until the end of the web

:)

2009-03-22T10:03:00.001+01:00

Oslo mars 09

2009-03-22T09:25:00.001+01:00

Gullgutten

2009-03-22T09:19:00.001+01:00

På vei hjem

2009-02-15T17:41:00.001+01:00

jentetur til swinging london

2009-02-09T21:06:00.001+01:00

Eg og Ingrid, og det blir løye!
Ska på kean i O2, på les mis på queens, rondt forbi, sjåppa, ha det løye, kanskje på trening, og ellers bare kjekke ting.
blir godt med litt pause, heilt fri!

18 ringer og garantert dårlige vitser

2008-12-23T19:40:00.004+01:00

Joda, kransekaken ble ferdig den! Og vi fant smellbonbonger på Hustvedt, bare så dere vet det. Så da var det bare å feste dem fast med knappenålene som alle husmødre har i syskrinet sitt, not, og hive nissen på toppen!
De som ikke smaker i morgen blir skutt!
Bare så det er sagt... Og neste år skal jeg planlegge bedre... kanskje...
Nå nærmer det seg julestemning her i huset, gjesten vår har kommet fra Odda, og vi har sånn noenlunde kontroll. Vinen venter! Og riskrem og tiramisu i morgen!

Alle har jo knappenåler?

Kransekakepyntbutikken ble redningen...

Rett ring i rett rekkefølge... gla det var tidlig morgen!

Kransekake!

2008-12-21T20:50:00.002+01:00

Etter mye om og men... nå blir det jul i år også! Fant former på Jernia på stadion... og hvem vet, kanskje det blir flere kransekaker da?

Byrkjedalen

2008-12-16T23:21:00.000+01:00

Nå e me nå her...

På byrkjedalstunet!

2008-12-16T16:24:00.000+01:00

Og jobbseminar og julabord jooo, blir kjekt!

Børretzens aller siste konsert

2008-12-14T20:41:00.000+01:00

Et dårlig bilde da... Men vi nyter gamle sanger... Og mannen holder fremdeles koken! 82 år...

That christmas spirit?

2008-12-13T13:55:00.003+01:00

Well...not really!
We are busy. There is quite å lot to do at work at the time, exciting stuff, but a bit much! And with Bjørns mother beeing ill, we have not had the time to get into the real holiday feeling. But there is still time!
I do my spinning classes, see my needle guy a couple of times every week, and try to make everything work!
Soon it is springtime again... Longing for my bike!

Bobiltur i desember

2008-12-07T19:39:00.000+01:00

Bergen, Voss, Utne og Odda. Nå hjem...

Belgium in a hurry

2008-10-31T17:10:00.003+01:00

And my cell phone died...
But Leuven has many qualities. Many large squares, beautyful old buildings, and a real small town feeling. Strange to travel so fast though, I am not used to this, it is so much more relaxing to go slow, I miss the bobil:)
Back home again tomorrow, just like that!

Autumn storm

2008-10-26T16:55:00.002+01:00

Long time no see on this blog, mostly just these very short updates on
Facebook from me, or short notes on Bobilbloggen. I don't seem to take in
that the summer season (and motorhome season) is coming to an end... But it
is soon November, and the next three to four months won't be for camping.
But lots of things happen all the time anyway! We just finished the best
Høstseminar EVER! So proud that we did it!
Today I went to Hellestø, a short walk, not too much wind, as the weather
has calmed down. But the sea is slow on reacting, so the wawes were great! I
think I should start surfing... :)
Been to spinning class as well. Felt real gooooood!!!!!!!!!

Summer, rain and a short update!

2008-07-11T13:14:00.004+02:00

Life is good, I guess, having quiet days, relaxing, doing lots of excersising and cycling, and enjoying the great wonder of the world, our new family member, Lucas, born on June 17. He is the best baby in the world, of course, as a grand mother, I am allowed to say so:)
Bjørn and I startet a new blog, on www.wingamm.blogspot.com, (only in Norwegian though) where you can follow our movements around this summer. I am looking forward to travelling, as I always do, we don't really know where we are going this year, only that we are leaving for Denmark, and returning from Newcastle a month later. What is in between is like a big bag of sweets, you don't know what it tastes like and what it really is, until you try it. It is going to be fun, relaxing, loads of new experiences, some new friends, and some old visited along the way, and hopefully sunshine every day. That's it, sort of:)

Long term perspective...

2008-04-02T15:31:00.002+02:00

Next operation in two months... Summer's coming up, and this was not how I planned it, but this wasn't my thing to work out it seems... Survival strategy desperately needed!

what to blog about?

2008-03-31T12:37:00.003+02:00

I am bored, big time...
Day time tv is definitely not enough to make my day, and as the sun is shining outside, I have quite a few ideas on what I would like to do...
But can't...
Did this some days ago, can be repeated maybe...

Update;)

2008-03-25T14:24:00.003+01:00

Got my operation, twice, and it was very painful. After eight days I feel a bit better, but still some pain... weird kind of pain... As if I had a tight guitar string in my arm and every time someone touces it it's like electricity going through my arm... Not good at all.
But I am able to use the keyboard again:) For a short period... And yesterday I went to my first spinning class again, hard to do it with just my left arm, but good to be back. So I am on the mend:)

Here is someone elses experience...

Much more biking:)

2008-03-09T18:53:00.006+01:00

Last trip for a very long time

Miss my bike already...

More biking...

2008-03-08T16:49:00.002+01:00

Feeling good for the time beeing, but tomorrow is the last biking day for some time... Doctors are gointg to try and fix my arm, surgery in my elbow... I am probably going to cry when I park the bike tomorrow... Don't know for how long, but can't wait to get back!
Todays trip was very wet, very windy but quite nice:)
Here it is!

Todays workout...

2008-03-06T23:27:00.001+01:00

Is here:
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=97252
With photo as well!

