wanderingquilter

On Tuesday, May 29th, I had the good fortune to be part of the group that toured Flor og Fjære. It is the only palm-tree island in the North Sea….. and it is beyond imagination.  I know – you are wondering what I’ve been sniffing – right?  Norway is COLD!

Well, it’s all about micro-climates, and the ability of plants to survive in hostile environments with just a bit of protection and careful placement.  But on the north end of an island?  It still is hard to believe.

We caught the ferry at the Stavanger Havn.  It was billed to be a sunny day, but there were clouds, and a cold wind.  Many of us stayed on the open deck anyway – the sun did peek out once in a while, and you must not waste Norwegian sun.

We went past several small islands, and then… we were there.  There was a splash of red in front of the visible building.

Off the boat and welcomed by the chef, we proceeded around the corner – and we were in wonderland. Tall trees, hills, ponds, streams…… and a riot of colour.  And yes – there were palm trees.

Flor of Fjære is a family operation.  The founder was a greenhouse owner and operator in Stavanger area, and wanted a place to get away from it, so he bought 4 acres on the northern tip of an island.   The farm had been owned and run by a widow who barely made ends meet to feed her children, and burned every tree on the property to stay warm.  It wasn’t long before he decided a few trees for a wind break would be a good idea……. and from there it grew.  I  think he just couldn’t  sit there and not start playing in the soil.

The trees are a major player in making the micro-climate that allows this miracle to flourish.  They use tall, skinny trees, or prune lower branches so that they maximize the sunshine while providing protection from the winds blowing in off the North Sea.  Some more tender specimen, like the citrus trees, are wintered inside as well.

We were treated to a tour of the estate, now grown from the original 4 acres to 20, and encompassing several ponds and falls, and many different garden areas, each with its own theme and colour scheme.  We went down a hill toward the sea past a natural stand of birches and towards the cloister garden where the herbs used in the restaurant are grown. The top of the table there is what is left of the roof stone for the cave the original owner used as cold storage.  It was much larger – but the story is that sailors would shelter in the cave when seas got too rough, and the neighbor didn’t like it, so he broke it into pieces.

They have a Japanese garden, complete with bonsai trees and a koi pond.  The fish winter in a big tank at the mainland greenhouse, and had just been returned to their island home.

There is an area of succulents on a hill facing the sun, and some low espaliered apple trees that were just beginning to flower.

After our tour, we were treated to a wonderful meal – creamy fish soup, and an array of salads,  fish and vegetable dishes.  Dessert was a tasty treat as well.  Sorry – I never think of taking photos of my food – I should have.  The chef came and talked to us – he is a wonderfully droll Dutchman who hated boats and cold – and has been working there for 15 years.

We had a few minutes after lunch to wander in the gardens, take photos, and enjoy the shelter and the sunshine.  then we were off again toward Stavanger.  Paradise really can be on a cold island in the North Sea, after all.

We have enjoyed over a week of warm, sunny weather.  Sunday was billed as the last of the 20+C weather, so we decided now was the time for another long ride.  Rather than going overland, up hills and down, we opted to ride along the fjord to Stavanger.  There is a bike path the whole way, and most of it is off the road, or on very quiet streets.

When we got to the north end of Sandnes, we saw a path right along the fjord, but didn’t see how to get over or under the railway track to it.  Maybe back at the marina….. off we went, only to discover that was NOT the right way.  Back we went – glad that no one was sitting on their front step right there, wondering where on earth we were going.

Found it…… right by the fjord.  There was very little wind, and the water was so clear and still and blue.

We went back and forth under the rail tack a few times, down lovely lanes  –

past beaches teeming with families out to enjoy the wonderful weekend sunshine.  It was a lovely ride – not too fast, but steady and WARM!

When we approached Stavanger Sentrum, we rode around Breiavatnet – a little lake near the harbour that was said to have been caused by a troll throwing a boulder to stop the noise of the cathedral being built in the 1100’s.  There has been a swan sitting on eggs right along the edge by the bus stops – and her cygnets have hatched.

