wanderingquilter

This morning, the sun was shining – no trace of rain.  That is good, as the ground is positively saturated.  Snoopy and I took advantage of the lovely weather to walk around the lake. It was amazing how many things I saw today that I didn’t all the other times I walked along the same paths.

Whenever the sun shines, I think I take photos of the sun shining on the trunks. The moss on this one is on the SOUTH side of the trunk – what gives?

A statue of a family, commemorating the resistance during the war, taken from the back, looking across the road at the lake.

Antony Gormley made 23 of these “iron men”, and had them standing on a beach and in the water, all facing 10 degrees west, towards the North sea.  People didn’t like them on the beach, so they have been scattered all around the city –

A standing stone – many have runes or ancient writing on them.

Look at the bark on these trees – they make me think of an abstract quilt design –

Pussy willows, just beginning to open –

New life from old – a dead tree gives life to moss and small plants –

More moss

Interesting fungus growing on dead trees

An unused bird nest –

Last view of the park before we headed onto the overpass and towards home. I hope you enjoyed our little walk in the park this morning. Snoopy and I did.

Yesterday was a crazy day, weather-wise.  When we walked the dog this morning, we went through the snow/sun cycle about three times in 3 1/2 miles – changing from big, fluffy snowballs to tiny, hard pellets.  After the melting and rain and sun, the cold seemed particularly biting.  We had to walk inside the park because the wind in my face made my eyes cold. (I know, it sounds weird, but it’s the best I can describe it). We met this swan that thoroughly scared poor Snoopy.  He was huge – I would have been afraid too.

I would have loved to just curl up on the couch with a blanket and book, pretending we had a roaring fire – but David insisted we go somewhere, instead of staying holed up inside. I’m really lucky to have him to drag me out sometimes.

South of Stavanger, there is a highway that follows the coast and is well-known for the views.  Hoping it wouldn’t keep on snowing, we set out. We went into the small fishing harbour of Ølberg.

There was an octagonal building there with this sign on it –

The translation is as follows: (thanks, Google) “Russian House – This octagonal cabin and two others were previously placed higher up inn Ølberg. In each cabin overnight 16 Russian prisoners of war. Russian labour was used for the construction of
German bunkers and gun emplacements in Ølberg.
During World War II was 100,000 Russians in German captivity in Norway. 15,000 Russians died in this country.”

There are several of these concrete bunkers behind the building – and we saw many more as we drove along the coast.

As soon as we found a place to stop near the shore, we got out and walked down to see – the wind was howling and the sea was very high. 

Over the gate (David had to lift Snoopy over – and down where the tall breakers crashed onto the rocks.  Snoopy was just glad to be out of the car and running around sniffing things.                                                                                                                                                     By the time we got back to the car, it was snowing again.  Frozen – back in the car and off again.  I was really glad I wasn’t out on the water.     The clouds were amazing – the snow stopped but the wind continued to gust in from the North Sea. We drove through farm land,                                                                                                                                                     past big barns and small towns. 

Another stop at a beach yielded a few photos of huge sea weeds, uprooted by the waves, and waves crashing on the rocks.

We drove through lots of very rocky areas – in some places the forest was quite dense.

When we reached Egersund, we drove along the harbour, and then parked to walk around. This seismic boat was docked there – it was huge. 

Look at the cables inside the back –

And the small boat with a cage around the propeller – is that to keep the cables from tangling in it?

We had a bite to eat (freezing again in the wind) and then headed home – here is Snoopy waiting for us in the car.  He had that “Where is that chauffeur, anyways?” look, didn’t he? We stopped a couple of times for some more sky shots.

In the evening when we took Snoopy out for his late night walk, it was snowing again – more big fluffy flakes. 

Crazy day!

Last Sunday was a lovely sunny, warm day – temperatures above zero C and a perfect day to do some exploring.  After a short walk with Snoopy, we three piled into the car and headed out. And I took my good camera with me – so none of those grainy cropped iPhone photos here.

First destination was the Finnestad area of Stavanger – just a bit to the north.  this is the area that my Great Grandfather emigrated from.  As was the custom, he took the farming area as his last name when he reach the USA. This will make it quite confusing when I try to look up my ancestors, as it wasn’t the name he was registered under here in Norway. We will, however, see what we can do on that front.

Check out the gas pumps – don’t have two diesel nozzles in Canada. Prices are around $2.50 a litre.

First we drove where the big oil-file companies are located.  Just look at some of this machinery –

This one is used to lay lines on the ocean floor.

We drove around the point to where we could walk in the park.  I was glad we had our ice cleats on and some of it was quite treacherous.                                                                     Snoopy enjoyed running free through the woods – and even found his way down to the water and lay down in it.                                                                                                                Crazy dog!  I thought he’d be freezing afterwards, but he ran enough to pretty well dry off.

We walked up to the point where this old light beacon was.

On the walk, we saw several supply ships coming in from the offshore platforms in the North Sea.                                                                                                                                          David is amazed at how much larger they are than even the ones off Newfoundland.  I just loved the colours, especially the red with the blue water and green trees.

This one looked like it might be laying lines on the sea floor.

                                                                                                                                                            From there, we proceeded to some of the islands that make up Stavanger.  We drove through a 6 km long tunnel underwater, then across a tiny island and a bridge to Mosterøy. There were frozen water falls along the road.

There is a place where they have found remains of 9th century Viking buildings

and from there we drove on to Utstein Kloster or Monastery. The buildings weren’t open, but it is another example of 13th Century architecture.  Very tall and sturdy looking.  Lovely stained glass in these windows.

Lovely views.  And reflections in the water.

Back to the highway, through another tunnel 4 km long to Rennesøy island. We stopped at an old church – look at the monument in the cemetery.                                                         There was a hotel where we stopped to eat – good solid fare – we had the fish soup, which was delicious.

We visited the small island of Åmøy – lovely scenery

small wharf

and on this farm there are examples of petroglyphs – we will have to come back when it is warmer and hike around here.

I went Wednesday morning to a meeting of an expat group called People Who Connect. We met at the local Archaeological museum.  David and I visited it on the weekend, and read all the signs in English, and learned a lot about the history of the area, but today, I learned even more.  Still using my iPhone as my main camera, so please forgive the fuzzy photos.

The dawn of the Viking period as we know it was 793 – the year they raided the monastery of Lindisfarne in North-eastern Scotland.  They slaughtered most of the inhabitants, but the few that got away wrote about the incident.

The Vikings did NOT have horns on their war helmets – that was a vicious rumour spread  to emphasize how vicious and war-like they were.  They probably had horns or wings on ceremonial headgear, but horns on a battle helmet would just give the enemy something to hold on to while he slit your throat.  The Viking helmet was of metal, or more often leather, and conical in shape……like having a bullet on your head – with a piece coming down over the nose.   Men going to battle also wore chain mail to protect them.

Here is our guide holding up a vest of chain mail –

and here are some swords. They were lethal with an indent all down the blade to let your blood run out when you were stabbed.

The horn is a drinking vessel.

It was interesting to learn of the importance women had in the society.  The Chieftain’s wife ruled while he was off plundering or fighting, and if she was unhappy with how he was treating her, she could humiliate him by serving someone else first when he returned.  she wore a key to signify her importance – even the Chieftain couldn’t use the key without her permission of her would have to pay a hefty fine.

Women used a drop spindle to spin wool into thread so fine they could weave 40 threads per inch.  They used cochineal (an insect imported from warmer lands) to make red dye – a process that is still used today.  They also used urine and woad leaves to make blue dye – both colours were used only by the leaders.

People were buried with the tools of their trade so they could work in the afterlife.  Men hoped to go to Valhalla, where they would fight every day, and drink and eat all night until the end of time (sounds pretty boring if you ask me).

We moved on to see a rune stone.  Runes were the Viking’s way of writing – it was done phonetically, so it is difficult to read. This one was written by a man who had become a Christian.  He built a bridge as a good deed to help his Mother pass quickly through purgatory It was made about 1000 AD – at the end of the Viking era.

Runes have been found with such simple messages as “Time to come home” or “Kiss me”  on them, illustrating that they were common.

The Norse ships were very wide and flat-bottomed, which enabled them to sail both on oceans or shallow rivers.  They were powered with oars until sails were invented.  A boat such as this would be a war ship, as there are shields all along the sides.  If it was a trading vessel, there would be no shields.

This map shows all the places the Vikings travelled – all the way to Vineland – now Newfoundland, North America, and also along the great rivers all the way to Istanbul.

