Travels with Hope

This morning, it was a ship's blast that we heard as we left Trondheim on a 24-hour cruise down the coast to Bergen. It's been a delightfully lazy day drifting past the beautiful Norwegian shoreline while reading  and relaxing, a nice trip midpoint bit of non-activity. I'm reading a book about voyages of women writers, mostly in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was rare for a woman to travel, particularly  alone. In 1878, Mary Fontaine traveled the world in search of butterflies. Ethel Brilliana Tweedy rode horseback across Iceland to see the geysers, challenging the social mores that made women ride side saddle. At the time, many people claimed it was not only unladlike, but also unhealthy. Ethel wrote what rubbish that was, saying side saddle increased fatigue and stress -- for horses as well as for women. In the 18th century, women's rights activist, Mary Wellstonecraft, traveled to Scandinavia critiquing government,  church, a...

We took the train to Trondheim today, northwest of Oslo to the Trondheim Fjord. It's a beautiful sunshiny day. Its only 60, but it must seem warm to all the locals who are outside en masses in shorts and tank tops. When I said something about spring, several people corrected me -- its summer, they told me. So what made me happy today? The sunshine and all the happy people embracing the warmth made me happy. As Californians, we kept our jackets handy. It wasn't THAT warm, and always cool in the shade. My cod risotto tonight definitely made my taste buds happy. The birds singing in the cemetery behind the cathedral really made my heart sing. I couldn't name these birds, but who needs to name them when you can just listen to their sweet music. The Nidaros Cathedral was a surprising bit of joy, something I didn't expect to see in Norway. Seeing something so old, built between 1070 and 1300, is always moving. And the relief work on the outside rivals the cathedra...

We got to Oslo at 7 this morning on the night train from Stavanger. Thanks to our exhausting hike at Pulpit Rock yesterday, we slept quite soundly in a less-than-comfortable train. We wandered the city until we could check in to our hotel, stumbling onto some interesting sculptures. Here are only a few of them. Grassroots Square is made up of 1000s of little copper people of varying sizes, mostly sunk into ground. The Oslo Cathedral was built in the late 17th century. Into its wall, they placed this relief from a much-older church ruins, St. Svalbards Church. This 900-year-old piece is called The Devil of Oslo, and it is a man being attacked by a dragon and a lion. On July 22, 2011, 77 people were killed by a domestic terrorist in 2 locations in Norway. The man, a far right extremist, targeted members of Norway’s ruling Labour Party. When people laid roses at the Oslo Cathedral, several artists initiated a project which brought together smiths from a...

Today, we hiked Pulpit Rock (in Norwegian: Preikestolen) which is the flat platform rock that towers 604 meters above the Lysefjord. To be honest, I didn't take many pics because I was so focused on placing my feet on the rocks so that I could remain in an upright position. The trail wasn't long -- only 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles, but it was extremely rocky and steep. It was supposed to take 3-5 hours, depending on your fitness and stamina. Well, ha! It took us (me, really because I slow Doug down) 7 hours! I had a reason though. Part way down, I bruised my knee and was going extra slow. A couple who passed us gave me one of their hiking sticks, which helped me speed up a little. When we got to the parking lot I hunted for them to no avail. So now I have another hiking stick to join my Crowded Closet pair that Jenelle bought for me. But I feel kind of bad I didn't get his name or contact. That's the best thing about hiking ...

A few more pics of the celebration and some of the town: Old town: And a phone booth turned into a library: A boy and his ducks, a sculpture by the lake near the center of the city:

Getting to Stavanger (or any Norwegian city) on Constitution Day has its ups and its downs. The downs: its crowded, noisy, and most services are closed. In addition to today being Constitution Day, tomorrow is Ascension Day and that, too, closes businesses.  The up-sides: The celebration is fascinating and the costumes are beautiful. We talked to several people about it. Children get their costume at confirmation and they keep it for life. In Stavanger, the parade is mostly school children of the region, but in Oslo, it includes the Queen and her family. I asked a few people if I could take their pics.   (This woman said yes, but only if I didn't take a pic of her face.)

Not much to say for today. We got a last wander around Gothenburg, complete with a cardamom bu/coffee stop. The rest of the day and into the night will be a train to Stavanger, with a brief stop in Oslo. The joy of trains ...