I took this right after I arrived in Bergen (via ferry from Stavanger). Bryggen is the Hanseatic fishing/trade port neighborhood in Bergen. There are a lot of interesting wooden buildings in Bryggen, and one of them houses a museum.
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Photo Phriday - 2014 09 12
I took this right after I arrived in Bergen (via ferry from Stavanger). Bryggen is the Hanseatic fishing/trade port neighborhood in Bergen. There are a lot of interesting wooden buildings in Bryggen, and one of them houses a museum.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Norwegian Stave Churches
As part of my recent trip to Norway last August I was fortunate enough to visit a number of stave churches. I'm not going to provide a lot of background information here; you can find that on a number of other websites. So for now we'll just say that stave churches are medieval wooden church buildings, and though there used to be 1300+ scattered around Norway, there are only about 30 that remain today.
Any good blog needs a map, so here's a map of the remaining stave churches:
View Stavkirker in a larger map
The stave churches I'll be discussing in this post (ie: the ones I visited) are:
Hopperstad
My group was driving from Bergen to Vang when we saw our first stave church. We were on a pretty tight schedule, so we didn't get to go inside. I quickly purchased a book about stave churches, took a few photos, and hopped back in the van. Onward.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopperstad_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1131 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Øye
Before setting out on our activities of the day, we decided to stop by the Øye stave church. Located just outside of Vang, where we stayed at the Bøflaten campground for a few days, I was hoping I'd finally have the opportunity to go inside one of these awesome structures. Unfortunately, the Øye church was closed that day, so we could only admire it from outside. Still impressive!
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øye_stave_church
Year Built: Around 1200 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Hegge
The stave church tour continued for part of our group (the injured few), while the rest of the group hiked Besseggen. On our self-guided tour (ie: geography nerds in a van with a map!) we found the Hegge stave church, which features a carved figure that resembled the Norse god Odin! Hegge is just one of many stave churches which incorporates pagan and Christian elements into a single building. We struck out again; Hegge was not open for tours on the day of our visit.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegge_stave_church
Year Built: 1216 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Høre
Next up on the self-guided tour was the Høre stave church. The next day, with the entire group present, we returned to Høre. I gave a short lecture to my classmates on stave churches, their history, their preservation, and their geography in the cemetery beside the church. There is no better place to learn about and discuss such structures.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Høre_stave_church
Year Built: 1180 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Lomen
The last stave church in the area was Lomen. The road to the church was a little tricky to find. A few wrong turns and iffy multi-point-turns on narrow roads and private driveways, and we figured out where to park. The church had beautiful carved portals around the entrances.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomen_stave_church
Year Built: 1192 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Reinli
FINALLY, a stave church we can tour!! Our guide was an older Norwegian woman, who shared some of the church's history with us. There is an old manual organ from the 1800s, and our guide actually let two people from our group play it! Then she proceeded to sing us an old Norwegian folk song, a cappella, so we could hear the acoustics of the building. Incredible! Back at the church's office/store she let us hold the church's original key from the year 1023. A replica is used to open the church today.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinli_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1326 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Gol
Gol was much less impressive after our tour of Reinli. There were no awesome Norwegian ladies singing folk songs to us at Gol, and there were TONS of tourists. I find it interesting that the Gol stave church was moved from its original location to the Norsk Folkemuseum / Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in the late 1800s, after its original village replaced it with a more modern church, and the King purchased it with the intent of preserving it. Since the church is in a museum, rather than a historic building being preserved within a small community, I felt more comfortable taking interior photographs. I did take photos in the Reinli stave church, but I was a little uncomfortable doing so. Anyway, here are my photos from Gol:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gol_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1216 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Odds and Ends
The UNESCO site references 1300+ stave churches that have been "indexed". I'd love to map the locations of former stave churches, but I can't find much information on the buildings or their locations. When UNESCO says "indexed", I think they may be referring to sites mentioned in a collection of sources (folk stories, old literature, etc), rather than an actual list that someone has compiled of these sources.
As we visited each stave church, I searched for the oldest headstone I could find. I was hoping I'd find something from the 1300s, but the oldest headstones were from the mid- or early-1800s. What's the deal?! Apparently, Norway lets you have your cemetery plot for free for 20 years. Someone (family, estate, friend, organization) needs to sponsor it after the 20 years are up, or else they'll reuse it for someone more recently dead. While it may be a creepy thought, this article brings a lot more creepy thoughts to mind: Grave Problem, Nothing is Rotting in the State of Norway.
Any good blog needs a map, so here's a map of the remaining stave churches:
View Stavkirker in a larger map
The stave churches I'll be discussing in this post (ie: the ones I visited) are:
- Hopperstad
- Øye
- Hegge
- Høre
- Lomen
- Reinli
- Gol
Hopperstad
My group was driving from Bergen to Vang when we saw our first stave church. We were on a pretty tight schedule, so we didn't get to go inside. I quickly purchased a book about stave churches, took a few photos, and hopped back in the van. Onward.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopperstad_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1131 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Øye
Before setting out on our activities of the day, we decided to stop by the Øye stave church. Located just outside of Vang, where we stayed at the Bøflaten campground for a few days, I was hoping I'd finally have the opportunity to go inside one of these awesome structures. Unfortunately, the Øye church was closed that day, so we could only admire it from outside. Still impressive!
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øye_stave_church
Year Built: Around 1200 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Hegge
The stave church tour continued for part of our group (the injured few), while the rest of the group hiked Besseggen. On our self-guided tour (ie: geography nerds in a van with a map!) we found the Hegge stave church, which features a carved figure that resembled the Norse god Odin! Hegge is just one of many stave churches which incorporates pagan and Christian elements into a single building. We struck out again; Hegge was not open for tours on the day of our visit.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegge_stave_church
Year Built: 1216 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Høre
Next up on the self-guided tour was the Høre stave church. The next day, with the entire group present, we returned to Høre. I gave a short lecture to my classmates on stave churches, their history, their preservation, and their geography in the cemetery beside the church. There is no better place to learn about and discuss such structures.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Høre_stave_church
Year Built: 1180 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Lomen
The last stave church in the area was Lomen. The road to the church was a little tricky to find. A few wrong turns and iffy multi-point-turns on narrow roads and private driveways, and we figured out where to park. The church had beautiful carved portals around the entrances.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomen_stave_church
Year Built: 1192 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Reinli
FINALLY, a stave church we can tour!! Our guide was an older Norwegian woman, who shared some of the church's history with us. There is an old manual organ from the 1800s, and our guide actually let two people from our group play it! Then she proceeded to sing us an old Norwegian folk song, a cappella, so we could hear the acoustics of the building. Incredible! Back at the church's office/store she let us hold the church's original key from the year 1023. A replica is used to open the church today.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinli_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1326 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Gol
Gol was much less impressive after our tour of Reinli. There were no awesome Norwegian ladies singing folk songs to us at Gol, and there were TONS of tourists. I find it interesting that the Gol stave church was moved from its original location to the Norsk Folkemuseum / Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in the late 1800s, after its original village replaced it with a more modern church, and the King purchased it with the intent of preserving it. Since the church is in a museum, rather than a historic building being preserved within a small community, I felt more comfortable taking interior photographs. I did take photos in the Reinli stave church, but I was a little uncomfortable doing so. Anyway, here are my photos from Gol:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gol_Stave_Church
Year Built: 1216 (Source: stavkirke.info)
Odds and Ends
As we visited each stave church, I searched for the oldest headstone I could find. I was hoping I'd find something from the 1300s, but the oldest headstones were from the mid- or early-1800s. What's the deal?! Apparently, Norway lets you have your cemetery plot for free for 20 years. Someone (family, estate, friend, organization) needs to sponsor it after the 20 years are up, or else they'll reuse it for someone more recently dead. While it may be a creepy thought, this article brings a lot more creepy thoughts to mind: Grave Problem, Nothing is Rotting in the State of Norway.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Longyearbyen: My Northernmost Experience
I visited the Arctic town of Longyearbyen back in August. Though I've been a blog slacker, I really wanted to write about my visit and some things I learned while in Longyearbyen. So here's a brain dump!
At 78° North, Longyearbyen is well above the Arctic Circle. Destined for the land of the midnight sun, Longyearbyen was about a 3hr plane ride due north from Oslo, Norway. We took off in the dark around 10:30pm and landed in daylight around 2:30am.
