Visiting Ships and Sailing

Our latest visitors to the docks next to us were a pair of service vessels from the Maersk shipping lines - the Maersk Leader and Maersk Logger. They came in for loading of subsea Remotely Operated Vehicle and Oceaneering equipment. The Maersk Blue is very striking!



Also, our Wednesday evening regattas have started up again. Yesterday we watched them sail down the fjord toward us in heavy rain and windy conditions. There were at least 25 boats in each class.



And now a little more about the ship Kimber will be sailing on in July, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl. She is a three-masted barque with 21,800 sq. feet of sail area divided between 22 sails. She is Norway's largest and oldest sailing ship. Originally built in Germany in 1914, she was claimed as a war prize by the English before making her way to Norway in 1923. Germany confiscated her from 1940-45, but she returned to Norwegian possession after WWII.

The extreme length of the ship is 321.4 feet, with the hull itself measuring 258 feet. The height from water line is 157 feet with a draught of 17 feet.under power of her diesel engine, she can make 11 knots in fair weather conditions, but is much faster under sail.

Kimber is looking forward to the trip, and Sidney is looking forward to visiting Legoland after we drop Kimber off.

Kimber's Bike Race

To prove that at her new age she's still got it, Kimber participated in a bike race yesterday in Randaberg. It was a mixed mountain and road course of 38 kilometers, and at several points, everyone had to get off and push their bikes. Kimber completed the course in a mere 2:04, and didn't suffer any accidents, despite the crowd of over 2000 competitors.

We also scored the "deal of the day" at the vendor fair while Kimber was riding. I found a pair of Merrill Moccasins for only 100 NOK. That's less than $20! Not only were they cheap, they were Kimber's size. Any of you out there that know us well know how rare that is!

We spent today doing spring cleaning since the wind has picked up outside. Norway is a dusty place anyway, and the recent volcanic ash dusting didn't help. At least it is all done (for a little while at least!)

Kimber's Birthday Present

We were able to keep the surprise from Kimber (mostly) and revealed her birthday present to her this morning.



We will depart Stavanger via ferry to Denmark, where we will attend the end of the Tall Ship Races at the finish line in Aalborg in July. After the races finish, Kimber will be boarding the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a Norwegian 3-masted barque, for a four day working cruise back to the ship's home port in Bergen. During this cruise, she will actually be part of the crew sailing the ship. She will sleep in a hammock below deck, and do everything from watch duty to climbing the rigging.

We figured this would be right up Kimber's alley when we saw the ship in Bergen in February.

Sidney and I will meet her when she arrives in Bergen, and we will take the ferry back to Stavanger. She goes offshore to her work ship the next day after we get home, so she will definitely have her sea legs by then!

More to come on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl when I have a little more time to post. Right now, I have to go finish getting Sidney ready and head off to school!

A busy week

We have been pretty busy this week, which is why we haven't posted to the blog. Most of our stuff has just been regular old work, school and life - we don't spend all of our time traveling, hiking, touring, etc.!


Sidney had her visit with her teacher on Wednesday. She did get to see the queen, who waved at her. She didn't get to actually talk to her though. If she had, I am sure she would still be talking to her!


While Sidney was doing her thing on Wednesday, Kimber and I went up Dalsnuten with a couple of people from her office. They are actually here from Houston right now working with Kimber on one of her projects. And with the volcano erupting in Iceland, they are currently stuck here.

The volcano has also spread a thin layer of ash here. You don't notice it a lot, except on the surface of your car and other flat metal surfaces, or on your apartment windows that you just spend a few hours cleaning right before the ash started falling.


Before the volcano erupted, we did get the opportunity to see some fancy flying across the fjord. We watched a search and rescue helicopter do a high-angle rescue from one of the cliffs. We don't know if it was real or a training exercise, but if there was a person in the basket that they pulled up, they likely lost their lunch. The basket was spinning faster than a carnival ride as they pulled it up!


Yesterday we went for our first bike ride of the year. It was a little chilly and windy, but enjoyable. We rode from our apartment over to the sword monument and back. We got back just in time, for as we came in our apartment it started raining. Then, as we were looking outside in relief that we weren't getting soaked, it started snowing! It was only for a couple of minutes, but it was really odd to see it snowing when the outside temperature was 46 F.

Make sure and check in after tomorrow to hear about Kimber's big birthday surprise. Sidney has already given several hints, but Kimber doesn't know what it is!

Sunrise

We have had phenomenal weather this weekend, and we hope it carries into the week. That being said, sunrise is starting to get early. When I got up this morning at 6, the light was already getting pretty bright over the mountains. I am going to get up a 5:30 tomorrow and try to do a panorama with the silhouette of the mountains and island as the subject.

We had a very nice weekend. Kimber went hiking to Manafossen on Saturday with a friend from work. She didn't take pictures, but her friend did, so if I get permission, I will post a couple as an edit to this entry. There was snow at the bottom of the falls which made it look quite interesting.

