Sunday, June 01, 2008
Chapter 344 - The Forgotten Journals
I was gonna post-process some of the photos from my Norway trip during the Easter break, and then I realised I haven't posted most of them here! How silly of me! ;p If you need a recap of my last post on Norway, I'd suggest you check THE ARCHIVES (as i did...)
OSLO
This is supposed to be an outdoor skating rink - but it's not cold enough in April, and you'd be skating on pretty thin ice if you tried to. There're lots of these bronze statues around this park area though, kinda reminds me of the bronze scultures along Singapore River, if you know what i'm referring to.
The Oslo Cathedral - which is under construction/restoration/renovation. But fear not, there's a "container" chapel in place of the cathedral, in case people needed a place of worship during this period.
I was also approached by a evangelical lady from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church during my stay in Oslo... And amazingly, she didn't have an English language brochure with her (although she had Mandarin, German AND Russian), so we just ended chatting about what I was doing in Oslo, and how she was from Bergen.
The Fram Museum. The Fram is a polar ship, which navigated the poles. It was quite an amazing feat, and I think it probably is to this day, to be able to get that close of the North Pole. And I'd imagine it was pretty depressing when they got stuck in the arctic winter, being landlocked by ice. (well, just FYI, the arctic winter isn't just cold. It's dark. for 6 whole months)
The Fram again...
And a low-angle shot...
I will write on Tromso in the next post....
OSLO
This is supposed to be an outdoor skating rink - but it's not cold enough in April, and you'd be skating on pretty thin ice if you tried to. There're lots of these bronze statues around this park area though, kinda reminds me of the bronze scultures along Singapore River, if you know what i'm referring to.The Oslo Cathedral - which is under construction/restoration/renovation. But fear not, there's a "container" chapel in place of the cathedral, in case people needed a place of worship during this period. I was also approached by a evangelical lady from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church during my stay in Oslo... And amazingly, she didn't have an English language brochure with her (although she had Mandarin, German AND Russian), so we just ended chatting about what I was doing in Oslo, and how she was from Bergen.
The Fram Museum. The Fram is a polar ship, which navigated the poles. It was quite an amazing feat, and I think it probably is to this day, to be able to get that close of the North Pole. And I'd imagine it was pretty depressing when they got stuck in the arctic winter, being landlocked by ice. (well, just FYI, the arctic winter isn't just cold. It's dark. for 6 whole months)The Fram again...And a low-angle shot...I will write on Tromso in the next post....
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chapter 326 - Norway (Part II)
I'm just gonna post some more pictures, without much commentary this time round (since there isn't that much to comment on really... ;p)
Lots of sailing ships moored at the piers. After all, Norway used to be a Viking capital of some sorts right?
Flags! If someone could help me "decode" the message?
A (naked) statue watches time goes by. The brick building in the background is the town hall....
One of the colourful cannons at the Fortress. Annoyingly, I went there THREE times, and on all three occasions, it was closed, even though the published times said it was open. *growl* That's one thing I guess about travelling off-season in Norway - except the off-season is for 9 months in a year.
Officers from the Naval Staff College.
A Greylag Goose. Apparently, it's supposed to be pretty obvious what lens I used for this shot. (it's a 500mm Catadioptric/Mirror lens... if it makes any sense to you... )
The Town Hall. This main hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out every year, in gloomy December - makes you wonder why they chose December as a time really. I was imagining something else though, since I'd have thought putting chairs out will be quite unglam, plus there's no proscenium, or elevated seating. But it's apparently what they do...
One of the meeting/conference rooms in the town hall.. For stately conferences of course... ;p
Lots of sailing ships moored at the piers. After all, Norway used to be a Viking capital of some sorts right?
Flags! If someone could help me "decode" the message?A (naked) statue watches time goes by. The brick building in the background is the town hall....One of the colourful cannons at the Fortress. Annoyingly, I went there THREE times, and on all three occasions, it was closed, even though the published times said it was open. *growl* That's one thing I guess about travelling off-season in Norway - except the off-season is for 9 months in a year. Officers from the Naval Staff College.A Greylag Goose. Apparently, it's supposed to be pretty obvious what lens I used for this shot. (it's a 500mm Catadioptric/Mirror lens... if it makes any sense to you... )The Town Hall. This main hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out every year, in gloomy December - makes you wonder why they chose December as a time really. I was imagining something else though, since I'd have thought putting chairs out will be quite unglam, plus there's no proscenium, or elevated seating. But it's apparently what they do...One of the meeting/conference rooms in the town hall.. For stately conferences of course... ;p
Friday, April 25, 2008
Chapter 323 - Oslo, Norway
Photos from Norway! Some of you might have already seen it up on Facebook, but at least you'll get the full commentary this time. (nearly).
