of nature’s colours (click pics to bigify & enjoy):

The fall colour of the tree is spectacular, showing brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. This eye-catching occurrence is due to a chemical process that begins as the days get shorter and the temperature drops. At a village and its camping resort by Lake Tyrifjorden (Norway’s fifth largest lake with an area of 137 km2, 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level), we really got hold of the whole fall colour pallet:

During the spring and fall, the leaves use chlorophyll (which gives the green colouring) to capture energy from the sun. When water and carbon dioxide are added to the mix, the trees produce sugars and starch for food. As the temperature drops and the daylight diminishes, the trees stop their food-making process, which causes the chlorophyll to break down and the green pigments to be replaced with oranges and yellows (which were present in small quantities all along).
Enough facts – let’s enjoy the lake windowing this spectacular nature fall paintings:

Notice the Kayak below: is it possible to find anything more recreational?

Well, fishing for some is quite recreational too:

Let me end this colourful report with memories from my family’s weekend expeditions in the good old days. It would mean sweaters, picnic baskets and other gear to make the trip a success. My wife (click here to read her post from the same trip) has obviously had some of the same as this was what she served in these wonderful nature fairytale surroundings:
Coffee and sandwich ala Diane: Mayo, egg, tomato and mushrooms!

This is what I call a quality time with my wife, in the golden beauty of fall and a good proof of why I love the significant four seasons – to be experienced and explored in the nature; far away from the stressful, urban life – the best way to spend a Sunday and charge you’re batteries.

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Mini Cruise on Oslo Fjord in Norway

posted on 30th October 2009 under Fall, Nature, OsloBG, Travel Norway

By ship from the City Hall to the new Opera House, then to Bygdøy Island with Maritime and Viking museum gives an adventures cruise on the Oslo Fjord. A hop on – hop off tour with a double masts motor vessel “Jumfruen” (Eng. Virgin) (build 1917) leaves the harbour at the City Hall every 90 min. from 9:45AM to 15:45PM. That means you can cruise a whole day and at the same time enjoy cultural buildings, museums, beaches on the islands on the fjord with breath taken scenery – all in one day. That’s what my wife DianeCA (click to read her report!) and I did some weekends ago and of course we gladly take you along:

_{DianeCA and RennyBA at “Jomfruen” on the Oslo Fjord.}
Let the cruise begin from Oslo harbour:

<sub>Left: The boat gangplank – Right: 90 years old boat “Jumfruen”

Oslo City Hall

Left: Passing Akershus Fortress – Right: The view of the city from the fjord.</sub>

The New Oslo Opera House:
First stop is the largest single cultural-political initiative in contemporary Norway. It’s an extraordinary building that rises directly from beneath the fjord – like an iceberg. The white marble clad roofs cape forms a large public space in the landscape of the city and the fjord. I’ve made lots of posts from this building: the only Opera House where you can walk on the roof. Here is a couple for you to click and enjoy: ‘Oslo Opera House recreational Culture for the People’ and ‘New Oslo Opera House in Norway’.


The islands on the Oslo Fjord:
10 minutes from pulsating urban city life; the boat takes you to the nicest island countryside. Bring your bathing suit in the summer time to enjoy a nice swim in the fjord to experience the recreational contrast:

_{Cruising The Oslo Fjord}

Bygdøy Island; Maritime and Viking Ship Museum:
After 30 minutes more cruise, the next stop is Bygdøy Island:

_{Harbour at the Fram Museum; the boat Roald Amundsen used for the South Pole expedition in 1911.}

Thousands of years of culture and history is to be explored at Bygday in a walking distance, e.g. : The Maritime Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum, The Viking Ship Museum, and The Museum of Cultural History.

The end of the cruise:
In 30 minutes from the last stop at Bygdøy, you are back at the harbour by the City hall. There you can:

_{Buy fresh steamed shrimp at the fish market or dine at many of the restaurants at Aker Brygge.}

Oslo Blog Gathering 2010:

This is an example of how you can enjoy a 90 minutes cruise at Oslo Fjord or hop off at some or the stops to explore and make it a whole day cultural and relaxing adventure. Not only is Oslo a compact city, but you can enjoy a cruise or hike in the mountain, just from the city’s doorstep. Participants in next years Oslo Blog Gathering get the Oslo Pass with free travel on all public transport, free admission to museums and sights – even 15% on this Mini Cruise! Go check the Official Gathering site and mark your calendar for a trip to Norway in August next year!

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Scandinavian fall season at Göta Canal in Sweden

posted on 11th October 2009 under Fall, Habits, Nature

Autumn in Scandinavia offers colourful scenery – a proof of the significant four seasons. Photo hunting for the natural golden beauty of fall, I had another quality time with my wife in the local area around in our vacation home in Mariestad, Sweden. I had my Nokia N82 mobile phone at hand of course, and gladly share some of the fall beauty with you. In the spirit of my blog, let’s learn something from this sight seeing too:

The Göta Canal:
Build between 1810 and 1832 to facilitate the transport of good for export; it’s one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Sweden. Its stretches from Mem at the east coast to Sjötorp on Lake Vanern:

The canal has a length of 190 kilometres and a total of 58 locks of this distance, 87 kilometres are man made and in combination with the Trolhätta canal, the Göta Canal connects Stockholm with Gôteborg. A total of 58,000 soldiers took part in its construction:

Throughout the 19th century the canal continued to be a very important transport route for both goods and passengers. Today it is one of Sweden’s best known tourist attractions and has been named the Swedish construction of the millennium.

