Tuesday, November 14, 2017

i feel the earth move...(or rather i don't)

I do love a bit of spontaneity, so with that in mind I took a quick trip to Norway at the beginning of the month.

Norway, and Bergen in particular, has been a travel destination for me for over 36 years. This current visit makes it 11 trips which equals London as my most visited places. Though London was an easy target as it was often the most convenient landing place for European  visits.

I have also developed long and lasting friendships with a group of Norwegians.

When I realised that one of my friends there was turning 60 and there was going to be a party coupled with the fact that it had been 5 years since my last visit I decided on the spur of the moment to book a trip.

It was also kept secret from the man in question!

Birthday Boy Bjorn (and Reidar the dog):


He was, needless to say, extremely surprised when I walked in the door.

Having been to Bergen many times - there was little reason to sightsee. Also the weather was crap as is usual in November, being mainly cold and very wet. So I was very pleased to get two full days of sunshine during the week I was there.

Bergen in the sun:



Bjorn lives in a lovely historic old timber house nestled in a city park. And it was the season for autumn colours. Pictures from the park beside the house:




And from my bedroom balcony:


My hosts also had two Singaporeans visiting, one of whom showed me how to make roti:


The party was great and afforded me the opportunity to catch up with some old Norwegian friends who I didn't always get a chance to meet on every visit.

One of my friends is a curator at the city gallery so I was fortunate to have a private viewing of her latest efforts - an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota with a work called 'Direction':



Oh - and surprisingly there were two earthquakes in Western Norway while I was there. Didn't feel a thing - though one of them did set the dog off barking.