Biking:)

2008-03-02T23:53:00.001+01:00

I did 41 kilometres today and is quite proud:)
Look where I've been TODAY :)

Life is sweet

2008-02-19T18:02:00.006+01:00

I have been to a EUPRIO meeting in Cordoba, Spain, and as usual when I am out travelling I get the urge to write a few words...
Bjørn joined me, and on Sunday we came her, to La Linea de la Conception, staying at a nice hotel, Iberostar Campo Gibraltar. Just now I sit here and enjoy a glass of Rioja, looking at the Rock of Gibraltar just a kilometre away. The border is about a hundred metres from here, and we have been over, visiting several times. Quite strange thoulgh, to bring your passport when just over the border to go to the shop! The Gibraltar currency is GBP, but it would have been absolutely ridiculous if they didn't accept Euros, as most people who are visiting don't wish to withdraw cash they don't get to spend anywhere else...
Every morning and evening, there are long queues to pass the border, mostly Spanish people going to work. They are in all shops, all restaurants, hotels and so on, and the only difference from this side to the other side of the border, (apart from the currency) is that in Gibraltar you can expect that people will understand you if you speak English.
But the Rock is very impressive. Huge! Many streets are named after big cannons, in English of course, as it has been for several hundred years, a military fort. Today we drove to Europa Point, on the very South tip of the Rock, where we saw all the way to Africa. It is only about 22 kilometres away, and there is more than 70.000 ships going through the Strait of Gibraltar every year. It looks that way too, heavy traffic at sea.
We also went (back) to Tarifa today, for lunch. A beautyful town on the tip of Spain. Many surfers go there for great waves on lovely, long, sandy beaches and the town must have the most kiting- and surfing schools in Europe! Great place for camping as well!
We have had some relaxing days here, but sadly, tomorrow is another long flight home, via Oslo. Hope for good weather and no delays...
And some more blogging to come;)

My twenty-niner:)

2008-01-06T21:33:00.000+01:00

Long time no see... Facebook is basically the sinner... but also change in habits!
I'll try to change that though, and hopefully post here once a week!
My birthdays coming up soon, and B bought me a new bike. I love it! (and him also of corse)
Here it is: http://feltracing.com/08/product.asp?catid=1504,1516&pid=8765

North of England, a bit special

2007-07-22T10:12:00.001+02:00

We got to Whitley Bay yesterday, a nice little seaside town, just north of Tynemouth, ( see picture on my flickr photos).
Always a special feeling getting here... Riot police in the streets, girls in tarty clothes, and men with huge bodies and huge voices... Drinking in the streets, and making lots of noice... A totally different picture then what you find in the south, a bit sad...
We are going home tonight and that is a bit sad as well:(

Road home, soon...

2007-07-20T18:47:00.001+02:00

Still in Cornwall, we stayed on one place for the last five days, but are leaving tomorrow. Our ferry home is on Sunday night, and the GPS tells us that it is a six hour drive to Newcastle. But we'd like to stop on the way, and take it a bit slowly.
Cornwall is lovely, fresh air and lots of it, lots of weather too, we've had beautyful sunshine, thunderstorms and rain as heavy that everythings gotten quite muddy. The weather forecast on the counter at the campsite reception, says showers for the next two days, and then a big bright sun over the whole county. The forecast doesn't seem to change...
But we have had lovely days here. The castle of Tintagel is a very special experience, every time. We've also been to Newquay, looking at surfers, to Bodmin to go on the steam train, to St. Just and Penzance, and we spent a day in Plymouth, just shopping.

Europe -,England!

2007-07-14T18:21:00.000+02:00

Distance is gone... It used to be a long ferrytrip across, but today we went by the eurotunnel, and it was less than one hour from the time we purchased the ticket, until we got of the train in Folkstone. And then we turned the clock back one hour...
A bit claustrophobic, but very impressing!

I wonder when you can drive through?
They have to figure out which side of the road to og on first, I suppose...
Cornwall next!

A bit strange...

2007-07-12T14:59:00.000+02:00

We got up early today, to get the start of the Tour, and stood in line with the rest of Chablis, which is not that many people.
Loads of entertainment, lots of sponsoractivities, but finally, we got a look of the big stars as well...
The strangest thing was perhaps the parade of sponsors, driving their cars through the village, with crowds shouting and cheering... Like - Oh, there's my shampoo truck... Which then was a big truck with a BIG bottle of shampoo on it...
But fun to have been here!
Check the picture on My flickr photos:) http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingeblog/

Grand Cru and thereabouts

2007-07-11T20:21:00.000+02:00

Chablis is a lovely little town south east of Paris, it was worth the long drive, 661 km from last stop at Kijk Duin.
We are well installed just beside a small waterfall at the municipal camp site, besides the river Serein.
Tomorrow we are going out for a good dinner, and by chance this is the day of great celebrations here, La tour de France starts here in the morning, so it is cirkus all day, concerts and shows, lots to see and many kodak moments...
Great fun!
Tonight I'm drinking american zinfandel... Don't tell anyone!:)

Holland

2007-07-11T07:23:00.000+02:00

We've spent one night in Bremen, with nothing much happening, before we found summer in Den Haag, west in Holland.
Yesterday we spent in Delft, a true pearl of mideaval European cities, big squares, huge churches, and canals all over.
Right now I'm waking up to the wawes of the North Sea, as they hit the coast. We are stayng on a campsite in Kijk Duin and to the south we can see the lights of Rtterdam, to the north there are sandy beaches for many kilometres, all the way to Scheveningen.
Today we are going to Chablis, just south east of Paris. Maybe we'll get some nice wine!:)

On shore again

2007-07-05T16:50:00.001+02:00

Had a tiring last 12-4 watch with little to do... Polished some brass and snook off to a warm long shower in the middle of the night...
This morning we got into Aarhus with lots of wonderful ships ahead and behind us. Most impressing was the Russian Sedov, which is about twice the length of Sørlandet, but as we walked around looking today, we saw very many interesting ships, large and small, navy ships, privately owned, and school ships, like ours.
8ow we are just outside of Aarhus, installed in the campervan, ready to do some heavy roadworking:) Holland, France, and home from Newcastle in a couple of weeks.
Something like that:)
Sorry to leave the sea though...

