22 Jul 2013 via King’s Cross and Waterloo

Fri: train from Huntingdon to King’s Cross 1hr changing Underground on the Victoria/blue and at Oxford Circle to Bakerloo/brown line to Waterloo. Been awhile ago on the Underground, fortunately no problems with these well-marked signs. Thanks to KV for such good directions.

Lovely walk to South Bank with perfect blue sky for the pix. Had to make sure to catch the River Thames and Parliament House to not mistake the Eye for the Flyer!!

Last time in the London area was 2004, 9yrs ago!

Another train from Waterloo, under renovation but the exterior gradual never fails to impress me. Crowds are not too bad but in this hot India summer, a walk around the area including South Bank was a wonderful idea since there was time. 30mins train ride to Ashtead from Waterloo.

Sat: lunched and walked around Polesden Lacey, an impressive Edwardian era house with views of the Surrey Hills. An elderly man was playing Chopin on the grand piano and Paul commented that the player must have been as old as the instrument, but still charming to have life music.

The gardens are lovely and so is the caretaker’s cottage. Found a tree in the cherry orchard and the cherries were sweet and juicy and, yes we are allowed to pick them. Tkx to Paul for the introduction of another tiny wild orchid, Pyramidal. The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George Vl and Queen Elizabeth) spent part of their honeymoon here in 1923.

Mrs Greville, owner of Polesden Lacey was the setting for pleasure, leisure, gossips, luxury and discreet dalliance among the upper class remarked:

‘I never follow people into their bedroom’ but of course she did not mention who might be following her into her bedroom or the many other inviting places in the large gardens 🙂 The Grevilles had no children and after she died, the house was donated to the National Trust. To view the house and garden, GBP12 S$23 appreciations to Paul who guided me thru’ this beautiful location and he also is a member of the National Trust.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesden-lacey/

Good to see Paul and to meet his mother, an impressive 86yrs lady who cycles to care for her veg garden plot in the allotment. Thank you to Mrs Krause for her inspiration and for the beets.

Sun: gardening and weeding at Paul’s allotment; good for the nerves in addition to having fresh organic onions, lettuce, cherries, raspberries, loganberries for Sun steak dinner today. Decent crab salad lunch at The Olive Tree Cafe*** located in Ashtead Park Garden Centre on Pleasure Pit Rd! Indeed it has been a total pleasure and appreciations to Paul and his family for their hospitality. Life cannot be better than it is 🙂 🙂 🙂

Return round-trip train and underground tickets: Huntington-King’s Cross-Waterloo-Ashtead and back to Huntington GBP31 S$60!

..what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places – Marianne Wiggins

18 Jul 2013 – Cambridge, Castle Rising & Sandringham House

Tue: a hot Indian summer day in Cambridge. The last time here was 2010, so not much changes except for more crowds and a blue sky as compared to the not so blue sky of Sep 2010!

Fitzwilliam Museum

http://amylamsg.com/2010/09/10/cambridge/

Wed: 55mi 88k north drive of Godmanchester is King’s Lynn in Norfolk. What a a beautiful and peaceful ruin, Castle Rising, that was built in about 1138 by William d’Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel. The roof is no longer but the walls are fully intact. This is one of the most well-kept 12th century castle here in England. GBP3.30 S$6.4 for seniors.

http://www.castlerising.co.uk

Sandringham House and garden (GBP10 S$19 for seniors) where the Queen retreats to from Dec- Feb. Pix are not allowed in the house.. The  8,000-hectare/240 hectares Sandringham Estate grounds are open to public FOC daily. Due to the dry weather, the grass is not as green so far and can you imagine the reaction of the animal rights people when they see the King George V’s private museum of big games in the stable!!

The stable also houses an interesting collection of motor vehicles, children’s cars and fire engines

http://www.sandringhamestate.co.uk

Go anywhere in England where there are natural, wholesome, contented and really nice English people; and what do you always find? That the stables are the real centre of the household – George Bernard Shaw

15 Jul 2013 – Time to say goodbye…

As difficult as it is, the time has come to move on, and not to be able to see the youngest grandson until 2014 is a situation chosen but not an easy choice! Watching him developing the past 7 weeks was a total joy. Am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to spend time with him. Appreciations to M&B for putting up with me and for being such good parents to Olai.

