Spring in Stockholm

Stockholm is the beginning and end of our Interrail trips. This last day we overnighted and spent time on Södermalm, the former area of working people. When the city grew Söder became a hub for artists and bohemian youth. Today it, however, looks more like a middle-class neighbourhood. It is a hilly island with parks, some old protected houses, old city apartment buildings and beatiful views to the city surrounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic.

View from Skinnarviksberget
It is nicer to admire downtown area from here
Narrow wooden paths run along the edges of the cliff
Lot of stairs on a hilly island
Again a hill
Beautiful old houses are protected
Not so bad looking these apartment buildings either
Maria torget
Tosca pastry for mother’s day morningcoffee
Swedish meatballs, köttbollar, had to be tasted

Fotografiska is a must for me on every Stockholm visit. This photo is “Shadow of Pelle svanslös” by Hans Hammarskjöld. My daughter used to love stories of Pelle Svanslös, Pekka Töpöhäntä by Gösta Knutsson.

Hockey world championship game guests were around
Stockholm city museum at Södermalm was a nice new place to visit
On the ship homebound
Gin and Tonic for the good trip
Finally back home afrer 18 days Scandinavian spring trip

Walking around in Oslo

In Oslo we stayed in the Haraldsheim youth hostel, which is my favourite place here. We could do the accumulated laundry, the surroundings is green and fresh. The kitchen is well equipped and people are helping each other. Connection to downtown is easy by tram or Metro, and it feels good to return here after the city bustle.

As this is first visit to Oslo for Pekka we checked the most popular attractions, like many other tourists in town. We walked on the Operahouse roof, stumbled on Akerhus fortress cobbled streets, visited the City Hall, Vigelands Park and Holmenkollen. The Metro journey to Holmenkollen is beautiful as it is running on the ground through single family housing areas. “Metro” is running slowlys due to the winding uphill track and several stops. Holmenkollen is rich in memories for our generation that follows Nordic wintersports.

Of the museums we visited only the smaller ones like Nobel Peace center, Norway’s resistance museum and Astrup Fearnley museum. The Nobel Peace center focused now on opposing nuclear weapons, as the peace price 2024 was given to an organization Nihon Hidankyo that works to achieve a a world without nuclear weapons. It was also new to me that 1997 was awarded Jody Williams for banning the landmines and now we are discussing in Finland to allow the landmines.

Great view from the skijump tower at Holmenkollen
Trying to think how 18 years old ski jumper Matti Nykänen felt when he jumped from here in a thick fog 1982 and won the world championship
Inside was a married couple
On the walls were shown moments of history. Norway was occupied by Nazis in WW II, more of that we learned in the Resistance museum.
In Akerhus area there are War museum and Resistance museums, where I once learned a lot of Norwegian history. We visited now the Resistance museum, which tells about the five years occupation time.
Vigelnd Park is a must, the statues are from the forties
Blue trams in traffic
Haraldsheim youth hostel with Nordic flags
Neighbourhood of Haraldsheim is residental area
We followed the Norwegian order of meals eating just a sandwich for lunch. In the hostel was a well equipped kitchen so we could prepare our dinner. Delicious meals were easily made of fish ingredients and shrimps broccoli, asparagus and potatosalad.

Oslo S is the Main railwaystation from where we continue to Stockholm tomorrow morning in a good mood.

Norwegian spring, art in Kristiansand

A big ferry took us over stormy Skagerrag /Northsea to Kristiansand. It is a beautiful old town with plenty of white wooden houses. The Otra-river and the open coastline give it a spesial fresh atmosphere. Modern theater building Kilden and a brand new artmuseum, Kunstsilo, that was really built to an old grain silo originally from 1935 and opened In May 11. 2024. The exhibitions were very Nordic. Modern paintings of already older Norwegian artists, photographs and videos. Mette Tornvoll’s photos described the relationship of humans and nature. Exiting experimental art; communication of voice and light by an icelandic musician and artist. However, the most impressive in my mind were videos, “Over seas” by Elina Brotherus. She had cooperated with the Kristiansand symphony orchestra and the conductor Eivind Aadland. The music followed Elina when she was dancing on rocky shoreline with a friend or sitting beside a lighthouse as the twilight turned into darkness, simultanously in second video she was writing by the table shown as a silhoutte and the lighthouse lamp shows through the window. In the third video tens of candles are floating along the river Ganges and the music of symphony orchestra follows their movement. Even in the Main lobby is one of her videos from Venice with the music played with Tapio Wirkkala’s glass works.

Color- line ferry took us safely over the stormy sea
White wooden houses of Kristiansand
Otra- river flows into the sea
Kunst silo the museum of modern art is really worth visiting
Kilden, the new theater and music building
Statues of Kristiansand where all watching the sea
The brass band was practising on the church yard maybe for May 17th the national day of Norway
Journey to Oslo starting soon
Most beautiful sceneries on the way to Oslo. The tracks followed the rivers all the way.

Scandinavian spring in Jutland

Our destinations in Jutland were Aarhus, Hundslund, Aalborg and Hirtshals. Warm weather pampered us until the very north of the country. We saw the delicate light greenery of the beech forests, the bright yellow of rapeseed fields and the blue-green sea on the shores of Kattegat. The city of Aarhus was lively with its bustling streetlife, big cathedral and Aros museum. When getting to the Hostel lobby in Aarhus we were greeted with a group of Finnish youngsters. It appeared to be youth council of Helsinki.

The next city, Aalborg offered art experiences with its artmuseum Kunsten, even the building was a piece of art, designed by Alvar Aalto. The second experience was the center for a famous architect Jörn Utzon by the Limfjorden. The ideas of Nordic architects feel natural and easy to understand for a Finn. It also happened that originally Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who came late to the choosing commitee meeting of Sydney operahouse competition saved Utzons already disegarded drawings, and finally Utzons idea won.

As a pleasant stopover we had cozy time at our Finnish friend, my schoolmate Kaijeli on a small Village Hundslund near Aarhus. We enjoyed nature and celebrated 1st of May and Pekka’s birthday with good food and some sparkling.

Beech forests have a delicate Greenish spring color.
Color of the sea on Kattegat shores is blue -Green
Spending time at the beach with our friend

Morning of 1st of May and Pekka’s birthday. In Denmark flags are used on birthday breakfast

Lively riverbanks in Aarhus

Aros, big artmuseum in Aarhus

Only a few of the murals are visible in the Aarhus Cathedral due to the reformation. This is one example of the deeper understanding of culture because of the common Nordic history.

There is darker side in every city

Except being art city Aalborg is also an industrial city

Hjelmerstad consists of some old quarters in Aalborg

Short distances back and forth with regional trains in the North

Fiskehus served excellent fiskefrigadeller for lunch

Hirtshals is a small fishing- and harbourtown in the north of Jutland. Worth to visit is the Oceanarium with seals and all kind of fishes as well as to enjoy the scenery to open sea and good reasonably priced fishrestaurants.

Small fishing boats waiting for the morning

Thank You Denmark