Droopy's Blog at GardenStew.com

Oslo, Norway - Getting One's Sea Legs

Droopy — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:06:02 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:06 pm (GMT 0)

Norway has a lot of sea shore, so a lot of what's happened up here has happened on or near the sea. Let's look at a few examples:

Fritjof Nansen sailed north, froze his ship, crew and himself into the ice and drifted past the North Pole. More or less. From 1893 to 1896 they lived on the ship "Fram" bar the little 120 km ski trip they took in 1895 to reach the North Pole. They didn't quite but it was close enough. The polar ship "Fram" sits at a museum in Bygdøy, Norway:

Nansen's ship "Fram" ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Roald Amundsen also wanted to go exploring so he took "Gjøa" through the north-west passage. They left Oslo in 1903 and reached Nome, Alaska in 1906, so he got to prove that it could be done. This is the "Gjøa" in Oslo:

"Gjøa" ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Mr. Amundsen then decided to go for the magnetic North Pole and borrowed "Fram" from Nansen in 1910. Unfortunately for Amundsen Robert Peary beat him to it so he decided to pull a fast one. He sailed to Madeira and there informed the ship's owner (Mr. Nansen) and the crew that they were going to the South Pole instead and those who wouldn't go could leave the ship and hitchhike home to Norway. None left and Amundsen reached the South Pole on December 14th 1911.

Mr. Nansen had observed the sea's currents and had thought to himself that there had to be a current past the North Pole. He proved himself right, and thereby inspired a chap called Thor Heyerdahl. Mr. Heyerdahl didn't much care for the accepted scientific theories as to where the Polynesian's ancestors came from so he decided to prove his own theories, which he did on the balsa raft "Kon-Tiki" in 1947. He floated across the water from Peru to Polynesia and that was that.

Then Mr. Heyerdahl pondered the idea that Africans and South-American natives had a lot in common. To prove that they could be related he decided to sail from Morocco to the Caribbean on a papyrus raft called "Ra". He succeded there too, albeit on the second try.

These brave sea-faring men did a lot in order to prove their theories, but my guess is that they also got their inspiration from the Norwegian sea-faring tradition. Norway is very long and it's coast line is even longer (if you count the fjords - going in and out of them takes forever, at least in a sail ship). We know that Norwegian Vikings went to England, France, Spain and Turkey. They also went down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea. One of our chiefs even went to Jerusalem.

We're fortunate enough to have some splendid viking ship specimen in our museums, and also written sources about the vikings, their day-to-day life, trade routes, ships, beliefs and so on. The Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy near Oslo show some very nice examples of viking culture and ships.

This is the rear end of the Oseberg ship, dug out near Tønsberg in 1904:

The Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Believe it or not, but this ship was used as a coffin. A prominent lady was buried inside it in 834, along with a younger woman, animals, crockery, food, jewels, clothes and things one might need for a comfortable after-life. It's not a small ship at all:

The Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Nobody knows who the lady is but there are many theories. The ship itself was built in 820. Since it's very decorated and hard to manuever the scientists think she was built for show rather than for sailing long distances. The carvings are wonderful:

The Oseberg ship - decor ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The ship as it can be seen now is 90% original wood-work, which is pretty amazing when you think about how long it was buried for.

Another well-preserved ship is the Gokstad ship which was dug out in 1880:

The Gokstad ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

This ship had a man inside. The archaeologists found horses, dogs and miscellaneous weapons and clothes with him, and he must have been an important person. He was placed in a funeral chamber onboard the ship. You can see the funeral chamber behind the remains of tht Tune ship:

Burial chamber and two small boats ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

In addition to being good navigators at sea the vikings also appreciated good handicraft. These nice items were found inside the Oseberg dig:

A wagon found by the Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

From the Oseberg dig - sleigh ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

From the Oseberg dig - nice dragon's head ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Close-up of replica of part of the Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Whoops, I thought I was going to rant about Norwegian cultural life today, but it seems I'll have to leave that for another day. I need my beauty sleep. :D Sorry for getting carried away like this. I always do.

Oslo, Norway

Droopy — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:23:24 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:23 pm (GMT 0)

I suppose most of you have heard about our capital through the news during since last Friday. We're not used to people knowing where Oslo is. We're not even used to people knowing where Norway is. I've heard people stating that Norway is the capital of Sweden. Close, but no cigar. We were governed by Sweden until 1905 when we decided we wanted a divorce, but made our constitution in 1814. We had a long separation process. I'll leave the old stuff for now and return to the present. We went to Oslo for some children's education regarding government, royalty, polar researchers, semi-mad explorers and old vikings, with a bit of art in between.