Northernmost
As the northernmost city (there are more northern permanent settlements), Longyearbyen is home to the world's northernmost:
Food
There's no shortage of interesting food in the Arctic. We didn't get to try everything, but here are the places we did check out.
→Huset
After a long day of hiking with a newly injured knee, I walked another mile+ from our Hotel to Huset, and back. In the rain. Did I mention the injured knee? Despite my mood by the time I arrived, Huset was a nice dining experience. Food choices had a Norwegian flair, including their delicious reindeer stew.
Outside of Huset at 9pm; it finally stopped raining.
→Barentz Pub (northernmost bar in the world!)
How could I visit Longyearbyen and not have a beer at the northernmost bar in the world?! I chose wisely, and ordered a beer from the northernmost brewery in the world (Macks Bryggeri in Tromsø).
For more information:
→Kroa
For our second dinner in Longyearbyen, we ate at Kroa. Kroa is in the center of town, which meant I could finally buy postcards ($$$) and souvenirs ($$$$) - yay! For dinner the table shared appetizers of smoked minke whale*, which tasted more smokey than like anything else. The day's dinner special was one no one could resist: Arctic char said to be caught yesterday by our waitress' boss. Everyone in our group ordered it!
*Not to rain on Longyearbyen's parade, but I had a minke whale steak in Oslo that was AMAZING. The smoked whale just didn't let the whale's flavor shine through.
Accommodations
We stayed at Mary-Ann's Polariggen. The former company housing for coal miners has been converted into a basic but pleasant hotel. Bathrooms and showers are shared with your hallway, the breakfast is delicious, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I was a big fan of the artwork in my room:
Polar bears are messy eaters.
Sweet dreams!
Miscellaneous
To read more about the group's adventures in Norway, check out our blog: DU Geography - Norway 2013. There are two articles about Longyearbyen:
At 78° North, Longyearbyen is well above the Arctic Circle. Destined for the land of the midnight sun, Longyearbyen was about a 3hr plane ride due north from Oslo, Norway. We took off in the dark around 10:30pm and landed in daylight around 2:30am.
Northernmost
As the northernmost city (there are more northern permanent settlements), Longyearbyen is home to the world's northernmost:
- ATM
- Airport with scheduled public flights (Svalbard Airport, Longyear)
- Bar (Barentz Pub, more on that shortly!)
- Bridge (Wikipedia cites the northernmost bridge as Havøysund Bridge, but there is a small bridge over the Longyearbyen River. It is much further north, and it totally counts!)
- Church (Svalbard Church)
- Probably some other things; it's REALLY far north.
With the northernmost ATM fees.
Photo by Jimmy.
Outside the airport at 3am.
Bridge over the Longyearbyen River.
Food
There's no shortage of interesting food in the Arctic. We didn't get to try everything, but here are the places we did check out.
→Huset
After a long day of hiking with a newly injured knee, I walked another mile+ from our Hotel to Huset, and back. In the rain. Did I mention the injured knee? Despite my mood by the time I arrived, Huset was a nice dining experience. Food choices had a Norwegian flair, including their delicious reindeer stew.
Reindeer stew with lingonberries.
→Barentz Pub (northernmost bar in the world!)
How could I visit Longyearbyen and not have a beer at the northernmost bar in the world?! I chose wisely, and ordered a beer from the northernmost brewery in the world (Macks Bryggeri in Tromsø).
Approaching Barentz Pub and the Radisson.
The beer I had from the northernmost brewery in the world.
Another northernmost beer.
So tired I can't even smile.
For more information:
→Kroa
For our second dinner in Longyearbyen, we ate at Kroa. Kroa is in the center of town, which meant I could finally buy postcards ($$$) and souvenirs ($$$$) - yay! For dinner the table shared appetizers of smoked minke whale*, which tasted more smokey than like anything else. The day's dinner special was one no one could resist: Arctic char said to be caught yesterday by our waitress' boss. Everyone in our group ordered it!
Inside Kroa!
Smoked minke whale.
Fresh-caught Arctic char.
*Not to rain on Longyearbyen's parade, but I had a minke whale steak in Oslo that was AMAZING. The smoked whale just didn't let the whale's flavor shine through.
Accommodations
We stayed at Mary-Ann's Polariggen. The former company housing for coal miners has been converted into a basic but pleasant hotel. Bathrooms and showers are shared with your hallway, the breakfast is delicious, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I was a big fan of the artwork in my room:
Sweet dreams!