Sail away!

2007-07-04T18:02:00.001+02:00

Today we are sailing, and it was our watch that did it! We put up up loads of sails, pulled some kilometres (or so it seems) of rope and the result? Beautyful white sails, slow and peaceful sailing following the wawes and wind, instead of going straight towards it, main engine off, and we are getting ready for dinner, dead tired and very happy and satisfied...
We are getting into the rhytm of the ship and the watch. A bit hard to do the 12-4 at night, but we haven't slept on duty, and put on kitchen duty... I hate to peel potatoes!
Tonights our last watch, and by now it is getting real fun. I know we are going to miss it, when we leave the ship tomorrow.
I am so happy we are staying in aarhus for the weekend! :)

Anticipation!

2007-07-04T11:43:00.001+02:00

We have slept like babies, only much longer, and look forward to this afternoons watch. We are getting the ship ready for sailing, in the middle of Storebælt. To the west we can see the schoolship "Danmark", they are also going by engine.
Expect to see loads of great ships now as we get closer to our destination. Some of the sail trainees who entered the ship in Kristiansand, are joining the regatta, which starts on Sunday. Could be tempting... Next year maybe?
Weather is nice and all is well:)

Calm sea

2007-07-04T02:10:00.003+02:00

Tonights watch started with the rise of a red moon over the horizon and it was absolutely beautyful!
We are just north of Skagen in Denmark,on our 12-4 watch. There is not that much to do at night for us, specially since we are not going by sail. So the nights og by relaxing and looking at the moon...
The brave rig climbers are testing their harnesses, getting ready to go up in the dark, we both chose to stay on deck:)
Even though we have already reached Denmark, we wont get to Aarhus until tomorrow morning, accoding to the first mate, we have an appointement with the pilot at 9 am. I don't know how many ships are coming for the festival, but it's going to be many! Loads of kodak moments as well:)
Photos at my flickr photos, right hand side on http://ingeblog.blogspot.com
:)

Our first night watch

2007-07-04T02:10:00.001+02:00

Something magic about nights at sea... Calm, short, a bit strange... I'm on 12-4 watch and it is a beautyful night! Getting tired though:)
We are outside Lindesnes, the most southern point of Norway, an as we made a slight turn east towards Kristiansand, the wawes got even bigger! We are stopping in Kristiansand tomorrow, before doing the final stretch to Aarhus.
And all is fine:)

Much weather

2007-07-02T17:45:00.001+02:00

And good meatballs... Not too many people eating them! The North Sea is showing its best of highwawes, showers and much weather! I like it very much, ingrid not so much, and actually, I think I am of the lucky few today!
We are just outside Egersund, still by going engine!
Captain just said: would those of you who are seasick please not throw up where people have to clean up after you!
Oh yeah:)

Fresh sea air

2007-07-01T20:30:00.001+02:00

We got on the ship and left at 4 pm, from Stord. Now we are going slowly through Karmsundet, after having both a bit of wawes and a lot of wind over Slettå. Unfortunately it is blowing the wrong way, so we og by engine, not sail. But we have learnt about ropes and pulled some as well today, even without the sails.
We are making a short stop in Stavanger tomorrow morning, then we head off to Kristiansand.
This is definitely for people who just like to be at sea, calm, relaxing and nothing to think about! :)

Soon off to sea:)

2007-06-30T14:26:00.000+02:00

I can hardly wait!
Today the weather is better as well, after having rained for some time. I hope it lasts, don't want to wear rain gear all week:)
We are leaving tomorrow, from Stord, going to Stavanger, Kristiansand and then Aarhus, where the ship will stay for the weekend, before the start of this years Tall Ships Race.

I'll post photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingeblog/

La France

2007-06-06T17:59:00.000+02:00

The annual EUPRIO http://www.euprio.org conference starts tomorrow, and I am humping along in a overcrowded French train, from paris to Lyon, and then to Grenoble, which is the conference venue. Apart from this train trip, I look forward to meet all the people again, here news from all over Europe, and also learn something new, get new friends and have some fun as well!
We are also going to make some serious work and plans for the EUPRIO Stavanger conference,in June next year... That is definitely going to be fun, both planning in advance and the conference itself!
But first I will enjoy France. Hot day, some thunder in the sky, but I hope it wont rain...
As I get to Grenoble in a couple of hours, I will find a nice place for a nice glass of wine... :)

Jorunn and Stian married!

2007-05-27T20:56:00.001+02:00

And I am a mother in law...
They looked fantastic, and it was a great party:)
Pictures here: http://jorunnogstian.blogspot.com/

A different 17 of May

2007-05-17T23:33:00.001+02:00

We are in Denmark, the beloved Jammerbugten with the huge waves and so on.. See previous posts on ingeblog for more descriptions:)
Though there are many people like us, enjoying camping in the early spring, it is not crowded, and as I see all the children running around, playing, it makes me think about when the girls were like that, without a worry in the world... Time flies!! The wedding is soon approaching, and I can't say that I have controll... It will come though...
This is the first time ever that I spend our national day away from home. It has been a fine day!
Pictures on my flickr photos on the right hand side on ingeblog... More is coming!

MaiJazz once more!

2007-05-08T20:43:00.000+02:00

We are ready! So looking forward to five days of music, dancing, fun, good friends, and of course, hard work! Ingrid and I are volunteering for PR-work at MaiJazz, just as we did last year;).
Hope many people join in, it is going to be a great week!
Below Sara Tavares, concert is on Thursday at Stavangeren.

