I realized I never explained to my non Norwegian readers what a Nisse is so here goes.......A Nisse in Scandinavian folklore is like a little sprite,brownie,or fairie. He is about the size of a small child and wears grey clothes and a red cap. He watches over the farmstead and household,not asking for much,just some julegrøt with lots and lots of butter. Whatever you do,don't play a trick on your resident Nisse or he will pay you back with some serious mischief.
Here in Kristiansund we are getting the gift of snow, but that didn't stop my hubby the hot tub guy......
Grandfather Nisse,Bestefar Nisse
Grandmother Nisse,Bestemor Nisse
Father Nisse,Far Nisse
Mother Nisse,Mor Nisse
Boy Nisse,Gutte Nisse
Girl and Cat Nisse,Jente og Katten Nisse
We had some crisp frosty days with blue skies a few weeks back. Amazingly we still haven't had much wind so some of the trees are still ablaze with color. I'm starting to wonder if the winds are avoiding Kristiansund.
Vi hadde noen skarpe kalde dager med blå himmel et par uker siden. Utrolig har vi ikke hatt mye vind så noen av trærne er fortsatt med farger. Jeg begynner å lure på vinden å unngå på Kristiansund.
This is nineteen dollars worth of candy in Norway.
Stop your screaming my American readers and consider this. Norwegian children receive free dental care through the age of eighteen. So it's like a sugar tax. Children with healthy teeth grow into adults with healthy teeth. Ask any dentist and they will tell you, the health of your teeth affects your overall health. As in gum disease,diabetes,inflammation,dementia, and rhuematoid arthritis to name a few.
So I will gladly pay the sugar tax. OK, I did scream (quietly I hope) at the store. But I still bought the candy because .....it's HALLOWEEN!
October 17th, was our 35th wedding anniversary and we wanted to go somewhere special but not have to travel far. Lucky for us we live only an hour away from one of the worlds' most famous roads. The Atlantic Road in Norway. I am going to apologize right now for the photos as my dear little IPAD is terrible at taking landscape photos. We waited til evening to go hoping the skies would cloud up a bit for better photos but that just wasn't going to happen. Besides, I think it might be a sin to wish for the sun to go away in Norway. They recently put in a nice easy access walkway and a kiosk with a cafe.
The rocky landscape has a surreal feel to it.
To the memory of those that went to sea and never came back. This is a typical shape for memorials in Norway.
Believe it or not there is a doorway in this wall and you go into a cafe inside the hill.
AHHHHH! KRISTIANSUND..........vakker!
KRISTIANSUND ..........beautiful.
Looks like I'm coming home from the hospital in Ålesund today. The team of doctors have done an amazing job and I'm back on my feet again. HURRAY!!! So I should be able to get out more and post more about Kristiansund with some photos. Which is a good thing because the below drawing will be the closing page for the coloring book. See you again soon!
Lilly is hiking up to the VARDEN. It is the highest point on KIRKELANDET at 78 meters. There is a wonderful 360 degree view from up there. Inside the VARDEN are binoculars at the top of a winding staircase. As you climb the stairs you can enjoy the murals on the walls.
A levada is an irrigation channel,ditch,or aqueduct on the island of Madeira. Turns out we have them in Kristiansund. In "the old days" Kristiansund did not have a fresh water source so the inhabitants built these amazing stone ditches to collect and carry the water from the hillsides above Kristiansund down to storage ponds in the city. We now get our fresh water from the mainland but the levadas and ponds are still here. They are part of a walking and nature area. On Sundays it seems as if everybody is out with their family and dog taking a stroll on the levada trail. Lilly loves to walk in the levada when they are running with water.
Sorry I haven't been posting but I have been very sick with fibromyalgia and now must go into the hospital for awhile. I don't know if they will have wifi,so I might not be able to post for about a week or more. I promise to come back and finish up Lilly's tour of Kristiansund just as soon as I can. Thanks for checking in!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Kristiansund hosts quite a few festivals. There is our Opera Festival with our famous oldest opera house in Norway. Then we have the NORDIC LIGHT FESTIVAL of PHOTOGRAPHY which is the biggest in Northern Europe. And we have our music festivals TAHITI and MAROKKO. The island of Innlandet is nicknamed Tahiti and the island of NORDLANDET is nicknamed MAROKKO,which is where the festivals get their names. Below is a drawing of Lilly at the Tahiti Festival.
There is the old factory for making rope. Det er den gamle fabrikken for å gjøre tau.
This is the new blue bridge. Lookout!!! Dette er den nye blå broen. Være forsiktig!!!
This is the stone and wood church on Norlandet. It was built in 1914 and managed to survive the bombing of World War Two. This would be the view if you were standing on the Kai next to Clipfish woman and Herring Boy. You can easily drive over to Nordlandet, or better yet, take the Sundbåt.
Shall we sing? Skal vi synge?
This is our opera house built in 1914 in the Art Nouveau style. It is the oldest opera house in Norway and one of the few old buildings in Kristiansund to have survived the terrible bombing in World War Two. Our little town hosts quite the opera festival for two weeks in February. They also have workshops throughout the year at the opera house. The most important opera for us locals is Donna Bacalao which depicts the life of the clipfishwoman. And Bacalao is the name of our famous clipfish dish. The opera is held outdoors by the sea. We have been holding off to go see it til our norwegian was better. I'm thinking its time to give it a go.
Did you know that Kristiansund was called the polychromatic city?
Vet du at Kristiansund ble kalt polykromatisk byen?
While there are a lot of colorful houses here in Kristiansund I believe I am seeing a trend leaning towards grey and white. Personally I like all the cheerful colors. Although my house is beige....
The days are still mild but I do believe Autumn approaches. For the first time in many weeks I was able to go for a very short walk yesterday. Fibromyalgia is a pain! It was warm and sunny but definite signs of a change in seasons were everywhere. Ripening Rowan berries,dried seed pods, red and brown leaves,the magical color of purple.
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