When we landed at Gardermoen airport we got 16°C (61°F) and rain. We left sun and 36°C (97°F) behind. Reality check! Our camping car was waiting for us at the airport so we drove to Oslo and found a nice camping site with good public transport to Oslo center. This is what we managed to cram into our four days' stay.

Oslo's main street, the Karl Johan:

Karl Johan - Oslo's main street ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Stortinget:

Stortinget - the Government building ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Spikersuppa got it's name because it was created by a nail manufacturer, Christiania Spigerverk, in 1956.

Spikersuppa - The Nail Soup ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Oslo was named Christiania from 1624 to 1925 when we decided we wanted the proper name back. 600.000 of Norway's 5 million people live in Oslo.

The tower of the City Hall has Europe's largest clock, or so we've been told. It's 8 meters in diameter. It also has a nice bell tower. This is where the Nobel Peace Price seremony is held on December 10th every year.

The City Hall ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Then for the royalty bit. What we grandly call a castle would fit into one of the wings at Windsor, London. The castle was intended to house the Swedish-Norwegian king Karl XIV Johan, in Norway Karl III Johan, after whom the main street's named. He never saw it finished, and his successor King Oscar I made some changes to it before it was declared fit for a king in 1849

The Royal Castle ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Here is aforementioned King Karl Johan on his horse. Evil tongues have it that this French general was offered the throne of Sweden (including Norway) because he was rich, and Sweden needed the money. When serving as a general under Napoleon Bonaparte his name was Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. He took a Scandinavian name when accepting the crown but never managed to learn Swedish. The court had to speak French instead.

King Karl III Johan of Norway/Karl XIV Johan of Sweden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The following photos are from Akershus fortress. It started out as a medieval castle but was rebuilt in the 1600s into a reinforced renaissance castle. It was expanded and modified from when it was first built until around 1750, but it still had it's uses. It served as a prison for years after. The restauration started around 1800 and isn't done yet. *lol* Today Akershus is a banquet hall, the royal mausoleum and several museums. I have to add that while Akershus was still a fortress no enemy power managed to take it:

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Gosh, it's late. I have to continue with Nansen, Amundsen, Thor Heyerdahl, Munch and Vigeland some other day.

We Left the Lovely Weather Behind

Droopy — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:15:39 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:15 am (GMT 0)

I wish I could have packed some sunshine and temperatures in my suitcase. We had to leave it all behind in Rhodes, and I don't like it. Anyways, we've had two lovely weeks of sun, sea, sightseeing and super food so I guess I shan't complain too much.

And we've got the memories. This is Rhodes town:

Rodos town ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

King of the road in Rhodes ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A part of the Old Town wall:

Rhodes - old town wall by the harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Gate to the old town from Mandraki ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Mandraki harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Mandraki harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The outer moat ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The Templar Knights' palace ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A trip to Monte Smith is mandatory. We do it every time we visit Rhodes and we never tire of it:

The Temple of Apollo on Monte Smith ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Amazing stonework ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The ancient stadium ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

As for the food, well, we've got photos! *lol* My family always criticize me for photographing the food, but how can I resist? It looks too tempting not to:

Fish plate for two at Captain's Garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Dessert at Pearl ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Tiny Symi shrimps - yummy! ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Serrano ham and melon ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Kokkinisto ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Not only the climate and food is different from here. The plants are too, and I touch them, smell them and admire them:

Pretty wildflower ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

This bloom has lovely scent but I don't know what it is ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Frangipani ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Flowering agave ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Sometimes we find some very strange "plants":

A peacock in an aqueduct - Rodini park ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Now I'm hoping for some nice weather so we can enjoy our garden for the rest of the summer. If last year's anything to go by the frost might start in mid-October. Until then I'll either dig, weed, dead-head or stay inside, look at the rain and wish that I could garden without getting soaked. *lol*

Returning From Hibernation

Droopy — Sat, 14 May 2011 15:06:03 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 7:06 pm (GMT 0)

Dear Blog,

sorry to have left you hanging for so long, but I've been busy you see.

Last autumn I was busy building the Walls of Jericho border - no bugle allowed within 50 meters of the thing.

