Home again after 13 weeks at Tullarbo

This morning we went out of bed with the right leg back home after staying three months at our small cottage at Solvang Kolonihaver.
Yesterday we left the ecological way of living with birdsongs from 03 am, bugs and insects in the most unexpected places, the north star (Polaris) clear visible from the garden, and moved into our urban apartment in the golden triangle of Oslo. The nightlife urban sounds with fire brigade sirens, and rumbling streetcars made continuous and deep sleeping difficult, but it it good to be back.

Last sunday I posted about our neighbors who now are terminating their lifelong summer stays at Solvang.
This week I made my number 12 of this summer paintings showing their cottage, and gave them this as an extra tribute to their friendship during the last 30 years. I am sure they will remember some of our common summers when looking at this work.

Saturday Urban Life - Paris

Some may think of Paris as a pretty blond girl.
Others may connect the name to dreams about bohemian life and springtime.
The French Capital is known for all the Icons like La Gioconda and the Eiffel Tower among many others.

Our trip to Paris starts at the western end of Champs-Elysees with the spectacular Arch of TriumphAt the eastern end of the avenue the wonderful Louvre is a must and first "have to" during a stay in this city.The entrance through the Pyramid (ref Da Vinci Code ) opens a world of beauty that you may need almost a lifetime to discover, but I recommend you to look up and see all the fantastic ceilings above the paintings and sculptures.
Delacroix´s "Liberty Leading the People" from 1930 makes me think of the musical Les Miserables and Do you hear the People sing The Greek sculpture Venus de Milo and the Borghese Hermaphrodite. are two of the most stunning artworks to be seen from all angles.
Leaving Louvre you take a jump to the Modern art museum with artworks like Wassily Kandinsky´s Red, blue and yellowBut Paris without Mode and Fashion would be nothing for urban people. A stroll (with shopping?) at Rue du Faubourg St Honore is mandatory.From there to the bridges (remember Sept 1st and RuneE) you have to pass the statue of Jean dÁrcThe Bridges over the river Seine and the river banks have been used in many paintings, books and movies from and about Paris. Here you se the editor at the oldest bridge Point Neuf (the new bridge from early 1600) with the Eiffel Tower far west.The next photo is taken from Pont St Michel towards Pont Notre-Dame. Notre Dame is a Gothic Cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité and has its main entrance to the west. It is the Cathedral of Paris and the seat of the Archbishop of that city.At the Montmartre butte the second best known but most beautiful church can be found. Basilica Sacre-CæurThe painting at the roof above the altar is absolutely different from the ones at the entrance of Moulin Rouge not far away.Of course you have heard about the musical Moulin Rouge, but to se the legendary Parisian Cabaret with costumes of feathers, shine stones and sequins you have to go here.This ends this Saturday urban life at Paris with a glass of white wine and a salad nicoise at Place Pigalle

Up in the sky - Eze Village

A week at Cote dÁzur part 2:Between Aeroport Nice Cote dÁzur and the Italian border you just have to visit Eze Village. The oldest places of inhabitants on the commune of Eze go back to the neolithic era towards 2000 BC on the Mount Bastide. At the iron age, the celto-ligurians population who lived in this area erected many castellaras along the coast. These constructions were built with dry blocks of stone and were generally heighly located.From the top of the Mount Bastide it is a long way down to the sea level (567m)The "Jardin exotique" close to the top is worth the climbing.and as we sing "Der ser man Corsica i siktig veder" (in Fridtjof i Arkadien by Evert Taube)From Eze there is a short drive to Monaco with the Opera building and Casino in Monte Carlo where you may get rid of some of the money not spent at shopping in Cannes.If you find Monaco too expensive return to Nice and have lunch (or dinner) in the old cityDo not forget to take a break at Place Massena, or rest on one of the blue chairs at Promenade des Anglaisand see the sculptures of Niki de Saint Phalle at Hotel Negresco or outside the Museum of modern and contemporary Art

Have a nice week at Cote dÁzur

This post is dedicated to my friends Astrid and Helge before they leave for the French Riviera or Cote dÁzur. Hopefully they will as Picasso in 1946 enjoy the "Joie de Vivre" in Antibes and some of the other beautiful places like Cannes, Juan-les-Pins, Saint Paul de Vence, Nice, Monaco and Eze Village.

Antibes is a resort town located between Cannes and Nice. The costal line of Antibes may be rockyso the beaches at Juan-les-Pins with the jazz festival (the sister city to New Orleans) may be an alternative for sunbathing. This town is in walking distance from Antibes.
In Antibes the streets are narrow and difficult to pass with carsbut you will for sure find (and may be join) the locals playing Petanque.Where ever you go remember not to pass the Restaurant Albert 1 without experience their fantastic seafood.