Brusand today

2007-05-05T15:30:00.000+02:00

And a nice day for camping. A bit windy, but light blue sky, and dark blue sea, just below us. Going for a long walk soon I think... If you want to see the view from my bedroom window today, check My flickr photos, link to the right in my blog.
desperately looking forward to the day it will be possible to send both text and pictures to my blog from my mobile telephone!
Have a lovely weekend!

Where have you been?

2007-05-02T08:08:00.000+02:00

This was a bit fun!

Create your own visited country map

Frafjord

2007-04-30T23:28:00.000+02:00

We are out camping, just got a bit worried of a strange sound, and, as we got out of the car, we found that our plastic bag with garbage, and the dirty dishes after our barbeque, has been turned over and ripped apart by some animal... A mink? A fox? Rats?:( Or maybe a dog?
Picked it all up, and hope to have a quiet night, with stars above us, and the soft sound of the sea, tickeling my ears...
We are in Frafjord, alone at the campsite, a bit cold at night, but beautyful:)
Tuesday was a lovely day as well, warm weather, sun, and just relaxing...
Pictures...

The happy couple!

2007-04-29T18:04:00.000+02:00

Here they are, Stian and Jorunn! The wedding is going to be on May 26, just four weeks away! We are working hard, planning the whole thing, what to wear, what to eat, how to get from place to place and wondering about how many cakes people are going to eat!! And so on... It is going to be great, the sun will shine, and hopefylly we wont forget anything important.

Having said that, this spring seems a bit like four weddings and a funeral... running around from one family occasion to the other. My niece had her confirmation party yesterday, next weekend my sister will be 50, and than its is just enough time for the rest of the wedding plans after that!
Hopefully, there wont be any funerals though...

Hooked

2007-04-22T15:20:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday this week, I was just so not interested, as one of my colleagues at work told me about Facebook, I was thinking that I am just sooo fed up getting all these e-mails from all over asking me to sign up for all kinds of things...
Quite some time ago, I answered to one of them, at LinkedIn, thinking that this was not anything I could use at all.
But then I logged on once more, I started going through my adress book, searching for colleagues, old friends, family, old school classes, and got totally hooked. This is a great place for curiousity! Who are Elisabeths friends? Where did Henriette go to school?
My colleague Ragnhild was right... It is a lot of fun... And since it is still weekend, I almost have time to just sit here and search...
Raining outside anyway!

Summer - hope it lasts!

2007-04-15T18:10:00.000+02:00

First time in the water this year, air temeperature 26 degrees highest today, water temperature... cold... but not intolerable! Just a week ago it was snowing, and I would wear two layers of wool, fleece, and a load of goretex over that again. Sot this was just lovely!
Hope that every summer day this year will feel like the longest day - ever... and that September wont be coming until next year or something...

Easter pictures

2007-04-10T20:32:00.000+02:00

Brugge was worth the trip. Below is also the great Moules we had... Saw some
Easter eggs in Germany, lovely colours in Cuxhaven, and also my favourite view, this is in Jammerbugten, Denmark.

On the way home

2007-04-07T22:10:00.000+02:00

We stopped in Jammerbugten, Denmark, working our way through motorways und autobahns... Yesterday we used our gps as always, stopped at a campsite, drove through the gate, and started to rig, as usual. Then we met the German freundlichkeit... A man came towards us, and asked how did we get in here? No "how do you do" or anything, just that... It turned out that the campsite we got into "didn't exist" according to him, and we had to move on...
Strange... But we stayed in Bremen for the night, and got far up in Denmark, the wind is shaking the car, the waves are less than 50 mtrs away, (ingeborg happy), and tomorrow it is only about an hour to get to the ferry home.

Cuxhaven, the Netherlands in a rush, and Brugge

2007-04-05T18:22:00.000+02:00

Day before yesterday we went out to have a look around Cuxhaven, which was not a big deal, not much to see, and just like any other small town. But Duhne, by the coast, was nice, we stayed at a campsite in between large hotels, with the beach close by. I got my share of wind, ice cold ears, and sand in hair and all my clothes. Lovely! Duhne was a bit like Danish Løkken, windy, an absolute hit on a warm day, and the neverending row of shops selling fleece sweathers, jackets, gloves and raingear, I bought something orange, and b came out of the shop with both a sweather and a jacket.
Yesterday we drove from Cuxhaven to Brugge in Belgium. It was a bit too far I think, and as we arrived here, we were both almost too tired to think of going out. But we did! Three kilometres to walk to town centre, and it was worth it. Had a lovely dinner with good wines, and a beer in a rather smoke filled Irish pub afterwards.
Today we have discovered more of the city centre, with all the spacious squares and narrow streets. Definitely worth a visit. And we sat down at an outdoor cafe, and had moules, which is something I've been wanting to do for a long time in Belgium or France! It somehow never tastes like at home... They tasted wondeful, of course!
Belgium is a nice country... Although it somehow lacks a bit of identity, it is the home of lovely chocolate, cakes and pastries, hundreds of different beers and Hercule Poirot! And moules;)

Camping season started

2007-04-03T11:10:00.000+02:00

Cold nights, even below zero, but beautiful days, almost 20 degrees. We are in Cuxhaven, where Germany stops in the north sea. As i waited to go to sleep yesterday night, I listened to long heavy waves as they crushed onto the beach, just a few metres from here.
Sad to say good bye to lovely Italy, again, my last day there, I went to the Duomo, which of course was full of people, as it was palm sunday. Everybody was lighting candles, and walking around with branches of olive trees.
I love Italy!
Tomorrow we are going to Brugge, that will be a new experience, only been to Brussels and Ghent earlier!
Pictures are coming...

