Merry Christmas

We wish all visitors a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year..

Tribute to Oscar Niemeyer

The white wall of the Culture Center in Le Havre. architecht Oscar Niemeyer

This famous architech from Brazil was also the one behind this cultural center in the French Town in Normandie, Le Havre.

The center so big and "captured" between other buildings that you need a really good wide angel to have it all in - but without, it is possible to just take a part of the big big building :-)))

Le Havre a town completely rebuild after WW2 where it was totally bombed. In fact there is a plaza in the city app. 1m lower than the landscape around just to display what was the soil level before the bombing of the town.

Open air art in Argeles sur Mer

In France du sud - the small village Argeles Sur Mer they have the last summers a huge exhibition of themes with regard to our environment both locally and globally. Quite an interesting art exhibition.

Posted with Blogsy

Canal de Midi by Colombiers

Passing the little village Colombiers between Narbonne and Beziers the beautiful Canal de Midi offers, as always, some fine paths for walking and/or biking. -going from here to Beziers app. 1hr. at a bike - passing the 9 canal locks close to Beziers. Quite an attraction to explore.

Posted with Blogsy

Oslo Town Hall - Nobel Peace Prize

December morning by Oslo Town Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize Cermony is arranged.
In the foreground spot the shadow of the commuter ferry from the penisula Nesodden.

 

Posted with Blogsy

"The Italian Road Patrol"

The Italian Road Patrol

Right outside Treviso these statues seems to overlook the nearby traffic - as they have been here since the days of the Romans.

Photo taken just before a heavy rain started up....

For a more extended photo set - see the flickr set here >>

 

Posted with Blogsy

Video: Photofolia meets in Venezia / Venice

More than 20 ameateur photographers from the photo site Photofolia meets in Venice, Sep. 2012.

Here some video clips from the day spent in Venice.

For more photos see Photofolias theme side from the meeting here >>

The new spectacular Art Museum in Oslo

Right outside the well known landmark Aker Brygge(pier) there is a new modern and most exciting museum to be opened in September 2012. The Astrup- Fearnley Art Museum has a significant placement in the inner harbour and is already very popular to visit - so far only at the outside. It evens have it's own small artificial beach by the shores there..

Oslo Town Hall

In Oslo Port the Town Hall has a significant placement by the seaside as displayed in this photo taken from the sea as we pass by in a daycruiser.
The foreground old boat was used in the 50ties and 60ties to commute to the many islands in the harbour of Oslo.
For more exciting photos from Oslo Port just click here >>

 

Oslo Opera House

This is the Oslo Opera House in a summer setting. A popular target for tourists visiting Oslo.

In this photo set you will also see some December photos and great details of our Opera >>

 

Video: Visit Norway: Geiranger Fjord

Take a look at this video and enjoy ca. 3 minutes of Norwegian Nature

Being tourist in your own country can be a kind of fun.
In July we did a 2 days travel to some of the most visited places in our country. Going from our mountain house via route 53 and route 63 to Dalsnibba and Geiranger Fjord - there taking the car ferry for a "minicruise" to Valldal 2,5 hrs.

The Geiranger Fjord is a fjord in the Sunnmøre region in Norway. It is a 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) long branch of the Storfjord (Great Fjord). The small village of Geiranger is located at the end of the fjord where the Geirangelva river empties into it.

The fjord is one of Norway's most visited tourist sites and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jointly with Nærøyfjord, since 2005, although this status is now threatened by the disputed plans to build power lines across the fjord.

A car ferry, which doubles as a sightseeing trip, is operated by Fjord1 Nordvestlandske. It runs lengthwise along the fjord between the small towns of Geiranger and Hellesylt. Another route tke the longer leg to Valldal (2,5hrs).

Along the fjord's sides there lie a number of now abandoned farms. Some restoration has been made by the Storfjordens venner association. The most commonly visited among these are Skageflå, Knivsflå, and Blomberg. Skageflå may also be reached on foot from Geiranger, while the others require a boat excursion. 

The fjord is also host to several impressive waterfalls.

Ref. wiki 

The frozen summer lake

Even in the middle of July is this lake up in the mountains in Norway West still frozen. Yuou will find the lake along the touristic route 63 between Grotli and the popular small village Geiranger.