Sidney and I went to a birthday party for a set of twins from her class. It was a pretty good party, and everyone, adults included, survived the 22 four and five year-olds running around like little mad people.

We had a very nice dinner last night of lamb, roasted potatoes, cucumber and fruit salad. There is quite a bit of lamb left in the store right now after Easter, and this roast was particularly good. After dinner, we enjoyed the company of the friends that came over as well as wonderful views of the fjord.

Kimber has a big week at work this week as they are rolling out a project on which she has worked pretty hard. She goes offshore next week, so things will be in a little bit of disarray here. It is a good thing we had a nice relaxing weekend!

One Year Anniversary

As of yesterday, we have been out of the U.S. for a year. During that time, we have visited several countries, as well as lots of very unique places in Norway. Sidney has completed almost a year in a British school, Kimber has been offshore to work a few times, and I have written 99 posts for the blog.

We have had almost 2500 hits to our blog since last July 4th, and I would guess we will be up over 3000 by the one year mark of tracking. Someone we know here told us that a relative in the U.S. had found our blog and asked if she knew us! Don't worry - I won't let fame go to my head.

As you can see from our "quotes" section, Sidney may get to meet the Queen of Norway next week. Her teacher's husband dances for a Norwegian folk dance group, and in celebration of the group's 150th anniversary, they have been selected to dance for the queen. Sidney has been invited to attend, and she is really excited about going. I will try to get a picture if she actually meets the queen.



In reflecting on our experiences this past year, I have to think about the profound effect that this has had on her life. She will be able to say she has been to both hemispheres, visited at least eight countries other than the U.S., and spent quite a bit of time above the Arctic Circle (all the way above the 80th parallel). She has played with lion cubs, eaten all sorts of different foods and seen more by the age of five than I knew about when I was in high school. She will have seen (possibly met) royalty and dipped her foot into the waters of five different seas or oceans. And she thinks this is all just a normal part of life.

I would have to say I think the last year has been worth it.

And a rare addition to the blog by Kimber. Some times of this past year have been exciting and some times lonely. We wouldn't change it. Not only for Sidney but for our perfect little family. We have always been careful to refer to where we are together as home. And it is. We are together and God has smiled upon us and blessed us richly to have our little family and you all as friends.

In and Around Dubrovnik

We spent the last few days doing a little hiking and exploring in the Dubrovnik area. We've had wonderful weather, and the views from several of the places we've hiked to have been fabulous.

Speaking of weather, here's just a little advice to anyone planning to travel here. As the weather warms, the amount of tourists increases. We've found that the weather was quite suitable for a visit at this time of year, and the crowds haven't been too bad. There have been a few tour groups to contend with in the old city and museums, but more on that in a minute. The water is not exactly "swimming" temperature, but that is just one minor activity here. If you are here for a week or less, swimming in your hotel pool is quite sufficient.


Our first hike was to Ft. Imperial (also known as Srd Mountain), overlooking Dubrovnik at 408 meters. Ft. Imperial is a Napoleonic fort that was integral in the defense of Dubrovnik during the December 1991 invasion by Serbo-Montenegran forces. A group of 31 Croatian defenders held the high point under air, artillery, tank and infantry attack, holding the opposing forces no closer than 300 meters from the fortress. The area is still littered with shrapnel, and the walls of the fort are scarred with bullet and bomb holes.












A museum to the defenders has been established inside the fortress, providing a history of the fortress and city, as well as an outline and displays about the 1991 conflict. During the conflict, over 3000 bombs and missiles rained down on the old city, plus other actions around Dubrovnik. The cable car that ran from the city to the top of the mountain was destroyed, but it is currently being rebuilt. A cross at the top of the mountain was also destroyed, but this has been replaced.


The mountain provides the most outstanding views of the entire city, though there are also outstanding views from other locations, as you will soon see. The hike up takes you up several switchbacks, but the trail is good. Make sure and do this hike earlier in the morning, not only for the best light, but also for the lower temperatures. There are no trees once you get about 150 meters up, and the heat can be surprising, even on a nice day.


We met a friendly herd of cows up top. They were grazing the area, and we watched one try to eat a water bottle. Nobody ever said the cow is a smart animal (or if they did, I am not sure what they meant.) They were fun to see.


After our hike, we walked to the old city and had an ice cream. Sidney really enjoyed hers, as you can see. We then went back to the hotel and rested a little before dinner.


Dinner was at a local favorite for seafood known as Restaurant Posat. The service was excellent and the food to die for. We split a grilled Adriatic rock lobster and a small grouper. We also had a local cheese from the Island of Pot. The cheese was similar to a Parmesan, but with a little more delicate flavor. It was seriously a fantastic meal, and the view of the old city walls as we ate on the balcony was beautiful.

Yesterday found us exploring a couple of museums in the old city and taking the ferry to Lokrum, the island just offshore of the old city.