Bella Italia

2007-04-01T12:50:00.000+02:00

I've been to Novara fir the spring steering committee meeting of EUPRIO, as a guest of the Universita de Piemonte Orientale, which is a university with lots of similariy to our own.
Paolo, the organiser, did a superb job in making us all happy! We went from Novara to a wondeful small village called Stresa, a bit touristic, but out of season it was quiet and just beautyful. It is situated on the north western shore of Lago Maggiore, close to the three islands in the lake, we went to one of them for dinner, Ila de Pescatore, the meal consisted of three different dishes of lake fish, and was very good. Yesterday we went to Monferrado, at a restaurant called Rosso, where we had carpaggio, veal with tunasauce, bania calda, piatta fritta, which was pork, beef, liver, lungs, and brain, served with deep fried sweets, after that, risotto, a kind of ravioli starting with a, and then came the main course, three different meats with fried potatoes and green beans... Followed by desserts... And the wines.... The dolce, the nebbiolo, the barbera d'asti... and this wonderful sweet red sparkling one for the dessert... And limoncilla...Writing this down just to try to remember, because I'm definitely coming back to Piemonte...
The visit to Paolo's Vercelli was also magnificent! After our long meeting at the university, he showed us the around, a trip that ended in the cathedral, after a very interesting tour of the San Andrea church. He is a very clever storyteller, with the most wonderful way of laughing!
Now I am on the train to Milano, short stop before I go to Denmark to meet Bjørn and hesd of for a week in Northern Europe, don't know where.
Check the pictures below:)

Mainly pictures

2007-03-31T18:05:00.000+02:00

Piemonte - Novara, Stresa and Vercelli, some impressions.

Mainly pictures

2007-03-31T17:16:00.000+02:00

San Andrea Cathedral, Vercelli

This lock keeps the synagogue in Vercelli closed.

I can park like this too, and would certainely love this car...

Sunset

2007-03-25T21:23:00.000+02:00

It's been a beautyful day, spring is coming, and I'm looking forward to get some sun!

Cute?

2007-03-17T16:13:00.000+01:00

Came over this picture I took a couple of years back... As long as I don't have to go to sleep in the same house as this mouse, I actually think he is kind of cute...

Summer dream

2007-02-24T18:11:00.000+01:00

Ingrid and I are going sailing this summer! We will be on this full rigged ship called "Sørlandet" from 1 until 5 of June, going from Stord on the West coast of Norway, to our home town Stavanger, then to Kristiansand in the South, and over to Denmark, Aarhus, to see this ship, and quite a few others start the first leg of the Tall Ships Races 2007.
However, I don't see myself climbing the rigg, but I will surely be happy to do the night watches, enjoying peace, late sunsets, early sunrises, and the silent sounds of sea...
I think this has been a dream for me since I discovered that there was a great ocean... beeing terribly sick on the ferry from Stavanger to Newcastle, at the age of five... I've loved beeing at sea ever since;)

Amsterdam

2007-02-16T22:45:00.000+01:00

Almost spring, mild weather, light breeze, happy people in Amsterdam. The city has changed so much since the first time I was here. Maybe that is good. The red light district and coffee shops, are "tourists only", and has kind of lost it's strange charme.
But then, who am I to complain, I'm just a tourist...

Love this city anyway:)

Open

2007-02-11T16:10:00.000+01:00

No matter how many hundres, maybe thousands of photographs of the beaches, the wawes, the sky, the light and sea, I take, I never get tired of it! The light is different every time, the colour of the sea varies from hour to hour. Sometimes it's cold, even on the picture. Cold grey and blue, sometimes light brown.
Lovely long walk today...

How I feel

2007-02-03T21:10:00.000+01:00

These things are inside me... flu virus, enlarged about 70.000 times, only it doesn't feel like that! What are they doing in there? Except making me feel lousy...

Backstage on Oslo nye

2007-01-30T22:16:00.000+01:00

Large building with windows as peepholes into backstage. I'm an unpaying spectator.
Girls below plays with coomputer during recess...

Out!

2007-01-28T18:19:00.000+01:00

We got out today, finally. Went for a very cold, and short, walk on the beach, taking a few pictures, before my fingers got to cold to do anything. Picures weren't that great, but these two work out ok. First one was on the way to the beach though, not on it:).
It's been far too long since I've been out walking. It was a very busy autumn at work, and as it gets darker and colder, it is so easy to get lazy... not much fun trying to take pictures in the dark... Hopefully, energy and inspiration is coming along with springtime, green lawns, spring flowers and warmer weather.

Colours

2007-01-27T16:27:00.000+01:00

New red pages made me happy, I found some colours of my own as well...

Strong

2007-01-26T17:14:00.000+01:00

Been to two theatre happenings this week. Jon Fosse's "Death Variations", and "Mislykte nordmenn" by Jesper Halle. Both plays are strong, intense, and appeals to my inner thoughts, anyway.
What is life really about? And what's it worth anyway? Is there any hope?
All these questions challenge me, the way I think, and how I feel. Do you like to be challenged in that way?
Highly recommended. Check Rogaland Teater:)

Great news

2007-01-25T18:27:00.000+01:00

Our family is getting bigger, as Jorunn and Stian are getting married! So I get a first son in law... Strange feeling... But very good. I'm very happy for them both:)
The wedding is on May 26, big party and lots of fun.

And they already bought rings, on E-bay...

London pictures

2006-11-14T19:22:00.000+01:00

November 12. After ceremonies.

The Cenotaph.

Brixton, just a funny picture!

Fancy some game? Borough Market

Holborn Underground Station, on the way to Picadilly line.

