A Geologist’s Dream

In Norway, Larry has so enjoyed interacting with the geologists who share many of his interests and talk the same language. And now he has enjoyed a pilgrimage to the area where glacial geology originated.

Sunday we took the ferry to Forsand which is the area where Professor Jens Esmark walked in 1823 and developed the theory of the ice age. Afterwards he wrote a scientific article suggesting that the whole of Northern Europe had once been covered by glaciers. We saw the end moraine that suggested to Esmark that glaciers had in the past been in Norway. The large boulders dotting the landscape were dropped by the ice, not deposited in the great flood, or were thrown by trolls.

Norway Day, May 17th

Somewhat akin to our 4th of July – flags waving, family gathering, and parades – probably Norway’s most cherished holiday. The day begins with a Children’s Parade where almost every student in the district walks either in central Stavanger or their Kommune. Some singing and band playing, but mostly kids walking and reminding all that they are the future of Norway. Many of the students and teachers and watchers are dressed in Norwegian traditional dress, the bunad. The men wear knickers, so Larry felt quite at home.

We watched with Dutch friends and then walked to the school closest to Norwegian friends, met their son and his family and watched the end of some games – potato sack races, stilt walking, etc. Then we enjoyed a delicious lunch at our Norwegian friends, Ellen and Anders, and talked the afternoon away.

The Norwegians were celebrating their Constitution signed on the 17th of May in 1814 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Norwegians drafted a constitution and at the end of the war before they were ceded from Denmark to Sweden. In the tradeoff they lobbied for some non-monarchy power and achieved some success with their constitution. People told me it was patterned after the Declaration of Independence so I read it – and found few parallels. No separation of church and state (in fact, Jews and Jesuits were prohibited from the country.)

The weather was glorious and even more so as cold and rain were predicted.

Even though it was great fun to adventure in Copenhagen with Melanie Kalman, Ithaca friend and former Ellis Hollow neighbor, and spend a few days in Den Haag, Netherlands, I was happy to return to Stavanger yesterday. Larry had a Hedburg Conference on basin modeling at the Hague and I tagged along. May 5 was Liberation Day in Amsterdam (liberated by the Canadians a few days before the Allies reached Berlin.) The weather was perfect, the city crowded with locals and tourists; the Van Gogh Museum was excellent but packed with Dutch and all the rest of us. We walked and walked around the city, enjoyed a great Indonesian lunch outdoors, took a canal boat ride and then headed, by train, to Sheveningen, a resort city adjacent to Den Haag where we enjoyed a late supper in a restaurant right on the beach facing the North Sea. Sunday was much cooler and we biked 15-20 km to Delft, an idyllic, old, Dutch city and Vermeer’s home. A leaning tower church, small canals, vibrant market and a lovely spirit made the city one of my favorites of this year’s experiences. Larry’s meeting began Sunday afternoon and the weather continued to decline. I biked and toured the town on Monday and Tuesday went to Den Haag and walked all around and visited the Maurithuis Museum and Mesdag, a restored 19th century panorama. Wednesday morning I flew to Copenhagen where I joined Melanie and we wild girls (in our rooms by 9:00 p.m.) enjoyed the city but not the fairly cold and often wet weather. My favorite was a trip to the Louisiana Museum (featuring modern art in a beautiful setting) in nearby Humlebaek, followed by a visit to Karen Blixen’s childhood home where she returned after her African coffee plantation floundered. She added a lovely garden and bird sanctuary to her home right across from the sea. Her excellent paintings, particularly from Africa, were quite a surprise to me. Melanie and I enjoyed some great meals (Spanish tapas, modern Vietnamese and Emmery’s, the best bakery I’ve discovered in Europe and walked and walked. Coming back to Stavanger I enjoyed my first airline bumping when I volunteered to take the direct flight to Stavanger rather than the less expensive Copenhagen/Oslo/Stavanger route and garnered 300 Euros plus about $9 for food while waiting.

Today, Larry and I hiked/walked Veraland (about a half hour away) with Dutch friends – beautiful mountain views, lakes and fjords + lots and lots of sheep. And then we enjoyed the first gin and tonics of the season and grilled out but ate in as the temperature was just about 50 degrees. Very popular here are disposable grills for about $3.00. Just need to buy the marshmallows and find graham crackers for s’mores.

And Ithaca worries about Senior Week ?

RUSS is for Norwegian high school student a month-long celebration of the end of 13 years of school. It began in the last week or so and ends May 17, which is Norway Day, (akin to our July 4.) The following week the students return to school to take their final exams – after a month long party! May 1, Labor Day, another Norwegian holiday, is when the students begin to add Russ knots to their caps denoting what they’ve done from Hallowe’en style pranks to binge drinking and more. Depending on their area of study, students dress in red or blue overalls which they’ve adorned with personal designs (Mac would love that.) I’ve heard from some parents that the practice is declining and others that it is getting worse.

Monday, a number of RUSS students were congregating around Stavanger’s harbor gaping (as were the adults) at the Navigator of the Seas, a 1020 foot long, 138,000 ton cruise ship visiting Stavanger for the day. When I first spotted RUSS girls in Bergen I thought they were members of a ski or football team. Now I know differently.