Staying at Antibes gives also a possibility to visit Cannes. The city with the international annual film festival is a wonderful shopping eldorado.and a stroll at The Promenade de la Croisette makes you feel upper class.From Antibes there are 16 km to the jewel of Provence Saint Paul de Vence.
Saint-Paul was founded in the 9th century. Before long, castrum Santo Paulo (the château of Saint-Paul) dominated the entire village. The only surviving part of the castle today is its dungeon.As Rome Saint-Paul has its "fountain" where you have to throw coins in for the reason to returnThe streets are narrow as in Antibes, but here there is no cars at all.
We had rain during our off season visit in autumn 2000 and the possibility to see without queuing all over was a lovely experience.
Close to Saint-Paul the Fondation Maeght is located. Chagal and Miro are of course represented in the gallery:but in addition Hans Hartung can be seen between July 3 and November 16 this year. He and his Norwegian wife Anna-Eva Bergman is also to be found at the picasso museum in Antibes.Tomorrow I will give you some of our experiences east of Antibes towards the border to Italy.

ABCW - Fundacio Joan Miro, Friends and Fitness

Since this week is dedicated to Barcelona I have to start this ABC Wednesday = F with Joan Miro.

F is for Fundacio Joan Miro

The wool textile is huge on the wall (Tapestry of the Foundation, 1979)and the paintings marvelousThis painting is called Drop of water on pink snow and you are free to use your own imagination regarding the next:
If you do not have a better idea, what about:

The lark's wing ringed in the blue of gold meets the heart of the poppy asleep on the field studded with diamonds

But I also want to give you a photo of my very good friend Asbjørn, at Steigen with Brennvika at the seashore, and the ocean towards Værøy and Røst.On the next photo Asbjørn (leftmost) and myself is "Vorspieling" for party together with Per Cato, Helge, Erik and Anton.
F is for Friends. And at last if you are tired of looking at photos and clicking on links, and feel ashamed that the >63 years Asbjørn and others are in good condition when climbing the mountains and performing on stage, I recommend some hours in your fitness studio.
F is for Fitness.

Tuesday facts - Barcelona

The capital and most populous city of Catalonia, and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,6 mill, is Barcelona.
Este Dimarts I have to tell that me falta la practica hablar Castellano (as my old teacher learned us in the Spanish lesson at collage), but that is no argument not to present some of the facts from this fantastic city.

Barcelona performed by Freddie Mercury together with Montserrat Cabelle (You Tube video) is one of my favorite duets, and if you do not like my photos, please listen to the music.Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia is probably today the most known ikon of Barcelona, and at the east entrance the fantastic details can be studied.The Gothic Cathedral is another cultural place to visit and the Thursday dance at the square in front of the cathedral, can absolute compare with the student´s Flamenco at Plaza Reial in the same Barri Gotic area.Another square well worth a visit is Plaza Catalunyaat the top of La RamblaAs seen at the photo many buildings in Barcelona seems strange (for Odd Shot Mondays?) for people not known with Art Nouveau or Jugend art. Antoni Gaudi and his buildings and parks in Barcelona, are a necessity when visiting the city. In addition to Sagrada Familia La Perdera and Park Guel are Gaudi´s best known landmarks.La Perdera above and Park Guell below. The Picasso Museum at Montcada 15-23 is of course a must and the same is a visit to 4 Gats at Carrer Montsio 3.No more to tell today, but call tour travel agency and order a weekend to Barcelona.

Monday Odd Shots

As an introduction to this week blog meme, and giving the web memories from our visit to Barcelona, Spain some years ago, this photo from Fundacio Juan Miro showing Tullen as model for a painting by Antonio Saura, starts it all, as well as delivering this Odd Shot Monday.
For those not living near costal areas, or don´t like or are allergic (= Tullen) to shellfish or crustacean, my Friday dinner may be Odd enough. Two different dishes in the family that evening. Tullen had Halibut.

Olympic Games 2008 is history

Beijing 2008 Olympics is at the posting hour in the the Closing Ceremony. Yesterday Norway got the second and third gold medal. Total score is 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 2 Bronze. China got totally 100 medals. Congratulation to all.
Many bloggers will leave their computers and have their eyes on the TV screen, but may be some will use the moment to surf the net and visit blog friends.

The darkness of night will soon cover the sky in Beijing, and as we did last night may be the half moon can be watched from the Great Wall.Within hours olympic participants will find their departing planes and return to their home countries in triumph like the Norwegian Handball Team. We love them all.
When somebody is celebrating after swimming, rowing, walking, throwing, shooting and so fort, I have worked out another painting called Night and Day.
From tomorrow the political trivialities again will make the headlines in media but we will meet again in London 2012.

