Fall Color

Today, it's cloudy, grey, raining off-and-on, and with a raw cold feeling outside. I put this post together a few days ago, and it's a good memory of the beauty this Fall has been. 

According to locals, this Fall has been exceptionally mild and beautiful.  We've had only a little rain, and mostly beautiful clear days.  Now the nights are getting cool, but days are pleasant to be out in. I love the crispness of Fall, and of course the colors. I want to share some of the photos we've taken of the colors around us. Here are some from the morning walk.

These are from downtown Oslo.

And these are from Bygdøy where we live.

A Weekend in Sørlandet -- Part 2: The Coast

The southern coast of Norway is known for its picturesque seaside villages of white wooden houses with red tile roofs.  Our host took us to visit Brekkestø on a small island just off the coast. What a beautiful place! We  enjoyed walking the streets,  climbing to the highest point, and watching the fishing boats at the harbor. There were no sounds of traffic; only the breeze, the waves, sea gulls, and an occasional fishing boat motor.

I love these blue doors.

After exploring Brekkestø, we headed to a more remote, rocky coastal area. I'm impressed with how rocky the Norwegian coast is and how people manage to build homes there.

Thank you, Anne-Grete and Ole-Petter, for a memorable, beautiful weekend. 

A Weekend in Sørlandet -- Part 1: Setesdal

A few weekends back, we boarded the train early Friday afternoon and headed for Kristiansand in the south of Norway (Sørlandet).  Sten's mother's family is from this area of the country, and we had been invited to spend the weekend with a cousin and her husband. We always have much in common and we had a great time visiting, cooking, and eating together as well as experiencing some beautiful places.  They drove us up to the southern end of Setesdal where they have a hytte (cabin) -- a typical Norwegian place to enjoy the out-of-doors. We also saw some wonderful places along the Southern coast which I'll show in Part 2 of this post. Here are some photos of our day in Setesdal, first some scenery from the drive to the hytte.

Yes, those are sheep in the photo below. 

The sod roof is seen quite often in this area. I really like it.

Here's the cabin we visited. It has such a rustic, yet comfortable charm. 

Sten with his cousin and her husband.  Such delightful people!

 Don't you just love this cozy bed?

  I felt so relaxed by the warmth of the wood fire, the cozy surroundings, the peaceful company, and the quietness of the woods. 

After a brief nap, we enjoyed some Norwegian waffles, 

fruit preserves, apples, nuts, and a hot drink.  

What could be better?

As you can see, Fall was just beginning.

Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox

Last Thursday night, we joined many others in Oslo in celebrating the autumnal equinox by walking the path that meanders through the city parallel to the Akers River. The walkway was lit by thousands of votive candles and many varied lighting displays.  Punctuating the route were performances by local solo instrumentalists and singers, vocal and instrumental ensembles, gymnasts, and dramatists.  As Sten would say, a display of civil society. At various points, one could purchase hot drinks and snacks. The weather was mild, and the evening was magical. Hand-held camera photos aren't the best (okay, they're not good at all), but I hope you'll get an idea of what we experienced that night anyway.  Here's a bit of the river walk.

Sten's holding one of a display of light colored umbrellas lit from underneath and placed on the grass.  They created a beautiful effect.

Here's one of the many groups performing music -- this time it's accordions and a guitar.

These two women were telling traditional stories.

This amazing instrument is a carillon on a truck.  Notice the size of the bells on the lower left of the instrument.  The "keyboard" allows one person to play all the bells of a bell choir. It was fun to watch.  In this photo the keyboard looks like you would play it like a normal piano or organ; however, it requires much more force on the part of the performer.

One of the displays of colored lights along the river walk.

We couldn't resist the aroma coming from this stand selling  hot-off-the-iron Norwegian waffles with raspberry preserves.

People entered or left the walk at any spot along the way, and there was no charge for the event.  After an hour and a half, we decided it was time to head home.  When we got on the bus, we were shocked to discover that we had walked from the end of the bus line to only two stops from the central train station. It was truly a delightful evening!