Exterior of Mary-Ann's Polariggen.
Miscellaneous
- Despite what every online article about Longyearbyen says, it is not "against the law" to leave the city limits without a shotgun. It is, however, a stupid idea to leave the city limits without being prepared, which includes bringing a shotgun for protection.
- If you see something you'd like to buy, buy it! It will not be cheaper on the mainland! I should have purchased that thermos I liked so much...
- The average time most people live in Longyearbyen is 2 years, but there are some people who have made it their permanent home. Our boat's captain has lived there for about 8 years, and his brother has lived there for nearly 20 years.
- Sewer and water pipes are above ground, and have several sources of heat to keep the pipes from freezing.
- Survival suits may keep you from freezing to death for 45 minutes in the Arctic waters, but they may not keep you dry, even if you're just sitting in a boat, rather than floating in the ocean.
- If the boat's captain asks if anyone has a back injury, and your back injury over a year ago, still TELL HIM. Your back WILL hurt after that boat ride, even if you sit in the "least ouchy" seat and brace yourself.
- It was quite rainy during the day. Locals told us that so much precipitation at that point in the year was very unusual, but the entire summer had been that way. It would rain/flurry all day, then around 10PM the sun would come out. Of course, this made it much harder to go to sleep, because we all wanted to explore while the weather was nice. :)
- Take your shoes off when you enter someone's home, hotel, and sometimes restaurant. It's actually pretty pleasant. You feel at home right away!
- I need to visit again. There's so much I still want to do! Plus, the dark season seems like an interesting time to visit.
More On My Adventures
To read more about the group's adventures in Norway, check out our blog: DU Geography - Norway 2013. There are two articles about Longyearbyen:
- Getting Our Feet Wet - Glacier Hike
- When The (Weather) Odds Are Not in Your Favor... - Arctic Boat Ride
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Cloudberries!
I first heard of cloudberries on my recent trip to Norway. What are cloudberries? Let me tell you!
Cloudberries (also known as bakeapples in Canada) are a raspberry-like berry. Unlike raspberries, they're only red before they're ripe, and lighten to an orange/yellow color when they ripen. They primarily grow in colder climates, and are hearty enough plants to survive up to 78°N.
I'd love to tell you what cloudberries taste like, but, as you're about to read, I'm having a hard time finding any.
For more information on cloudberries, including photos and a picking guide, check out My Little Norway's Guide to Cloudberries.
Close Encounters with Cloudberries
My first encounter with this mysterious berry was in a grocery store in Longyearbyen. I came across Arctic Candies while browsing the candy aisle for something cheap. They come in many flavors, one of which is cloudberry. As I said, I was looking for something cheap. At about $6 per tin, I opted for just the cloudberry flavor rather than the 4-pack. They got lost in the bottom of my luggage for the remainder of the trip, and I didn't think much of it. Maybe if I had tried them right then and there I would have bought the 4-pack, but alas I tried them when I got home. They're delicious and sugar free. If you find them somewhere, try them!
Later, while we were near Jotunheimen National Park, we pulled off the road to do a little exploring. There was a small gravel parking area... good enough for us! After stretching and looking at some cool rocks, a few sheep came by. They definitely wanted food, and as luck would have it, someone had left a PILE of couldberries on the ground. So of course we tried to see if the sheep would eat them. (They did, and seemed to want more.) I wish I had thought, 'maybe this pile of berries in a parking lot means that someone was picking them nearby!'. But I didn't. :(
I looked in a few grocery stores to see if I could find actual cloudberries, but they were nowhere to be found. Apparently cloudberries are mostly uncultivated. So if you want cloudberries, go cloudberry picking. Since cloudberries almost definitely won't grow in Colorado (As one website put it, they like mild sun for 22hrs/day. Colorado is intense sun for many fewer hours/day.), what are my options to try this elusive berry?
Cloudberry Products
Cloudberry Jam is available at Ikea.I can pick up some lingonberry jam while I'm there. Cool! You can bet this is on my To Do list. I went to Ikea today and found NO CLOUDBERRY JAM. :( I spoke to an employee who said they sold out extremely quickly and aren't planning on getting anymore at this point. :( :( :( I even ran into another guy who was looking for it. And there wasn't any lingonberry jam either! I did pick up some Gooseberry Jam, so I'm looking forward to trying that. Not the same.