Thank you for 31 years neighbourliness

Yesterday strangers visites the cottage next to ours with the intention to buy this red cottage.

The cottage has been in the ownership of the Sønsteby family since the building in 1930, but present owners Kjell and Else Marie have soon reached the age of 80 and are tired of maintenance and gardening. Their children and grand children are living outside Oslo, and therefore not eligible to take over.

Tullen and I have in all these years had good relation to Kjell and Else Marie. We have never had any fence between our properties, but never went across the border without any specific purpose. They taught us how to live and work at a place like this. They as we, have always used the cottage as summer residence. They have been great to our daughters through their childhood life at Solvang, and "inne hos ´abon" was often the answer when we asked them where they had been.
We really will call them GOOD neighbours.
This photo was taken eight years ago when celebrating the garden´s 70th anniversary. We also celebrated the 50th anniversary in 1980, two years after we were newcomers.
Thanks for all during these 31 summers.

Saturday Urban Life - Salzburg

I have during this week presented some of the spectacular Austrian Alps.
However, a trip to Austria without visiting some of the major cities in the country, would not be normal for an urban person. Our weekend trip to Vienna in April 2005 have previous been blog-posted, and during our holiday in 2003 we stayed one night in Kitzbuhel.
In 1999 we had our hotel at Zell am See, but with only 10.000 inhabitants the real urban lifestyle was difficult to find. It is almost like Bad Hofgastein where we stayed a week in 1989 for skiing.
Austria´s fourth largest city is Salzburg and well known as the birthplace of Mozart. The shopping street Getreidegasse, is extraordinary in the way that Salzburg has very strict rules regarding marketing signs. Even McDonald´s has to follow the rules with a small m in a wrought-iron guild sign hanging autside the establishment.
Shops in this street is a combination of fashion and specialized merchandise. We visited the street in June but both Christmas and Easter goods were on sale.
At the intro.photo you may see the Festung Hohensalzburg (used as scenery in the movie Sound of Music) the bank of the Salzach river and thedome of Salzburger Cathedral
I had to take photos inside the Cathedral and as in St. Peter´s Basilica (see the similarity) the altar paintings are beautiful.

To be or not to be

Sometimes I feel that I have to join Blog memes to get my blog known. But what is "known".
Is the number of visitors an indication of being a success. Is the number of countries the visitors come from or the number of comments most important.

Is visibility or being known the utmost indicator of to be or not to be.

The statistics below show some of these indicators.

As a total I have had over 46000 visits. I have the last month been visited close to 1700 times from people living in 66 countries. I have got about 260 comments. The highest score of comments is on meme-days, and most often from the same visitors.
More than every third visitor are blogging in countries outside Norway.
Nevertheless, if the question is to be or not to be, I AM (alive and happy)

The photos at the end of this post is only to show that I know that the meme for today is :and add one more photo of a sunset like hundreds of other bloggers. Boring.

Rankin and John Rebus on NRK1 (TV)

Two years ago on Wednesday, 23rd August 2006 I wrote a post about the small world in which we are living. I got the following comment from my daughter:

"even weirder, and this is where this is relevant to your blogpost, it turned out that the man actually *taking* the photo - the man sitting with David's friend Richard and his mates - was no other than Ian Ranking, the famous (but obviously not *that* famous) author!
it is a small world..."

The world is even getting smaller today when Norwegians through NRK1 TV can see Rankin´s The Fall (rightmost book above, Fossen) and follow the "hero" John Rebus and his colleague Siobhan trying to solve the plot.
In a review of the book Drone007 is writing:

The book starts by throwing you straight into the action two days after a banker's daughter, Philippa, has gone missing. Rebus and his colleague Siobhan begin their chase using an involving computer game which she was involved in. To help get to the bottom of this, Siobhan plays the game and the affect the Quizmaster has upon the disappearance becomes clear aided by Rebus' investigations. Their chase takes them through hundreds of old cases of body snatching and murder, and the continual appearance of tiny handmade coffins with dolls inside, left mysteriously at scenes of crimes both old and new.

John Rebus as an inspector drinks heavily and goes about his operations in an unusual and at first surprising way, often linking the two together.

In 'The Falls', Rebus is older than in previous books and is slowly suffering because of it. The book consists of a cyber-based mind game plot and the strong, compelling cast of suspects, informants, and law enforcement officers.

