June in Georgia

Here are girls friends doing what they do best. Meeting over pizza and beer to discuss vacations, work and life in general! We went to shorty's on Lawrenceville Hwy in Tucker.

Here I am with my bff Cecelia in my backyard.

Here is Woody with all the men in our house. Bubba dog, Sammy and Chester.

Anne-Grete and I took all three dogs to Stone Mountain Park for a walk. I think the walk turned out to be more then Bubba Bargained for! Here is Anne-Grete with Penny.

Here I am with two very tired dogs.

Here we are getting a drink from the lake along the path we took in the woods.

The best part of the trip was the kisses I got from my beloved Penny dog!

More Norway Pictures

Anne-Grete managed to get the pictures from her camera and share with me. ere are a few of the better images from my trip to Norway. She took a a lot of pictures of me so please don't think I'm narcissistic.
6/26/08 Here I am in Drøbak with my $20.00 sandwich and a beer. At least it was really good.

6/27/08 Here I am sitting on a bench in Holmsby. Anne-Grete had just bought a really pretty dress for more money then even she thought it was. It turned out to be a good investment as she looks really pretty in it. Unfortunately I don't have a picture.

Here we are in Oslo with Anne-Grete's nieces Mariken (taking the picture) and Tiril. We ate in a really nice outdoor cafe.
Here I am on Oscarsborg eating waffles and drinking coffee. We had the best time ever and the folks that worked there were a hoot!

Sagesund Norway

Here I am on my third day in Norway in Sagesund. This is the family summer home. I spent several summers here with my grandmother and various cousins. I have too many good memories to share here so I'll just share some pictures. My uncle and aunt currently spend each summer here. The neighborhood at one time was filled with relatives and cousins. This is no long true. As the years have past, relatives have died and families have sold off their property.

This is the view from the front porch of the family summer home.

Here is uncle Anton. He caught the fish (torsk) that he is preparing for dinner.

The torsk is the mighty cod and it is beyond delicious! Uncle Anton steamed this torsk with dill and butter. It was enough to feed 5 with plenty left over.

My cousin Elizabeth

Here we are well fed and happy, Anton, Agnes and me.

Here is my cousin Elizabeth and her partner Gunnar.

Be sure to hit play so you can watch my video!

Tvedestrand, Norway

Tvedestand is the family homestead for many generations. The town itself had changed over the years although it's hard to see with so many traditional (old) buildings. Tvedestrand is located on the south eastern coast of Norway about 4 hours drive from Oslo.


Here is the harbour in down town Tvedestrand

Tvedestrand has narrow medieval streets with many store fronts.

A city scene

My uncles house.

Tvedestrand, Norway cont......

This is my cousin Elizabeth's apartment building. She bought a beautiful apartment on the top floor. It has vaulted ceilings and two balconies.

Here is my uncle and aunt relaxing on the balcony that over looks the water.

Elizabeth treated us all to shrimp, strawberries and white wine.
I was in heaven!

Here I am with my uncle Anton and tante Agnes in Elizabeth's apartment.

Here is Elizabeth with tante Agnes cousin Halvard and his wife. They were on vacation from Germany and surprised tante Agnes with a visit. We all had a really, really nice afternoon!

Fun stuff with Anne-Grete

One of the first things we did was go hiking in the woods behind Anne-Grete's house. There was a trail that wound around the mountain side and it was wonderful being part of nature in Norway.

Tinke, the neighbors dog went with use. She was so sweet and well behaved.

Anne-Grete had a 15 foot motorboat with a 15 horsepower motor. This little boat was just perfect to get us around Oslo fjord and afforded us the opportunity to enjoy the towns located along the fjord.

Sailboats in Oslo fjord

Me at Ville Malle, a Mediterranean restaurant not far from Anne-Grete's house. The food was excellent and the atmosphere even better!

Drøbak

Anne-Grete and I took a ride through the tunnel that goes under Oslo Fjord to Drobak, a very charming town. The day we were there, there was music in the town center for all to enjoy.



We went to lunch in a very nice outdoor restuarant looking out over the water. We truly enjoyed the shrimp sandwich even if it cost $20.00.

Oslo Opera House

One of the first sights awaiting a visitor to Oslo is the new and most beautiful Opera House located across the street from the train station and in Oslo Fjord. It's gleaming white marble was exceedingly hot the day we were there. The unusually warm weather made the Opera House a Hot House and the walk across the top was like a walk in a sauna. The inside of the building was beautiful and impressive.

Clean Up Day at the Beach

Anne-Grete received and invitation to join her neighbors and fellow boat owners to a day of clean up at the local beach. Most of what was found had been washed up from the water over winter. The day was beautiful and warmer then on would expect from a May day in Norway.

Once we had finished our assignment we all joined together to drink coffee and enjoy the cakes and wienerbrø that was offered. Anne-Grete's neighbors were all very nice and seemed to enjoy meeting the "American" that came to help clean up. My one wish would be that when Smoke Rise calls for its members to come and help clean up just as many people would show as they did in Norway.

Oscarsborg Festning

During my last week with Anne-Grete we spent the day taking her boat out into the Oslo Fjord and headed to Oscarsborg Festning, which is a former military outpost guarding the entrance to Oslo.








It was recently opened to the general public and included a museum, outdoor cafe and walking trails and tunnels. We ate at the cafe and the food was excellent as well as the service.


Anne-Grete ordered the fish soup which came with shrimp. It was wonderful and made me wish I had ordered the same. All of the food was great and the atmosphere was too funny. I won't say more, but trust me it's worth the trip to eat on Oscarsborg.

The fortress is situated on two small islets, and the mainland to the west and east, in the fjord and was military territory until 2003 when it was made a publicly available resort island. The fortress became famous during World War II for the 9 April 1940 sinking of the German heavy cruiser Blücher.

Emanuel Vigeland

Without a doubt, the most strange and interesting destination of my trip was to the Emanuel Vigeland Museum and Mausoleum. Emanuel is the brother of the famous artist responsible for the Park in Oslo with all the naked statues in various positions. Emanuel built this building as an art studio but changed his mind and had the windows bricked in. Inside the mausoleum there is a tiny steel door that you go through to enter the tomb. The tomb's walls have a continuous mural that becomes more clear the longer you stay inside. The acoustics are unbelievable and what would be a tiny sound is carried and fills the room. This place was both creepy and overwhelmingly beautiful at the same time. Here is a link to the Museum if you want to see examples of the art painted on the walls of the tomb.
http://www.emanuelvigeland.museum.no/museum.htm