My knowledge of ornithology is not that fine-tuned, so I can’t identify which of the 40 or so species this is, but it’s definitely a cormorant. I’m travelling again — this is taken in Norway, but not on the sea: instead, this fine specimen was resting on Stavanger’s city centre lake, Breivatnet, which has featured on the blog before.
Home from Norway this morning on the twice-weekly Stavanger-Manchester flight. All of Norwegian’s planes have some Scandinavian historical personage of note on the tail fin, but I thought this was a particularly good one. I admit this picture is slightly out-of-focus, but it did best encapsulate the day.
I booked today in as a day off months ago specifically so I could go up here. This has been called one of the greatest views in the world by the Lonely Planet guide (see this page) and, well, see for yourself. This is Preikestolen, or “The Pulpit Rock”, which hangs 604 meters, or over 1,980 feet, vertically above the Lysefjord below. Should you visit it, you won’t be alone — but at least the other people give it a suitable sense of scale. An amazing place, and I highly recommend it.
It’s been November (or rather Movember) since a selfie appeared on the blog. This orange wall stands on the University of Stavanger campus where I was doing my day’s work today. I like the reflective bubble effect, but what puzzles me is where I’ve gone in the one to top right.
This building will be the only one of the Høgskolen’s five campuses to survive following its imminent move to the new campus in Kronstad, and as a result, is the only one currently able to host our project meetings. It plunges directly into the water of Bergen’s most inland inlet of the sea. Behind is the mountain of Ulriken. And the concrete post? Well, directly above my head as I took this shot, but kept out of frame, is a big concrete overpass taking the main city road over the water, so presumably it just fell of there at some point.
This street runs through the lower end of the University of Bergen campus, and leads from the hotel I always stay in here to the pub I usually drink in — so I walk along it a lot. I pick it as today’s shot not because of its scenic qualities as such, but merely for the demonstration of how high the sun remains in the sky at this time of night. At over 60ºN and in the week leading up to the summer solstice, it just doesn’t get very dark here right now. Which is nice, but I need some sleep, so I’m hoping I have good blinds on the window.
These are the most famous buildings in Bergen, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. They sit by the harbour in the city centre. And your eyes do not deceive you — nor is it bad editing on my part — they really are this wonky.
Stavanger is the fourth-biggest city in Norway (and the first three have also featured on this blog at some point — Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, in that order). It is the home of the Norwegian oil industry, and totally dominated by it — the university has a big mock oil rig right in the centre of the campus, and I bet you anyone you talk to in a bar or at the airport (unless it happens to be me) will be working on some petroleum-related task. This picture is taken over the pool of Breivatnet, which prettifies the city centre. And another thing you can tell from this picture — it’s nearly winter…
Yes, I’m travelling again – couple of days’ work in Norway. But after this trip I’m at home, at least am projected to be at home, for four and a half months, by far the longest such period since I started this blog. So I’ll have to find inspiration there. I’m sure I can do it.
Yes, I also spend a lot of time in pubs, I admit it, but that also means I appreciate a good one and the Cardinal certainly is good — I would go so far as to say that it’s the best I’ve found in Norway. Stunningly broad (if expensive) range of beers, great atmosphere: definitely a prime example of the genre. You’ll find it on the street called Skagen, close to the quayside in the city centre.
Being 42 