There were many other interesting artifacts in the museum – I need to read more and then go and see it again.

Great shades of “Pillars of the Earth”!   Just after reading the book and seeing the TV series, here I am in a real, honest-to-goodness 12th century cathedral.  Wow!

Stavanger Cathedral was started in 1123 – 1128 by Bishop Reinhald (or Reginald) who came from Winchester, England. Th is explains the Anglo-Norman architecture. It had a tower and a square chancel which were destroyed by fire in 1272, and the rebuilding was done in the newer Gothic style, with two towers and a magnificent chance. On the outside wall, you can see the difference in the two periods.

The story is that, because a cathedral of this size cost a lot of money, the diocese was always poor.  The bishop agreed to marry the divorced King Sigurd The Crusader to his new wife, and the King gave the bishopric both land and money.  When King Sigurd and his son died, the next king hanged Bishop Reinhald because he would not tell where the treasure was hidden.

The ornamentation of the pulpit, in the Baroque style of the 1600 contrasts sharply to the serenity of the older parts of the church.

There were also five epitaphs installed during the 1600’s upon the death’s of person belonging to wealthy families.

Enough history – how about a few more photos? Let’s go inside –

First, the 12th century Anglo-Norman part.                                                                                     See the wooden roof in this area.

Then the Gothic chancel –

This baptismal fount dates back to the 13th century.

We went to this concert.                                                                                                                        I didn’t know what to expect, but thought that hearing an a-cappella choral concert in a 12th century cathedral would be an interesting experience – what would the acoustics be like, anyway?

It was a cold, snowy evening –

The choir came up the aisle – young people of university age, all dressed in black.  They started right in with some very old church music – and one could immediately understand why so much of it was contrapuntal.  The harmonies wove around each other, echoing off the stone walls and the sound was ethereal. I wasn’t sure how David would like a whole evening of this, but I needn’t have worried.  After an explanation of the piece and the next few pieces, in Norwegian which, of course, we didn’t understand a word of, they were singing again – in French and Norwegian and English…. and a bit of German as well, but I’m not sure.

Soon, it was intermission, and the singers walked back to the entry of the church.  The church was really quite chilly (answering David’s question as to how they were heated in the old days), and it was quite funny to look back and see the young musicians jumping around and waving their arms in an attempt to warm up. I asked a lady seated nearby if this was a university group, and she explained that they came from all over Norway, and some but not all were music students. Several times a year, they gather in one place for a weekend of rehearsal and then give a concert.  This weekend, Stavanger was the luck destination.

Soon they were on again, but instead of going all the way to the front, they spaced themselves evenly in two rows along the main aisle, and, facing each other, sang a hymn in English.  The sound was amazing – we could still hear every part, just as if they were all standing right in front of us.

Back to the front – the music ranged from Negro spirituals to show tunes to a rousing rendition of “Waltzing Matilda”, where most of the choir played the part of the instrumental accompaniment.

Finally, the last piece – and as they sang, these twenty young people from all over Norway began walking to the back of the church………… and the sound didn’t change!  Even when they were all singing away from the audience and behind our backs, if I had closed my eyes, I never would have believed they weren’t right in front of me.

THAT is 12th century engineering and acoustics!

Friday morning I woke up to snow – thick, fluffy snow. Wow – it’s been a long time since that happened.  I had a busy morning planned, so Snoopy and I went out for our walk fairly early.  I thought that maybe it was cold enough that he should wear his coat today –

He kept shaking as if to remove it, so I took it off and stuffed it in my pocket.  He kept on shaking – he didn’t understand the feel of snowflakes sticking to his back.

At the school next to our apartment – ever see a bicycle with studded tires before?

There is a strip of woods on our side of the highway, just opposite the lake.  We go there often to walk, and usually there is no one there, so we let Snoopy off leash to run.  He really enjoyed the snow – at first running just in the paths, but soon her was tearing around through the deeper snow.

On the road, there was a car stopped in the traffic – but as the cars ahead of it advanced, this one stayed still.  The traffic was backing up behind the car, and finally they began going around it.  I saw a man walking into the woods ahead of me……. and he went behind a tree and relieved himself.  Then he walked back to his car and drove off.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Later in the morning, I walked downtown to the swimming pool -The snow on the trees and houses was so beautiful.

