Two Giants By Ivar Rodningen

'I am sitting at Evita's Espresso Bar, across the road is the Oslo Spektrum, where I have seen, and listened to, and MET Röyksopp last night...' This happened in February; and a few weeks ago, in October, I have seen them in Amsterdam and London as well...I am still a bit on a high, so I am posting this postcard/image from Rodningen's popular Norwegian Trolls series that I have sent from Oslo. While there, I met some other fellow Röyksoppians, and discovered new parts of the city that somehow eluded me during my two-month Xmas market stint the previous year. It was a great weekend overall! I will be living off such memories for a while now, I think.

Red Northern Lights

Recently received card for the Scandinavian RR, a fantastic red/yellow display of the Northern Lights. I always assumed that the Lights were visible in whole of Norway, with different time-span and intensity depending on region - but apparently on the very south that is Oslo region they weren't spotted for a long while, as Joerg is explaining here. Hope you get to see them this year Joerg! Esp as there is a Postcrossing Meeting on the 8th of December in Tromso - and any postcrosser can join in! It is my great wish to make this come true for myself too, as it is exactly on my birthday, and I love Norway...aah the dreams.....

Let's Move To Stavanger

First I thought I want to move to Tromsø, but then we came to Stavanger. It is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Norway, and the administrative centre of Rogaland county (southwest). Its official founding year is 1125, the year the Stavanger Cathedral was completed. Stavangers core is to a large degree 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses that are protected and considered part of the city's cultural heritage. 

Those  houses are the first thing I saw from the ship and immediately fell in love with that sight - I was so sure it is a WHS site and was sending this for my collection lol. Because you can't really grasp it by looking at this postcard (its still the most representative I could find) I will again post a photo of my own, taken from the ship's deck.

Aurora Borealis - The Northern Lights In Norway

During the 1st Norway cruise we saw the Northern Lights peeking through the clouds, and only on one of the two nights; the rest was just enjoying the snow and anticipation. The second time around (phew!) it was the real deal, on the 12th of Feb I saw them sprawling across the sky; once they made a continuous streak all the way across the sky, and that's when you do the unstoppable exhilarated 'Woooow' :)

The place where we went for the search of the lights (where all the tours went) was pretty amazing too, there were open fires, tents, delicious home-made cakes and hot cocoa, plus a huge friendly and superfluffy samoyed :D They were actually two different spots but I am unable to retrogradely work out where exactly. In any case Alta is situated at 69°N, which is north of the Arctic Circle so yea 
pretty cool - in more ways than one :)!

And here is one of my photos...

Alta, Norway

The Northern Lights Cathedral - Alta Church. The building was constructed of concrete and wood with external cladding of titanium sheets. The central feature is the spiral with belfry. The interior contains art work by artist Peter Brandes.

The World Heritage Rock Art Centre - Alta Museum. Situated in Hjemmeluft, a small bay on Altafjord near the Arctic Circle, the museum is situated at the site of early settlement of Finnmark dating from around 11 000 years ago. 

Musk Ox, Norway

The muskox (Ovibos moschatus), (in Inuktitut: ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak), is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong musky odor emitted during the seasonal rut by males, from which its name derives. Its Inuktitut name "umingmak" translates to "the bearded one". Muskoxen primarily live in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, with small introduced populations in the American state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, the Scandinavian Peninsula and Siberia.

The species was introduced from Banks Island in Canada to the Dovre mountain range of Norway in 1932 before they were hunted to extinction during the Second World War. The animal was reintroduced to Norway in 1947; this population expanded into Härjedalen, Sweden in 1971. An introduction attempt in Svalbard was carried out in 1925-26 and 1929; however, this population died out in the 1970s. They were also introduced in Iceland around 1930 but did not survive.

This somehow makes me sad even though the musk oxen are on the way of population recovery despite the historical overhunting...mostly because of the enforced new hunting regulations. In Norway there are about 300 in the protected Dovrefjell National Park.

I have chosen this postcard just now because this evening we watched a wonderful German documentary Abenteuer Nordsee (North Sea Adventure) which 'visited' all the coastal areas of the North Sea and the underwater in between them. There we saw two musk oxen slamming heads to get a girl. Their fur seems so velvety, I wonder if it is!

Thank you Nore :)

UNESCO - Rock Art Of Alta, Norway

This group of petroglyphs in the Alta Fjord, near the Arctic Circle, bears the traces of a settlement dating from c. 4200 to 500 B.C. The thousands of paintings and engravings add to our understanding of the environment and human activities on the fringes of the Far North in prehistoric times.The development of carvings in Alta through thousands of years can be related to the post-glacial land upheaval. The oldest carvings are found at the highest points of the landscape. Moreover, the Rock Art provides a unique testimony to the interaction of hunter-gatherers with the landscape. The panels show hunting, fishing and boat journeys, and are thought to represent micro-landscapes.

A view of these rocks combined with the northern lights, splendid! Thanks a lot Tone :))

 

UNESCO - Struve Geodetic Arc, Hammerfest, Norway

Finally the time has come to introduce the curious Struve Geodetic Arc, an UNESCO site stretching through no less than 10 European countries, and here is the northernmost of them. Thank you Tone :)

The Struve Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through 10 countries and over 2,820 km. These are points of a survey, carried out between 1816 and 1855 by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, which represented the first accurate measuring of a long segment of a meridian. This helped to establish the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping.