This is what I managed to do before the frost suddenly stopped me as early as mid-October:

Step one started:

Step one done:

Step two under way:

And this is what they look like now:

I've promised Lord Paint, four-legged Master of the house to hurry up and complete step three, and will do as soon as I get the time.

This spring started awfully late. We still had winter in mid-April, but then everything exploded. That includes my husband's energy level. He dug a hole, put a plastic water trough inside, and voila! a small pond:

The girls snuck some frog spawn home, so now we're trying to raise the tadpoles.

My husband's energy level didn't get any lower with that little success, so he's started to make a big water feature. I mean big! It looks like a mountain wall so I've nicknamed it Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, a spectacular mountain landscape near Åndalsnes. I wanted a big waterfeature, but I had thought of half the size and dug down, not built up:

The bamboo thingy to the left is a Japanese fountain thing said to scare away bad spirits. So far it's only scared away my energy. I can't find it anywhere. Oh, yes, this is what the top half looks like. It's nowhere near finished mind!

The bottom half looks exactly like this only the other way round. The rocks are supposed to hide hoses and the connection between the two halves. The spirit scarer pours water into the top half pond, then the water runs into the lower half underneath some rocks, and a pump brings the water back up to the spirit scarer which empties the water into the pond and... yes, well. Round and round and round it goes bar in winter when the pond will be empty.

My husband insists on me planting Sempervivum in the cracks. I can't imagine even Sempervivum living there so I think I'll just squeeze in some moss. We've got plenty of moss.

In case you're wondering, this is the real Trollveggen, or Troll Wall:

Then we can talk about my mother. My mother's always wanted a water feature with water lilies. She never managed to make herself one, but decided she'd have a water lily anyways. A yellow one at that. She bough one and planted it in one of our plastic whatchamacallits, just until the pond's done. Our pond. The one my husband's making. Mother's happy. She's got a water lily now, albeit it lives with me. She also wants a red water lily. I guess that will live with me too.

The borders are coming to life, and we're discovering what we've lost during the winter. We've lost a lot! Most of our decorative grasses, some Erythronium, Heuchera, a couple of Hellebores, Hostas, even primroses! A few of the no-shows were bought last year and we never got to see them bloom. But most of our babies survived. Here are a few:

Husband's Jerusalem artichokes survived in a trough:

The P. auricula survived, at least most of them:

Blooming decorative apple tree:

The Empress Wu managed to survive too:

The small Dicentras:

Harebell poppies and Rhododendron:

We've also managed to get the veggie patches ready but haven't planted everything in there yet:

Please note our creative cat deterring fence:

The pumpkins and red Brussels sprouts sprouts will go in in a week's time. Here are the red sprouts:

Well, that's it really. I don't know when I'll have time to update you again, dear Blog, so please hang in there.

Strawberry Spin-Off

Droopy — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:14:40 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:14 pm (GMT 0)

If we go east for about an hour and a half or so, we're in strawberry lovers' paradise. Yesterday we were going to buy strawberries. Valldal has a lot of them, and they're the best you can get. *drools*

So off we went to Valldal. In case we wanted lots of strawberries we used the camping car. We got the strawberries, but only seven kilos of them, and then we decided to head up to Trollstigen to have a look, since we hadn't been there for years.

Valldal is a small community by the sea. There are a few shops, several camping sites and lots and lots of strawberry fields.

Here's Valldal:

Valldal - houses up the side of the mountain ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Valldal - the center ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Strawberries ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

And off we went:

Up towards Trollstigen ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Nice little brook ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Yup, beginning to look like a mountain road ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Die-hard cyclist ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Some snow left still ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A bit gentler landscape in between ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The road and the place looked almost like before, but the view point and the path had been upgraded a lot.

We're getting closer ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The tourist parking and café ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Building a new café - looks exciting ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Small I-was-here-stone-piles ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Ok - lets have a look at this road ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

We have to go over there for a good look ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

There are people to the left by the creek - mad people! ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A view down the valley ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Oh, long way down! ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Tourists in thin air ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Those little white specks are cars ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

View straight down from the view point ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The sea is over there. *points* Can you see it? ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

We counted people from 17 European nations by the view point. We didn't listen to languages, by all means. We checked the cars' licence plates, just for fun. And then we went back down the same way we came. We're not driving Trollstigen with anything but a regular car. It's just too scary. *lol*

This autumn's sheep in cabbage. ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

On the way back to Valldal - gentler landscape ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Long, narrow road with little traffic ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Water everywhere ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Very green grass ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Very hard rock ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A typical farm ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Not too wide bridges ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

I hope you enjoyed the trip. We certainly did.