As with all Rebus Novels, Rankin creates a living image of Scotland and Edinburgh in the readers mind. This is largely helped due to its accurate basing on Edinburgh itself, with the details great enough to almost guide you round the city

Additional information that will help you when watching TV is complete knowledge of Single malt Destilleries in Scotland and you may learn more about Rebus´habits through this Single Malt Flavour MapHave a nice TV evening, and for you without Norwegian Television look forward to my next blog of Friday.

ABC Wednesday - Edelweisspitze

As a continuation of yesterday post regarding my visit to the Alps in Austria, I want to show some of the photos taken from Hochalpenstrasse.
The highest point on the High Apline Road has a spectacular panorama view of more than 30 peaks above 3000 m. Find the 360gr Panoramas on the link (right sidebar) and enjoy the spectacular mountaind

E is for Edelweiss spitze 2571m

In the background you can see, from right: Johannisberg 3460m, Sonnenwelleck 3261m and Austria´s highest summit Grossglockner 3798m. To the north and on the other side of the valley from where we climbed by bus, you may see Grosses Wiesbachhorn 3564m. The panorama view east and south shows Brennkogel 3018m and Kloben 2936m. To west we have the tunnel through Hochtor 2503m and to the north Hohe Dock 3348mIf you don´t want to go back to my Tuesday post I show you Grossglockner once more

Tuesday facts - Berchtesgaden and Eagle´s Nest

Two of my daily followers: John and Ivar have lately posted photos from the world of Mountains.
That gave me an opportunity to share with you some of my experiences from the Alps in 1999. We stayed mostly in Austria, but one day we took a trip to the southern Germany

From Berchtesgaden we drove up the mountainside to Berghof above the village and through tunnel and elevator reached the Kehlsteinhaus or may be better known as the Eagles Nest. The Kehlsteinhaus was an official 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler. (nicknamed Eagle's Nest by a French diplomat). It is told that Hitler only visited the Kehlsteinhaus twice. He may have had Vertigo.
I felt myself some of the dizziness when I was at the summit, and after that I do not like to go on high areas with open air all around me.At the summityou have the fantastic view down to Berchtesgaden, but as you can experience at Besseggen Ridge it feels being a long way down and the slope is steep. From the same trip I also want to share with you the highest mountain in Austria; Grossglockner (3798 m) but as you see I felt much safer behind the fence at Keiser Franz Josef´s Høhe at altitude 2369m.

Monday odd shot and more

According to my dictionary.:
Odd = " different from what is usual or expected; strange"
Odd = " having one left over as a remainder when divided by two"
Odd = " happening or occurring infrequently and irregularly; occasional"
Odd = " separated from a usual pair or set and therefore out of place or mismatched"

Yesterday I posted the infrequently odd situation with the Lunar eclipse.
Today these strange feet of king Bladuds pig Abi give you a possibility to give bids (current bid £1400)In addition I think the last bowl of left over raspberries from yesterday garden work is odd enough for the blog this Monday.And at last a painting from autumn 2002 showing the combination of green, black and pink which somebody would find mismatched. (ps. I don´t have or use a pink scarf) For more Odd Shots you are welcome to visit Katney

Sunday posting

No special meme today.
Thanks all gods.
Therefore only some of the photo shots from last days.
First Henrik Isak 11 months or 8 if not been too early born. His first tooth is in place.Then shots from the parade at Karl Johan yesterday (Oslo Jazz Festival) The Olympic Games are running in Beijing. In Oslo there is acceptance for demonstrations. and this Organ theft is disgusting.Last night we had full moon (at 23.16). Two hours earlier we could watch the moon rising over East Oslo, and also watch the Lunar Eclipse coming at 21.30 (down left).At 22.10 the eclipse looked like thisEarly this morning we cut the raspberries. This summer we have got about 15 kilos (under average).

Saturday Urban Life - Strolling Akerselva

Strolling the bank of the river Akerselva from "Maridalsvannet" to "Vaterland Park" is a habit citizens of Oslo do at least once in their lifetime. The stroll is 8.2 kilometers long and has an altitude difference of about 150 meters, passing meadows, rocks, woodlands, housing establishments on its banks. The river has 20 waterfalls and 23 bridges for public traffic and people walkways.

In previous times Akerselva divided Oslo into an Eastern and a Western part. This is an interesting aspect, geographically speaking, because there was a certain social gap between the people living on each side of the river. Today many areas of East Oslo are more "in" and more expensive than western areas, but a considerably diversity is still a reality.

The photo above is from the area close to Beyer-bridge, which was referred to by Oscar Braathen as the “factory girls bridge”. The bridge is known from 1671, and was driving bridge from 1837, now walking bridge. Named after taylor Anders Beyer.

