ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

Monday night and Tuesday morning

….. (since today is another day at sea…)

While there were clouds covering most of the sky, a number of us were still determined to get pictures of the midnight sun. Tonight was our last opportunity as we are headed back down the coast toward Tromso. Sitting in the Horizon Lounge at the top of the ship, I chatted with a couple from the Falklands. The jazz quartet providing the music maintained their sense of humor as their audience kept abandoning them for reported sightings of whales.

I can’t shoot at a faster speed than ISO 100, which might give you an idea of the available amount of light around midnight.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get up before 0600 and missed the most spectacular portion of the trip. The mountains and glaciers were receding into the background when I headed upstairs looking for a cup of coffee. Beverage forgotten, I stood in the bright sunshine just stunned by the land.

has long claimed to be the farthest city north. In reality, Honningsvag probably has it beat (even when you don’t include Nordkapp). Like many of the towns at this end of the country, it was not truly settled till the end of the 1700s. And, like the rest, it was completely destroyed by the Germans at the conclusion of WWII. The rebuilding was carefully planned according to the architectural best of the day.

Unfortunately in my eyes, except for the wood, it bears an uncanny resemblance to much of the former east. Extremely plain lines without embellishment or decoration, the town is saved from complete ugliness only by the use of bright color on most of the houses.

Hammerfest is also home to the Polar Bear Club which has a small museum, fishing, and reindeer which wander free. In spite of hiking all over town twice, I must have been one of the only people to miss them completely!

Yarn – ah! Even such a small town offered choices. D Wulff on the main street offered a variety of yarns, fabrics and embroidery supplies. Unluckily for her, apparently her credit card machine was not working so that she could accept only cash. Not wanting to pay the high price of the exchange I turned instead to a lovely small shop on the second floor of Nissen. The proprietress was welcoming, helpful and was more than glad to sell her stock. She also had a wonderful line of baby clothes and other nice things for the home. On the shelf to her right you can also see stacks of mittens, hats and stockings she has for sale, being what she does while waiting for customers. (She had not heard of Ravelry. I hope I did not do her a diservice!)

It is 12ºC today. Better I guess than the 4-5 of yesterday. The one shop keeper mentioned that is was 22º in the shade on Norwegian Independence Day. 17 May (just in case you did not remember).

Once again, I am just posting the pictures at the end.

fraid there will not be photos today. It is not that it is Sunday and everything is closed. (Except for the museum which is closed for two weeks on another account). It is because the wind has been blowing, the sky overcast and the sea a bit rough. Enough so that instead of docking, the ship is at anchor and we came in by tender. I was not about to try and haul along the laptop, settling instead for my very portable iPad.

It really is too bad, there is a wonderful looking yarn store here which I would have loved to visit.

No free internet cafes either, but the Artic Suvenier Shop has wifi for a price much much less than that of the ship.

I have finished the back of my sweater and now am on the left front. I need a break from blue, so will switch to the vest again for a day.

Did I mention the town is small and the streets rolled up. Or that the lovely woman in the Information location was wonder and loves it here in the north saying it is a good and safe place to raise a family?

Off to face a tender full of white faced elderly cruise commrades….

(photos added 8 June 2010)

Since this is a day at sea (second day at sea) while we motor toward the Arctic Circle, I will share a few pictures of the ship. Frankly, it is not exciting. 600 cabins, 9 decks, 200+ meters long. Constructed somewhat like a river ship, all the passenger cabins are on the outside with utilities and crew quarters in the center section. Simple translation? All passengers have windows. Our cabin is considered of lower grade (partially obstructed view) due to one of the life boats being just below our cabin with its roof reaching the lower port hole edge.

This is a very British Cruise. There are perhaps 10 of us aboard who are not UK passport holders. The meals are very English. The dining rooms offers High Tea service in the afternoon. The crew is lovely, friendly. The entertainment, as far as singers, dancers and acts unrelated to their “Music at Sea” program are strictly second string. (or third, or fourth).

There are games and quizzes related to the age and interests of the passengers. I have no clue as to what was on British TV in the 50s and 60s, if that gives you some idea. I think I am the only one in the morning exercise class who can touch their toes…..

(pictures uploaded 8 June 2010)

It is easy to tell that we have traveled north. Sunset last night was 2238 and tonight will be 2318. Sunrise this morning was 0351 and tomorrow we steam north without pause.

Ålesund is todays stop. Spread across three islands, it is known as an Art Deco city. Completely rebuilt starting in 1906 after a fire leveled the town, the older buildings have interesting and fanciful decorations and details. Unfortunately, there are some new buildings of the cement and ugliness variety.

Above the city, up 419 steps (not counting the ramped portions) is a lovely cafe and look out point. If I had known about it prior to landing, I would not have spent an hour on the treadmill this morning + an exercise class. It was a bit of a hike with legs that started to feel rubbery, but well worth it.