Lovely London

2006-11-12T21:01:00.000+01:00

We are in London, celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary! On Thursday we sat out eating lunch in Covent Garden, the weather has been great the whole weekend! Sunny and temperatures up to 14 degrees.
We've been around, seen a lot, highpoints of this trip was defenitely the most gorgeous meal at the Greenhouse Restaurant, a well hidden pearl in the middle of Mayfair. Absolutely recommended! They have a wine list with 192 pages... And you get to read it all, if you want... We asked for a bit of help, and got it; an Austrian white from Wachau to our lime wrapped Cornish crab cakes, and a 2002 chateau du cedre for our deer venison with pear chutney, cellery and mash with fennel... It was great! B also tasted the variety of cheese, which was also great!
After eating rather well, we have been out walking a lot! Did the TCR for new funny electronics devices, and went to Queesway and Whitely just to look around. We've been to Brixton as well, looking at the markets, the food, and all the people. Not many tourists go there, could have something to do with the fact that they sell grass almost everywhere... But it is very picturesque!
On Saturday we went to the Bourough market just south of the London Bridge, in Southwark. Beatyful market, lots to see and taste, some cute pubs and cafe to sit down in. That was lovely as well. Got lots of pictures, which always make me happy! Some of them are good too!
We also went to see Billy Elliot, at the Victoria Palace Theatre. The quality of the young dancers was incredible, and some of the old ones were great to. The play is all about beeing what you are, and follos a young boys fight to become a dancer, in the mid eighties, during the awful miners strike, in County Durham, in the poor and then underdeveloped north of England. Everything works out for Billy, of course, and the audience leaves the play, thinking that he really learnt everything he showed us, during the few hours the play lasted! Then they've done a good job.
Right now we are sitting on the plane home, or rather, to Oslo, as the ticket via Oslo was 2200 kroners cheaper than the direct flight to Stavanger... one should think that the thing was to make people fly less, use less petrol, and do less damage to the environment... That obviously doesn't apply to airline thinking... We are both a bit tired, but have had a lovely weekend!
Hope it wont be long to the next chance for a long weekend break:) pictures are coming!

Absolut airport

2006-10-29T17:55:00.000+01:00

This was just so vulgar that I needed to take a picture of it! Golden Absolut on sale, probably great for the christmas season...
Picture is taken at Arlanda, Stockholm.
I didn't buy any...

Camping - it's October

2006-10-08T21:36:00.000+02:00

We are in Denmark, at Klim strand camping. Yesterday was rather wet, and very windy, tonight we are looking at stars, and listening to the waves breaking at the beach, some 100 metres away. Temperature's ok, wine taste good and, as always, I look forward to sleeping on the top floor, lots of fresh air...
We've been driving today, went to Mors, and on the way we saw all these birds, some geese stopping on the way further south, and lots of swans and all these other birds which I can't remember the name of... Beautiful...
A welcome break in a very busy month!

The solution...

2006-09-03T14:37:00.000+02:00

This was displayed in a hardware store in Ireland somewhere. Good idea!

Vilnius in pictures 1

2006-08-28T20:33:00.000+02:00

I have this feeling, that I need to get back to Vilnus before it is to late. Before it has changed so much, that it is just like the rest of Europe, the rest of the world maybe. I imagine other people has had the same thought, last year, and ten years ago, maybe. Lithuanians welcome all the changes, obviously, life is easier, you can travel, and work as much as you like. If you have work. Statistics show (I just learned) that young people who has education at higher level mostly wish to go abroad to study more or to work. I read in a newspaper in Vilnius, that there are 350 doctors of medicin from Lithuania, working in Finnish hospitals. That is quite a lot, the total population of Lithuania is less then four million people. So if the export of brains are as large in other areas, and to other countries, it is going to be a large problem.
So I wonder what's going to be left in the Baltic countries, is it going to be tourism? If so, I really have to get back soon, before it is all the same as in the rest of the world. The same shops, the same McDonalds menu, the same music in all the clubs and bars, the same pizzas and only Carlsberg all around...
Hope these pictures show that it is still different!

A nun, walking into the Russian Orthodoks church

Quiet streets

The Madonna at the West Gate

Vilnius in pictures 2

2006-08-28T19:51:00.000+02:00

A backyard someone just left.

Still something Russian

When you marry, you engrave the date on a padlock, lock it to one of the many brigdes, and throw the key into the river.

A church backyard...

Modern East!

2006-08-26T11:00:00.000+02:00

Spending half a week in Vilnius at the annual EUPRIOconference. As I have never been this far east, and never in the former Soviet Union, I had many expectations. Old cars, bad roads, boring houses and so on... But this is a very modern city, everybody speaks english and smiles, old ladas has been replaced by new bmws and volvos, and the price of beer is almost on Norwegian levels!
The university is from 1579, and have very impressive buildings. Large wooden staircases, great halls, a beautiful library, and a harmonic courtyard.
I live at a hotel just two minutes away, situated in the idyllic old town.
Going home tomorrow, hope to have time to take some pictures then!

Dinner?

2006-08-13T20:29:00.000+02:00

Unfortunately I didn't bring anything but a camera... but these beautyful fishes deserves to play around in the river, swimming up and down, having a great time, finding a cute boy-fish, and fool around a bit...
I love to fish, but it's ok not to catch any...
Pictures from Frafjordelva.

Out walking

2006-08-02T20:52:00.000+02:00

Got this picture today, as we we're out walking in Frafjordheiene. This is Månafossen:)

København, Göteborg, Tønsberg and Flekkefjord

2006-07-16T19:46:00.000+02:00

After Ireland, we picked up the girls for another trip. Ingrid and I went to the Robbie Williams concert in Parken in Copenhagen. It was great, of course! We got very lucky, managed to get in early, and stood just three metres from the stage. Great!
Copehagen was also a visit to Tivoli, Zoo, and some wonderful time in the lovely town centre.
After that, we went over the Øresund Bridge, to Sweden, where we visited Malmö and Göteborg. Both cities are very nice, I liked Haga in Göteborg, an old part of town where all the old wooden houses are restored with lots of beautiful details. No noisy shops, some small cafes, and an intimate and quiet athmosphere.
On the way home, we stopped for a night in Tønsberg, before we went to Flekkefjord, where we joined all the family for two relaxing days, drinking good wine, eating great food, sitting in the sun, playing boule...
I still have two weeks left of my vacation, so maybe something more will happen!
The picture, by the way, was taken in the park in Göteborg. It was just there!

