Copenhagen, Berlin, Copenhagen

Our Summer holiday 2013 had a short break from the lovely Summer life in Oslo last week.
Our daughter and her family has taken over the cottage for some times, so we decided to do our traditional Copenhagen tour. The difference from our normal visits to the King´s city was that this time we added on some days in the German Capital, Berlin.
We moved by car because these two towns are easy reachable from Oslo, although it is boaring to drive on the "Autobahn" hours after hours if it is in Sweden, Denmark or Germany.

Our first day in Copenhagen includes always a Danish lunch "frokost-platte" at Nyhavn together with thousands of other tourists, many of them from Norway.

We have been in Berloin many times, but this was the first trip up to the Panorama view at Potsdamer Platz. From 25th floor you have a 360 degr. view of Berlin. Here you can see "Reichtag", Brandenburger Tor and the Holocaust Memorial in addition to the new apartment buildings replacing the security area from before the Berlin Wall was taken down.

Back in Copenhagen this photo show the "Gråbrødre Torv" (Greyfriars Square) with its buildings from the period after the Copenhagen fire in 1728.

We will always return to Copenhagen, but when going to Berlin, may be a plane will be chosen.

Visit by Aftenposten

The visit from Aftenposten´s Stine Holberg Dahl last week resulted in the following article at Aftenposten.no today. Klick and read. Great to see a positive information about living at Solvang 4.

Time for Sunflowers

It os time for the eruption of summer flowers at the cottage. The Sunflower planted in their home many weeks ago by Maja and Mari have now opened their petals. The painter van Gogh should have been here to make then eternal.
Instead you have to see a painting from my garden by an amateur like me

"Poppies in July" from 2007

Planning for Berlin

I am planning for some days in Berlin.
Most of these places (have too see) have we been visited before in earlier visits to Berlin. The question is therefore what to do, see and experience when we return to the Capital of Germany within some days.
Any interesting proposals?
Use the comments to give me new ideas.

Happy birthday Helene

Our first grandchild, Helene, is 10 years today. Congratulation.

Interview by Aftenposten about neighborhood

During summertime there is always a media debate about the allotment gardens in Oslo. Due to the lack of areas for new houses in Oslo west and the expensive and beautiful area here at Nordberg, many politicians have argued for transforming Solvang´s ab. 600 summer cottages into permanent houses. We don´t like these arguments and yesterday a journalist from Aftenposten.no visited us for an interview about the life at Solvang.
Yesterday we also had Maja and her family up here and she together with our neighbor Marte were immortalized for the article coming up a day in next week.

Tullarbo, our Summer residence

Having an allotment with a cottage is normally many hours of working activity. The small house itself needs maintenance outside and indoors. The garden have to be taken care of regarding fruit trees, berries and flowers. Last year we built a terrace and this summer it is time for oiling the pressure treated boards and the garden furniture.
This morning the job was done and we feel satisfied both with the work done and the golden result.

Daisies = Summer

No need for additional comments from my side to this iPhone 4S photo taken by my wife.

Art at Solvang 4

The nobel art of painting has deployed into the Star Square at Solvang 4 today. Some of the children in a neighboring cottage lived out their fantasy when playing princess and witch in a castle.
Their art will remain in the street until the next rain. Hopefully late August.

 Another place to see amateur paintings is in my own cottage. My Munch imitations are now up to 6 on the walls. Three in "the living room corner" (above) and the same number in "the dining room corner" (below).
I have to use the term "corners" because the basic areal of the cottage is only 237 square feet.