A cruise ship was just leaving the harbour as we arrived.  there is at least one a day – this one was fairly big, but some are enormous.

We went to Dickens – one of many pubs along the harbour.  It was great to sit in the sun and relax.

The buildings that now house pubs and eateries were once warehouses right along the shore, and goods were hoisted up to upper level storage floors.

We grabbed some pizza and rode back home.  It was getting a bit crisp then, and I was glad to get into the hose and warm up.  But what a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

to getting my Norwegian drivers’ license is taking a lesson……… that was this morning. One and a half hours behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo.  Nifty little car, with a few really cool bells and whistles – like automatic parking.  It’s really weird.  You put it in auto-park, the car finds the parking spot, and all you do is use the gas and brake, and it maneuvers  in backwards.  It tells you when to shift gears, and you keep your hands OFF the steering wheel.  Fortunately, we didn’t play with that until we returned to the traffic school, or I may have just cut and run.

David had the first 1 1/2 hour lesson.  He’s driven here already – for the three months we had on our old licenses. Now, we are in the appeal stage, awaiting the verdict as to whether they will treat us like Canadians, or Omanis.  In the mean time, we imagined the worst-case scenario, in which we take the whole course of lessons, as if we were 17 and new drivers. If the decision goes in our favour, we will only have to take the driving test.  We’ll see, but we are in the loop, anyway.

We drove all over Sandnes, along main roads, freeways, back roads, country road by lovely lakes and parks, in the old part of town where everything is on a hill and the side streets are barely wide enough for two cars.  Learned the rules about speed zones here – if it’s not clearly marked at EVERY intersection, it is 50 km/h in build-up areas, and 80 otherwise.  Learned how you are REALLY supposed to drive a traffic circle. Gave way at every zebra crossing, and everyone to the right of me in an uncontrolled intersection.  Those are really the big three.

In a couple of weeks or so, we’ll be out again – this time into Stavanger where there is more traffic, and the crazy, narrow old section by the port where I would rather NOT drive.  In the meantime, I’ll be very conscious of every intersection and speed change and sign that I see, even while on my bike.  And hopefully next time, I’ll keep my foot off the clutch more, and my hand off the inside of the steering wheel.

This afternoon, I need to begin checking out the used car dealerships. Once we are legal (if we win the appeal, we will get a three month temporary license so we can drive and practice while we wait our turn for the test – it’s a 10-12 week wait.

Interesting country – Norway.  They have some funny rules, but, if the sun is shining, you can’t find a more beautiful place.  Helge, the instructor, old me that they have a special word for the break in the weather when it isn’t raining.  so I’m not the only one watching for it.

Today, David and I cycled for 22.8 miles….. yes, that’s MILES. And over 300 feet in elevation (some of it many times). And I can still walk!

Come on, says he. Lets just go to the War Museum – after the first big hill, it’s mostly down.  Yeah, right! Well, the weather was lovely (meaning the wind wasn’t blowing, and it wasn’t raining) so off we went. We stopped at a used car lot at the bottom of the big hill (dumb) but I still made it to the top without walking.  And after that, most of them seemed easy.

We stopped along the way to help a lady change her tire.  Turns out that her brother is farming in Saskatchewan, Canada. What a small world!  And next thing we knew (well up a few more hills), we were at the museum. by this time the sun had come out, and it really WAS a beautiful day.

The museum was really interesting, in spite of the write-ups being almost exclusively in Norwegian. It’s quite amazing how many words look a lot like their English counterparts.  They talked about how the Germans parachuted into Sola and area in April 1940, and they bombed and took over with very little trouble.  The Germans thought that Norway would be quite happy to be part of Germany – after all, they were blue-eyed blonds like the Germans.  They couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work that way. They did, however, get quite a bit of support from the older generations who had really felt the depression.  They also build many good roads and other infrastructure which really help the Norwegians.

That’s not to say there wasn’t resistance.  This tableau commemorated the fighting at Gloppedalsura – photos of this area in my post of April 27 – “Winter Revisited”.

