Visiting Ladegaardsøen and Oscarshall

About hundred and fifty years ago Oscarshall was commissioned as a summer and pleasure palace for the Norwegian-Swedish King Oscar I and his Queen Joséphine. It was completed in 1852. Today it is the property of the state and is placed at the disposal of the King.
The palace is considered to be one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Norway and is one of the country’s most important embodiments of the National Romantic style so popular in Norway during the period. In 1881, King Oscar II opened the palace to the public as a museum.Oscarshall was closed from autumn 2005 through summer 2009 due to necessary, extensive restoration work on the buildings and interior. The palace was officially reopened on 20 August 2009 and today we went on our first visit to this very intriguing castle at Ladegaardsøen or the peninsula of Bygdø.From Frognerkilen the royalties and their companies could arrive by boat and pass the first building and walk through the park up to the palace.
They could take a break at the smoking pavillion and walk around the fountains before aproaching the stairs up to the palace.
It is forbidden to take photos inside the building, but at the royal castle´s website they have presented one image of the dining hall . You may also find a preliminary draft of the decorations at the tourist shop wall.Joachim Frich has made the large landscape paintings and Adoph Tidemand the smaller paintings above. The drafts was changed when performing the paintings and you can see that the images of Romsdalshorn to the right, was changed into two different wall paintings.A nice way to arrive or leave Ladegaardsøen is by ferry. We took the ferry from Dronningen to Bygdønes with the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the various craft/ships like Fram, Gjøa and Kon-Tiki.
The Oslofjord-waves was very calm on our voyage back to Oslo centrum, and another island-jumping tour must be planned for visiting other islands close to the City Hall.
Approaching Piperviken and Oslo City Hall we have a great view to the Aker Brygge (left).
And can you think of anything better than ending this summer morning with a light luch and a glass of wine or "Stampils" (beer) at Hannibals Hybel.

Hedda on Video

The Heartbreaker is possibly not the correct translation of the Norwegian word "Hjerteknuser " (i positiv betydning), but Hedda Emilie is gorgeous, and the video just received tells us all we need to know.
Click on Hedda on video and see yourself.

Engelsviken - End of the World or a Place to Visit

When Christopher Columbus started his voyage to the west in 1492 he probably did not know if they would come to the end of the world or to India. Maybe that is what they know at Engelsviken outside Fredrikstad in Norway. They have discovered the End.
The trafic sign is clear; "Slutt" or End is written for those without competence in car-driving.Yesterday we visited Bente and Per Arne in their cosy old house at Engelsviken. Thanks for a nice day, delicious food and excellent guiding around at this intriguing small village.
With the "Onsøy Bevis" (Evidence of being there) as my new cap, I could later return to Oslo with Herrings made with various taste and some books to read in addition to updated knowledge of this part of the Oslo Fjord.
From the website of Restaurant Engelsviken Brygge we can copy and translate:

The place Engelsviken has a history dating back to Viking times. It is said that the name Engelsviken comes from a farm with the same name. The name was given the farm by a man named Ingjald.
So at the very beginning Engelsviken was called Ingjaldvik.

In the late 1800's things happened that have helped to shape the Engelsviken we know today. In 1867, one of Engelviken´s great sons, Lars Andersen, began to trade fish with specialily on salted herring. His business evolved, both here and elsewhere.

During the 1900's his descendants established a fish canning factory, Engelsviken Preserving (1919) and Engelsviken Canning (1924). Today it is the fifth generation Andersen, Marianne Andersen Grand, which owns and operates the well-known company Engelsviken Canning Ltd.

At the same time Bjarne Skogen´s, fish trade was established. Today, Bjarne Skogen's two sons run the well-known company Skogen Brothers Fish Trade.
In 1995, the two decided to do something even more exciting out of the good fish food they produced, and opened a restaurant called Engelsviken Brygge.

The place Engelsviken is now more and more known as a holiday gem, but it is still the sea that characterizes Engelsviken and the industry here.
Engelsviken is a place of tradition, environment and atmosphere.

The old boat-houses are now converted to nice summerpaces not only for local fishermen, but tourists and public visitors.
However: If you are interested in real handycraft and hand-made outdoor furnitures (like the table below), Engelsviken has the potencial at reasonable prices.
The dimentions of this table was 110cm x 310cm. (Delivered at your home for 9000 nok inclusive the bench) Very interesting!

Passing History from generation to generation

Yesterday I received a mail with some photos from Asbjørn. One of the photos made me immediately think of Edvard Munch´s "Historien" (History) from 1911. The huge painting (455x1160) that can be seen in the University Hall in Oslo.
Munch himself said that it "depicts a remote and apparently historical landscape, in which an old man from the fjords, who has prospered through many long years of toil, now sits absorbed in a wealth of memories and relates them to a fascinated boy.
History depicts more than just history. It represents knowledge and wisdom in their entirety."

Munch exalts the people and landscape above the everyday humdrum by giving them simplified, classical features. The old man can be said to symbolise the past, through which experience and knowledge are communicated to younger generations.

If you wonder why this reflection came into my mind, take a look at the image below.
Asbjørn with his granddaughter Emma in private communication.

