En besøkende fra Orknøyene!

June's been a month of to-ing and fro-ing for various reasons…some happy and some sad. One of the happier ones was a visit from Big Sister from Orkney. The weather was kind to us and a great weekend was had by all. Even the Mulder cat was unfazed by the presence of someone 'new' in the house…mainly because she and I look and sound pretty alike i.e. no threat of anything untoward!

We had a boat trip up the Lysefjord to see the Pulpit Rock, a walk up to Ullandhaug Tower to get some amazing views over Stavanger, a photo stop at the Three Swords and a stroll along Sola Strand beach. All interspersed with some nice food, drinks, coffee and kake (no prizes). The kake in question was/is called 'Success Cake' and so far I've been unable to ascertain why! My tutor is on the case as we speak. Anyway, it has a macaroon chewy kind of base and a custardy topping and, bizarrely enough, isn't really that sweet. Very yummy!

During my shopping trips over the past few days, I notice the emergence of 'hvalkjøtt' in the supermarkets…whale meat to the rest of us. I would have taken a picture but thought I'd better not in case a member of staff thought I was from Greenpeace and evicted me from the store! It must be the season as this is the first time I've seen it. It's very dark in colour and apparently tastes very much of cod liver oil…hmmm…maybe I'll take their word for it on that.

So here we are almost at midsummer…hard to believe. On June 21, the sun rises at 03:54 in the morning and sets at 22:44! In Norway, Summer Solstice is celebrated on June 23, and is called Sankthansaften. Sankthansaften is also called Jonsok, which means “John’s wake”, important in Roman Catholic times with pilgrimages to churches and holy springs. For instance, up until 1840 there was a pilgrimage to the stave church in Røldal (southwest Norway) whose crucifix was said to have healing powers. Today, Sankthansaften is largely regarded as a secular or even pre- Christian event. In most places the main event is the burning of a large bonfire. In parts of Norway a custom of arranging mock marriages, both between adults and between children, is still kept alive. The wedding was meant to symbolize the blossoming of new life. Such weddings are known to have taken place in the 1800s, but the custom is believed to be older. It is also said that if a girl puts flowers under her pillow that night, she will dream of her future husband. Around this time of the year, it is common to eat Rømmegrøt (creamy porridge) and Spekemat (cured and dried meat).

I'll sign off with some pictures from a road/ferry trip we took just last week. This was from home to Sirdal and eventually on to a place called Lysebotn which is right at the far end of the Lysefjord. It was a 3hr drive there, then a 2.5hr trip home on the ferry to a place called Lauvik. You can see some impressive snow walls beside the road at the top of Sirdal (it's the middle of June remember…), also the famous Kjerag rock on the way home. And yes, those are real people on the top…fearless Norwegians!

Almost forgot…word of the day…'bryllup' (brewl-lewp) or 'wedding'. Topical for us since we've just been to one and are getting ready for another. More of that neste gang (next time)!

God helg!

Snarky Puppy

Slightly after the event but that's the name of a jazz funk band we went to see during the annual Mai Jazz festival in Stavanger. The city was positively teaming with world class musicians and a great time was had by all. The venue was a place called Folken which is run by the Student Society and, unfortunately for those of us of a certain age, was 'standing only'. Do I sound old? I certainly felt it by the time the gig finished! Anyway, if you like jazz and get the chance to see Snarky Puppy, definitely go. They're from Brooklyn, New York and are absolutely excellent. Bit like Earth, Wind & Fire in that there seems to be about twenty of them on the stage at any one time!

The other notable event in May was Norway's National Day on 17th, which was extra special this year on account of it being the 200th anniversary of the country's independence. The flags were up everywhere and people wore their national dress or 'bunad' with obvious pride. Lots of parades through the town including several 'floats' depicting different periods in history, as well as some local clubs like the Oil City Rollers…no tartan breeks in sight and who knew I was a skater girl??!!

As I type, we've had weeks (and weeks) of beautiful spring weather with only the odd thunderplump thrown in. Temperatures anything up to 20 odd degrees and a nice antidote to the longest winter in history. Stands have appeared by the sides of the roads, selling strawberries, raspberries and cherries (jordbær, bringebær og moreller)…tempting and delicious.

That's not the only thing that's going on by the side of the road mind you…on my way home from a Norwegian lesson at GDF's office yesterday morning, rounded a corner to find a member of the POLITI directing me into a layby whereupon I was breathalysed!! A first for me and it fairly focuses the attention I can tell you. They can stop you at random without any cause whatsoever i.e. to check your licence, insurance, tyres, lights and obviously the presence of alcohol in your system. Can't say I have any problem with any of it, especially if the officer in question is as good-looking as yesterday's one. That said, I was mightily relieved to hear the words "just drive on"…!! Even if you know if you haven't done anything wrong, it's still a sobering experience (pardon the pun).

Word of the day and this one will appeal to those from Orkney…'brukket' (brew-ket) meaning broken or fractured in relation to an arm or leg for example. We have a similar thing where we say someone has 'brukk'ed' themselves. Another one stolen from the Vikings!

Last weekend saw the Tour des Fjords cycle race hit Stavanger and a very exciting finish it was too, with a local chap winning the stage with a last-gasp push. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them as they passed by Sola Strand beach.

Stay tuned for the next post on the subject of our first Orcadian visitor…veldig spennende!

Ha det!