#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 25/2/18

Another moody photo from my trip to Stavanger, Norway

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 18/2/18

Perfect reflection in the stillness of a beach in Jaeren, Norway

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 11/2/18

A polar bear skeleton, found purely by chance in 1976 while digging out the basement of a house on the island of Finnøy, Norway - now in Stavanger Archaeological Museum

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 4/2/18

Christmas lights Norwegian-style, by the frozen lake in Stavanger town centre

Norway diaries : Up in the mountains of Gjesdal municipality

My favourite thing about Norway is that you feel like you've visited a dozen countries and seen all kinds of different landscapes all within a few hours and miles - after the bustling town of Stavanger, the beautiful fjords and the moody beaches, we got to discover the delights of the Gjesdal municipality, slightly higher up in the mountains. Our guide for the day - local teacher Sigmund - explained that the people from this region are very patriotic and have a saying that you can travel to wherever you want in the world as long as you never move out of sight of the local lake ! This is the view from the school car park, that the kids (and teachers) get to take in every time they look out of the window. How could you not be in a happy place with this just outside your classroom ?!

The fjords are never far away and are always just as spectacular. This was the view from a little car park where we were meeting up with some other local teachers and barely even got a glance from the locals, who were more interested in texting on their phones !

After school finished for the day (around 2.30pm), Sigmund said he'd drive us up into the mountains to see if we could see some snow. He uttered the immortal line "if you see anything and want to stop to take a photo, just yell". We took him at his word and, literally every 2 minutes, we were doing photo stops ! The little villages nestling in the valleys looked like Austria or Switzerland.

Half a mile further up the mountain road, the landscape dramatically evolved into a breathtaking winter wonderland.

Pretty to look at but very isolated - I'm not sure I'd want to live here. We asked if people ever got cut off with the snow and Sigmund shrugged and said no - they just travel by ski or sledge if they can't get the cars out !

This was the only real snow that we saw during our trip in Norway, apart from a dusting in Stavanger, so we excitedly clambered out of the car and headed along the path through the crunchy snow.

Another fjord, whose crystal clear, dark blue waters are set off nicely by the snow-capped mountains behind.

Spot the tourists ! We didn't stay for long as the temperatures had dropped dramatically on the higher ground.

After meeting up with the other teachers, we headed to Gloppedalsura Scree, part of the Magma Geopark.

This enormous heap of avalanche boulders is famous as a historical landmark because it was the site of a World War II battle where 250 Norwegian soldiers used the scree as a natural fortress and held back two German battalions. One Norwegian soldier lost his life in the battle. Losses on the German side are uncertain and the official figure varies between 12 and 44 soldiers.

Twilight was closing in and it was starting to snow again, so we headed to our final destination, Byrkjedalstunet in Byrkjedal - a lovely, traditional Norwegian restaurant/hotel with a huge gift shop that is well worth a visit.

Norway is the land of trolls and there were lots of them dotted around in the grounds of the restaurant.

Some looked scarier than others !

We were intrigued by the dozen or so little wooden cabins.

It turned out that this is where the goats and sheep are housed, who provide milk and cheese for the restaurant (and, I suspect, sheepskins for the gift shop).

The gift shop is a real Aladdin's cave and you could easily spend an hour in there looking at all the goodies on offer. 

They have everything from homeware and decorative objects to an impressive assortment of semi-precious stones and fossils. (I bought a few for Sophie's collection - they were very reasonably priced, especially by Norwegian standards !)

It was the first week of January and they still had their Christmas display out, with lots of tree ornaments and festive trinkets.

I really wanted to bring home a furry cover - they have them everywhere, in particular on benches outside of pubs and cafes so you can keep warm while while having a drink in freezing temperatures. They're so warm and snuggly but cost a fortune, even the fake fur ones - you can get everything from sheep and goatskin to wolf skin.

The end of the shop evolves into a rocky outcrop - I'm tempted to believe it's the natural rockface that the house was built into, but it may just be a really well designed feature - with a variety of stuffed animals dotted around, including deer, lynx and a huge bear. 