Reaching summits

Today the riders in Tour du France reached the peak "Col du Tourmalet" at an altitude of 2115 m. The Summit was covered in fog but the TV cameras managed to give us the fight between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador.
Almost the same weather, but no TV and no bikes were present when we walked the mountains last two days. Sauvallsnatten at 1052 m was the goal on Tuesday. Wet and windy but Tullen, Ole and Sissel did enjoy the summit.200 m lower at "Gulsviksetrane" we could take a break in some better weather.
Wednesday we started for the mail goal, Høgevarde at 1459m
The climbing was hard. The track was almost like a natural ladder. Steep, steeper, steepest. From altitude about 900 meter to the summit 500 meter higher and 4km walking we used 2 hours.
Dense fog made the walking difficult, but thanks to the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT)´s red Ts we found the path and reached the summit. Heavy wind (strong breeze?) and some light rain had no negative influence of the trackers. Happy and proud at the peak.
At the summit we could not see more than three meters ahead. On clear sky we have the possibility to see many peaks in southern Norway. This disk tells us in what direction to look. We have to return at Høgevarde another time to experience the view.
On the way down a break, some food and drinks was necessary for rehabilitation and sharing experience about walking in fog and almost get lost in the grey nature.
Well back in the "cottage" (or may be the mountain house) and after a shower, we could relax and look forward to dinner (roasted turkey with african sweet potatoes).Stine, was responsible the the well made dinner, and we wish her good luck when she within short will move to South Africa and Cape Town for her PhD studies the next three years.
Thanks for your hospitality, Sissel and Kittan. We will return to your cottage, mountains and friendliness later this year (hopefully)

Maja and the Garden

Living at Tullarbo during summer is not a holiday. Weeding, fertilizing, lawn trimming and harvesting are important activities. The three first activities have been well taken care of and now the time for harvesting is arriving.The three generation Bjørkmann are fully occupied with gathering the season´s first raspberry dessert. Early but enough.
Maja wants to control the taste of the raspberries and find it easier to eat from the bucket.
Weeding and removing old and withered flowers from the flowerbeds are also an important activity throughout the summer months.
Maja is deeply concentrated when putting the peony flowers into the trash can. She will be an excellent gardener.

Recommended sites

I have previously recommended the web site TED for my visitors. I do it once again and invite you to watch the presentation of Matt Ridley´s talk on where Ideas have sex
Mashable is another intriguing site giving you many interesting perspectives of the digital media-world. This time I recommend the 10 Vintage Ads videos that time forgot.
Go to Vintage Apple Ads and have a memorable time.

My last recommendation this Monday is my son-in-law´s digital newspaper David´s Daily . Go and be updated on what´s worth knowing in the Twitter world.

Continuous exercise at home

As posted more than once from Andalusia we made our exercise walk every morning along Paseo Maritimo in Fuengirola. Well home, we want to continue the positive physical and psychological development through this after-breakfast activity.
Our chosen exercise area is through our neighborhood and around the Vigeland Sculpture Park i the Frogner Park. From the leftmost area on the map we follow Gyldenløves gate to Kirkeveien where we cross part of the park around Oslo Bymuseum Close to the museum you may find the restaurant Herregårdskroen (Casino-setra) which opened 50 years ago (May, 7th 1960)
Over the Frogner river we walk on the bridge towards Madserud Alle, with some of the most fashionable large villas areas in Oslo. Turning north-west towards the The Monolith Plateau which is a platform made of stairs that houses the Monolith totem itself.
36 figure groups reside on the elevation bringing with them the “circle of life” message. Access to the Plateau is made via eight figural gates forged in wrought iron. The gates were designed between 1933 and 1937 and erected shortly after Vigeland died in 1943.
However we turn left to the westmost part of the park.
Here we can see the Wheel of Life, crafted in 1933-34 and 850 meters from the main gate.
The wheel is more or less a wreath depicting four people and a baby floating in harmony. It is a symbol of eternity, and implies the overall theme of the park: man’s journey from the cradle to the grave.
Along the Monolit road with all the tourist busses we walk towards the "Family".
Ther sculpture was raised in 1988 by funding from IBM. The bronze family group lined up at the end of cross-axis to the north. This group consists of 21 characters and is the second largest after Vigeland´s Monolith.
Following this cross-axis down to the "Fountain".
Originally designed to stand in front of Parliament (Eidsvolls plass), the Fountain was fabricated from bronze and adorned with 60 individual bronze reliefs. Portraying children and skeletons in the arms of giant trees, the Fountain suggests that from death comes new life. On the ground surrounding the Fountain lies an 1800 square meter mosaic laid in black and white granite. It took Vigeland a great deal of time to establish the monument: from 1906 to 1947When rounding the Fountain we have used ab. 35 minutes from home in active walking speed. By using the same route (in opposite direction) home to our neighboring church we have walked 5km and it is time for a shower without any photo presented here.

With Maja at Sognsvann and Solvang

In May this year I posted a photo taken of me together with Henrik walking down the street hand in hand. Today Tullen shot a new photo of me and Maja walking around the lake "Sognsvann" here in Oslo. Well, walking at least some metres.Either if Maja is sharing an ice-cream with grandma after the Sognsvann trip or she is eating by herself dinner consisting of grilled Halibut and Trout at Tullarbo, my iPhone is there to give you some nice photos presented here.