Cloudberry Liquor. It goes by a number of names: Lakka, Lakkalikööri, Chicoutai. This one may be a bit of a challenge, but I'm up for it. Do you remember how I went to the ends of the earth* to find Kvint a few years ago? Psh, this should be easy! All of the countries (plural!) that produce this stuff are totally "real" countries! And one even borders the country I live in! Easy, right? We'll see. A few forums say that Astor Wines & Spirits in NYC may carry one of the Canadian varieties. For now, here are some varieties I found online. Let the search begin!
*"Ends of the earth" != Transnistria. "Ends of the earth" = many liquor stores in PA, NJ, and CO, and many more emails to the company themselves to find out where on earth they sell it in the US. Sadly, I didn't actually go to Transnistria.
Photo from Wikipedia.
Cloudberries (also known as bakeapples in Canada) are a raspberry-like berry. Unlike raspberries, they're only red before they're ripe, and lighten to an orange/yellow color when they ripen. They primarily grow in colder climates, and are hearty enough plants to survive up to 78°N.
Wikipedia's map of where couldberries grow.
I'd love to tell you what cloudberries taste like, but, as you're about to read, I'm having a hard time finding any.
For more information on cloudberries, including photos and a picking guide, check out My Little Norway's Guide to Cloudberries.
Close Encounters with Cloudberries
My first encounter with this mysterious berry was in a grocery store in Longyearbyen. I came across Arctic Candies while browsing the candy aisle for something cheap. They come in many flavors, one of which is cloudberry. As I said, I was looking for something cheap. At about $6 per tin, I opted for just the cloudberry flavor rather than the 4-pack. They got lost in the bottom of my luggage for the remainder of the trip, and I didn't think much of it. Maybe if I had tried them right then and there I would have bought the 4-pack, but alas I tried them when I got home. They're delicious and sugar free. If you find them somewhere, try them!
Photo from LovelyPackage.com
Later, while we were near Jotunheimen National Park, we pulled off the road to do a little exploring. There was a small gravel parking area... good enough for us! After stretching and looking at some cool rocks, a few sheep came by. They definitely wanted food, and as luck would have it, someone had left a PILE of couldberries on the ground. So of course we tried to see if the sheep would eat them. (They did, and seemed to want more.) I wish I had thought, 'maybe this pile of berries in a parking lot means that someone was picking them nearby!'. But I didn't. :(
Mmmm, cloudberries.
I looked in a few grocery stores to see if I could find actual cloudberries, but they were nowhere to be found. Apparently cloudberries are mostly uncultivated. So if you want cloudberries, go cloudberry picking. Since cloudberries almost definitely won't grow in Colorado (As one website put it, they like mild sun for 22hrs/day. Colorado is intense sun for many fewer hours/day.), what are my options to try this elusive berry?
Cloudberry Products
Cloudberry Jam is available at Ikea.
Cloudberry Liquor. It goes by a number of names: Lakka, Lakkalikööri, Chicoutai. This one may be a bit of a challenge, but I'm up for it. Do you remember how I went to the ends of the earth* to find Kvint a few years ago? Psh, this should be easy! All of the countries (plural!) that produce this stuff are totally "real" countries! And one even borders the country I live in! Easy, right? We'll see. A few forums say that Astor Wines & Spirits in NYC may carry one of the Canadian varieties. For now, here are some varieties I found online. Let the search begin!
- Chicoutai Liqueur
- Lapponia Lakka by Pernod Ricard Finland Oy
- Lacenu
*"Ends of the earth" != Transnistria. "Ends of the earth" = many liquor stores in PA, NJ, and CO, and many more emails to the company themselves to find out where on earth they sell it in the US. Sadly, I didn't actually go to Transnistria.
Alternatively, I could try making my own liqueur from the jam. Hmm...
Friday, August 9, 2013
Longyearbyen
This blog isn't quite dead yet! There are new travel posts coming! Travel posts about what/where? Well, Longyearbyen!
In the mean time, check out this article: 12 Facts ... About Longyearbyen: The World's Northernmost City!
In the mean time, check out this article: 12 Facts ... About Longyearbyen: The World's Northernmost City!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)