Odd Shot Monday - Worm´s Head and The Norse Dragon

A different Monday odd shot this week. At the Gower Peninsula South West Wales one of the old landmarks is Worm´s Head. This small island connected to the peninsula when the tide is withdrawn and you may visit the spectacular place for about five hours, until the coast guard give alarm and you have to hurry back, has got its name from the Norse Vikings 1000 years ago.
Most of Wales have origins from Kelts, but Gower was a place where the seaborne Norsemen or Vikings settled down and mingled with local people. The "Orms Hode" as Worm´s Head is meant in Norwegian was a natural navigation point for the people entering Bristol Channel from their possessions in Dublin Irland.
(Swansea has according to local people also a meaning from the Norse as "Sven´s Øye" or the Eye of Sven).
Some would say that this photo or text is not odd at all, but that is only until you look at the other photo. Here you (I hope) can see the worm, snake or Dragon crawling up from the beach and rule the Gower peninsula.
Have a nice week and go to Kathney´s Blogroll for more odd shots.

Snapshot 17th of May 2008

The following snapshots is taken during the celebration of the Norwegian National Day.In front of her Band the tambour major is always focused.
Head Master at Skøyenåsen school "Peter" former Boss at Hovin.
Rain and wind id no excuse to walk the Parade.
All nationalities are carrying Norwegian Flags
Students Parade. 13 years in school has come to an end. Now they celebrate and Universities are next.
Cold weather, wind and rain, but also some sunshine. A lovely National Day in Oslo.

Happy 17th of May

Gratulerer med Dagen!Breakfast at home. Hipp, Hipp Hurray!
The Royal Family greets the Children Parade and people like us in National Costumes from Sunnmøre, North West Norway

2008 FA Cup Final - Heia Cardiff!

The 2008 FA Cup Final is a football match scheduled to be held at Wembley Stadium tomorrow on 17 May 2008. The match will be the 127th FA Cup Final, and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium since its redevelopment.
The match will be contested by Portsmouth and Cardiff City.

This replica of the cup was on show in Cardiff during our stay there last week. You could be photographed holding the cup with artificial background of Wembley, or what so ever. If not, H&M was ready to offer their usual stuff.
The other cup is placed in Portsmouth.


Although Cardiff City are considered a Welsh club and only hold associate membership with the Football Association, should they win the 2008 FA Cup they will be allowed to compete in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup. However, it was decided that Cardiff would not have been entered for the UEFA Cup as FA Cup runners-up had Portsmouth already qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth in the Premier League. In such a scenario, the sixth placed Premier League team would have been awarded the UEFA Cup place. However, since Portsmouth finished eighth, this condition is now irrelevant.
The FA announced that, before the game begins, the Welsh national anthem, "Land of My Fathers" (Welsh: "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau") will also be played along with "God Save the Queen" and "Abide with Me"

Just to let you share the information from Wikipedia, and waiting for the Final when watching Norwegian football league today.

Best Single Malt Whisky - Talisker

Do you like or love Whisky.
Are you among those who sometimes put a bottle of this Water of Life in your duty free bag when returning from your stay abroad, and are more or less unfamiliar with the different Brands and thus ending up with something safe and on budget (marked in traveling magazine)?
Are you among those who look at the bottles on the shelves and don´t know the difference between Single Malt and Blends?
Are you a woman and do not think Whisky is for you?

Then try a Scottish Single Malt next time and enjoy the flavour.
The single malt is flavoured according to Smoky, Delicate, Light and Rich. Pick your best choice based on these four variables.
Here is a map to help you.When returning to Norway last week I chose Talisker 10 years.
Chilled with ice-cubes it is well understood why it was awarded Best Single Malt Whisky at the World Whisky Awards 2007
Try it, because you´re worth it.

ABC Wednesday - Q

The answer is Grandchildren and Family
The answer is M4, Narrow Roads and Left side Driving

The answer is Green Parks, Wild Garlic, Dunes, steep Cliffs and beautiful Beaches

The answer is Bacon, Eggs, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Sausages, Bean and Tea

The answer is Roasted Lamb, Jacket Potatoes, Fish and Chips, Lager and Wine

The answer is Penrhyn Gŵyr, Abertawe and Caerdydd
What is the Question ????

