Thanks to everybody here for the birthday wishes, they made it all the way here to Oslo at the speed of light!

Our Norwegian hosts Silje and Hans surprised me with a chocolate cake when we arrived back from a tour around the city with our first potential Oslo host, Soumitra (I had to change the arrangements so we ended up staying at other places), who took us to the most authentic Indian restaurant in the city. I am stuffed to the gills right now with copious amounts of birthday food!!

The highlight of our day west of Oslo was visiting the Heddal stave church (built in the 1200s) and the grounds.

More later, of course!

I took the railway ride I mentioned previously, up the mountain and back down again, spotting numerous waterfalls and enjoying rugged scenery along the way. I’d meant to take video, but it looks like that one set of rechargeable batteries is on its last legs. So no motion pictures, only stills.

A few for now:

Continue reading ‘A Few Photos From The Flamsbana Rail Trip’

Some photo highlights from Sunday and Monday.

Sunday: Holmenkollen ski jump, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics

Continue reading ‘Norway Highlights - June 15/16′

Before we set off from Oslo today, I’m going to give a quick mention of Vigeland Sculpture Park, which I was lucky enough to visit in the evening with gorgeous end-of-day light. The weather here changes rapidly through the meteorological spectrum from sunny to overcast, windy, and rainy, which creates a challenge for picture-taking as well as the usual sightseeing. Having lived in Vancouver, I am no stranger to such weather whiplash!

The sculptures are the works of Gustav Vigeland, who died in 1943 and whose own statue graces the entrance gates of Frogner Park, where the sculpture park resides. It is a fantastical expression of imagination. A few more photos here.

The light is AMAZING here in Norway. It reminds me of the light in Iceland: incredibly crisp and clear. Colours are vibrant. Besides being converted to my hybrid colour profile for a computer screen (which actually desaturates the photo a little from the camera’s profile), this photo is straight out of my camera, unaltered.

Continue reading ‘Keeping Vigil’

We arrived safe and sound from Bremen and are staying with our first Norwegian host, who’s simply fabulous. I would describe his fabulousness in greater detail except I’m fading fast after sleeping all of three hours in three days. I just keep getting a second wind, then a third, and next thing I know half a week has passed.

My first photos of the trip aren’t terribly exciting, since keeping track of three people and baggage is, well, three times more work than travelling solo. But now that we’re not dragging our stuff around and have a place to put it all down, my camera hands are free to do their thing.

Taking a picture of Berit cooking curry for everyone isn’t high art, but since she hates most of her photos I’m aiming higher than high art: taking that elusive unhated photo.

Time to go to the airport!

Breakfast, lunch, AND dinner, near the airport.

The bone marrow registry is still seeking a donor for Carolyn Tam:

CBC News, June 10, 2008: Toronto woman seeks bone marrow transplant from donor of Chinese descent

This is a follow-up on the post dated May 4. It’s a race against time now for Carolyn and others diagnosed with leukemia. If you’re of Chinese descent, please take a second look at savecarolyn.com, it’s been updated.

lightning and tower by wvs

One of Sam Javanrouh’s amazing photographs. If you’ve never heard of Daily Dose of Imagery, prepare to be amazed.