Rottneros, Art and Blooms

Droopy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:44:02 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:44 am (GMT 0)

Rottneros park was created around an idea of making art and artful gardens available to the public. The creator, Svante Påhlson, rebuilt the manor after a fire in 1929 and bought artwork from Nordic artists, including Gustav Vigeland. The park has changed a bit over the years of course, and the new idea gardens feature was delightful.

Here are some photos from the park, just to give you an idea of how it looks:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

This is a veggie garden:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A throne fit for a queen:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Not practical for here, but very nice:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A water feature with mirrors:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Sculptural sedges:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Even I could enjoy a soccerfield like this:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Herbs and spices mostly:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

And we're off into the park itself:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

If I were able to I'd gladly take this sculpture home:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

The mansion:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

This is a lynx statue, not your ordinary lion:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Inside the pavillion:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

My kind of garden art. A chair:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

A trellis?

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Stepping stones:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Rudolf? Moss is a wonderful material:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

Anyways, I loved it. Swedish love:

Rottneros, show garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )

There are more photos in the My Garden-section if you're not bored silly by now.

Hanging In There

Droopy — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:17:54 -0500

Author: Droopy
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:17 pm (GMT 0)

When I looked outside this morning I felt sick. The snow fell and fell, like all day yesterday, but it was wet snow and turned into rain eventually. So now we've got lots of very wet snow outside, and unless all three weather channels are wrong we'll get freezing temps in a couple of days. That means ice. Lots of it too. *sigh*

Don't get me wrong, I love a proper winter with nice snow and steady cold. What I don't love is that it lasts forever. We're not used to that any more. We had these winters in the mid-'80-s, but since then our winters have been unstable to say the least.

And the amount of snow we've got is downright ridiculous too. Half of it would be more than enough. As it is, it's too deep to play in, too dry or too wet or just too crusty to do anything with and it's in the way.

I want to weed, sow, plant and harvest. I want to see colour outside. I want to mend fences and smell dirt, watch the worms wriggle and the slugs suffer.

So what to do? Well. I took a lesson from my younger friends. I have started playing FarmVille. *blushing* I get to weed, sow, harvest, put up fences and tend animals. It helps. I'm still hanging in here. :D Grannies need to play too, you know.

Our borders before and after the snow

Droopy — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:23:39 -0500

Author: Droopy
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:23 pm (GMT 0)

We've got snow. We've had little snow for the past couple of winters, but we've got it now. With interest. First, a look at our house.

The north side:

The south side:

And now the comparison photos. Here's west-side rock border:

And this is the border today:

Our south-eastern corner:

Today it looked like this:

The Ligularias with the boat-shaped border behind it:

You can still see the cone fir, yes?

And over there is our Hosta path. I do wonder when I'll see that again:

The Empress Wu:

Well, the view is still beautiful though:

And I'm getting very strong arm muscles too.

Christmas the Norwegian Way

Droopy — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:01:22 -0500

Author: Droopy
Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:01 pm (GMT 0)

Us Norwegians celebrate Christmas Eve. The church bells toll at 17.00 which marks the beginning of the celebration. We seat ourselves at the table and start to dig in. Here's what we usually eat:

Rutabega mash, white sauerkraut and pork ribs with the crispy side up:

Sheep rips, steamed on top of birch twigs, spicy pork sausages and potatoes:

Red sauerkraut and fat rendered from the pan where the sheep's ribs were steaming:

For afters we had rice porridge cream and red sauce with an almond hidden in it. I never managed to photograph it since the bowl was nearly empty when it reached me. Whoever gets the almond wins a marzipan pig.

Then it's off to open the presents. This year we had so many presents they didn't fit under the tree:

We piled them high all around the tree:

I'll spare you the images of the carnage after having opened the presents. But the face of Lord says it all:

"Can't understand what all this is about, really!"

In between opening presents we fortify ourselves with coffee and cookies, of course. Can't risk going hungry, can we?

Tomorrow it's boiled halibut with sour cream sauce, potatoes and cucumber salad with lemon-and-sugar dressing, with cloudberry cream and special cookies for dessert.

I'm looking forward to that, and will probably have to be rolled into bed.