I met a lady carrying an umbrella to keep the snow off her.  the things a person sees…….

Here is downtown Stavanger in the snow

And one of the loveliest houses I’ve seen…

I met Hanne and had a lovely visit and warm home-made buns for lunch.  She is a knitter and quilter, and a really interesting person. I learned a lot about how things work here, and we looked at some potential houses online. I can’t wait for the quilt/knit meeting at her house on Thursday when I can meet more Norwegians and Expats who like the things I do.

Wednesday, Snoopy and I took a long walk.  It was -7 C, but there wasn’t much wind.  There is a lake called Mosvatnet very close to our apartment – so close we can see it from the windows. The path that encircles the lake is about 3 km long, and the scenery is lovely.  It is a very busy place, with joggers and cyclists making their laps, and walkers, many giving their dogs a welcome fresh-air walk. the sun was shining, so it was a perfect day for a stroll.

Here we are on a walking path – check out the ice.  I need to get some grips to put on my boots.  Snoopy doesn’t seem to mind though.

There is a bit of woods on our side of the highway – Snoopy had a quick off-leash run to get rid of some energy before we went into the park.  he loves it here – sniffing around all the trees,

kicking up the piles of leaves just like a young child.  I was afraid he would be too cold to enjoy it here, but he has surprised me.

We have to go on an overpass of fine metal grid  – the first time Snoopy was on it, he was terrified.  He spread his feet out like snowshoes and slunk across, especially worried when he could see a vehicle flash by underneath him.  Second time, however, he went across like it was solid ground.  Funny dog!

Here is our first view of the lake – I’m not sure what the little red hut in the water is for.

Ice built up along the shore – apparently there was a wind sometime, and the ice blew in from the centre of the lake –

Lots of trees –

Another view of the lake –

A stream runs into the lake, and it was still ice-free – lots of ducks and swans around.

Apparently there have been over 150 different species of birds seen here.  Here is part of an identification poster…. I haven’t translated the names yet to find out what they are.

There is an art museum along the lake as well, with a coffee shop enclosed in glass.  It looks like a good place to stop with friends on a cold day – not sure if dogs are allowed or not.

Moss on a tree –

Broken tree –

Views of the lake –

Here some swans and geese found a tiny bit of open water to swim in –

Mist over the lake –

Thursday morning, a fine sifting of icing sugar snow fell, and the lake was transformed – no more reflections in the mirror-like ice.  They are talking about more cold – and more snow – which will mean more ice when it warms up…….. and then, I imagine, we will get the rain that Stavanger is famous for.

Last Tuesday, I braved the icy streets and walked into central Stavanger. Monday, our first day here, I thought it enough to find two grocery stores close to home.  Now, I was setting out to explore my new home town.  The sun was shining – surely Stavanger must be happy to see us finally arrive, as they have had a LOT of rain this winter.

Downtown is only about a mile from home, and the houses and plants along the was were quite unique after coming from the Middle East.

As I arrived by the central bus station, I saw a sign for the Tourist Information.  Great, I thought – that’s exactly what I need as I didn’t have a clue what is down here.  Not in the train station though – although there is a 7-11 (shades of back home), and I was to discover there are tons of them in Stavanger.  What I did discover, however, was a small lake, and in the sunshine, it was a beautiful sight.                                                                                   There was ice on part of the lake, but the open area was full of ducks and gulls and swans, and in the clear morning air, the reflections were amazing.                                                  Forgetting all about the information centre, I walked along the lake and shot a dozen or more photos.

And then I saw the cathedral…… and walked all around it.  I checked the sign at the front and discovered that it would be open for viewing at 11 am.

But from there, I could see the part of the harbour –                                                                 and the many coloured boats and supply ships belonging to the oil companies and service companies.                                                                                                                                        More colour on this beautiful, sunny day.

I poked my hear into the fish market on the wharf as well –this is dried fish.                        And now I know that “hummer” is Norwegian for lobster.                                                            I walked by the old toll house,                                                                                                          and then around the narrow streets, mostly peering into windows.  I found a hat in H&M.  I a large book store, I bought some books about learning Norwegian.  I already have a line on classes for David and I, beginning sometime in February.

It was now after 11 am, and the cathedral was open……….. but that’s another story.