Arctic Norway

After a remarkably mild winter (though also remarkably wet and windy), there was a chill in the air today.  It brought me to look at wintery postcards ad I came across the picture of a Sami girl with her reindeer.

The Sami are indigenous people in Norway and also the northern parts of Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Their main traditional occupation is herding reindeer but they also fish, trap for fur, and herd sheep.  The herding of reindeer is allowed only for Sami people.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

A cluttered desk

The usable space on my desk has become smaller and smaller recently, but for some reason it never has looked as photogenic as this one.  It comes from Norway, or at least the postcard does.

Gone fishin'

So peaceful!

Camilla Campari

The back of the card tells me that this is a picture by the Norwegian artist, Oddvar Torsheim, and it's called "Camilla Campari".  I don't know who Camilla is, but she looks like she might be fun to know.

Plant those seeds!

All this talk of spring has coincided with a number of beautiful flowery cards sent to me.  It's the beginning of April, we all know that April showers bring forth May flowers, and now the sun has come out, so my thoughts turn to gardening.  I would love to fill the house full of flowers just like these.  I suspect it's unlikely in my limited space, but I'll try.

Daisies

 

Daisies from the Philippines

Daisies from Norway

Daisies from the Netherlands

Somebody, somewhere seems to have decided I like daises and they are coming from all directions! 

Daisies are, along with sunflowers, part of one of the largest families of plants in the world, the Compositae.  They are widespread throughout most parts, and particularly so in any garden I've ever had.

Liefdefjorden Svalbard

The card attracted my attention because of the rectangular pieces of ice floating on the surface of the sea because I've never seen anything like that before.  After I read the message on the back, I had to buy it:

From time to time while I'm walking on a mountain, the Liefdefjorden is indescribable - white, blue, ice, wherever you look - lots of islands - the sun never goes down - surrounded by light - 13 people live together in a research station - there is a great variety of social interaction - you are only alone in the ladies - we are working the whole day outside on the ice, snow, and rock - coming home then is something very important - warmth, socialising, good food - the very basic feelings.

Such a wonderful picture drawn in the short message on the back of a postcard.

The Liefdefjord is thought to be named after the ship the "Liefde", meaning "love".  Svalbard is a group of islands, the most northern part of Norway.  Research is one of the three most important activities there, along with coal mining and tourism.  Norway allows any nation to set up research projects there.  It is also the place where the Global Seed Vault is situated, where they store a huge number of plant seeds in an abandoned coal mine, duplicates of seeds stored elsewhere in the world.

The card was written in June 1991.  I would love to be able to find out what research was being carried out there at that time.

Geiranger Fjord

The waterfall called "The Bride's Veil" in the Geiranger Fjord.

This fjord along with Nærøyfjord is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  They are among the longest and deepest fjords in the world and outstandingly beautiful.  Cards rarely do justice to the subject they show so I can only imagine what this place must be like in real life.  It's yet another of the places I'd really love to see for myself.

It makes a refreshing change to see a natural site listed in this way.

Glittertind

Now that spring is here, you may be surprised to find a snowy card appearing, but this is Glittertind, the second highest peak in Norway, and it has snow on its peak all the year round.  Admittedly the snow during the summer months can be very wet, but it's always there.

The name Glittertind is very apt - it means sparkling peak.  Apparently some photographers will camp at the summit waiting for perfect conditions for the photo.  This picture was taken at sunrise.

Trondheim, Norway

Postmarked Trondheim, dated 2006.
Norway
Trondheim, Nidarosdomen

The Nidaros Cathedral is the largest medieval building in Scandinavia and considered the most significant church in Norway. The building was started in the 11th century and finished about 300 years later. It is thought to have been built over the grave of King Olav who was declared a saint a year and five days after his death, resulting in pilgrimages to the site.

I particularly like the colours and reflections in this card which was sent to me on a pre-Postcrossing postcard exchange.

PFF: Hardanger Fjord, Norway

Postmarked Voss, dated 11 September 1981.
Norway: Ulvik, Hardanger Fjord.
Foto:Normann. O-49-56

The fjord is the second largest in Norway and the thrid largest in the world.  Never mind the statistics, I think it's stunning!

Chosen for today because it was sent by a friend of my parents who was holidaying with a friend, and also because I have a number of Norwegian blogging friends.  Friendship all round!

Find more players at Marie Reed's Vintage Postcards.

Røros

Postmarked, I think, Posten Norge, dated 11 March 2009.
NORGE: Røros
Foto: NK/T Aalde

From the 17th century until 1972, Røros was a centre for copper mining.  It is built entirely of wood.  The road layout is much the same as it was in the 16th century, and many of the the houses date from the 17th and 18 centuries. The wooden houses and centre of the town are on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.  The curch is interesting too, built in 1784 and able to contain up to 2,000 people.  The pews and benches were divided up accordint to ranl.  The privieged were able to worship in curtained boxes along the sides of the church.  The divisions were maintained even in the cemetery.  The mining company's prayers were said three times a day:

‘Let them be satisfied with their position and lot in life, in wisdom oh God you have chosen high and low, rich and poor, and given them their troubles and their burdens. By the sweat of his brow shall man earn his bread.’

 If anyone can tell me how to pronounce Røros, I'd be interested to learn.  I have wondered for years how to pronounce ø.

Vågsøy, Norway

Postmarked Måløy, dated 22 September 2005.

Motiv frå Vågsøykommune i samband med Postens dag.

I'm sorry to say I don't know what that means, but Vågsøy is the second largest fishing municipality in Norway. It's centre is the town Måløy and it is in the district of Nordfjord. This is the largest postcard I have ever received (A5) and my first Postcrossing card from Norway.

Nordkapp, Norway

Postmarked Nordkapp, dated 25 June 1984.

Nordkapp
71º 10' 21"
Norge

Nordkapp is best known for its 397 metre high cliff which is referred to as the northernmost point in Europe.  In fact a nearby point is further north but is accessible only by foot.  The North Cape first became famous when the English explorer Richard Chancellor rounded it in 1553 while attempting to find a sea route through the Northeast Passage.

I add that last piece of information about Chancellor, because at one time I attended a school in England that had four houses, all named after famous seafarers, and one of them was Chancellor.  I never had any idea at the time what the names meant.  The others were Frobisher, Grenville and Gilbert.  I must look them up.

Hell, Norway

Postmarked Hell, dated 18 June 1984.

F2681-5 Aftenstemming Hell st.
Norway Evening mood Hell station.

Well, the sky does look fiery! But in Norwegian the name derives from the word for cave and in modern Norwegian it means luck. The district has become a tourist attraction because of its name.

Oslo

Undated but brought home from Oslo by my husband so probably dates from late 1990s.

Aerial view of the town centre.