The main yarn store turns out to be a bus ride down the coast so I settled for the Husfliden in town. Found a nice dark red for contrast on my jacket.

Ship sails in 20 minutes so I need to head back on board. More when we hit Hammerfest.

Stavanger has money. It is not just the pristine new paving around the harbor or the fancy stores in the warren of rebuilt shops in the old part of the city. It is obvious in the dress of the people, the cars on the street and the prices.

Stavanger, you see, is the base port for the Norwegian North Sea Oil Industry.  In fact, there is a Petroleum Museum which I visited. Also of note is a Maritime Museum and a Canning Museum. Herring today are flash frozen and shipped to Poland for canning. Carbon foot print a bit bigger, but apparently this is a lot cheaper. Poland, as you remember, has ports on the Baltic and a population that works. The highest tower in town is the old fire watch tower which is now a museum.

This was a short day in port – arriving at 1100 and leaving again about 1530. An engine problem has the Artemis traveling a bit slower than usual. End result is few hours in port.

Yarn shopping did not happen – the main store in town closed early May for renovations and does not open again till 1 July. The other store turned out to be almost 6km out of the city center. Just a bit farther than I wanted to walk in the limited time on hand.

Rather than tons of large pictures, today you get gallery style – click on any to get a slightly larger version.

now has a water front of new steel and glass construction inhabited by mad bicylists at 0730 in the morning. Once again, this post is picture heavy, please be patient.

Akke Brykken

glass and steel

and condos, probably with their own docks

I hiked around the city for an hour before returning to the downtown area and a coffee shop, falling in love again with interesting buildings and quiet neighborhoods.

from the 1800s

windows and trim

turrets

contrasting paint and trim

some being wooden

and old, tucked back off the street

and others just bursting with frescos

doors

entrance to the Museum

official buildings

official buildings

rotundas

and the opera house

My new favorite place to have Chai is Wayne’s Coffee which offers free Wifi along with barristas smart enough to ask about syrup vs tea.

Knitting Shops

Long one of my favorite places to buy yarn and toys in Oslo, Husfliden is undergoing renovation. As a result, they are temporarily located on the bottom floor of Glasmagasinet. I spent a long time drooling over yarn and some of the older Rauma patterns, but restrained myself.

Wandering by my other favorite place -

Strikkedilla

which is located in Oslo City (1).  Very nice people and collection of yarns, patterns and fastenings. It was here that I bought the makings for my Viking Ship Sweater in 1998/99.

Festung

What would a port town be without a castle/defensive fort on the hillside. Unlike the UK, there are a few signs up mentioning that the sides are steep. But there are no guard rails, handrails or other methods of preventing you from being really stupid. Guess the Norwegian concept is that you are responsible for yourself and those with you. I like that. I just missed the hours on the Armed Forces Museum…

barely readable layout.

and you need to go....

entry tower

multiple protecting walls

older buildings undergoing rehab

exiting the upper area

Stave Churches

As you know, I am not much of a person for wandering into churches. These doors and lintels are the surviving pieces of several old churches and are on display at the main museum. I am going to put the rest on an Oslo page when I am back home and have time.

old door

side piece detail

lintel detail

Is a lovely port town located on the southern coast of Norway.

Heading into port

lighthouses

tiny islands

and houses clinging to the hill sides

The first landfall on this cruise, tours offered varied from walking tours around the town to bus trips out to steam railways. Now, I would be up for a steam railway, but not at the expense of a good hike around town.

I will walk you through the day. Please be patient, there are a lot of photos…:

there is a new shopping and restaurant area on the wharf

some lovely old architecture in the town

while those who do not walk can travel by "train"

in case you are not familiar with Norwegian History - Kristian IV

interesting building details

and lovely trims

A most fabulous yarn store, Karmin has all the Scandinavian yarns. From Drops to Dale, Gjestal through Sandnes and PT, you name it, they have it. And, in every color available. Three large rooms with floor to ceiling displays of yarn choices.

Karmin

looking toward the front

yarn room three

The Tall Ship Races are coming here at the end of July

a local competitor

On the way back to the ship I passed the customs house

located obviously on the waterfront

before walking over a small bridge

boats are integral to life here

and arriving back at the ship

the Artemis

Sunset was late – almost 2230.

1 June 2010

while sailing toward Oslo

Knitting

Amazing, you made it down to the bottom of the page! The pattern is Hanne Falkenberg’s Blues. Knit in an alternate yarn combination (the grey is KnitPicks Palette as is the Raspberry Heather. The Multicolor is alpaca sox from the same source and the green is Gjestal Spire picked up today at Karmin.)

Knit in two pieces prior to joining at center back, I have the first front completed -

left front

and the second started.

While I am at it – this is the front on Donna -

as of the 29th

with a navy blue Harrisville Shetland substituted for the cream.