I've never been in a shop like it. It's almost like a museum and there are interesting things to see wherever you look !

We all had a turn on the giant chair, channelling our inner Viking, with one of those snuggly blankets wrapped around our shoulders !

There is also a candle workshop, where you can make and buy your own candles.

After buying our souvenirs - I got some gemstones and a candle holder that casts pretty patterns - we headed next door into the restaurant part. There are half a dozen choices, including the trout and meatballs that most people opted for.

While waiting for the food, I popped to the toilet and marvelled at the décor on the way !

And there you have it - Norway on a plate. Meatballs, boiled potatoes, mushy peas, carrots and lingonberry sauce. This being Norway, we were eating early - around 5pm - and the restaurant shut at 6.30pm. It had been a busy day so we were happy to head back to the hotel and jump straight into our pyjamas afterwards !

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 28/1/18

Another atmospheric shot from Norway - no Photoshopping required !  :)

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 21/1/18

A tiny church in Jaeren, Norway - just enough room for nine people inside !

Norway diaries : Beautiful views in Jaeren

I've been looking through my (numerous) photos of Norway from our work visit to Stavanger last week and I still find the views just as breath-taking as in real life. I've decided that the power of the beauty lies in the unique Norwegian light. Night falls so quickly - all of our sight-seeing was packed into the two hour window of daylight between school finishing for the day at 2.30 and nightfall at 4.30 - so by taking the same shot three or four times, you'll get a whole array of different light effects and you're bound to get one that looks stunning. 

Take this quaint little white wooden church at Varhaug for example, just down the road from Varhaug School that we had been at all day. It is one of the smallest chapels in the area, if not the country, with just enough space for nine guests. It's very popular for weddings because it's so scenic but the guests all have to stand outside ! 

It's very pretty but the real views were going on behind us, with the fading light and the big open sky providing the perfect backdrop. 

We could have stood here quite happily watching the sun go down behind the ornate gravestones overlooking the sea, but we had other places to see before it got dark.

We drove into the rocky outcrops and recognised something from the last time we visited - Hitler's teeth, which are concrete blocks that the Nazis installed to prevent Allied landings. You can find out more in my blogpost Exploring World War II bunkers in Vedafjellet - we thought it was remarkable how intact they were and creeping through the dark tunnels with just the light from our mobile phones to light the way seemed incredibly spooky, especially given the history of the place.

We were heading somewhere much more tranquil though - a little fishing port where we stopped to eat some iced buns and take in the view, while giggling at the Norwegian mealtimes. After having lunch (sandwiches) at 11am, we were taken to a bakery at 2.30pm for a snack, before going to a local teacher's house for dinner at 4.30pm. One of my colleagues joked that it was like being babies, having to eat every three hours, which made the Norwegian teachers laugh !

The water of the fjord here (and in fact everywhere we went) is crystal clear so we could see right to the bottom and the dozens of crab shells scattered about, presumably from the fishing boats. The water is also totally still so the reflections in the water are amazingly crisp.

The sense of peace and tranquility forces you to stop and just soak it all in - mindfulness at its best !

I think I could use pretty much any of my Norway photos as a screensaver ! They all ooze tranquility and well-being.

I'm tempted to get this one, from our final stop at one of the local beaches, printed out on a canvas - I love the hint of pink in the sky, the reflection of the clouds, the ice formations at the edges of the water and the walkway that looks as if it leads out to infinity.

The walk through the dunes from the car park already had us wowed but it was just the prelude to the main event ...

 ...one of Jaeren's many sandy beaches.

The Norwegians were blown away by the vastness of the sandy beaches when they visited us in Dunkirk, but I think it's the perfect reflection of the sky in the water that makes the Norwegian beaches and landscapes in general look so huge and never-ending.

You feel so small and insignificant in the scale of things that any day-to-worries seem mere trifles. You only get a couple of hours before it gets dark though so you have to make the most of it while you can !

I'm the King of the World !

What you can't see in these photos, though, is how blimming cold it was getting !

As the light started to fade, we headed back to the car, still oohing and aahing at the views all the way !