Aug 032010
 

Arhus is Denmark’s second largest city and like Copenhagen, it too melds contemporary architecture with the rich historical heritage. An attraction for us to come to Arhus was Den Gamle By–“the old town”–a living history museum founded in 1909 to depict Danish urban history and cultural development. We have visited other open air museums but their focus has been on Danish agrarian life over the last one thousand years.

Here in Den Gamle By buildings and interiors have come from all over Denmark and are clustered together to recreate and demonstrate the development of a typical Danish market town. Most of the buildings are timber-framed Renaissance structures from a period of rapid economic growth when specialty “industries” were established in the downstairs with living quarters above. The joiner,tailor, apothecary, distillary, tobacco merchant and weaver are all here in wonderful and accessible detail enriched by “people of the period” delightfully interacting and sharing details of daily life of the period they represent.

Tomorrow we have the grand finale with a visit to Louisiana,  Denmark’s lovely modern art museum and Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen Museum.  Both are very close to where we have been staying on the Oresund coast.   

All About Bergen

 Major adventures, Norway - All, Scandinavia, Uncategorized  Comments Off on All About Bergen
Jul 312010
 

Oslo to Bergen was a day of breathtaking fjord scenery.  Famous as “Norway in a Nutshell,” we climbed between granite outcroppings on winding roads with white birch sentinels edging the  pine forests.  Suddenly we would dive into a long craggy tunnel and come out over sparkling water reflecting lush valleys and red farm buildings.  On one such tunnel entrance we were crowded on either side of the tunnel opening by a herd of sheep who had apparently sought shade and nearly ended up as lamb chops. The road is swift and treacherous and there is NO PLACE ALLOCATED FOR KODAK MOMENTS!

We arrived in Bergen and with guidance from the Goddess (Usually Brillant Emily Garman) and NUMEROUS RECALCULATIONS, bumping over closed off cobblestone one way streets the wrong way and nearly hitting the trillions of tourists meandering just off the cruise boats, we finally found our new neighborhood.

Jul 262010
 

Rain and cold returned and so the former pictures of the sparkling fjords and boat basins look wintery and gray.

We began this morning with the resistance museum. It is still inspiring what these countries have endured and overcome. It was then more Munch, as in only Munch at his very own museum. We then tested their public transport system–rail trams as well as subway–and lots of walking. Topping off the day with a visit to the palace, home of the beloved King and Queen. No interior visit, just the beautiful grounds and gardens and the changing of the guard, note the brushy helmet piece. Enough palace interiors already!

We are off to Bergen right after breakfast driving up through what is referred to as “Norway in a Nutshell.”

Jul 252010
 

Yet another fascinating day!!

Early out to catch the boat to Bygdoy Peninsula and a visit to Frammuseet (Housing the wooden  explorer ship that made three polar expeditions between 1893 and 1912), the Kon-Tiki Museum (I made a 10th grade report on this expedition) and finally the Norsk Folkemuseum showing 155 traditional houses from all over Norway and including the Gal Stave Church from 1200.

Pictures below have more details behind.  So double click if you are interested.  Also the Folke Museum pictures are on a separate page. Double click on categories in the upper left to see details and pictures about the Folke Museum. By now it must be clear that you are on the wrong blog if you don’t like social history. Battles and bullets just are not my thing.

Jul 242010
 

We left Stockholm early on a sunny and brisk breeze.  Crossing Sweden it grew colder and colder turning gray and blustery.   After stopping for a lunch picnic we put on polartec and socks and cranked up the heat.  Soon after crossing the border into Norway farms began to be bigger, valleys  enormous and  cultivated in lush rolling sections dotted with prosperous and beautifully maintained red and white trimmed farmhouses, barns and other out buildings.  The countryside is vast.   The highway was excellent and driving seemed easy from the passenger point  of view.

Pulling into Oslo mid-afternoon it was cold and threatening rain.  But this morning we awoke to brilliant sunshine and shorts and tee shirt weather.

Oslo is a compact city with lots of parks and inviting avenues lined with trees and wide pedestrian areas dotted with fountains and flowers.   We have had a leisurely day of savoring Munch and his 19th century Norwegian artist contemporaries in their National Gallery.

City Hall was a worthy visit with its own fascinating history of  construction and decoration begun in 1938 and completed in 1950 but  suspended during the Nazis occupation.  Built and decorated entirely out of materials from all parts of Norway by Norwegian artists, it is a functional 20th century structure in contrast to the other city halls we seen thus far reminding us that Norway has only a recent history as an entirely independent country from Sweden.