We are saying goodbye this week to a much-valued member of our blogging community, Bren, who sadly died quite recently. Her photography blog has long been a favourite of mine, and an inspiration in my own photographic experiments. Her creative, atmospheric monochrome shots and beautiful soft-focus flowers were always a pleasure to view.
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Much of the Norwegian landscape looked a little unreal to me even in its natural colours. The drama of its mountains, the almost eerie light around midnight, even the snow and rain. All these lent it a magical air.
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Trondheim’s Nidaros Cathedral is the world’s northernmost Gothic cathedral. It was built over the tomb of King Olav II (reigned 1015–1028), the Viking king who converted Norway to Christianity. He reigned from 1015 to 1028 and later became the country’s patron saint. It is here that Norwegian kings are crowned, not in the capital Oslo.
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In Viking times this was the capital of Norway. Today it is a busy modern city with an impressive cathedral. It lies where the Nidelva river meets Trondheim Fjord, creating an excellent sheltered harbour. Although south of the Arctic Circle and therefore experiencing neither Polar Night nor Midnight Sun, in the summer months it remains light enough all night for artificial lighting only to be needed in poor weather.
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Sometimes little details can be as evocative as the complete picture, and perhaps never more so than when contemplating the past. Visiting the iconic sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii back in 2007 I found myself as intrigued by the small details of life in these cities as I was in the grand civic buildings.
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If you’re looking for summer warmth this isn’t the place to come. On my recent trip to Trondheim (south of the Arctic Circle) and Tromsø (north of it) I experienced some sun, yes, but also rain, hail, sleet and snow!
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In Britain Amundsen is somewhat notorious as the guy who beat Captain Scott to the South Pole. In Norway however, and especially in Tromsø, he is regarded as a national hero.
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As we passed the point of the limit of the Arctic Circle on our Hurtigruten voyage we coukd see this otherwise invisible line marked on a globe on the small islet of Vikinge.
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May is an especially lovely month in England. At the start of the month spring is at its height, while by the end there are hints of the summer to come. With spring being late this year, the early part of May felt more like April, with chilly winds and frequent showers. But the trees were green at last after the winter bareness, and there were flowers everywhere!
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When the Shard opened in London in 2012 it did so to quite a fanfare, and to a rather damp squib (in my view) of a laser show. But despite the laser show disappointing, the tower never has. Although not to everyone’s taste (the fractured ‘shards’ at the top that give it its name divide opinion), I have always found it striking.
