In The Five Island Kingdom Of The Trolls--Part 1

Now then, I am saving the best for last. Well, I call it the best because it is personal. You know that a trip to Norway would not be complete without visiting Ålesund (det Troll Kongerike av fem øyer) and my dear friend and her family.


After the long trip up there, we wound up at a nice camping with a hut with a view. Droopy’s man had gon on a reconnaisence mission and checked out the campings around Ålesund to see what looked the best. We took his word for it and were totally pleased with the choice.


There were always views to die for. You know how it is living near the water—every time you look, the appearance is different. I have to say though, we weren’t “home” all that much, as there were places to go and things to see.

Droopy and co had some activities in mind for us and most of the time we went with them to see the sights. One such excursion was to the tower on the hill above Ålesund. Her hubby drove us up part of the way and then we walked the rest.

The path ended at the tower and of course we had to climb higher to get an even better view of the city below.


This is the view of what I called “the main city”. Droopy told me that the city was actually spread out and built on five islands. It was situated in an interesting manner. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in myself that I could never quite get a feeling of orientation whilst there and had to use my satnav the whole time to navigate to this place or that and to get back and forth between Droopy’s home and the camping. Really embarrassing.

I digress. This next view is a close up of a couple of the buildings downtown from our perch.

It is as pretty as a picture there….like a calendar.


We walked down the hill and headed into the downtown area. Close-up it was pretty too.


The city was destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 20th century and so there isn’t a great deal of “old stuff” to see, but what we did see was so interesting. With Droopy and her man guiding us, we saw where seagulls nested on tile roofs, places where her man had worked as a young man. There was even a museum which housed a bit of kit that he had worked with during those years. Sadly the museum was closed for the season.

Never mind…he knew a place that sold old things and antiques. It was tremendously interesting to me. We also spent a great deal of time doling about in the harbor area.


The boats were also picturesque as they lay along the quay there.


….and of course just like my town, the ubiquitous gull.


Ah, but there were other things to see there as well. The aquarium is not something to be missed. There were all manner of small tanks and large tanks inside as well as demonstrations inside and out. Penguins, seals and the feeding of large edible fish. One sits in front of this enormous tank, a chap comes out with a microphone and tells what we are looking at and what fish is what…then a diver comes down and feeds the fish.


The fish know why he is there and they come to him and crowd in close to get a morsel. After it is over the diver approaches the glass to give the children attention. They loved it. We thought that that was such a nice touch.


One morning, we had some time to ourselves as the two hosts had their own responsibilities to take care of, so we drove out to an outdoor museum. It consisted of older dwelling from different places in Norway. It was a way of preserving them and at the same time letting nationals as well as interested tourists see how things in the days of yore. A few shots now of what we saw.




Now for a bit of detail. the house over to the left had some interesting wood-craft technique I noticed. Take this step:


Closer:


The beginning of the museum experience was a display of very old boats, and then one could go back outside and follow the paths along the various preserved houses. The outside portion was gratis, but the real museum with serious artefacts was inside and tickets were sold for this.

 

Wow, what a lovely place! I think I might have to visit that town (not a city, it's a small place, really). *lol* Toni, I live here and only appreciate its beauty when we have visitors who remind me. Eileen, you won't have to walk, we can drive all the way up.

 

TONI--It really was picturesque! I know that Droopy sees her town as "normal", but I liked the looks and feel of it from the start.

EILEEN--A truly nice town, but what was even more impressive was the actual SETTING of the town. Just remarkable. We have an aquarium in our vicinity, but I have never gone there. I would be surprised if it was as nice as the one in Ålesund.
I feel pretty lucky having Droopy and her family as friends. They are special and I feel that we have all hit it off from the very beginning. Their children I care very much for as well. so lovely and well mannered--a credit to Droopy and her man.

 

Frank, Sjoerd & mrs. are fun to be with, so we loved that they managed to come visit. I like my town too when I think about it, but I rarely do. *lol*

The wood cabin on stone "stilts" is a food storage building. The big, flat stones right on top of the others are set like that to keep rodents out. Our ancestors were pratical thinkers.

 

Absolutely beautiful, all of it! What beautiful country!

 

FRANK-- Thanks for your nice comments, and showing interest. Droopy answered your query. I liked the looks of that storage building. I also liked the ingenious way that the makers fashioned the details.

Thanks for the explanation, DROOPY.

It truly is, NETTY. Glad that you enjoyed the story and foto's.

 

The roof of those house are unique!
Interesting and lovely place.

 

Yes they are--so charming and no doubt useful.