Q is for Question.

Two weeks without daily blogging feels strange, but my abstinence can be cured.
I`m Back!
After the week in Portugal we had some days at home before we went to De Cymru and the Gower Peninsula

The answers given above cover the most from last week, and here are some photographic documentation of the same:
Caerdydd or Cardiff (The Castle and Art Nouveau): Abertawe or Swansea: (Breakfast out and the old Castle Ruins) Park le Bruce: (Park path, Wild Garlic and Caves)Rhossili Beach and Orms Head:Family: (Helene and Henrik)and Thanks a lot for your hospitality Trine and David:
For more photos se My Gallary

PS For more about ABC Wednesday, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. It is well worth the effort.

Tuesday facts and ABCW tomorrow - P is for Portugal

I could have given you a lot of facts about Portugal this Tuesday, but the information available at Wikipedia is the right source for that reading. I will however, for all of you that want to take a trip to this interesting country, do not only read the overall Wikipedia article, but also go deeper into every 7 regions (Alentejo, Algarve, Açores, Centro, Lisboa, Madeira, and Norte).

Portugal is a developed country, and although having one of the lowest GDP per capita of Western European countries, it has a high Human Development Index and is among the world's 20 highest rated countries in terms of quality of life. It is a member of the European Union (since 1986) and the United Nations (since 1955)

My holiday last week to the three regions Algarve, Alentejo and Lisboa, has made my interest for visiting the Centro and Norte regions even stronger. According to comments from friends is the wine also better up there. May be will the island regions also be visited in the years to come.

But until new photos are taken, you have to deal with the south and one third of my shots presented like this of the Atlantic Ocean at
My Portugal Gallary.

Odd Shots and Bridging Gaps

Just coming home from Portugal, the Coast of Algarve, Evora and Lisbon including Sintra and Cascais / Estoril with almost 300 photos copied and given titles in my iPhoto Library. Will present some of them in My Gallery after returning from this week´s visit to Hospital and Wales.
However, it is Monday and time for Odd Shot. This monday´s motive is from the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sintra, (40 min west from Lisbon.) No comments needed by me, but you are welcome to evaluate this photo and see more Odd Shots at Katneys site.
On the First monday of the month I also have to present "Broer som Binder" managed by RuneE .
Of course Bridges from Lisbon are my choices on the May Monday, and I start with the Free Waters' Aqueduct from 1732. The aqueduct and its branches are total 58,135 meters in length.The next Lisbon Bridge is 25th April Bridge or Lisbon´s Golden Gate. The bridge is 2.278km long between its anchorages with the main span being 1.013km long, and was opened in 1966. The last Lisbon Bridge is Vasco da Gama Bridge. This magnificent structure was opened on 29 March 1998. It is an amazing 17.185km long and connects the north Lisbon suburb of Sacavém to the south bank of the Tagus near Montijo. The bridge includes viaducts of 12.345km, the rest of its length being approach roads. I had to use three shots to catch the length from north to south.For more information of the bridges, (and may be professional photos) go to The Luso Pages

Back from Portugal

Home after a week in Portugal, The coast of Algarve, Evora and Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais/Estoril.
A more systematic presentation of the tour will soon be available at my Gallery, but some of Tullens photos are shown here: (click on the photo for better view)The Stork nest at Faro and Naranja from Tavira
Praia do Roca at Portimao
Cabo Sao Vicente (most south western point in continental Europe)
The Roman Temple for Diana at Evora (from 2nd century ad) and some of the flowers we found at the Algarve coastline
The blogger in Sintra with the roman castle at the top
and close to the Atlantic ocean at Boca do Inferno
In Lisbon naval monument at the place where Vasco da Gama left Portugal on his voyage around Africa to India with schoolchildren playing in yellow caps
And at the end the Governor of the Beer Republic in a break between wines and Portuguese food and adventures. A lovely visit with many old friends from Det Norske Veritas.