Me, The Movie Star

Droopy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:08:02 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:08 pm (GMT 0)

My efforts in the Marathon class at the driving do I attended have been YouTubed. *lol* Those stable girls are really something. If you'd like to watch us, just click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtA47YqzC2E

The first equipage is in the same club as me. Her horse is a Norwegian breed called Dølahorse. Then there's us. We didn't go fast but we're cute. :D The third equipage is also from our club. She drives a Norwegian fjord horse. I hope you like the film.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Seven - Final

Droopy — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:26:27 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:26 am (GMT 0)

Well, after we reluctantly left Holland we decided it was time to play. The girls had been very good during our visit, so as a reward we went to BonBon-land. There was a large crowd by the entrance:

When we finally got inside there were lots of fun things to do. We just started on the first and went from there.

I'd look like that turtle too if I had to swirl round and round all day:

The rail bikes up high:

The cobra tower. I went up there, and suddenly we were back down again. That was actually fun:

We went for a little "Round the world"-boat trip:

Bad croc!

There was also a huge house with little doll displays. Everything was so neat:

Danish Guards:

After this we went up to Helsingør, didn't get a parking ticket but it was close, slept one night in Sweden, crossed the border to Norway, spotted a moose cow with twins grazing by the main road, visited an aunt and uncle by Norway's biggest lake and then finally got home to an overgrown garden and some very colourful veggie patches:

Oh, it was so good to be home! Thanks for tagging along as I've tried to find out where we have been and what we've been doing.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Six

Droopy — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:01:29 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:01 pm (GMT 0)

We're in Holland, finally. It's been a very long drive to get here. Our estimate is about 1,600 km or 994 miles from here to there. Of course we didn't go straight there, so we don't know how far we've driven. But anyways, we're in Holland.

So we drove along the big dike road, asked directions to a good camping site and ended up here:

The view behind the camping car:

And the view in front of the camping car:

The neighbours:

There were rabbits on the grass and moles underneath it, all very exotic to us northeners. Also exotic was the fact that the toilets had no paper and no soap, so we had to carry our own with us. Hm. Strange customs in this country.

The day after we went to see the nearest town, Hoorn. It was beautiful! Especially the old part of it:

I have a tendency to snap photos askew, but this house is really askew:

The town square:

More houses and ornaments:

Look at this house. It looks like a curious old lady looking left and right so she won't miss anything:

The entry to the Old Ladies' House:

The Museum back garden:

They were big on cheese, obviously:

Our knowledgeable guide and gracious host might know a lot more about the houses and ornaments than I do. I walked about with my nose up, my jaw hanging and probably looked like your typical idiotic tourist.

The following day we went to Hosta Paradise. I posted that in it's own thread in "Member's Gallery".

Then we went and had a look at a garden some of you might recognize:

We also got to do a bit of sight-seeing in the more rural parts around Hoorn:

I have to say we took a lot more photos. This is just a small taste of the sights.

Next stop is BonBon-land in Denmark, on our way home.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Five

Droopy — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:15:12 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:15 am (GMT 0)

Since the Norwegian coast is rather rugged we haven't got very many big, flat expanses of sand, and none that are as big as the one we saw near Ribe on the Danish west coast. We took a trip to a small island called Mandø, and actually got to drive on the sea floor. Very exotic for us.

By the shore on the mainland:

And into the sea we went:

There were low dikes all around the island:

The means of transport:

By Mandø beach. There are small dots way out on the horizon, and they are people. Very difficult to go for a swim here. A couple of kilometers to walk there, a swim and then the long way back? Nah:

We went back to Ribe to check out the cathedral and the medieval part of town. Ribe is Denmark's oldest town, or so they claim:

And up into the tower:

We found some proper transport for our sightseeing:

Some of the streets and houses. People live here, so it's not a museum:

One of the more original medieval-looking houses. It was under repair:

I saw people walking about who actually stopped and looked through the windows of the homes. Ouch. How inconsiderate can one be?

We stopped at an Italian restaurant and had pasta, since our smallest celebrated her birthday this day.

And the day after we went through Germany and to Holland.

We actually managed to get stuck waiting for a ferry. In inland Germany, can you imagine? As if we haven't got enough ferries to wait for closer to home.

