Some may ask - why go to Ikea for lunch? As I have mentioned before, eating out here is very expensive, actually, prohibitively expensive. Part of it is that it is just not part of the culture. People eat in here, and if they do eat a meal on the go, it is usually something light like yogurt, a sandwich or crackers and cheese. A meal at a typical restaurant is probably going to cost $20-$25, and nicer restaurants are closer to $50. That is just the meal, no drink, dessert, etc. Ikea is considerably cheaper. For about $30, Kimber had a salmon salad and dessert, I had a large Swedish Meatball plate with fries, dessert and a drink, and Sidney had pasta with sauce, dessert and a drink. The food is very tasty, even if it is somewhat "cafeteria" style. Further, Ikea has a really cool kids' play area that Sidney loves. We can go in and drop her off, do our shopping, pick her up and go eat. It makes a very nice morning, even if we don't buy anything (though we usually can't leave without a few items - this visit's cool find were ice cube trays in cool shapes!)
Now for a bit of history. Randaberg is one if the oldest-known inhabited portions of Rogaland, which is our county in Norway. There have been inhabitants there for over 8,000 years. Pictured here is a cave called Svarthola in which artifacts and remains have been found that prove that. This was one of the things we rode by on our bikes. Apparently, the excavation of the cave floor revealed a refuse layer from the Stone Age containing the remains of over 50 different types of animals that the early people here ate.
And a little later in history... we often think of the Vikings as pagans and hear of the mythology that includes gods like Odin, Loki, etc. Many don't realize how early Christianity came to this part of the world. On the hill this picture was taken from were the remains of an ancient church dating back to at least the 12th century. Additionally, the cathedral in Stavanger dates to near the same time. The cathedral is still standing today, and is one of the finest examples of Middle Ages church building styles still standing.
We also think of the Norsemen as warriors or fishermen, braving the frigid and unpredictable North Sea. What we don't acknowledge is that this was and still is a very agrarian society. Farms play an important part in history here, and many farms are preserved to show what agriculture was like in earlier times. Some previous posts have given examples of that, and here is another. This is from the Vistnestunet, and old farm from the 1870's. Additionally, the place where the church was on top of the hill is mentioned in records as early as 1159 as being an important farm that contributed much to the coffers of the King at that time.
The sea is still an important part of Norwegian history and current life. This is the Tungenes lighthouse, one of many that dot the coast. It dates from the mid-1800's and was manned until 1984, when it was replaced by an automatic lighthouse just offshore. We were able to tour this lighthouse and learned many interesting things, including how the lights were interpreted, along with navigational charts, to determine the safest shipping lanes. This is what the red lenses and the black shutters were for in the picture. (We also happened to stumble onto a band concert at the lighthouse yesterday afternoon. It is nice to see a little of the real local life every now and then and not just what we can find in a tourism book!)
Additionally, we learned a little more about the German occupation of the area during WWII. The lighthouse was actually occupied and used by the Germans to deny safe shipping lanes to enemy vessels, and a coastal artillery piece was emplaced just outside the lighthouse. The gun was only fired once, however, as it shattered the windows of the lighthouse when it was fired. German occupation here is very apparent, though, as bunkers lie in ruins all over the areas along the coast.
As for the ride - it was very sunny yesterday and the ride itself was nice, except for the wind. The wind was very strong, and when towing a bike trailer, it really slows you down. There were also a few good hills, but the wind was the biggest hindrance.
Finally, we saw a MASSIVE crane ship along the coast in Randaberg. I thight the crane ship that parks next to us was big until I saw this one! All I can say is - WOW!
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