Painted doors

Two tradional painted doors in Ribe (Denmark).

Chicken crossing

A sign outside the gate of a house in Haren. We didn't see any chickens by the way :)

Between corn fields

Walking between corn fields near the village of Haren, just south of Groningen city, earlier this month on a Sunday.

The quiet streets of Ribe

Away from the busy main street with all the shops and restaurants are quiet and charming streets..

.. and that is why it is so wonderful to just wander around and see where you end up.

Ribe shopping

Shopping in the town centre of Ribe, Denmark. Note the lion above the entrance.

This dog was very patient and had a friendly look. Did he or she belong to the art shop owner, or maybe to a customer who went inside?

Waving

Before returning home after our holiday, we stayed in Ribe for 2 days. Being the oldest town of Denmark, we enjoyed wandering along the narrow streets and watch the beautifully restored houses. This young looking cardboard (?) Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom was waving at us from behind a first-floor window. Somehow it was a very funny sight :)

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

At the Danish westcoast

After an early morning arrival by ferry in the north of Denmark we drove a beautiful route along the westcoast..

.. stopped for coffee at a roadside restaurant..

.. and had a look at the beach. There was a lot of wind that day!

Oslo Opera House: inside

Even though we weren't allowed to enter the auditorium we were happy to have a look around in the lobby of the Oslo Opera House. An immense wood wall surrounds the main auditorium that seats 1,364 people.

The lobby is surrounded by 15m (49ft) tall windows so daylight can enter. Even on the grey afternoon that it was then, it was nice and light inside.

People on their way to the roof.

Opposite the wood wall is this perforated wall panel, that is illuminated from below and behind to create the illusion of melting ice.

Oslo Opera House: on the roof

Following up on yesterday's post these are several photos taken from the roof of the Oslo Opera House. Can you see the large ski jumping hill Holmenkollbakken there in the background?

As I mentioned yesterday the Opera House is located at the end of the Oslo Fjord. A little more to the left was the StenaLine quay from which our ferry would depart later that day.

Dark clouds! It was still dry here though it started to rain later that afternoon.
Let's have a look inside the Opera House tomorrow.

Oslo Opera House

Also located at the Oslo Fjord, from where our ferry would depart that evening, is the eye catching Oslo Opera House. Shaped like a flat iceberg it was finished in 2008, to become the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The roof of the building is in a angle that makes it easy to walk on and that is just what it was meant for: to walk on and enjoy the view.

..And standing in front of the entrance. Note the heads of the people high up on the roof.
More photos will follow.

Oslo giraffe mural

Arriving in Oslo to take the ferry to Denmark we had some time to look around in the harbour area, and found this beautiful guitar-playing giraffe.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Norwegian mail delivery

During our stay in Nordseter we visited Maihaugen open-air museum in Lillehammer, that was also the location of the Norwegian Postal Museum which had an interesting exhibition. Outside we found this 1200cc Harley Davidson dating from 1932. Isn't it a beauty?

And how about this charming car named "Tjorven". It was built in 1972 in Sweden to be used both in Sweden and Norway for the delivery of mail outside towns. Note that the steering wheel is on the right, this way the postman didn't have to get out of the car to put letters into a mailbox. The car was built on a DAF 44 chassis.

Sheep

Instead of spotting many reindeer or moose during our holiday in Norway, it were sheep that we saw most! This bunch was walking near the St Thomas Church in Filefjell. Two of them were wearing a bell. Aren't they cute :)

These three crossed our path in Nordseter. They were one of many small groups of sheep that wandered around freely anywhere in the village..

.. and apparently they like to eat anything :) This sign was at someone's gate.

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters.

Church doors

 Both doors are from the Lom Stave Church, in the Gulbrandsdal region in Norway.

Vrangfoss staircase locks

The Telemark Canal in southern Norway is 105 km (65 mi) long and connects the towns of Skien and Dalen by linking several long lakes. A series of 18 locks make it possible to deal with a difference in elevation of 72 metres (236 ft). At Vrangfoss -where we took these photos- is a staircase lock that consists of 5 chambers and a lifting height of 23 metres. The Henrik Ibsen is one of two riverboats that travel with tourists on the canal during the Summer season.

It must be an exiting adventure going through the locks for those on the ship, but for us on the quay it was also a spectacular sight. The water made lots of noise and look how deep they were.

It takes an hour for the ship to pass the Vrangfoss locks.

MS Henrik Ibsen is a historic Norwegian diesel-powered ship built in Sweden in 1907, then named SS Styrsö. After being adapted to canal traffic, it arrived at Telemark Canal in 1992 and was renamed MS Henrik Ibsen after the former steamship SS Henrik Ibsen, which also operated on the Telemark Canal from 1907 to 1919.

Toll road signs

Driving by car in Norway means paying toll regularly, as least in the area where we were. On bigger ongoing roads this happens automatically: a sign indicates that you reach a stretch -sometimes a tunnel or a bridge- that requires money. Cameras above the road read the licence number and voilá. The average amount of these stretches is about NOK 25, sometimes less, sometimes more. (NOK 100 is roughly EUR 10). We live in the Netherlands so we can most likely expect an invoice that we will have to pay -hope it all fits on 1 page haha ;)))

Obviously the smaller toll roads have no cameras. Here we had to put money in an envelope and write our licence plate no. on it, fill in a similar ticket to put behind the window screen, and once more voilá :)

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Flowering moss

These tiny white and yellow flowers were tiny like pin-heads, as we spotted theme all over this patch of green moss next to the walking trail that we followed on the ridges of Venelifjell Mountain. It is near the village of Vrådal in the Telemark county, Norway. I don´t think I have seen it before. Aren't they lovely? :)

I'm linking to All Seasons.

Monday Mural

 This is another mural we found on a wall next to a parking area in Lillehammer, Norway. It shows some scenes from the past. I googled for the name "Tårn Petter" ("Tower Petter"), which apparently is an alias for Petter Syversen (1845-1928) who was a thatcher. He was known for climbing on roofs with thorn clothes, bare feet and always without a rope. But he became a legend when he had to repair the roof of the church tower and he pulled breakneck stunts to get onto the tower.

I'm linking to Monday Murals.

More Borgund Stave Church

I have another 2 photos to show you from the Borgund Stave Church, see also last Friday´s post. Look at the beauty of this carved piece..

.. and this is the clock tower, that stands separate from the church and dates from the Middle Ages.

Cow crossing

 Arriving at the Bøyabreen a herd of cows was crossing the road. A few were already on the other side..

..and the rest was looking for the right spot to cross..

.. okay .. let's go ladies!

-Bøyabreen is a glacier ("bree" is the Norwegian word for glacier) in Sogn og Fjordane county, in western Norway. It is a side branch of the large Jostedal Glacier.

I'm linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Borgund Stave Church

From our cabin in Kaupanger -in west Norway, at the end of the Sognefjord- we visited the Borgund Stave Church. This church was built sometime between 1180 and 1250 AD with later additions and restorations. Its walls are formed by vertical wooden boards, or staves, hence the name "stave church".

Four carved dragon heads look over the overhanging roofs; they resemble dragon heads found on the prows of old Norwegian viking ships.

Old and new graves in the church cemetery.

In the streets of Lillehammer

Some things hold your attention longer than others. Like this gentleman that walked past us in the streets of Lillehammer with his red moped..

..and the moose that was looking inside Nikkers, a bar/restaurant in the centre.