Would not be until end Aug/early Sep till meeting these 5 other grandchildren in USA, sooo looking forward to that…

Dinner at Delicatessen**** good tapas bar. Thanks May for the introduction to this location. The price of this meal for 2pp is the same price in groceries for 3 meals, 3pp including a steak dinner!!

http://www.delicatessen.no/majorstuen

Where has the time gone, the weekend that just was also happened to the L&J 20th reunion from Lake Howell High School/LHHS. How could it be possible that it was over 20yrs ago when these kids were travelling with me, visiting the clubhouse and swimming in the pool at the condo in FL/USA? Have been asked if I feel old and if feeling old means that unable to travel and hike, then that is old for me! But then what is old when travelling and hiking is still a part of this life’s journey??

Posted this on FB and received some interesting comments, including from Lucy Amy, my idea of making sure life doesn’t escape me is to have a gr8 bedroom and bathroom, one meal I enjoy everyday, some K drama to watch for an hour or 2 a day and regular meet ups with friends and family members. I could do this for all eternity…

Each to their own as Lucy also commented and if I get to feel as Lucy does, then perhaps, that is what is feeling old for me 🙂 🙂 🙂

In the meanwhile, with a heavy heart, life will go on and now to the most dreaded thing – packing 🙁

I don’t know when we’ll see each other again or what the world will be like when we do. We may both have seen many horrible things. But I will think of you every time I need to be reminded that there is beauty and goodness in the world – Arthur Golden

11 Jul 2013 – Norway’s oldest town/871

Have known Stein since our Dublin days when he was an upstairs neighbour and friend who drove me to the hospital for an emergency incident a week before Linn was born! Have not seen him since the early 1980s and great to catch up and meet two of his children, Øystein and Ida. Thank you for putting me up in spite of his busy time trying to get his boat out on the water.

Tue: the train journey south to Tønsberg where Stein lives is pretty, passing thru’ gradual rolling hills and agriculture lands; dep 0941hrs Nationaltheatret stopping in Skøyen, Lysakker, Sandvika, Asker, Drammer, Sande, Holmenstrand, Skoppum and arr 1058hrs into Tønsberg NOK400 S$84 roundtrip.

Went to the beach with Ida and a nice drive around Vallø area and Furustrand camping grounds by the coast. Delicious steak dinner and a lovely outdoor fire to catch up with 30yrs of our life gossips and stories 🙂

Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold county, 1 and a half hours by train south of OSL a charming coastal town and regarded as the oldest town in Norway. 107 km² 41 sq mi, pop app 42,000 and is the site of Oseberghaugen, a Viking era burial mound.

Wed: Slottsfjellsmuseet=castle mountain museum and the tower are certainly worth to see NOK40 S$8 (senior). One can read about the ice-age and the vikings thru the times. The tower and the ruins are located on top of a hill, the best site and views of Tønsberg. 

The Osebertg ship was found in the Oseberg burial mound in 1904. This Viking era longship is now in the Viking Ship Museum in OSL. Archaeological excavations in 1904 uncovered history’s largest and richest example of craftsmanship from the Viking Age. In addition to the Oseberg ship, Oseberghaugen contained the Oseberg carriage, five beautifully carved bed-posts shaped like animal heads, four sledges, beds, chests, weaving-frames, household utensils and much more. Scientific examinations in 1992 now date the burial to 834 AD.

Bitter is the wind tonight,  It tosses the ocean’s white hair,  I do not fear the fierce warriors of Norway crossing in the Irishsea tonight – found in a monk’s manuscript

8 Jul 2013 – An Expensive Location

Above 2 pix are taken of pix from the brochure. Did not have time to go inside this interesting privately owned museum of contemporary and modern art. According to the designer Renzo Piano, ‘Art makes people better people, and a place for art makes the city a better place to be.’  The museum is a new NOK600+mil S$125mil home for the private art collection of a shipping company which he describes as ‘an open forum, where art meets life’.

Will look forward till the grass is secured enough to be stepped on before another visit. In the meanwhile watching the boat sailing away from these desirable location is a good alternative 🙂

Took a stroll around the area and it sure looks expensive considering the location, central with the sea view. Could not find a name or title of the head! A motorcycle on a reindeer!! According to the statue of Jens Selvaag, ‘Hvis alt annet slår feil prøv med sunn fornuft = if everything fails, try healthy common sense’;  a hotel name The Thief…

Thank you Ingrid for taking time to say our farewells until 2014. Safe trip to her and HansK on their Mediterranean cruise. Somehow the roses here seem to be in such perfect shape, wonder where they are imported from? Even the climbing rose in the backyard is amazing like last year, and nobody seems to be taking care of it.

One of the best street music is this guy playing on bottles. He played with such dynamics that got me to stop and listen. Believe me, it takes a lot before I will stop to listen and leave cash in the box! It was just a simple tune but played clearly with such emotions accompanied by the rhythm of a discreet potable electrical beatbox.