Out in the sunshine again – I thought we were heading back home.  Oh no! Now, we were on to the Flyhistorisk Museum in Sola. I have to interject here that this is mostly along excellent bike paths – and 2.4 miles later there we were. It is housed in a huge hanger that the Germans build – with Norwegian labour – as soon as they took over the airport in 1940. It was very interesting, as they have a wide range of aircraft inside – from gliders and WWII planes to quite modern fighter jets and commercial planes.  They have some reclaimed bits of war planes that went down. They are also reconstruction a Messerschmitt bf 109, and will be raising a German torpedo bomber (He 115C) out of the fjord the beginning of June. After our waffles and coffee in the canteen, we got talking to a gentleman who works at the museum.  He was only 3 years old when the war broke out. His father was away from home for 3 months, and he remembers jumping from the second story into his father’s arms when he returned.

We left just as the museum was about to close – 4 pm. Here is a shot of the cement the Germans poured by the fjord for the pontoon planes to come up… wish concrete poured now was in that good of shape.

And so, on towards home. We decided to go around the Sola airport – not much farther.  then, lets go by Sola Strand (or beach). We stopped at the Ruinkyrkje (built in the 1100’s)  The reconstructed bits are made of glass or glass bricks, so you can see what the original building looked like.  It wasn’t open, but here are a few photos.  I want to see the inside sometime – I understand they hold choral concerts inside.

Away again – this time on a road with cars… not my favourite.  When we finally found a bike path, we took it – only to discover that we were going parallel to the coast, and getting farther away from home.  Beautiful countryside though.

We turned around, found the right path, and finally arrived home about 5:45. I was exhausted but totally exhilarated at going so far.  A cold Corona with lemon on the patio in the sun, and then we walked to the pizza place for a quick supper.

I guess I’ve proved to myself that I can do it – and we will have many more bike excursions in the future.  And if we had drivers licenses, we may never had dicovered this wonderful way to experience Norway.  There is a silver lining in this cloud, after all.

“Gratulere med dagen!” rang through the air as Norway celebrated it’s 98th year as a free and independent nation. And they DO know how to celebrate.

In true Norwegian style, Thursday was rainy – to be exact, the second straight day of rain.  And, as you will see, there they were, in their stunning traditional costumes, celebrating as if it was the nicest day of the year (it was, almost  LOL).  You have to hand it to them – these Norwegians are tough.  You don’t live in a land of ice and snow and rock and cloud without being able to handle whatever Mother Nature throws at you – with a smile, no less.

The Chamber of Commerce in Stavanger arranges a lot of events for expats to help them understand Norway and how things work here.  They had a special pasta-and-parade gathering – nothing formal, but a good way to meet others and have someone to watch the parade with.  We met up with a lady I’d met before and her husband, and it was really nice to have someone to talk to.  The pasta was yummy…… and then we walked to a point about halfway through the parade route.

The day is celebrated throughout the land with parades……… lots of parades.  After the ceremonies at the cemeteries in the morning, and the flag raising, there is a children’s parade. The children from all the various school walk, dressed in their very best, waving Norwegian flags.  The school bands play.  In the afternoon, there is another parade – sports teams and dance clubs, choirs singing as they marched along, and, of course, more bands.  They love their bands here – and they are good.  And no floats like we fill our North American parades with – well a couple – here is one-but no one is riding on it!

The streets were lined all along the route, in spite of the weather..with young and old alike.There are also concerts in various locations throughout the day.  There was one at the Domkirke – the old cathedral – that I would have loved to attend, but by the time we had stood in the rain for over an hour watching the parade, I’m afraid that my whole mind was on getting home and curling up in a blanket.  This being Norwegian takes stamina.

As you can tell by my photos, I am fascinated by the National costumes…. especially the ladies.  The different regions in Norway have different styles and designs – and they are all so elegant.

And after the parade……. it’s eat and party.  Friday is a day-off for the schools, and a LOT of people don’t go to work.  This is the second last holiday in Norway until Christmas, so one really does have to make the most of it.

I hope you enjoyed the parade!