Lyrestad harbour store house:
The harbour storehouse dates from the time when Lyrestad was an important transhipping centre. It is said that it was build of demolition timber from the canal labourers barracks at Norrkvarn. It was not unusual to reuse timber from the barracks which were no longer required after the canal was completed:

_{Lyrestad harbour storehouse in fall.}


Lake Vänern:
The largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe, located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland. It covers an area of 5,655 km², located at 44 m above sea level and is on average 27 m deep and the maximum depth is 106 m. Basically all common fresh water fish are found in Lake Vänern. Our vacation home town, Mariestad, is call the Pearl of Lake Vänern – here is one of the reasons why:

_{Ekudden beach at Lake Vänern in Fall}

I feel a special attachment to this last beach on Vänern. Today we were discussing how we have had all our loved ones at this beach, throughout all the seasons of the year. We have walked on the ice in winter, taken early spring picnics, swimming in the middle of summer and enjoy the fiery colour of fall. Season after season year after year we come back to this spot for peace and tranquillity. That is what enjoying the four seasons and the nature is all about, the possibility of embracing it all in the company of the people you most enjoy being with.

Update:
I told you this was a quality time together with my wife. Go and see the results from DianeCA’s photo hunt!

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Fall in 1600s industrial historical environment in Norway

posted on 7th October 2009 under Culture, Fall, Food, History, Nature, Travel Norway

Bærum’s Works, 30 min. from Oslo city, today offers around 55 shops, craftsmen, workshops, galleries and restaurants. Trade, crafts and history are intertwined and form the basis of activities and cultural experiences such as glass-blowing, blacksmith, galleries, crafts, design, speciality shops, oven museum, Sculpture Park, historic play and a modern trading. I had another quality time there with my wife, photo hunting for the golden beauty of autumn. I gladly take you along and let me set the mood by some pics from the fall running through this industrial historic environment:

_{Above: RennyBA in the fall :-)}

“Bærums Verk”, a former industrial company was established in 1610 as iron to produce cannon shells and driven at the king’s expense, a private company from 1624. The Ironworks was in 1874 converted to the foundry with a mechanical workshop. The works also had a saw mill and planking mill, as well as extensive agriculture and forestry:

_{Industrial historical environment.}


Trade and commerce have always been of central importance to Bærums Verk history and this tradition continues today. In 1985, restoration began to revitalize the old buildings into a charming cultural, social and shopping centre. I hate malls, but I love this:


The second stage in this process occurred in 1997 with the refurbishment of the old production locations: The foundry, the furnace and the iron stock. Today, Bærums Verk has become a unique shopping centre in historical surroundings. The picturesque ironworks area survives today as one of the most distinctive features and the vibrant center for commerce, crafts and history:

With its beautiful outdoor areas and its unique buildings, Bærums Verk is an area that is very well suited to exhibit sculptures. Here they promote Norwegian artists and make them available to everyone. I can’t show them all in one post, but while hunting for the golden colour of fall, I found some of its beauty:


My regular readers know I consider food an important part of history and culture and there are a lot of culinary delights to choose from at Bærums Verk as well. They have Norway’s oldest inn preserved; “Værtshuset Bærums Verk” which is protected as a historical monument. However, this time we choose the one and only Dutch Pancake house of Norway. It has been a custom for me to end our quality time reports with the serving and of course I won’t disappoint my regular readers:

_{Left: “Michelangelo” – pepperoni, onion, cheese, tomato, pepper, oregano and olives.
Right: “Rembrandt” – crisp bacon, blue cheese, chevre, paprika, cheese.}

Thanks for joining us on this short fall trip to the lovely Bærums Verk. It seems like it may have been a week or two early to find the peak fall colours, but I hope you enjoyed the history, culture and scenery anyway. So stay tuned for more colourful fall posts.

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Gutenberg House Art Gallery and Graphic Museum in Mariestad

posted on 3rd October 2009 under Culture, Fall, History, Travel Abroad

Gutenberg House in Mariestad contains both an art gallery and a graphic museum. Built in late 1700s as a warehouse, this is the only remaining of the numerous wooden buildings that previously lined the harbour. It’s therefore a valuable element of the old part of Mariestad in Sweden and well worth a visit:

–
What attracts me first was The Graphic Museum and of course the connection in name with Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (1398 – 1468), the German goldsmith and printer who is credited with being the first European to use movable type printing and the global inventor of the mechanical printing press. Among the specific contribution to printing which are attributed to Gutenberg is the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type. The press at the museum is from the 1900s, but I guess you get the hang of it:


The other attraction is The Art Gallery located on the second floor: A perfect place for art exhibitions of all kinds in an old wooden house. I guess from these photos, you get an idea of that too:

Here you’ll find a comprehensive selection of artwork, sculptures, jewellery, textiles, etc. from exhibiting artists in Mariestad and the local area.

This old building and the surrounding properties have more to offer as well – especially if you care to pay The Back Gardens a visit. A nice, quiet, personal and artistic atmosphere:

If you take a look at the details of the groupings you’ll understand why I went crazy with my Nokia mobile phone camera:

To me it’s like going back a century in time – like a recreational journey where time stands still and you’ll find candy for the eye everywhere. To me for sure it was another quality time adventure with my wife at our vacation home town in Sweden. You’re welcome to read about this trip and see it all from her prospective on DianeCA’s own blog.

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