Swimming dock
Kristianiafjorden – trails to explore
Swimming dock
Archives
Fjære And Landvik – West of Grimstad
Fjære kirke
Monument to Therie Wiighen at Fjære Kirke
Nelly made room for our rental car (on the left) in her driveway. There isn’t street parking.
Forest of trees growing out of rocks near Landvik, Aust-Agder
near Landvik, Aust-Agder
Landvik Kirke
Strawberry plants sheltered under plastic sheets billowing in waves from the breezes
Field ready to plant
Farm growing grass near Landvik, Aust-Adger
Nelly’s apartment house
Upon arriving at the apartment we reserved in Kristiansand, Nelly, the owner/manager, told us she’d like to move us to a different apartment — one without stairs. My mother can climb stairs, but it’s better if she saves her energy for walking around interesting places. We appreciated Nelly’s thoughtfulness.
She packed our suitcases into her van and we rode up front with her while she gave us a brief car tour of the places we might want to see. The tour helped me see the places I had visited in Google street view, and I knew we could walk around and I wouldn’t get lost or cause us to take a longer than necessary detour.
the patio of our apartment in Kristiansand
When we arrived at the apartment it turned out to be an old house that Nelly has converted into 3-4 apartments. Ours is on the ground floor with a patio overlooking a small park where locals bring their kids and dogs for exercise.
Nelly is adding a reception room, coffee room, and patio to the front of the house.
Nelly’s front garden
The apartment is much nicer than the one we reserved. The polished stone floors are heated from below. The kitchen has black granite countertops with flecks of color shining from within. There is a gas fireplace in the living room. The bathroom has white stone walls and floor. An enormous TV (40″?) sits in the corner of the living room. But one of the best
This friendly kitty has the thickest fur I’ve ever seen. He must be comfy outside on frigid Norwegian nights.
View of the park from our patio
Boss happily chased his old ball for at least half an hour this afternoon. His person said before they come to this park every day they walk in the large park up the hill for an hour. Lucky dog! She said Boss likes to run, chase his ball, and cuddle.
features is that this apartment has Internet which the other one lacked. Woo hoo!
I’ve been texting Bruce, Kayta, and Christy about the University of Washington graduation ceremonies which happen only a week after I return. It would have been hard to go without Internet this whole week and most of next week, because our fjord apartment (the next one) doesn’t have Internet. So, I’m very happy.
Nelly is adding onto the front of the house. The new space adds a large patio outside and a reception room with a coffee room above. It will be done in a month. She enjoys gardening, and has tulips in unusual colors, many with the multiple petals and curly edges. She has clematis, violas, salmon colored petunias, roses just beginning to grow, dianthus, rhododendrons, and more.
Spring in Kristiansand
Basket of deep purple violas next to someone’s front door
Flowers are blooming and preparing to bloom in Kristiansand. We walked from our apartment to the fish market across town today. Petunias, tulips, daffodils, pansies, violas, and lilacs are in bloom across town. Roses and rhododendrons have young buds which won’t be ready for a while.
old houses in the center of Kristiansand
Lovely old house with a birch tree
Park in central Kristiansand
Kristiansand city center park
Kristiansand Domkirke
The fiskebrygga (fish market) was a lovely place to explore; nearly every building was a nice looking restaurant.
fiskebrygga (fish market)
Salmon dinner in our apartment
Sørland Railway from Oslo to Kristiansand
For six hours a continuous stream of rivers, lakes, and rocky woods passed the window of the Sørland train on the trip from Oslo to Kristiansand. Wooded hills spanned the horizon in every direction trapping water into countless ponds and lakes. A few farms with sheep, grass, and unplanted fields Nestled in the valleys.
The land seems as rocky here as up north. When I see piles of logs which have been harvested it’s surprising how small they are compared to the Douglas Fir in Washington and Oregon. These logs look from a distance to be less than a foot in diameter, except for a very small percentage which might be 12 or 14 inches. Or, perhaps they are larger than they appear from the train. Regardless, I wonder whether it’s the rocky soil that prevents them from growing larger.
The most beautiful scenes are the lakes. Tiny islands, simply the peaks of rocky mounds, jut above the water, some with a single tree rooted in the shallow soil. I hope I capture a picture of one of those islands while we are in southern Norway.
