Oscarshall

When taking the small ferry boat between Bygdøy and Oslo city center, one can't help but notice a castle-like building with its single tower showing above the other houses and buildings near the shore.  It is Oscarshall, the summer castle built in the mid 1800s by King Oscar and Queen Josephine. It has never been lived in by the royals for more than a few days, and in 1881 was opened to the public as a museum.  Now it is owned by the Norwegian state and is at the King's disposal for events, but is open during the summer for tours.  I was able to take one of these recently.  Photos are not permitted of the interior of the building, which has most all the original furnishings, finishes, and artwork; however, the exterior and its gardens are also beautiful. The lilacs were at their peak, and the day was glorious.

Girls Night Out on Nakholmen

During the past 9 months, I've really enjoyed being included in a longtime group of U.K. women friends here in Oslo.  They are all "lifers" (their own designation) in that they've lived most of their lives in Norway, having married Norwegian husbands and raised their families here. For years, they have gathered once a month or so, usually in various of their homes, to socialize with refreshments and tea,  and to discuss topics of mutual interest. Smaller groups sometimes get together for lunch as well.  The women are in my age demographic, from various professions, and delightful to get to know.

This past week, one beautiful evening, eight of us took the ferry to Nakholmen, another of the islands in Oslofjord, for a walk, a picnic, and good conversation.  One of the group has family that own a small hytte (cottage) there which we used as our base.

On my way to the ferry dock, I passed through the square in front of the City Hall.  A group of Buddhist monks were taking photos with this "gold man" levitating.  Pretty clever trick, don't you think?

Here's our group on the ferry.  The weather was perfect.

Thank you, Roots friends, for a delightful time on Nakholmen and for being so welcoming to me during this time in Oslo.  I appreciate the friendship of each one of you.

A Retreat at Ulvik on Hardangerfjord

Hardangerfjord, the second longest fjord in Norway, reaches 179 km (over 111 miles) inland from the Atlantic coast. The Hardanger region is known for its fruit farming, particularly of apples. The small town of Ulvik, situated at one of the most inland points of the fjord, was the site of a recent writing retreat for Sten's research colleagues. We reached Ulvik by first taking the train from Oslo to Voss (known for its famous glass-bottled water). The scenery changes as you climb in elevation.  The first four photos below capture those changes.

From Voss, we boarded a mini-bus sent by our hotel for the one-hour drive to Ulvik.  The driver asked us which of the two routes we preferred -- one scenic and winding, the other straighter and through long tunnels.  Since the time difference between the choices was minimal, we chose the scenic road. Around every sharp curve was a waterfall or snow-capped peak more beautiful than the last.  As we came over the mountain and saw Hardangerfjord and Ulvik, we asked the driver if he could stop for us to take photos. Here is what we saw.

Our hotel was in a prime location right on the water's edge.  The day we arrived, the weather was clear and sunny.  As the week progressed we had more clouds, until Friday when it was raining and foggy.  However, the weather didn't ruin the view.  The changing weather just brought a new kind of beauty.

This shot was taken at 4 a.m.  It was amazingly light even though we had a month yet until summer solstice.

Ulvik has a beautiful wooden church with traditional rosemaling painted decorations.  It was built in the mid 1800s on the site where a 13th century stave church had been located.

One afternoon, to provide a break between meetings, our group took a boat trip on the fjord. Many of the houses we passed on the trip are only accessible by boat.  There were numerous waterfalls with  fast-moving water from the melting snow running down the mountains to the fjord.

The apple blossoms were just about to bloom, though other flowering plants were in full bloom. We were told that the cool weather has caused things to be about two weeks behind schedule. 

One afternoon we visited a local farm where Hardanger apples are pressed and/or processed into six different beverage products: cloudy apple juice, clear apple juice, two types of apple cider (with differing levels of alcohol and sugar content), an apple liqueur, and an apple brandy (aged in oak barrels). I was interested to learn that in Norway alcohol can only be purchased at the government run liquor store, Monopoliet.  Even the farmer himself cannot sell any of his alcohol products from his own farm. We were given samples of each product to taste.  I clearly preferred the least processed cloudy apple juice. We bought some that we're still enjoying here in Oslo.

Time to return home to Oslo with five days worth of memories of the springtime in Hardanger. 

Thank you to the Center for Advanced Studies for providing this retreat in such a beautiful location and to the interesting international group of participants for their great company.