My best shot this summer!

2006-07-16T19:32:00.000+02:00

At the camp site in Wexford, these hugry little ones let me come real close, mum was not so sure of me though...

Irish photoalbum 2

2006-07-16T19:23:00.000+02:00

My favourite camp site this summer, with the waves just a few metres away. This was in Wexford, see below:)

Charming buildings in Waterford, another lovely town in the south.

I described traffic in one of the first posts from Ireland... Even pedestrians are put under heavy restrictions!
Queues and major road work makes you use twice as much time as you plan before you start!

Irish photoalbum 1

2006-07-15T18:01:00.000+02:00

Seafront in Kinsale, with the extraordinary and relatively new cathedral behind.

Details from the English market in Cork.

Souvenirs from fishmarkets around Europe, photo is from the harbour in Kinsale.

Birds flying and nesting at the Old Head of Kinsale. Place worth a visit!

Short stop by the Angel

2006-07-04T15:22:00.000+02:00

Anthony Gormleys "Angel of the North" is seen by over 90.000 people every day, as he stands overlooking the A1 just outside Gateshead.
I love Gormleys work, he has managed to innovate sculpture and made it up to date, making great works of art for modern people! More Gormley at www.anthonygormley.com

Across Wales and home

2006-07-03T14:13:00.000+02:00

Right now I can see land again, we've had a absolutely wonderful trip over the North Sea, once more. But then I love to travel by boat, and don't really mind the weather and rough sea. The trip over the Irish sea was calm and nice to, but a bit boring maybe. Driving through wales was very interesting, roads almost like in Norway, high hills and a truly beautyful nature experience. We are definitely going back! The language on the road signs was very strange... I thought it was something like the Irish but it's not. Worth more studying that to.
Camping life is a lovely way of spending the holiday, however, I look forward to a very long shower as we get home now. But we are leaving again already on wednesday, Ingrid and Maria are joining us for a trip to Copenhagen, then through Sweden, and late next week all the family gather together in Flekkefjord. Looking forward to all of it!

Leaving the green island

2006-07-01T09:48:00.000+02:00

Right now we are waiting in queue to get on th ferry from Rosslare to Pembroke, leaving Ireland not knowing when we will return. Kind of sad. It's a lovely country, the people are extremely nice and friendly, and there are many places I still wish to see.
But I'll be back, it's not that far!

aRrr?

2006-06-29T18:20:00.000+02:00

It's been some years, decades, probably, since people used to greet each other by saying "How do you do". I only see it in my childrens old books from English lessons, and maybe from time to time on tv shows. In Ireland you are always welcomed with something that sounds like har-r... As if they have a very warm potato in their mouth... What they really mean to say, is "how are you" and sometimes they put in "there", in which case it's not har-r, but trr, still with the potato. And people are always happy to see you, as soon as I got out of the car leaving the ferry, a guy walked past me and said hi in his native language... We answer in the same way of course.
Camping sites are often on the countryside, with cows and grass and trees as the only thing to rest the eyes on. But now we are in a small medieval town almost on the south east tip of Ireland, called Wexford. It is ten minutes walk to town centre, and it's by the seaside. We can see the ferries going to Wales, and the continent, Pembroke is 5 hours away, we are leaving on Saturday morning.
There aren't many people camping, a few German tourists, some Irish come for the weekend, and there are quite a few little old English ladies, with their little old husbands, and their little old dogs. As we meet in the morning, they say; "Good morning, lovely day, isn't it?" We answer; arr-r, much better than yes'day, innit?"
Everybody's happy!

Hurling

2006-06-27T21:52:00.000+02:00

By the way, Cork won the Irish hurling championship over Tipperary on Sunday. The world football thing that is going on now means nothing here, unless you're Italian. And there are some of them here. But hurling put the town upside down, also because a 17 year old player died yesterday during the game, not the finale, another game. So its quite dangerous!
Basically, its a ball game, where you should hit the ball into the net. The ball is small and stone hard, hence the fatal accidents, and you use kind of a racket, shaped like a big ice cream scope, to get the ball in the right direction. The players use helmets of course, but still lots of injuries.
Leaving for eastern part of the country tomorrow, our ferry to the UK leaves on Saturday morning.
Hugs and kisses and pink dreams for everyone.:)

Gastronomic capital of Ireland

2006-06-26T22:30:00.000+02:00

We've been on the road today as well, to the south west of co Cork. Another brilliant little town on the sea front turned up, Kinsale is the gastronomic capital of the republic, with 30-something restaurants of lots of bars. Real restaurants, those where you don't have to eat chips...
It's a small town, and today it was visited by us, and about a 100 noisy americans in search of their roots. Sounded like a 100, at least...
Took lots of pictures, and the weather was lovely. Nights are cold though.
We drove on, got lots of wrong directions, but didn't miss lovely beaches, large cliffs with thousands of birds, a posh golf club, and small towns with names like Kilbrittain, Halfway, Crossroads, with probably just as stupid names in gaelic. Tomorrow we are off to Blarney to kiss the stone, (look it up!) then another short trip to Cork. Going further east on Wednesday.
And pictures are coming...

How to drive in the republic

2006-06-25T21:04:00.000+02:00

1. The traffic signs are strange, and nothing like the rest of the world. The important stuff is usually on yellow signs, but, you never know, suddenly they used a different factory, who made somethin THEY thought was nice.

2. Luckily all distances and speed limit signs are in kilometres. That’s good.

3. They have two languages; the readable one is always in capital letters. So after a few days you may get it, and manage to read more than the top line. With some luck you will also learn to ignore things like: This sign was put up by the traffic and safety board of Tipperary county council, which is of course good for them… but a pain in the … for me, as I missed the point that my next turn just passed.