The main bridges (which could cover two years in RuneE´s Bridges meme) are:

Brekke bridge, in Kjelsåsveien binding Kjelsås to Brekke
Nydals bridge, in Rolf Wickstrøm´s road (ring 3)
Walking bridge in Nydalen
Gullhaug bridge, in Nydalsveien at Gullhaug square, Nydalen
Bridge in Kristoffer Aamot´s road, Nydalen
Gangbro ved Badebakken, Bjølsen
Treschows bridge in Treschow´s road, binding Bjølsen to Sandaker
Bentse bridge, in Bentsebridge road, binding Sagene to Torshov
Walking bridge at Myra, Sagene
Vøyen bridge, in Marcus Thranes road (ring 2), Sagene
Beyer bridge, walking bridge binding Sagveien (west) to Biermann´s road (east), Sagene
Sanner bridge, binding Waldemar Thranes road (west, Ila / Sagene) to Sanner road (east, Grünerløkka)
Åmodt bridge, walking bridge, binding Ila to Grünerløkka with the inscription: "100 MAND KAN JEG BÆRE, MEN SVIGTER UNDER TAKTFAST MARCH."
Kuba bridge, walking bridge, Grünerløkka
Grüner bridge, in Møllerveien, binding Fredensborg and Grünerløkka
Walking bridge binding Brenneri road at Blå (west) and Nedre road (east, Grünerløkka)
Walking bridge binding Østre Elvebakke at DogA (vest) and Nedre road (east, Grünerløkka)
Anker bridge in Torggata, Grünerløkka
Ny bridge, down Grünerløkka
Hausmanns bridge in Hausmann´s road
Vaterlands bridge, binding Brugata (west, Vaterland) and Grønlandsleiret (east, Grønland)

Based upon the waterfall photo the painting below is an attempt to show the difference between copying nature through camera and painting it.
If you want to see a camouflaged portrait of the "deity" living in the river - "NØKKEN" The Neck I have painted her in a modern way. Reference to living persons is unintended .

The Sky is the limit (or beyond ?)

For many years I hoped my daughters should take up me and my wife´s interest for Mathematics and Sciences, and get a job within the Maritime Industry. They did not want that themselves.
The oldest are presently doing her PHD within Digital Media Communication and Information Technology, while the youngest ended (preliminary?) up with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

I still have the possibility to get my dreams come through. Helene likes to calculate even in holidays, and these photos were sent yesterday from Wales:No surprise to see that the Math-teacher is smiling.

Rome - Tourist attractions in walking distance

Part 4 of the postings with photos from our journey to Rome almost 10 years ago, will give you some of the outdoor highlights tourists have to visit.

As we always start walking early in the morning, the Panthenon with surroundings was almost empty before 9 am. The Pantheon is currently the oldest standing domed structure in Rome and called "Temple of all the gods". The building which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome was rebuilt circa 125 AD during Hadrian's reign.Our main target this morning was Colosseum and Forum Romanum.
Colosseum is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. It is an elliptical amphitheatre and construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus.
We normally see pictures of Colosseum´s outside walls,but it is even more interesting to see the arena from inside with the hypogeum that consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began.Close to Colosseum you cannot miss Forum RomanumForum Romanum is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed. To the right in the photo we see The temple of Castor and Pollux besides The Temple of Saturn, which represents the oldest-surviving foundation in that area, having been established between 501 and 498 BC.
From these ancient constructions you can walk through Capitol Hill, across Piazza Venezia with the enormous National Monument Vittorio Emanuele II from 1935,before strolling up the shopping streets Via del Corso and Via del Condotti where you find the Spanish StepsThere are a lot of restaurants and fashion shops close to the Spanish Steps, but for dinner you also may cross Ponte Pallatino (or some of the other bridges) and walk beyond the river Tiber for a visit to Trastevere.
This end the Rome Tour for now, and I hope I have got some of you wanting to follow my steps.
All roads lead to Rome, and we will return in November (I hope)

Collection of photos from the right bank of Tiber

Roman Catholics dip their fingers in the holy water and make the sign of the cross when entering St Peter´s Basilica as a reminder of baptism. Why Tullen does it I have never understood.
The complete lists of Popes / Pontifices (except the present) is found inside the basilica. If you are interested in "popes" or Pontifex Maximus prior to this list, click on the link.One of the major artworks in the basilica is Bernini´s Baldacin. It is placed over the tomb of St. Peter and the dome is 120 meters above.One of the other "have to" in the Basilica is to touch the feet of St Peter.Outside the Basilica there are many arrival ways. The main road leading straight up to the St Peter´s Square is called Via della Concilazione. It is roughly 500 m in length and connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. In addition to the usual lining of shops and residences, it is bordered by a number of historical and religious buildings – including the Palazzo Torlonia, the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri and the Palazzo dei Convertendi, and the churches of Santa Maria in Traspontina and Santo Spirito in Sassia.Castel St Angelo at the "beginning of the road" is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family; today a museum.
Legend holds that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, thus lending the castle its present name.To be continued.......