A complete photo set from this region to be seen right here >>

 

Spot the fjord farm in the Geirangerfjord

See the boathouse down by the seaside - and then high up there is the farm in the steep mountain side rising almost vertically from the sea. How come they prefereed to live here the people 2-3 generations back.
- Maybe to avoid the tax collector. Some places it was so steep that they had to use ladders to get up to the farm - and pulling up the ladder effectively stopped the tax collector hehe...

Typical fjord landscape and mountain farm as seen along the Geirangerfjord by Norway Westcoast

A closer look to the fjordfarm up in the mountain side

About Geirangerfjorden from Wiki:

The fjord is one of Norway's most visited tourist sites and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jointly with Nærøyfjord, since 2005, although this status is now threatened by the disputed plans to build power lines across the fjord.[1] A car ferry, which doubles as a sightseeing trip, is operated by Fjord1 Nordvestlandske. It runs lengthwise along the fjord between the small towns of Geiranger and Hellesylt.
Along the fjord's sides there lie a number of now abandoned farms. Some restoration has been made by the Storfjordens venner association. The most commonly visited among these are Skageflå, Knivsflå, and Blomberg. Skageflå may also be reached on foot from Geiranger, while the others require a boat excursion.


For a complete photo set from the Geirangerfjord - just KLICK here >>

 

Spot the red car on the mountain road

You find this exciting mountain road along the touristic route 63 in the fjordlands of Norway West - not far from the Geirangerfjord at the UNESCO's world hertiage list.

Fore a complete photo set of this landscape just KLICK here >>

 

The "Seven Sisters" waterfall in Geiranger, Norway

The Seven Sisters (Norwegian: De Syv Søstrene or Dei Sju Systrene, also known as Knivsflåfossen) is the 39th tallest waterfall in Norway. (Look for the small boat in the fjord down there...)

The waterfall consists of seven separate streams, and it is located along the Geirangerfjord in the municipality of Stranda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.

The tallest of the seven has a free fall that measures 250 metres (820 ft). The legend of the seven sisters is that they dance playfully down the mountain, while a single waterfall opposite the seven sisters (known as the Courter, or Suitor, a male onlooker) flirts playfully from across the fjord. In Norwegian, 'The Suitor' is Friaren.

For a complete Flickr photo set - just klick here >>

 

Geirangerfjord with 3 cruiseships

On the UNESCO list of world heritage places Geirangerfjord of Norway has become very popular to visit in the summertime. A small village along route 63 also available by car and/or car ferries.

You can find my photo set with more photos of this region at flickr by clicking right here >>

 

Collioure Sud de France - summer afternoon

In Sud de France the small village Collioure still with original arcihetechture from years back.
A perfect place for an afternoon stroll....

 

Scriptreading by the Wailing Wall

Visiting the square by the wailing wall in Jerusalem the place is always filled with activities and visitors.

In this photo a boy and his grandpa sits down just by the wall to do some script reading
- still the boy seems also interested in some other activity going on near by...

 

MV "Color Magic" leaves Oslo bound for Kiel

MV "Color Magic" passes Fjellstrand as she is leaving Oslo

Worlds largest car ferry MV "Color Magic" and her sister ship MV "Color Fantasy" sails daily between Oslo and Kiel in Germany. The route has been run since 1961.
The current ferry owned by Color Line. Previously, the route was driven by Jahre Line.

 

Old Roundpole fence in the summer landscape

The roundpole fence is a wooden fence typical to the countryside in Norway (in Norwegian:skigard). It is normally made from unbarked and unsplit youngish trees, mostly spruce or juniper. Roundpole fences have traditionally been used as a means of fencing off animals rather than marking property boundaries.

The fence construction generally consists of 3 or 4 parts: uprights put together in pairs, round poles laid horizontally or diagonally between the two uprights, and binding cord usually made from young saplings - and sometimes also diagonal bracing.

The fence is usually 1.5–2 metres tall. The fencing can also incorporate specially made stiles and gates. The fence requires an abundance of wood, which was never a problem in Scandinavia, as the trees generally came from the owners' own forests in the process ofthinning them out.

The oldest known roundpole fence dates back to the Iron Age.

(ref: wiki)