4. Irish people love traffic signs and the have a lot. Of course they ignore them… A slight turn to the left will often be warned with about 20 or more signs. The also use road markings to warn you. CAUTION JUNCTION AHEAD is followed by SLOW, than DANGER, than SLOWER… often topped by BE PREPARED TO STOP.

5. People usually drive slower than the speed limit, mainly because all Ireland is a MAJOR ROADWORK. But also on nice roads people drive slow. Old habits?

6. A few roads have climbing lanes, or slow lanes. This means that all traffic goes in the right lane, as no one cares to be overtaken.

7. When you think you have an idea on how the othere drivers are thinking, be prepared to think again, nothing is how you suspected to be. This makes a lot of funny situations, but could be dangerous.

8. If you think a trip from a to b is going to take two hours, make sure to add at least one more for queues.

But we did make to Cork, in one day. Lovely city. Cold nights but weather ok in day time.

Today we’ve been to Cobh. This, by the way, is pronounced Cove. On all tourist brochures it’s called Queenstown, but never ever on a traffic sign. Of course. This town was the last port of the Titanic, before she sunk, and it was the main embarking point of all the Irish emigrants. A beautyful little town, lovely houses by the shore line, and a large cathedral with the biggest and best bells (41) in all of the British Isles. It went on and on and on, from Air by Bach to Phantasy over a Russian folk song, (which was the theme from a TV-series called Tsarens kurer in Norwegian).

We’ll be staying here for another night or two, then heading east. Hopefully, on the way over the Irish sea, we’ll get on a ferry which also stops in Douglas, on the Isle of Man. That would be fun!

Pictures are coming up, as soon as I’m on WLAN, instead of gprs. It’s summer!

a night in ni

2006-06-24T08:58:00.000+02:00

We are camping for one night only, in a country park just outside Drains bay, north of Larne. I went to Larne last night, just to get some cash, and was a bit amazed.. All the shops were closed with huge steel doors, and a door man at a wine bar wore a bulletproof west. It made me think of how bad NI was, a long time ago.. Now they are probably only limiting crazy kids from breaking windows. I hope...
We had a beautyful trip over the north sea, as always. Great food, good wine, and our traditional bubbly to celebrate vacation. It got quite late, as we sat outside watching large gulls, all white with just a black tip on the wings,never seen any of them before.
Now I'm waiting for b to wake up, want an early start, as we plan to go all the way south to Cork today. Hugs for all of you :-)

Vacations coming up

2006-06-20T20:51:00.000+02:00

This year it is Ireland! We just bought a new car, and have already gotten an overwiev over best camping sites in the republic. We are definitely going to Cork, and otherwise we can try to make the road and the day decide.
I really look forward to having some time off, this week a bad cold has hit me like a big truck, it seems, and I sit here and feel sorry for myself. But, anyway, we are leaving on Thursday, and after that trip, it's just two days at home, before leaving for Robbie Williams concert in Copenhagen.
Just got to get rid of this cold then... :)

Language is difficult:)

2006-06-02T15:36:00.000+02:00

Seeing what they are doing to the language at this place, I try to imagine what they do with the food... Not tempting at all...

But they have great webpages!

At Hå gamle prestegård today

2006-05-21T19:18:00.000+02:00

17.may celebration!

2006-05-17T11:36:00.000+02:00

Out all week

2006-05-14T00:07:00.000+02:00

Been working very hard all week together with Ingrid on Maijazz.
Next year I'm going to take time off from work, this week has been work from 7 am till 3 pm, then reporting and pictures for webpages, then concerts, and then home to finish all writing, and in bed at 2 am... But lots of fun!
This picture is from tonights consert, Bill Evans Soulgrass.
Read more about what we've been up to!

Summer!!!

2006-05-09T08:09:00.000+02:00

23 degrees, sunny weather and today is the first day of Maijazz . We went walking on the beach, dipping our feet into soft warm sand, and also tried the water. Which was cold... but if the sun keeps on shining like now, it's going to get warm in the sea as well... I'd like a looong swim in the ocean!

Just felt like this tonight!

2006-05-04T20:29:00.000+02:00

It had just been raining, the sun dried up the street but the waterdrops stayed on for a little bit longer on this flower.
Vienna, last summer:)

Bjørn in the book club!

2006-05-04T20:25:00.000+02:00

Check this.

Looking for spring...

2006-05-01T20:13:00.000+02:00

We've been out walking today, at Dalsnuten. Didn'nt go all the way to the top, but had a nice walk anyway. It was cold and windy... But as you can see, spring is on the way!

At least the grass is turning green!

2006-05-01T19:37:00.000+02:00

I'm impatient! But I had a nice and windy walk...

Allergy Season

2006-04-28T19:25:00.000+02:00

I woke up this morning with swollen eyes, running nose and a terrible headache.
The weather is great, and temperature is rising, tomorrows forecast are 13 degrees. This means happy times for all trees and flowers, and medication time for me…
I hope it works this year as well!

Quiet Oslo?

2006-04-26T14:39:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is possible… Right now I have a little time in between meetings, and I spend it with a cappuccino and a large piece of chocolate cake at Asylet on Grønland. This is a very special house, it used to be a childrens home, and 900 children could stay here at the same time, hundred years ago or so.

Much of the old walls and floors are kept, there are no square angels, and the backyard is fabulous. In summer the garden is open for shop as well.

They even have nice food. And nice people. Always. Today I met the guy who delivers the beer. Spent ten minutes talking to him as he tasted it to see if the quality was right. “I have a nice job”, he said, and took one more sip.

People on the streets in Oslo don’t smile and avoid all eye contact. Maybe they think it is dangerous. Maybe they don’t want to meet the eyes of the guy begging outside Oslo Central Station. Or maybe they save their hospitality to when they get to places like this…