ABC Wednesday - La Dolce Vita in Rome

As part of the Journey through Rome this ABC Wednesday = D has only one natural consequence:

D is for La Dolce Vita.

Here is the poster from Frederico Fellini´s movie.and here the famous scene with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in the Trevi Fountain
The neighborhood of Trevi looks like thisand the Fountain´s beauty is a must to see. Don´t forget your coins.
A different Dolce Vita can be found at Piazza Navona.Here you can enjoy a drink, look at the Romans and have lunch or dinner at the restaurant with this week ABC NameTo be continued...

Tuesday Facts - Rome

As announced Sunday I will during this week present some of the experiences we had when visiting the capital of Italy, ROME in November 1998.
The journey is introduced by the view of the Square from behind the Popes Baldach in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City
Rome is known as Caput Mundi (Capital of the world), la Città Eterna (The Eternal City), Limen Apostolorum (Threshold of the Apostles), la città dei sette colli (The city of the seven hills) or simply l'Urbe (The City). Ancient Rome was a major centre of Western civilization, and Rome is still the seat of the Roman Catholic Church which controls the Vatican City as its sovereign territory.
Normally visitors in Rome see all the historical sites, but this photo journey will start with a presentation of some of the fantastic altar paintings inside the St. Peter's Basilica.In addition to these paintings you may find that the walls, the ceilings and floors are decorated with colorful mosaics not to be bypassed without attention.
This photo shows The School Of Athens, by Raphael (1483-1520) which portrays Plato, Aristotle, and other ancient philosophers engaged in philosophic inquiry. It is found on the walls of the Vatican Palace.
The ceiling at the St. Peter´s Tomb including the Apostle´s remains (?) and below The memorial of The Gregorian Callendar as we use today.
An appendix to the Basilica is the well known Sistine Chappel which has an almost unbelievable roof with Michelangelos "the last Judgement" on the back wall.After the visit to the St. Peter´s Basilica and you still hunger for more indoor art, we can recommend a dinner at Ristorante Re degli Amici at Via della Croce 33.
To be continued.....

Monday Odd Shots

This Monday my Odd Shots are not taken by myself at all.
Someone in my family shot the first photo on December 31. 1998 during my New Year Eve Dinner preparation. The man has taken on the Apron to protect his tuxedo.
The two belov is from the blogs of anemone and GundaM and the ladies are women for their Hats.
Normally we see masculinity and femineity in the opposite way.

Sunday plans for next weeks posting

Ten years ago and only 6 months after my combined Heart and Kidney transplantation, we made a visit to the city of all cities - Rome.
During next week I will show some of the photos taken (and later scanned) of this fantastic city.
The map shows where we managed to walk during our "oval" weekend, and the banknote below is the "old" 1000 Lire which had a value of 5 nok or ab one USD.
What do you think you will be seeing from Tuesday to Friday?
ps:
Thanks to Ida for the

Polar Star to Terje Fagermo

(photo by Karsten Lilleheim)

The Polar Star 2008 is given to one of my favorite painters Terje Fagermo (link-text in Norwegian).
I made a short presentation of Terje´s art from the exhibition he and his daughters had in Geiranger last year.
Terje´s paintings can be found in many private and public collections and galleries. He had his first exhibition in his hometown Ålesund in 1969. His international debut was in Washington in 1988 together with the Norwegian painters Kåre Tveter and Ludvig Eikaas.

His works are on exhibition at Sulheim Farm and I also showed some of his works in my blogpost from August 16, 2006 when we experienced the hospitality by Kjell Holm at his Sandbu Mansion.
I send all my congratulations to Terje.

Saturday Urban Life - Bath

May be I should have given you some of my Beijing photos for this Saturday posting, but I will come back to this olympic city later.
Today I will give you some photos from the city Bath, Sommerset in south-western England.The city was founded, among surrounding hills, in the valley of the River Avon around naturally-occurring hot springs where the Romans built baths and a temple, giving it the name Aquae Sulis (AD 43). Edgar was crowned king of England at Bath Abbey in 973. Much later, it became popular as a spa resort during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

During her stay with our daughter in Wales, Tullen met David´s family from Brighton (and Spain) in Bath. This photo shows the cousins Helene and Grace together with nanny Felicity while the young generation are discussing where to have lunch by using the iPhone gadget.
Of corse they ended up at Sally Lunn´s in the oldest house in Bath (from 1482) and known for the famous Sally Lunn Bun.The Roman Bath and the Bath Abbey are the landmarks in Bath as can be read if clicking on the above links:but the urban children found the King Bladud´s Pigs more interesting. Back home in Wales the summer showed up with good weather so Helene and Henrik had the opportunity to have their own bath in their garden swimming pool.