The view while we were waiting for the ferry:

We spent one night at this very crowded, noisy camping site:

And then we crossed into Holland and took the dike road. That was so cool. Here we are, stopping for coffee and a snack:

More about Holland in my next entry.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Four

Droopy — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:19:10 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:19 am (GMT 0)

The Lion Park, or Givskud Zoo is a safari park where one can drive around or walk about. There are lots of different animals and small activities for children, but it's not quite a play park. We like to visit it and look at the inhabitants there.

South-American ostriches, I can't remember what they are called now:

North-American buffaloes:

The Africans had a field day:

People are so silly sometimes. A couple with a trolley had put a banana in a bag and left it open. Too good to miss said Mother Monkey and promptly stole the banana:

Mommys and babies look pretty much the same, wheter monkeys or humans:

The lemurs didn't want to do much. It was too hot:

The red panda bear is the cutest critter:

Flamingos:

This sign really says it all:

And here they are, some of them:

We also had a look at the camels. I think they wanted to be petted, but we didn't:

Then we went to find somewhere to sleep, and found a very nice, small site near a river. The Danish are very proud of their rivers. Most have their names on signs by the road, and half the time it's more like a creek than a river. This one, "The King's River", was less than 10 meters wide, and that includes the wetlands on both banks. Not very impressive for a Norwegian:

The following day we went to Ribe to go on a tidal safari and to check the old medieval town out.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Three

Droopy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:35:49 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:35 am (GMT 0)

Oh, Legoland, wonderful play park with the most fantastic creations in Lego bricks, a very nicely planted-up ground and the mini-trees and other plants in the mini-town. It's so nice to visit, and this year we were lucky enough to pick a day without the big crowds.

Some of the wonderful scenes:

I thought I had photographed Mount Rushmore, but I obviously haven't. Sitting Bull is very big and the pirates are life-size.

This donkey was in Legoredo town, a western-inspired collection of shops and restaurants.

There are lots of roundabouts, roller coasters and stuff. I had to go with the girls in three of them and came home with three "Scream"-by-Munch-lookalike photos. *lol* This was't so bad, though:

Some of the planting arrangements:

There's lots of water everywhere, all nicely laid out and planted up:

From the tower, an overview:

The miniature Lego towns and landscapes. The details are amazing. I put some of these photos in "My Garden". They're a bit bigger than these:

The fountain is working:

Amalienborg, the Danish Queen's castle:

Swedish mid-summer celebrations:

Scottish scenery:

There's also a very pretty aquarium, a rather new feature. I found these upside-down jelly fish very interesting.

And this sea anemone too:

I obviously had too much fun to photograph much. Oh, me, what am I like. Anyway, our next stop was at a safari park called Billund Zoo, where we could drive among giraffes, zebras and even lions.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part Two

Droopy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:54:46 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:54 am (GMT 0)

Denmark is our favourite holiday country for camping. The grounds are big, the country is small and there's never far to go for anything.

We started by going to Grenen, the northenmost point of Denmark:

Transport. It was a bit far to walk:

Lighthouse. We went up there:

The view from the lighthouse:

Skagen town in the distance:

A house from Skagen. It's a lovely, little town:

Some Danish landscape. Denmark is flat:

Here's the beach by our favourite camping site, Hov Camping in Jylland:

We went swimming a couple of times:

When in Denmark there are a few things we like to do every time we visit. The rainforest in Randers is one:

It's made up by three domes like this, one for Africa, one for Asia and one for South America:

It's so nice inside:

Lots of animals roam free in there. The girls are studying some big toads:

Some of the inhabitants in the rain forest:

The little monkeys were everywhere, and the girls loved them:

Snakes and butterflies had their own department. Most snakes were locked in, fortunately:

We had to eat too:

Next stop was Legoland.

The Five-Countries Holiday - Part One

Droopy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:27:11 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:27 am (GMT 0)

That's what we'll be calling this year's holiday. It's been a long one, but we've had such fun. :) Here are some photos. We started, of course, here in Norway.

A mountain crossing called Valdresflya. I kept thinking about Toni and the Texans when we drove passed all the snow. Notice the tall stakes by the side of the road. They need them in winter to navigate by when they plow the road:

Our first stop was by this lovely beach. We went swimming, and the water wasn't too cold even though it's a river/lake:

Then the zoo and play park in Kristiansand:

Captain Sabeltann's pirate ship:

We got to see the celebrations in Cardamom Town:

Tobias in the tower:

Aunt Sofie, the strictest aunt in the world:

The Zoo's got lots of different animals but each species' grounds are so big we won't always get to see them. We did see the lions:

Cardamom Town is very pretty, and there are plant arrangements all over the place:

Then we went to an outdoor museum while waiting for the boat to Denmark. There's a mini-town showing what the old town in Kristiansand looked like:

There's also a collection of houses rescued from the old town:

A farm from Telemark somewhere:

This is how the hay was dried before silage bales and hay driers were invented:

And here's the ferry we took to Denmark. Three and a half hours to cross, and we ate most of the time:

So the next entry will be about Denmark and Denmark only.