It seems I don't ever seem to start my trips on very good notes - I wasdrunk slightly less sober than usual on my December trip, and this time, I was slightly less awake starting on Norway, having been packing till 2am, and then catching a bus at 7.30am. Well, at the time I booked my flight, 9.30am kinda seemed like a reasonable time - except when you factor in the check-in plus travel time...
Anyhow, day 1 in Oslo started with me trying to find a hostel - thank goodness there was ONE space at Anker hostel - which btw, is pretty much the ONLY hostel in the middle of Oslo. The others are all kinda far away. After sorting that out, I set out to explore the city, and my first stop was the Royal Palace.
I hadn't known or checked out anything on it (many thanks to my Lonely Planet guide arriving only the day before), so I wasn't really expecting much. But by some stroke of luck, I managed to get there in time to watch some guards parade - it wasn't the change of guards parade though, because that happens at 1.30pm, and I was there just before 2pm. I must say though that the drills were kinda rubbish - in the words of the sergeant majors back home - the drills were "HORRIBLE!", "like bird shit falling to the ground." & "my grandmother can do better than that!"
And honestly, I don't really see the point of it as well. Here're the photos anyway.
The bugle which they brought out, but never used. And their helmets! Such annoying feathers they had, which kept getting blown onto their faces. They'd die of itch/tickle if they were to do NDP man...
The marching contingent. Another of the unwarranted, superfluous part of the "ceremony". I think they just marched to the end of the drive and back. But of course, it gives me an opportunity to take photos, so I shan't complain. ;p
The officer marches by. If only the officer was just slightly more to the right, we'd be able to see the soldier in the background saluting with the gun.
Barren trees. Spring doesn't arrive in Norway till late April.
At the pier where you could get fresh seafood straight from the boats. I'm not sure how fresh it really was though, cos there didn't seem to be too much business.
Boats moored at the pier.
A sea gull takes a break from the gusty winds. This should be a juvenile Great Black-Backed Gull. (or just a juvenile common gull. the former sounds more impressive though, so i'm sticking with that.)
It seems I don't ever seem to start my trips on very good notes - I was
Anyhow, day 1 in Oslo started with me trying to find a hostel - thank goodness there was ONE space at Anker hostel - which btw, is pretty much the ONLY hostel in the middle of Oslo. The others are all kinda far away. After sorting that out, I set out to explore the city, and my first stop was the Royal Palace.
I hadn't known or checked out anything on it (many thanks to my Lonely Planet guide arriving only the day before), so I wasn't really expecting much. But by some stroke of luck, I managed to get there in time to watch some guards parade - it wasn't the change of guards parade though, because that happens at 1.30pm, and I was there just before 2pm. I must say though that the drills were kinda rubbish - in the words of the sergeant majors back home - the drills were "HORRIBLE!", "like bird shit falling to the ground." & "my grandmother can do better than that!"
And honestly, I don't really see the point of it as well. Here're the photos anyway.
The bugle which they brought out, but never used. And their helmets! Such annoying feathers they had, which kept getting blown onto their faces. They'd die of itch/tickle if they were to do NDP man...The marching contingent. Another of the unwarranted, superfluous part of the "ceremony". I think they just marched to the end of the drive and back. But of course, it gives me an opportunity to take photos, so I shan't complain. ;pThe officer marches by. If only the officer was just slightly more to the right, we'd be able to see the soldier in the background saluting with the gun. Barren trees. Spring doesn't arrive in Norway till late April. At the pier where you could get fresh seafood straight from the boats. I'm not sure how fresh it really was though, cos there didn't seem to be too much business. Boats moored at the pier.A sea gull takes a break from the gusty winds. This should be a juvenile Great Black-Backed Gull. (or just a juvenile common gull. the former sounds more impressive though, so i'm sticking with that.)
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Chapter 315 - "Whirled Peas"
Try and interpret the title first. =)
My last day in Norway before I fly off to Geneva tomorrow. The weather seems to have cleared up (FINALLY). I couldn't have had worse weather yesterday when I forked out close to £70 for a "Norway in a Nutshell" tour, which really is a nice way of burning a hole in your pockets.