Congratulation Beijing - The Olympic Games opened

The Olympic Games of the 29th Olympiad was opened in Beijing today.
08.08.08

There is only one word that can be used:

CONGRATULATION!

I hope the days to come will bring great sport results by dope-free competitors and that the games will give great experiences to us TV watchers.

Malacca Malaysia

At the end of my stay in Asia Pacific I manage to visit the city Malacca in Indonesia. My wife, children, family and guests had been there many times, but when it was clear that we should return to Norway, I just had to visit this historical town 245 km north of Singapore.
The photo is taken from our hotel window showing part of the city including the sky over the Strait of Malacca.

Flickr Pro needs to be repaid

In 2002 I decided to try out my desire to work with painting. I had recently visited the Picasso Museums in Antibes and Barcelona. There I saw how one of the worlds most famous painters worked with paper. That made it easier to start playing with colors without extraordinary expenses. A 25 meter roller of pasteboard costs almost nothing and some tubes with Red, Blue, Yellow and White acrylic and a few paintbrushes was an investment giving great returns over the years.
My first painting (above) was from Nice and Promenade des Anglais and I called it Dame and Dogs.
Almost 250 paintings (Acrylic on paper and canvas) have been finished through the following years and I have collected some of them in different galleries like:
Selected Paintings 2003 - 2007 and My Painting Gallery

This morning I received a warning that my Flickr Pro account with almost 1600 photos was not renewed, and I was only able to see 200 of these if not paying shortly. Normally I get renewal of invoices automatically, but this time either I or the system have made an error.
So remember You have to be active yourself regarding keeping up some of the "not free" accounts you register during the normal internet work. Not everything is free.

Back to painting and my works during the last 7 years. Not everything I have done is of great quality. I should either worked more with some of the paintings or stopped working earlier in the process. May be some of them never should be presented. Bad or Good here they are in total

C = Cell phones and more C-words

Due to the new ABC Wednesday System many of us have started to post Wednesday bloggposts on Tuesdays. That make the possibility to continue blogging today with topics connected to the letter C!

This photo is taken with my daughter Trine´s new iPhone inside a pub in Wales. A lot of comments have been published around the Apples revolutionary product. Many critics have been around the bad camera, but this photo gives me at least the impression that she is satisfied with her buy.
My wife also bought a new mobile (cell) phone yesterday. Her Sony Ericsson W910i Silky White will probably remove the profile of her as holding an antique mobile phone.

If you are interested in the costs connected to use of mobile communication there are many calculators on the web. For Norwegian users this site can help.

At my cottage creativity has continued to rise during the increasing cold and rainy weather. Costal naturism may be the title of this piece.Therefore C is for Continue, Connect, Comment, Critic, Camera, Costs, Communication, Calculators, Cottage, Creativity, Cold and Costal Nudism

ABC Wednesday - C = Chinaware

On Friday, August 8th the Olympic Games in Beijing China will be opened.

May be C is for China will be the selected letter for many participants in ABC Wednesday this week. To find out if that is correct, please visit the page hosting our contribution.

The Norwegian Participants during the Beijing 2008 Games, can found in Wikipedia and counts 85 persons.

I choose a little different variant of the C / China this week.

C is for Chinaware
China-ware, Bone-China, Porcelain or Chinese Ceramics has developed in the form of a fine art ever since the rule of the dynasties. Some experts believe the first true porcelain was made in the province of Zhejiang during the Eastern Han period (1260-1300).
China-ware or Ceramics are generally grouped into three main categories: earthenware, stoneware and ceramics. In China they are grouped under 2 broad headings:

High-fired China-ware
Low-fired China-ware
China-ware can also be divided into northern and southern China-ware. The geographical differences between the north and the south lead to the availability of different kinds of raw materials. Thus the main difference between the China-ware of the north and the south is that in composition. In the western countries porcelain is distinguished from other materials by virtue of its translucency, while in China any opaque piece of ware, which rings with a clear note when struck with something is identified as porcelain.

When living in Singapore we had our preferred "Pottery", and could find some really special pieces (not to be compared with Ming porcelain)
The term “Pottery” is an all-encompassing term that is generally used to mean all the products that the potter produces by using his art.

