Kristiansand, Norway - Pt 2

Of course I took many more photos at the Open Air Museum but I've probably posted too many already. The bottom line is that we found it interesting and enjoyed the outing very much.

From the museum, we were driven to another area (maybe Hollen?) where we walked down a lovely street where every white house had a picket fence and every garden and yard were manicured to a "t" with various blooming flowers. This time I wasn't the only one snapping pictures! We walked past a small store/bakery where we could smell cinnamon rolls baking and of course I had to have one. We walked down to a parking area near the water where we re-boarded our bus back into the central part of the city. 

Here are some of my favorites from this area.

 

every house a picket fence and flowers

hollyhocks

many flowers try to escape their yard

Ronnie visiting with a local on a bike

 

lots of personal crafts in this little inlet

another view

 

Ronnie with "Gort" (scifi robot)

Once back at the central part of the city, we walked down the cobblestone street and went inside the Kristiansand Cathedral (Lutheran) where I of course snapped a few more photos.

 

Kristiansand Cathedral

altar area

pipe organ (upper level)

 

We continued walking down the main street where lots of visitors were milling around. There were vendors tents offering various items, restaurants, etc. 

always

lots of locals as well as guests

you hungry?

can you spot Ronnie?

not sure what these are

in front of sidewalk cafe

too good to be true!

Believe it or not, we came upon a Mexican restaurant (in Norway!!) on our way back to the ship. Ronnie and I have had a bet going that involved $10 and dinner at a Mexican food restaurant. After 3 weeks of only ship food, I decided to call in my bet so we ate there, even though a plate of nachos (him) and chicken, beans, rice and salad (me) set us back $50. And that was with water only. Oh well, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! We sat on their patio and this was our view as we ate our lunch.

 

Kristiansand, Norway - Pt 1

We've had another good day. We've been so blessed to experience beautiful weather in our last few ports. 

We had an excursion again today and my phone battery was completely charged when we left and I took so many photos it died before we made it back to the ship. ha! Before I share some photos I'll share a little info about Kristiansand. Founded in 1641, Kristiansand is located near the southern coast of Norway and once claimed the world's largest fleet of sailing ships. Historically, it has been a busy international shipping port. It is now a bustling, modern city that refers to itself as Norway's #1 Holiday Resort. I'll post one photo of the police headquarters that I snapped through the bus window, just to illustrate that Kristiansand is a modern city.

 

cruise port, Kristiansand, Norway

Kristiansand, Norway cruise port (Insignia in background)

bus window shot of modern police headquarters

First we were taken to the Kristiansand Open Air Museum which gave us a glimpse of life in the early days here. But the rest of my photos are anything but modern. We were taken to the Kristiansand Open Air Museum. It is a small "community" made up of numerous old houses, barns and structures from the 1700-1800's. Life then was not easy for the people who lived here and that had to work hard just to survive. Their 3 main industries were farming, forestry and fishing. They also were industrious at ship building and repairing.

Most of the houses were painted white on the front. White paint was more expensive and an indication of wealth and power. The sides and backs of the houses were painted red, green, yellow etc because those paints could be locally made and thus cheaper.

 

white paint on front

 

colored paint on back

old barn (tending cows and sheep was women's work)

higher foundation helped protect from rodents

food storage house

note circles carved above door

 

The circles above the doorway were supposed to ward off evil spirits. They were obviously very superstitious. One example of this is that they would sleep sitting up. They believed that it helped to conserve heat in the body. They also were afraid that if they were to lie down, they would appear dead and evil spirits would come and "suck their souls." 

 

a peek inside a typical kitchen

a framed copy of the Lord's Prayer

note intricate carving

explaining the mangle board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mangle board has a very interesting history. I can't share it all here but it's worth reading about.  https://www.mangleboard.com/  Besides used for housework, it was also intricately (or sometimes not so) carved by the man who would use it to propose marriage to a woman. If she said 'no' then he had to carve a different one for his next prospect. I assume our modern-day equivalent would be offering the same engagement ring to a woman when the first girlfriend rejected it. lol 

I got a kick out of this one. Apparently, large calves were a symbol of beauty that were greatly desired. They also showed strength and made the woman more attractive as she would be good at hard labor. Notice how large the calves of the socks were? Some women would stuff potatoes in theirs in an effort to make themselves to potential marriage partners. Our guide added that it was similar to pushup bras today. ha!

 

note size of calves on socks

L to R: Sunday dress, everyday dress, wedding dress

We also did a walk through of a smallish ship museum on the property which contained many original artifacts from the early days of shipping. Our time was limited but we could have spent more time in there. Below are a few pictures that I snapped.

 

wooden ship figurehead

 

These carved wooden structures decorated the front of most sailing ships in the 1700's. They supposedly offered protection, identification and safety to the ship's crew members. Some were quite elaborate.

a ship's crew - notice cats in front, important in keeping the mice population down

thinking this was their medicine cabinet?

This post is getting way too long (too many photos) so I will start another.


 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Stavanger, Norway

Stavanger is the 4^th largest city in Norway with a population of 121,610. It is a beautiful port city and we hit it on a beautiful sunny day. We’re so thankful to be able to enjoy this nice weather! We start out with a light jacket or vest and before long we’re shedding it for just a t-shirt and jeans.

 

a portion of Stavanger Cathedral - 1125

 

Not having booked an excursion, we decided to hang around with Jeff and Joy Goldberg, a couple from New York that we met on our world cruise. They travel extensively but never buy the ship excursions. The only place they've not been is Pakistan and the other "stans" but that's only because Joy refuses to go there. While I'm on the subject, Jeff has written a book called "Take the  High Road" (second edition) and it can be found on Amazon for $6 (Kindle version). Jeff is a walking encyclopedia on "anything travel" and they have some interesting stories to share.

So we met them around 10 a.m. and were able to walk directly from the ship into the town.We walked around the beautiful harbor where vendors had set up tents selling lots of different items. We passed a Burger King where a Whopper sells for the US equivalent of $17. We also went inside a local grocery store and browsed a bit with Jeff explaining to us what was what. He even talked me into trying (a tiny bite) of gralox at lunch! Norway’s oldest stone church, Stavanger Cathedral (above) was undergoing renovations and we couldn’t go inside.

Norwegian flag on boat in harbor

beautiful port of Stavanger, Norway

Alexander Kielland, 19th century writer

Joy, Jeff & Ronnie talking to another cruise passenger

brown goat cheese - an acquired taste

phone booths house books to borrow

        

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, Stavanger’s industry was mainly related to fisheries and shipping but since the discovery of oil in the 60’s it has become an oil town. It's also home to several nice museums, the most visited being the Norwegian Petroleum Museum but we didn’t make it there.

cobbled streets and white wood houses of Old Town

idyllic looking neighborhood

colorful flowers bloom in pots and yards

unsure of original use of stone building

 

The shopping street Øvre Holmegate is known for its colorful houses. It is also home to the largest number of wooden houses in northern Europe, citing around 8,000 timber buildings in the city.

Ovre Strandgate - busy and colorful pedestrian street

colorful outdoor cafes

need a cut?

massage parlor

no cars allowed

surprised to see this mural in Norway!

 

Stavanger was one of the most important bases for the Vikings. Not only is it a very clean city, it is also considered very safe. Some shops stay open at night and I read that it’s not unusual to see women out walking alone. We feel safe in College Station but I surely wouldn’t do that. Norway might not be a bad place to live!