The title was from a postcard I saw at the Nobel Peace Centre and another one included:
I'm sure I've had that before, but it's still refreshing to see it again. Almost missed the Nobel Peace Centre, cos it wasn't yet in my edition of the Lonely Planet - but well worth the visit, and my 55Kr (£5.50/SGD$16).
Otherwise, it was a fairly idyllic day, having arrived in Oslo from the overnight train from Bergen at an unearthly hour of 6.10am. I'm kind of just slacking in an internet cafe atm, although slacking kinda involves money too, but I guess it's the cheapest compared to other stuff I could be doing. (I think having a coffee costs as much as internet for one hour). Good thing I shall be getting my laptop back in Geneva, thanks to Lukas! So till then, have fun!
Oh, and Happy (belated) Birthday Kenny!
My last day in Norway before I fly off to Geneva tomorrow. The weather seems to have cleared up (FINALLY). I couldn't have had worse weather yesterday when I forked out close to £70 for a "Norway in a Nutshell" tour, which really is a nice way of burning a hole in your pockets.
The title was from a postcard I saw at the Nobel Peace Centre and another one included:
An eye for an eye,
turns the world blind
I'm sure I've had that before, but it's still refreshing to see it again. Almost missed the Nobel Peace Centre, cos it wasn't yet in my edition of the Lonely Planet - but well worth the visit, and my 55Kr (£5.50/SGD$16).
Otherwise, it was a fairly idyllic day, having arrived in Oslo from the overnight train from Bergen at an unearthly hour of 6.10am. I'm kind of just slacking in an internet cafe atm, although slacking kinda involves money too, but I guess it's the cheapest compared to other stuff I could be doing. (I think having a coffee costs as much as internet for one hour). Good thing I shall be getting my laptop back in Geneva, thanks to Lukas! So till then, have fun!
Oh, and Happy (belated) Birthday Kenny!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Chapter 314 - Nor(th)way
Day 5 in Norway today, although it feels like I've been here for a much longer time. In any case, it's been snowing (like proper snow) since I've arrived in Tromsø - which isn't a good thing at all, cos snow = clouds, and clouds = no Northern Lights. It's soooo disappointing, having come all the way here to be hampered by bad weather. Although I can boast that not many people will have come as north as I have (I think I'm at latitude 69 degrees North - higher than the Arctic Circle)
I'm catching a flight to Oslo tomorrow evening, and jumping on the overnight train to Bergen right away. I think i've got some lovely pics. Will post soon when I get the chance to upload my photos.
I'm catching a flight to Oslo tomorrow evening, and jumping on the overnight train to Bergen right away. I think i've got some lovely pics. Will post soon when I get the chance to upload my photos.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Chapter 313 - Norway
I've gotten to Norway safely and on time. Having been here for the past 24 hours, here are some of my first thoughts:
1. It's bloody expensive! I spent some £50 on the first day, not doing very much. And by not doing very much, I mean just taking the bus from the airport to the city and getting a hostel for the night. And that's already £50. It seems like pasta and bread will be my best friend on this trip. ;p
2. Brrr... it's cold. Well, you would think that it's spring, but it's not. And England is nothing like Norway in terms of the weather. Had to battle wind and rain yesterday standing at the harbour taking photos.
3. Museums, museums and more museums. In Oslo at least. Lots of them. Went to two today - the Fram museum (it's a ship designed to sail in the polar regions) and the Maritime museum. The former was a lot more interesting and value for money though.
Will try and find time to upload pictures soon. I'll be camping at the airport tonight, since my flight's early tomorrow (my excuse) and the clocks are going forward tonight as well (don't forget to reset your watches!)
1. It's bloody expensive! I spent some £50 on the first day, not doing very much. And by not doing very much, I mean just taking the bus from the airport to the city and getting a hostel for the night. And that's already £50. It seems like pasta and bread will be my best friend on this trip. ;p
2. Brrr... it's cold. Well, you would think that it's spring, but it's not. And England is nothing like Norway in terms of the weather. Had to battle wind and rain yesterday standing at the harbour taking photos.
3. Museums, museums and more museums. In Oslo at least. Lots of them. Went to two today - the Fram museum (it's a ship designed to sail in the polar regions) and the Maritime museum. The former was a lot more interesting and value for money though.
Will try and find time to upload pictures soon. I'll be camping at the airport tonight, since my flight's early tomorrow (my excuse) and the clocks are going forward tonight as well (don't forget to reset your watches!)