Me and my @£$% mishaps!

Droopy — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:45:45 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:45 pm (GMT 0)

I learned those bad words from Capt. Kirk.

Since we got a lovely, new Cypripedium, and since my mother's determined to see us with a huge orchid collection I thought I'd make an orchid patch with all that lovely pine needle and rotted wood-mulch mother insisted I took home yesterday. And when it was done, I thought that I'd move at least the C. parviflorum to the new home.

So off I went with my little garden shovel and tried to lift the C. p. very gently from where it was growing. And then I had to try harder, and a bit harder, and as I carefully used the little spade (what on earth do you call them?) and my fingers to tease the roots up, my patience evaporated slowly. So I finally took a determined grip underneath that Cypripedium and HEAVED! It came up, and brought the Cypripedium "Ulla Silkens" with it. And not only that, but poor Ulla promptly fell apart too.

So here I am, not a very happy bunny at the moment. The C. parviflorum is split in three, as planned, but our poor Ulla is suddenly down from a nice clump with four spikes to two small clumps with two spikes each. *sigh*

Worst thing is, she's still blooming and should be left in place to bloom out and die down a bit.

I keep my fingers crossed for her, and am going to ask my husband for a stiff gin'n'it as soon as I've had my dinner of chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce and strawberries and cream for dessert. I got to see if I can find some better mood in there somewhere.

A bit worn and worried today

Droopy — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:33:08 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:33 pm (GMT 0)

I've been outside, trying to find out what's what in our garden. The one thing I have found out is that a few of our plants are just demanding too much room, and I'm not willing to grant it.

This is some kind of very invasive, pretty leaf plant that my husband insisted on bringing home. It self-seeds way too freely, and I shall have to dig it up, every bit of it, and plant it in a container somewhere to keep it out of trouble.

And just look at this. The Ranunculus aconitifolius is supposed to be an early bloomer, but it's also supposed to be done when those lilies in the background get as tall as they are now:

The variegated form of Astrantia is way too big for the date, and the columbines will be bloomed out before the lull around mid-summer:

The snowball bush is chock-a-block with blooms, which is nice, but not a month ahead of time:

Our honeysuckle usually spreads it's delightful perfume from mid-summer and onwards into July, but I'll wager it will be done blooming by mid-summer this year:

Ligularia buds in May? Impossible! But not in 2009:

Our delightful little Trollius with the green edge is blooming it's little heart out, and the greenery growing around it is nearly smothering it. *sigh*

As for the Meconopsis, they usually start in early June. This is late May, and they're nearly done. This is M. betonicifolia:

Usually we complain about the lack of summer warmth up here on 62 degrees north, but this year I fear that the summer blooms will be done before summer's here, and the autumn blooms will bloom in summer. Which will leave me with a rather drab autumn.

I might feel this way because I've worked long and hard and nothing seems to show of it today. Or I might take the sorrows in advance. I'm very good at that. But I do feel a bit down in the dumps. Sorry about that, but it's good to let off some steam.

Old homes and bits and pieces

Droopy — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:38:39 -0400

Author: Droopy
Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 3:38 pm (GMT 0)

A dentist called Sandvig from Lillehammer decided it would be a great idea to collect old houses from the valley. So he did. Now it's a big park full of history. Whole farms have been moved here. The buildings are made from timber, but it's the decorations that really got to me.

When you enter Maihaugen, this is what greets you:

Some small farms further up the valley still look like this. They're often holiday homes now:

A Stave Church:

Not exactly tiny trees there:

I didn't much like the stairs:

I did like the gates:

Some houses used stone for roofs:

Some had turf, and some had wood:

Some details from the outside:

I thought this looked like a row of pussycats:

This is a storage building for food, called a stabbur:

Whetstone had to be easily accessible:

Traditional fence:

Detail:

A very typical example of a house from between 1400 and 1800. I think this house comes from a well-to-do family:

Even though the doors are small, the locks are impressive: