A very cold windy day where the staff of the cruise ship gave everybody a teaspoon of cod liver oil and they were able to keep the spoon. I skipped it. I remember the stories of my mother drinking cod liver oil so that her contractions to deliver me would begin. It sounded horrible. But I did get a picture of the spoon.
Comfy duds!
Crossing the Arctic Circle from the north to the South was a big deal and they gave you a stamp from their post office showing that you’ve been there.
“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is a piece of orchestral music composed by Norwegian, Edvard Grieg in 1875. The artwork is by Norwegian artists.
The most famous troll in Norway is no doubt the troll king of Dovregubben, invented by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in one of his most famous plays, Peer Gynt, which inspired composer Edvard Grieg to write the world-famous piece I Dovregubbens hall (In The Hall of the Mountain King).
Once upon a time, these strange and dangerous creatures roamed freely in the mysterious Norwegian mountains and forests. But the trolls only went out at night, in the dark. Because there was only one thing that could scare a real troll: The sunlight.
If they didn’t hide in time, the first rays of the sunlight would turn them into stone. And that is why you can still see their faces and bodies carved into the mountain sides, cliffs and stones all around the country.
So, who are the trolls? They can be big and sinister, even gigantic, like a huge mountain, or they can be small and playful. Some have one head, others have three. And it is also common for many of them to have only one eye.
Stomping their way out of the forest, trolls have made their impact on traditional folklore. Even though most people no longer believe in these mythical creatures, the stories about troll, jotner and nisser are still being told to children over and over again.
Iin Scandinavian folklore, trolls become defined as a particular type of being. Numerous tales are recorded about trolls in which they are frequently described as being extremely old, very strong, but slow and dim-witted, and are at times described as man-eaters and as turning to stone upon contact with sunlight. Therefore, trolls were in the end dangerous, regardless of how well they might get along with Christian society, and trolls display a habit of bergtagning (‘kidnapping’; literally “mountain-taking”) and overrunning a farm or estate.
The absence of trolls in regions of Scandinavia is described in folklore as being a “consequence of the constant din of the church-bells”. This ringing caused the trolls to leave for other lands, although not without some resistance; numerous traditions relate how trolls destroyed a church under construction or hurled boulders and stones at completed churches. Large local stones are sometimes described as the product of a troll’s toss. Additionally, into the 20th century, the origins of particular Scandinavian landmarks, such as particular stones, are ascribed to trolls who may, for example, have turned to stone upon exposure to sunlight.
It is said some trolls steal babies and leave a baby troll in its place. There are rules on how you can figure out if your baby is real or a troll. Sometimes if you leave your troll baby out on your porch at night the trolls will exchange him for your real baby.
Huldra is a beautiful female creature from Norse folklore, said to have long blond hair and a crown made of flowers. The only thing that separates her from humans is the tail of a cow. According to legend, Huldra was once a human girl who was cursed by a witch and transformed into a creature with a cow’s tail.
Here are the seven mountains called the Seven Sisters.
A beautiful sunset long about 3:00 p.m.
Once again in my ski pants heading out to the cold Norwegian air.
This rock depicts the exact center of Norway, 840 km to the north and 840 km to the South.
aquavit, a distilled drink made out of potatoes, (which I guess would be vodka), that they call aquavit.
My artsy photo.
We were told the church would be closed. However we were so pleasantly surprised that it was open and the choir was practicing their songs for Christmas, one of which was silent Night. Special!!
CLICK.
So wonderful!
This was real frost on the windows. In Florida we spray paint fake snow to look like this.
This is the kind of snow I remember when I was living in Minnesota. Rock hard and dirty.
Wow! This is some snow shovel.
And this is leg of some poor animal. I bought a stick of reindeer sausage for dad while I was here.
The regular entrance to the ship was being repaired so we had to go through the back entrance where they let cars come on.
CLICK.
There was some talk of reindeer shank for dinner and also a piece of whale meat was offered to Jane while we were at the store.
This was quite the fancy meal. The pink stuff was raw fish and I handed it straight to Joy, who loves it.
Here we are in flip flops which is such a nice change than those darn boots all the time. Jane brings tartar sauce on our trips because she doesn’t especially like fish and I am grateful.
This globe is sitting on the exact 66-1/3 degree latitude which is the Arctic Circle. I’m checking it off my bucket list. We were called upstairs and they put on the spotlights as we drove by. Once we left, the globe sits in the dark until the next ship comes by.
Northern Lights and clouds mingling.
By this time we were addicted to playing cards and sitting together for meals.
AJ from TX, Jane, SC, me, Patrice from MN and Joy, FL.
Another artsy picture and somebody was playing a joke on me.