The National Theater

Nationaltheateret

The National Theater's main entrance, to the east.
The statues of Henrik Ibsen to the left, and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson to the right.

The National Theater in Oslo is one of the most well-known landmarks in the city. It is also one of Norway’s largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. However, when the champions of theater first applied for this plot in 1880, the university claimed that a theater did not belong together with the parliament, the university and the king’s castle. But then Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910), the two famous play writers of the time, gained international prestige, and then started fighting for the theater; the university lost its case.

The theatre is situated in Studenterlunden. To the north you find Karl Johans gate, Stortingsgata to the south, Universitetsgata to the east and Johanne Dybwas Plass to the west.

Henrik Bull won the architectural competition I 1891, and the theater opened on the 1^st of September 1899. Now the building is dire need of repairs, but it seems like the politicians don’t want to make their minds up, due to the costs. They have so far estimated the repairs to over $ 200 000 (US).

North side of the theater.

The theater has three stages. The main stage, Hovedscenen, in new rococo style, was originally built with 1268 seats. This was reduced to 741 seats, when the theater was remodeled and a new stage, Amfiscenen, was built and opened in 1963. This is on the theater’s fourth floor, and has just above 200 seats. This stage has been rebuilt several times, last in 1999. The newest and smallest stage, Malerscenen, has 60 seats. It was named, as the name indicates, from the original room where it was built, the painter’s room, where they used to paint the scenery.

The first director of the theater, was Bjørn Bjørnson, son of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. Today the theater has its second female director, Hanne Tømta, number 22 in line.

The theater is often considered the home for Ibsen's plays, and most of his works have been performed here.

Ludwig Holber, 1684-1754, 18th century Norwegian play writer.

Wenche Foss, 1917-2011 - Norwegian theater diva.

The National Theater seen from Johanne Dybwads plass.

The Petroglyphics in Østfold

The Petroglyphics in Østfold

All these pictures are taken the summer of 2014 at Gullskår in Begby (Fredrikstad county). I’m not a very good photographer, and the sun made it even worse. But I hope you can get an impression of what we saw there, and that you some day would want to go there and see the site for yourself.

In Østfold (close to the Swedish boarder), in Sjebergkilen you can see over 100 of these ancient drawings made from the Bronze Age and up to the Iron age and even after the birth of Christ. Today people pass by in their cars on the E6 from Oslo to Sweden, and they probably have no idea of what they are missing out on.

Scientists believe that at the end of the last ice age 10 000 – 12 000 years ago the first hunters paddled up this creek in their canoes. Findings made at a Stone Age settlements at Høgnipen on the border between Rakkestad and Skjeberg, confirm the theory that the first people settling in Norway probably came here in that period. So an important part of Norwegian history started here.

These are carvings made in the rocks by our ancestors, and tell us a little bit about them. But the drawings still raise a lot of questions. Why did they make them? For themselves? For their gods? As messages? And if so, to whom?

Some of them you can see what they are supposed to look like. You can see boats, both with and without people, horses, sleds, wagons, other animals and people. But some you can only wonder about. Still they are fascinating. 

 You can find holes carved into the stone, like bowls or little dishes. The smallest ones are 5 – 10 mm (1/5 – 2/5 of an inch) wide. And the largest up to 300 mm (just shy of a foot) wide. And some are made so that if you poor water in one of them, they will overflow and it will poor into the next one. What were these made for? Offerings to the gods? Or maybe something more practical and useful? Who knows?

 The carvings have been painted red quite recently by conservators. This is so that people more easily can see them.

 There has also been made some excavations around some of these sites. They have found pieces of pottery, burned clay and burned flint. Maybe the clay pots contained whatever they used to paint the drawings.

 I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The dancer

 http://www.fredrikstadoghvaler.no/oldtidsveien-oldtidsruta-fornminner-helleristninger-i-stfold

LOFOTEN
Home of my heart

This is my first blog for a very long time. So far I have never written any blog in English, so this might be interesting. I have chosen to start by showing you some pictures I have on my computer, taken 9 years ago, but the landscape has not changed much in that time.

I was born in Lofoten and lived there until I was 10. I love the place. That is where my heart is, but I would not want to live there. It is north of the Arctic Circle, so nature can be a real challenge in itself. In mid-winter, you don’t see the sun for 5 weeks, because it’s below the horizon. And in the summer, there is no night. The sun may go down for an hour, but just below the horizon, so it doesn’t get dark. And you can see the midnight sun. It’s beautiful.

If course, it can be beautiful in the winter as well. The Aurora Borealis (northern lights) are fantastic. But then you may also have storms that can swallow a ship. The wind can shake your house so violently, that you need to be careful opening cupboards in the morning; your cups might fall out. And if it’s snowing at the same time, the roads will be covered and you won’t be able to see where they are.

But I love the people. They are friendly, easygoing, openhearted and hospitable, but if you live there, beware if the gossip. People can sometime even tell you the color of your socks, before you get up in the morning. I suppose they don’t have all that much to do up there.

Lofoten is a group of islands lying in the northern part of Norway. Many tourists go there for a truckload of different reasons. In the next few days, I’ll receive more pictures, so that I can show you some of the different things you can experience there. Right now I can tell you about it and attach some links, so you can look it up for yourself.

People go to Lofoten to surf, dive, fish, or simply for the scenery. There is a Viking festival every summer, and whale safaris are very popular.

http://www.visitlofoten.com/

The nature is majestic. You’ll find green mountains, white beaches and an ocean that is so clear you’ll think you’re in the in the Caribbean. Unfortunately the water is too cold for most people, and the surfers have to wear wetsuits, not to freeze.

http://www.lofoten.info/no/Surfing-og-Dykking/?News=8

There is a Viking farm that is open all summer. They have built a longhouse, Viking style, similar to the one that was on the same site 1100 years ago. People live there all summer. Paid actors live life like the Vikings did, to show tourists how the Vikings lived, farmed, ate, dressed etc. They cook, so you may taste the food. They have a boat by the sea, and they take tourists out, so you may sail like a Viking. And of course, they have souvenirs.

http://www.lofotr.no/

You can also go boating, in an RIB – a small, open motorboat. This is not for sissys, especially if the weather is bad. I have never tried it, because I very easily get seasick. My brother has tried it a couple of times, and he loves it. He said: “You tell people they have to try it; it’s an experience of a lifetime.” Judge for yourself. Click on the link, and see what I’m talking about.

http://lofoten-explorer.no/

My first picture (on top) is taken in a place called Smedvik in Vestvågøy. It’s just a small hole in the road, with just a few living people and a lot of dead ones. 

There is an old cemetery there, and many of my relatives are buried there, among them my grandparents, great aunts and uncles and my sister.

The path up from the cemetery can be very idyllic in the summer, while in winter it may be covered in three feet of snow or more.

This picture is taken at my grandfather’s old farm. My grandad passed away more than 30 years ago, and the farm has been sold, but it is a distant relative who lives there now, and we drop by whenever we are in the area. Borge - Vestvågøy.

This is Vikjord, also on Vestvågøy. I lived there with my mother and my siblings for 10 years, before we moved away. Our family lived there for four generations, and the small farms up there are still in the family, but there have been people living there for more than 1000 years. As kids we used to do a lot of fishing in that bay, look for crabs and go swimming, I guess we were true Vikings.