Tuesday Facts - Weather conditions in August

From blue sky and long shadows in the evening to hail and heavy rain next morning.
That is the fact regarding the local weather at my cottage,
What else can I do than finish a painting making remembrance of my visit to Montecatini Alto, Tuscany some years ago. Weather conditions for the next 10 days can be found at yr.no for Solvang, Tuscany and 7 million other places world wide.

Building Bridges

August is on. New (and old) Bridges are shown around the world through RuneE´s Blogroll

I have decided to show old bridges this time. They are from different places in time and space. Some of them visited by millions of persons throughout the years, and some dedicated for selected and may be odd people.
The first is a photo I have shown earlier (Rune has accepted that). The "Jade Belt Bridge" can be found at the Summer Palace in Beijing and I choose it for the upcoming Olympics.The next is a tiny bridge in the beautiful area at Herdalseter Norddal. The bridge is used to bring the goats back to the milking area, but if you want to track between Geiranger, Eidsdal and Tafjord you may cross the river over this bridge.Another bridge we had to pass on our holiday at Sunnmøre this summer was the Hellesylt Bridge which is used as part of the Ferry (Hellesylt - Geiranger) entrance. The waterfall to the right is gorgeous, but that I have to show you another time. May be someone out there can start a River and Waterfall-day too.Well back in Oslo a visit to Vigeland´s sculptures and Frognerparken is an urban habit. This photo is taken earlier this year showing both bridge, waterfalls and people crossing the troubled water close to "Casino sætra" or "Herregaardskroen".

Climbing and Danger - K2

Climbers are reported missing in the attempt to reach the world's second highest mountain K2. One of them are the Norwegian climber Rolf Bae (33).
It feels strange to have written the post from yesterday about my daughter´s tracking in Ladakh and learning about the accident in different media today. There is no comparison between these two challenges. Rikke and her friends tracked in safe areas up to 6000 m, while the K2 is 8611 m and may be the most difficult mountain to climb in the world.
The Norit K2 Expedition 2008 homepage gives the latest Breaking news, and the status from K2BaseCamp-NL (14.00 hr. K2-time) is:
Exhausted climbers are still descending from the Abruzzi route.

STATUS AS FAR AS WE KNOW

ROELAND: in K2BC
CAS en PEMBA: now descending from C3
WILCO: Descending from C3 with Cas and Pemba
MARCO: Descending from Abruzzi with HAP's.
MARK: Safe in K2BC
JELLE: safe in K2BC
NICK RiCE: safe in K2BC

GERARD: status unknown. Unfortunately no new information.
HUGUES: status unknown. Unfortunately no new information.
KARIM : status unknown. Unfortunately no new information.
Cecilie: Reportedly returned to BC Abruzzi
Rolf: status unknown
UPDATE:
Rolf: Has been confirmed as fatal by his wife Cecilie Skog who had been climbing with him on K2.

Saturday Urban Life - or the opposite

Looking at the photo above Urban Life seems so far away. And you could not be more correct. This scenery is from the north of India, Ladakh, and mountain above 6000 m.
The landscape is spectacular and starting point for tracking may be the largest city Leh and you may visit the town Shey that has the old summer palace of the Ladakh kings, or the Thikse Monastery. Leh is at an altitude of 3,500 meters (11,483ft), and to be able to reach 6,000 m several days are needed to get used to the high.
Ladakh is mainly influenced by Buddhist Culture and the Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life) is painted outside the monastery .
Tracking is walking, climbing, moving to higher altitude in cooperation with your body´s internal systems. Several days are needed for the last approach to 6000.
The young students from UWCSEA has changed from their school uniforms t-shirts and shorts in the hot and humid Singapore to fleece and overcoats. My daughter Rikke utmost right was only 15 years on this fantastic adventure.
As a Norwegian, the teachers asked Rikke to be in front making pathway in the snow and she made it. At the summit she was so tired that she fell asleep after 5 hours climbing. Only 9 teachers and students (including Rikke and Olivia) reached the altitude of 6000. Congratulation to all.
This post is dedicated to all the persons presently tracking in the Norwegian Mountains, and particularly to my sister Brit who is visiting Tafjord Mountains and can experience the nature like Morten Helgesens Photos

Apple a word with meaning.

The word APPLE has some significant meaning for millions of people around the world.
The Big Apple is a nickname for New York City.
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and closely related software products. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod line of portable media players, and the iPhone.

But in this blog I only mean to tell you that the Apples in my garden are close to be ripe. The year 2008 production is not the best in history. Each apple is small, but the "Transparente blanche" has been harvested by Fredrik who likes them at the stage just before finished.
Next month the "Red Sævstadholm" are ready, and after that will "James Grieve" end the apple season in my garden.