In 2005, the chain was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a memorable ensemble of the chain made up of 34 commemorative plaques or built obelisks out of the original 265 main station points which are marked by drilled holes in rock, iron crosses, cairns, etc.

Some cards representing them have been received, many are still missing, of which again many probably were never put on a postcard...its a challenge ;)

Valid While In Svalbard

...is a rough translation of this sign :) One of those desired getaway places, if only if it was easier to get to, but then again thats the point! Thanks to Tone for matching stamp and lovely cancellation :)

Multiviews Of Oslo

My mind has been on Norway again lately...as Röyksopp are touring this year presenting their latest and possibly last album, I am eagerly waiting for the tour dates; so far the (summer) dates are only related to their home country Norway. There are Ryanair flights from Zadar to Oslo but all the venues are outside the capital and...you know how everything is expensive in this beautiful country :( Fingers crossed they play someplace closer and easier to reach!

Tromsø, Norway

Perhaps the best/handiest spot to organise observation of the Northern Lights, Tromsø is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the second largest north of the Arctic Circle (after Murmansk). Most of Tromsø, including the city centre, is located on the island of Tromsøya, 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. 

For me personally, there is another important reason to visit this icy place - it is the 'birth town' of my favourite band, Röyksopp. I hope they will include some place near on their new tour!

UNESCO - Røros Mining Town, Norway

Who would link this gorgeous little town with mining? Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977. The site comprises the Town and its industrial-rural cultural landscapes - it contains about 2000 wooden one- and two-storey houses, many of which have preserved their blackened wooden façades, giving the town a medieval appearance.

Thank you so much Trond, it looks like one of those places you want to transfer to immediately..!

 

UNESCO - Bryggen, Norway

Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, have ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. Its rebuilding has traditionally followed old patterns and methods, thus leaving its main structure preserved, which is a relic of an ancient wooden urban structure once common in Northern Europe. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape.

 

Breiflabb/Angler, Norway

 

This is a very peculiar postcard...the kind of peculiar that I like :) I thought it must be a northern-sea monster fish that I've never heard of, but what a surprise, its actually a very familiar fellow and the tastiest fish for my palate! We call it grdobina, but also 'vrazja mater' which means 'devil's mother'. And the British, beside the nice name angler, use the not-so-nice 'sea-devil'...poor thing, it is not the prettiest creature on earth...it had to adjust to the harsh sea depths...

Aurlandsfjorden, Norway

 

This beautiful photo represents the Aurlandsfjord in Norway's (south)west, a 29-km long neighbour of the better-known Naeroyfjord (anyone can help me figure out the easiest way to insert international characters?). Thank you Trond :)

Selje Abbey, Norway

Lets stay up north for this untypically vertical panoramic card, a stunning view of Selje Abbey situated on the island os Selja off the south-western Norwegian coast. This fomer Benedictine monastery was founded in about 1100 and was dedicated to Saint Alban. It was the location of the original shrine of Saint Sunniva (the patron saint of Western Norway) who was believed to have been martyred here, and therefore became an important pilgrimage site. Sadly a disastrous fire in 1305 gave the abbey a blow from which it never recovered...

I was sooooooooo happy to have won this card in a lottery, many thanks to Jørg! :)))

UNESCO - West Norwegian Fjords-Nærøyfjord

Beautiful Norway...Nærøyfjord is a branch of the large Sognefjord, situated in the Sogn og Fjordane county, southwest Norway. It is 18km long and only 500m wide in some parts. Together with Geirangerfjord it has been listed as a Unesco WH Site, and rated as the world's No1 natural heritage site by the National Geographic Society.

Absolutely stunning! Thank you Norway_Girl :)

Milky Way Galaxy

 Heart Of The Milky Way

   

A never-before-seen view of the turbulent heart of our Milky Way galaxy provided by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and its companion Great Observatories (the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory) commemorated the 400 years since Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens in 1609.

Need i say more? This text at the back of the card sez it all..:)

I am always sooo happy to get cosmos cards - this one is thanks to Jorg/jhbr and the CaCrr :))

Kjeragbolten, Norway

This amazing card was doomed to sitting around in my favourites - until i joined the Norway group in Vacation RR , and Svea brought a smile to my face :) I can only imagine she had a great holiday! Million thanks :)))

Kjerag is  Norwegian mountain in Lysefjorden, Forsand municipality. most visitors are attracted to the northern drop to the fjord, as that is the location of this cool rock called Kjeragbolten. The place is becoming more and more popular with BASE jumpers who dive off the high cliffs, and of course hiking and climbing are other popular activities. I really wish i was an out-doorsy type as places like this make me feel like i'm missing out on so much!!!

Svalbard

Svalbard is an archipelago that constitutes the northernmost part of Norway - it is about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, inside the Arctic Circle.

I have received this lovely card in the vacation RR (yes, again! great RR :)) and immediately fell in love with its nature scene; normally you wouldn't call me mad about flowers, but i do love the view of them in mountainous areas, where they grow wild and free and donate their colours to the world :-D This particular flower in the foreground is Boreal Jacobs-Ladder; it is not very common, and for some reason i was sorry to read it has a very unpleasant smell! (hence the name..?!)

Svalbard Archipelago is on the Unesco Whs tentative list.

Thank you Michaela, you must have had an awesome trip thru Scandinavia :)))