The wise musicians are those who play what they can master – Duke Elington

4 Jul 2013 – Absolutely Stunning but Poisonous

Golden Chain tree/Gullregn/Laburnum anagyroides is a beautiful flowering tree. Thanks for providing the name in different languages from Denise/English, Ellen/Norwegian, Marianne/Danish and Keith/Latin. Saw this full flowering tree during a walk early Jun but have filed it in an incorrect dated folder. Found it going thru’ the files, and now is good have a name to it.

Sun: took Olai to Frognerpark and man was it crowded, especially being in Norway. He was apprehensive about the clown and even his mama and mormor thought  that the clown looked more on the scary side than the funny side! A short picnic as Olai was more interesting in everything else around than food…

Stumbled upon an early 4thJuly celebrations and quite strange as 4thJuly was not in the mind or thoughts!

Mon: condolences to the families of the 19 firefighters who lost their live in the Arizona blaze. Prayers and thoughts are with them.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/01/us/arizona-firefighter-deaths/index.html

Tue: never a dull moment when living so central. Captured these pix from the bedroom window. Does not seemed to be any bombs or drugs and do not have a clue what it is all about besides bad parking example from the law enforcement – first in a handicapped lot and then on part of the sidewalk. Checking garbage can is no emergency to warrant for such bad parking…

US Embassy here in OSL is located on Henrik Ibsen gt in the heart of the city not far from the palace. If you ask any feng-shui master, they will probably say that it is bad feng-shui with such sharp edges! Like most US Embassies around the world, it is no exception that this one is also surrounded by strong high fence and guards. The two local policemen just happened to walk by. Was told a year ago that it will be moving to another location, but as far as I can see, it has been in this same location as long as I can remember.

Jul special dates:

4th Happy 4th for USA

14th Happy  Bday Keith WESTMACOTT  and Happy Bastille Day

17th Happy Bday Nancy McGee BOWMAN

19th Happy Anniversary Linn & Jeff HALL

20th Happy Bday David YEOH

21st Happy Bday Albert CHUA

22nd Happy Anniversary Dika LAM & Mark BOROWSKY

23th Happy Bdays James HALL & Lucas YEOH

25th Happy Bday Winnie LEE in California

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism – Erma Bombeck

30 Jun 2013 – Now the Ugly Chinese/2013

http://scandasia.com/norway-disappoints-chinese-tourists/

Tkx Richard for the link. My comments – the culture & lifestyle here in Norway are very different to anywhere else in this world. Just as well, as it suits me fine to be far far away from the maddening crowd. People and tourists should read or do some research about the places they plan to travel before going there and to those who are unhappy about the difference should stay home. Norway with nice people, clean air, sparsely populated etc is one of my favourite countries to visit. The pop here is 5,063,709 with an area of 385,186sq km/148,720sq mi. SIN pop is 5,312,400 with an area of 7,315 sq km/18,943 sq mi according to en.wikipedia.org!

Appreciations to Lisa&Adriane for sharing their wonderful culinary pix for his 30th Bday and description from Vintage Cave/HI USA. The presentation looks exquisite and would certainly like to try this place when in HI. 1.Kombu yuzu flavoured gelatin. 2.Kona abalone sweet corn relish nori, with abalone from a farm in the Kona area on HI (big island). The dark circle is the nori sauce, a seaweed and the crispy green ogo, a type of HI seaweed. 3. Foie gras mousse, white pineapple, ‘aired’ honeycomb, coconut macadamia drizzle and golden honey.

Sat: rainy day, a good indoors day. Took Olai to Leo’s Lekeland/playland where he seems to enjoy the facilities. Great for kids and many parents had the same idea on this rainy day but kids do not mind crowds! First time to see so many slushy machines and in so many colours and flavours!! Cost for kids under 2yrs NOK75 S$16, 2-16yrs NOK155 S$32 and accompanying parents or grown-ups do not have to pay.

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home – James Michener

28 Jun 2013 – Happy Bday Jeff

A wonderful week in the mountains thanks to Kirsten & Geir. Fresh clean air and simple basic living is all one need to realize that too much of the material values create complications and problems! App 4hrs drive NW of OSL is Melbyfjell/Melby Mountain (1,127m 3,700ft) and the cabins Melbystølen are located on the slopes of this mountain. Delicious trouts are there in the lakes, but of course you need to fish. Common nettles grow wild and freely and a pair of gloves is a must while picking them. This weed is really yummy and simple to prepare.

