It is high season both for avalanches and for people skiing in the mountains of Norway now. The days have got longer and Easter holiday for most Norwegians starts today.
That is traditionally the time to go looking for the snow that they have hated for the last 4-5 months.
Lots of Norwegians spend the Easter holiday at their “hytte” (second homes), either in the mountains, or by the sea. (Those who doesn’t seek warm sunshine and cheap booze in “Syden”.
Even being on a ferry is not safe from avalanches.
The ferry Aukra on her way from Hellesylt to Geiranger had to try to outrun a cloud of snow from one of the most regular and well known “avalanche tracks” along the Geirangerfjord, named “Geitfonna” (The Goat Avalanche):
PS> The local brewery in Geiranger even make a special Christmas Beer named after “Geitfonna”:
Two pictures from Ålesund taken in the late 1950s. This first one taken during the summer and shows the M/V Clio alongside the wharf, loading “Klipfisk” (Salted and dried Cod) for South America:
The second picture is from the same period, but taken in the winter, with the Clio on another visit and hundreds of fishing vessels in town, waiting for the call that the herring has arrived on the spawning grounds close to the coast:
Either waiting on weather, or for the call on MF Radio from the famouse Marine Biologist Finn Devold:
onboard the research vessel “G.O.Sars” (Seen here in Aalesund):
He followed the shoals of herring from their feeding grounds in the Atlantic and Norwegian Sea and transmitted regular reports on the position of the shoals. Everybody on the boats and ashore tuned in to his transmission, as this was make or break for much of the population in Aalesund and the entire NW coast of Norway
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When the first boats arrived back in town with their catch of fat herrings, with roe or milt it was Klondike for the young boys in town, climbing on board to claim their share of the catch, selling their loot for 25 Øre (cents) per herring to the housewives around town:
The first few days the town would smell of fried herring and herring cakes.
The fishermen would pretend to be angry and chase the hordes of eager boys off their boats, but everybody accepted that this was a old and time honoured tradition.
PS: I bought my first boat at 12 with money earned by selling herring as well as selling newspapers to the fishermen in town.
The boat looked similar to this one:
I believe that you have worded your comment perfectly; “live at the coast”. Typically, here in the States, we would say; “live on the coast”. Norway is different, here in the States we can own the coastline, which is not possible in Norway where the coastline belongs to everyone. Did I get that right?
From Ulsteinvik to Lofoten: From left: Børge Skeide, Jimmy Heitmann, Nils Peter Skeide and Magne Grimstad. PHOTO: PRIVATE
It turned out that the cod weighed forty kilos. Skeide, who is an avid hobby fisherman, says that it is the biggest fish he has ever caught.
They traveled upwards on Wednesday and are based in Svolvær. On Saturday, the plan is to participate in the World Cup in cod fishing.
If I had caught this cod on Saturday, I would have won the World Cup. We have signed up for the amateur class.
They will stay in Lofoten until Sunday. Then they travel home, probably without fish in their luggage.
Yes, it will be a little difficult to stuff the suitcase full of cod, so we will probably sell what we have caught and then we will eat a lot of cod when we are here, says Nils Peter Skeide.
Source: Fekk kjempetorsk på kroken - smp.no
In February, Eco Cargo Solutions from Hessa School took the honorable first place in the Scandinavian Innovation award. PHOTO: STAALE WATTØ
On the evening of the last day of Easter, the final message came: After the team from Hessa school was named the best of 850 teams from Scandinavia, they will go to the USA and the world final. There they will compete with 19 other teams in innovation.
First Lego League is a knowledge and technology concept for children and young people between 4 and 16 years.
Here, the participants explore issues within a topic and try to find solutions that adults have not thought of.
The concept will inspire children and young people to become tomorrow’s engineers, researchers and problem solvers.
This year, the Innovation Award in Norway went to seventh-graders from Hessa.
They went on from the Scandinavian final, which was held in Ålesund in March.
Ålesund Municipality was informed that Hessa has been placed in the world final in St. Louis, USA on 21-23.
This is very big, says Minda Myklebust, project manager for the First Lego League initiative in Ålesund. Together with the Newton room, the project is something all students in the municipality can take part in.
This is only the third time a team from Scandinavia qualifies for the world final. This shows that our commitment to innovation and technology in the Ålesund school is bearing fruit, says Myklebust.
Source: smp.no
PS> My childhood school. No such opportunities in those days.
Tomorrow 17th May is Norway’s National Day!!!, or “Constitution Day”
Due to the pandemic this will be the first time in 3 years that it will be a normal celebration.
The day will be celebrated in good weather, at least in Southern- and Mid-Norway, while the Northern parts can expect cold weather with rain and sleet.(snow over 2-300 m. elevation)
As usual there will be parades all over Norway and anywhere in the world were there are Norwegians in any numbers.
No, not Military parades but children waving Norwegian flags and shouting Hurra!!!.
Here from the 2019 parade in Oslo:
This year will see the largest number of schools taking part in the parade in Oslo, marching in front of the Royal Palace, with the Royal Family on the balcony to take their salute:
The day is to celebrate when Norway got it’s own Constitution in 1814.
The tradition with children marching in parade has existed since 1869, only broken during the Pandemic and the German occupation (1940-45), although even the Gestapo didn’t manage to establish a total ban:
Norway during the occupation. May 17 somewhere in northern Norway.
According to German authorities, it was forbidden to celebrate May 17, and to show the Norwegian flag. Children on a farm in a village in northern Norway defy the ban, and make a small May 17 parade for themselves, with Norwegian flags waving.
PHOTO: KARI BERGGRAV / NTB.
In 2020 and 2021 alternative ways of celebration was invented. In many places this was by arranging a Boat Parade. Here from the one held in Ålesund, 2021:
