Category: Travels for Fun
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BACK TO OSLO
We left Ålesund early, the road tracing islands and bridges south through a familiar rhythm of ferries and tunnels. By late afternoon we rolled into Bergen, parked the car, and traded steering wheel for cable car, riding the Fløibanen up to Mount Fløyen. From the lookout, the city spread out in orderly colour—Bryggen’s timber fronts, the harbour, and the enclosing hills. The next morning we committed to rail, boarding the Bergen Line east to Myrdal, a high, wind-scoured junction. There we changed to the famous Flåm Railway, a steep descent through…
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418 STEPS OVER ÅLESUND
We reached Ålesund in the late afternoon after driving south from Kristiansund. The route followed the outer coast, linking islands by bridges and ferries, including sections of the Atlantic Ocean Road (Atlanterhavsveien), a stretch of infrastructure built to keep communities connected across open water. The journey itself was a reminder of how dependent this region has always been on the sea. On arrival, we went straight to Mount Aksla to break up the day. My sister Jenni, Padma and I climbed the stone steps from Byparken, a climb of more than…
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GRANDPA GAUSTAD
For as long as I remember, my mother has flaunted her ‘Norwegian-ness’. Her mother, Gertrude Gaustad, was of full Norwegian stock. So mom has an appetite for lefse but when I would ask her about our Norwegian ancestors she would draw a blank. She didn’t know much except that her grandfather was named Ole, he was blind and had died before she was born. So I set out to find out where we came from in Norway. It took quite a few years but I figured it out. In 1883, a…
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OLAV OF BYNESET
I hit a brick wall once. A genealogical brick wall, that is. For five years I had been trying to find out where my great grandfather, Ole Erickson Gaustad, came from. I was getting nowhere and figured I’d never find out. But one night in 2007, I was Googling ‘Gaustad’ and the village where I thought he was born, ‘Byneset’ and I got a hit. I found a function centre with Gaustad in the name so I took a chance and wrote an email. Within a day I got an email…
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CELEBRATING THE HUMAN LIFE CYCLE AT VIGELAND PARK
Visiting Oslo in July with family, I spent a hot but enjoyable morning walking through Vigeland Park, a monumental outdoor work charting the human life cycle. The park contains more than 200 sculptures in granite, bronze, and cast iron, all designed by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943. Vigeland conceived the layout as a single, unified work, charting the human life cycle from infancy to old age through realistic, unclothed figures. Key elements include the Bridge, the Fountain, and the Monolith, a 17-metre granite column carved from a single stone block.…
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A NIGHT IN COPENHAGEN
Padma and I preferred to drive everywhere in Europe, rather than flying. So when we decided to visit Norway and meet my family, we decided to drive. We arrived in Copenhagen in early evening after driving all day from Bonn. Just enough time to enjoy the long summer day and take a stroll through the city.
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A LIONESS ALL FOR MYSELF
It’s Sunday and I’m not working on finger millet so I took the morning off to visit the Nairobi National Park. This is almost an urban park as it is a mere 15 minutes south of Nairobi with its skyline visible from the park … and yet it truly is the home to some very wild critters who are well protected by the Kenyan National Park Service. It’s easy to spot where the lions are. Just look for the other vehicles. Everyone comes to see the lions. After entering the park…
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BAALBEK, THE CITY OF THE SUN
While on assignment in Lebanon, I took an afternoon off to vist the ruins of Baalbek, located in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. They are among the world’s most impressive and best-preserved Roman archaeological sites. Once known as Heliopolis, or the “City of the Sun,” Baalbek was a major religious center dedicated to Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus. The sprawling complex features towering columns, massive stone blocks, and ornately carved temples, including the Temple of Bacchus—one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere. The sheer scale and craftsmanship reflect Rome’s imperial power and architectural mastery.…
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SPRING INTO SWITZERLAND
Padma and I had a severe case of spring fever, so we drove to central Switzerland over the long May Day weekend for some hiking in the Schwyz Alps. The hike around Mount Rigi was really quite stunning and Spring really was showing off its true colours. The area around Lucerne is marked by numerous lakes which give the area a most special appeal.
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