The wild flowers, including orchids, Flekkmarihånd/Heath Spotted Orchid are so delicate and a pleasure to see how these plants adapt to the nature and harsh surroundings to survive. The fun part is to be able to identify the flowers and being with Kirsten and Inger was walking with a flower book. After the orchid Forglemmegei/Forget-me-not, Tettegress/Common Butterwort (insect trapper), Mogop/Spring Pasque Flower (the only one found in bloom as it is late for them), Smørblomst/Buttercups, Fjellsmelle/Moss Campion. The only one they had to look up is the Musøre/Dwarf Willow, the last flower pix and they are so tiny that one has to be careful not to step on them.

A walk up these slopes and one gets to the top of Melbyfjell where a good view of Bitihorn (1,607m 5,272ft)) southernmost of Jotunheimen, Peer Gynt’s country! Even found a patch of snow to sit by for lunch and time for a snow-ball fight. Norwegians are a strange bunch, after complaining about their cold long winter, they will go in search of more snow to get the last moments of skiing before summer!! Appreciations to Kirsten for the 3 above pix.

Collected enough bushes, twigs, dead branches, tress etc to have a bonfire for midsummer’s night with Kirsten’s family. Thank you for good company and for crossing this path at life’s journey, Inger, Kjell, Thomas, Sara, Ingeborg and Erik. Kirsten & I sent our RIP message to those departed, especially to our ancestors who have provided us with this blessed life. Sunset pix credit to Kirsten.

K&G drove to Beitostølen where we did some shopping and had lunch. The bus back to civilisation NOK340 S$71, a pleasant 4+hrs ride was slightly delayed arriving into OSL due to loading a bunch to kids getting on after Fagernes either from or to some music summer camp. A full bus from there all the way back to OSL. This is the route where the road bypass Utøya, the island of tragedy with the 2011 massacre of the young people.

What joy to see Olai’s smiling face of recognition. Life is good…

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity… – John Muir

21 June 2013 – Running away from civilisation for a few days

Wed: to Mette, a safe and wonderful trip to Spain and until next summer. Tkx for coming by for lunch. Great to catch up with you this summer.

Thu: surprised Eivind who is now one of the primary care physicians in the St Hans Haugen and centre. Hope to catch up with him before leaving Norway. The last time our paths crossed was nearly 40yrs ago!

Thank you Kari for wonderful company on this beautiful afternoon at Onda Sea Resturant – Aker Brygge*** Managed to capture an interesting shot of the Opera House looking like winter but actually a glorious summer day!

The haze in SIN made it on the news here in Norway. Feeling for my fellow SIN with the haze and at its worst since 1997. How does one breath with  PSI of 300+, not just for one day but a few days? What about all the construction outdoor workers??

http://www.voanews.com/content/singapore-pm-haze-from-indonesia-could-blanket-city-for-weeks/1685851.htm

19 Jun 2013 – Cultural Differences

This is a good one to share, funny but so true…

An American, a Japanese and a Chinese went for a hike one day. It was very hot. They were sweating and exhausted.

When they came upon a small lake, they took off all their clothes and jumped into the water, since it was fairly secluded. Feeling refreshed, the trio decided to pick a few berries while enjoying their ‘ freedom.’

As they were crossing an open area, suddenly a group of ladies from town appeared.

Unable to get to their clothes in time, the American and the Japanese quickly used their hands to cover their privates.

But the Chinese covered his face while they ran for cover. After the ladies had left and the men got their clothes back on. The American and the Japanese asked the Chinese why he covered his face rather than his private part.

The Chinese replied, ‘I don’t know about you, but in my country, it’s the face that people recognize.’ 🙂 🙂 🙂

2cars seen in the area, the vintage car is for marketing Norway’s oldest bakery (1861), Baker Hansen, across the road from me.  The other was just parked for a few minutes on the street when I live and this must be the way to get people to look and take pix of your car! The colour is for REAL and the only one of such I have seen so far, probably hazardous in the traffic distracting other drivers!!

Mon: tkx Ingrid for meeting up at the downstairs coffee joint, Lille Valkyrien Kaffee og Tehus which serves good coffee and fresh croissant. Last year I counted and there were 7 places serving coffee within 1-7mins walk, this year counted 9 so far!

7 Bakeries within 1 to 5 Minutes Walk

Edited 20 Jun: just got news that PSI in SIN is 300+ not good! To fellow SIN, plx stay indoors with good air filters and take care. Certainly would not want to be outdoors there! To the neighbours, shame on you for burning down precious forests! 2 haze pix uploaded from various sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22947709

We may have different religions, languages, colour skin, but we belong to one human race – Kofi Annan