We visited the Pharmacy Museum, which is the site of one of the oldest continually operating pharmacies in the world (since the 1300's.) It was nice, but continually battling the tour groups in cramped quarters made it difficult to see completely. There are lotions and balms you can purchase that still use recipes that are several hundred years old, but there were too many people there to try to buy anything.


We also visited the Ethnographic Museum, which we highly recommend. You have to go through a few back alleys of the old city to get there, but it is well worth searching out, as it is not crowded and is located in the city's old granary, which is a sight to behold in itself. The exhibits were well-done and informative. Interestingly, there was an exhibit of panoramas from Croatia on display. I wonder if I could get a couple of mine added?

After the museum, we went by ferry to the island of Lokrum. It is a 15 minute ferry ride, and this was the first day of the season that the ferry was making regular runs. Legend has it that Richard the Lion-Hearted was shipwrecked here on the way back from the Crusades. He promised to build a cathedral on the site, but instead donated money to build the monastery on the island.


We walked to the top of the highest point on the island, which, at 94 meters, holds the site of another Napoleonic fortress. This spot provided a lovely view of the sea and the city. We had a picnic here, then continued on our hike around the island.


We spotted several peacocks around the island, which were brought here originally in the 1800's. They seem to have adjusted well to the area, and fit quite nicely with the landscape.


Another location we sought out was the Salt Pond, which is a clear pond fed by the Adriatic that has a very high salinity. We wanted to give it a try, but it was far too cold to see if we could float freely like in the Dead Sea (as they say you can.) It gave us a nice break, and Sidney got to play in the water for a little while.

We returned to the city and did a little shopping before returning to our hotel. We went out for another pizza and pasta dinner, then came back for a nice evening of rest.

Easter Sunday brought Sidney a visit from the Easter Bunny. We then went out for a hike to a couple of peaks just north of our hotel. The first provided a nice view, as well as a church currently undergoing reconstruction. More importantly, we found out that wild asparagus is in season right now, so we scanned shady areas for the rest of our hike, picking and eating as we went.



The other peak was, at 192 meters, one of the tallest in the area of town. It provided lovely views, including this one where we picnicked for lunch. We then walked down to the harbor area, enjoying the views of the bridge along the way.




Sidney spent a little time playing and making friends at the playground beside the harbor. I also took note of a couple of vehicles used in defense of the city in the '91 war.
















We then walked back to the hotel for a little dip in the Adriatic before heading to the pool. I took advantage of the scenery to do some portraits of Kimber and Sidney. We then spent some time in the pool and hot tub before going back to the room to pack for our departure tomorrow.

Dubrovnik and the other areas visited on this trip have been beautiful and memorable. I said to Kimber today, "Who would have thought two years ago we would be having a picnic lunch on Easter Sunday overlooking the Adriatic coastline today?" The memory will stay with us forever, I am sure.

Montenegro and Mostar

On Wednesday, we took an excursion south to the country of Montenegro. As we left the cosmopolitan Dubrovnik behind, we were able to see some of the damage still remaining from the war in the countryside. We saw a few hotels that had been pillaged by the invading armies and left in ruin, as well as a few houses that had been bombed. I even noticed a Russian-made military jeep taken apart in one town.

The border crossing was pretty easy, especially as these two countries were at war only 10 years ago. During the conflict, Montenegro continued to side with Serbia and was still considered in union with Serbia until 2006, when that union dissolved and they became an independent country. I have to saw, based on what we saw in Montenegro, they probably picked the wrong horse to back in that race.

The country is not part of the European Union, but they use the Euro as their currency. If anyone exerts influence in Montenegro today, it is the Russians. I heard several people in our group refer to the underworld of the new Russian empire, but I did not necessarily see that. What I noticed most was how much Montenegro reminded me of being in the Eastern Bloc countries in the mid-1980's. There are old Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks everywhere. There seems to be no organization or planning to any commercial or residential development. Many projects look unfinished. Industry, what little there is, seems pretty non-advanced. There is a lot of general litter everywhere.

That being said, there were some very pretty and interesting sites. And as I found in Odessa and other parts of the Eastern Bloc in the 60's, the people were very friendly.



We made a couple of photo stops along the way to our first big stop in Kotor. We spent a couple of hours in Kotor touring the Old Town, which is not as big as Dubrovnik, but was very scenic and interesting. Our guide for the tour there had a good sense of humor and imparted on us his pride in being from this place. We did not have time to do a hike up the city walls above the town, but they looked pretty cool set against the mist and clouds the weather brought that day. Also, as the old part of town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the facades of the city must preserve their original appearance. This can be seen on the family palace in the photo that is now a restaurant inside.


After Kotor, we headed around the bay to Budva, a city that felt more Russian than anything I have seen since the 80's. There are apparently a lot of Russian real estate investors in this area. We saw several resorts under construction. The town didn't seem to offer a lot on the surface, but we found another old town with surrounding walls and walked around a bit. While there does seem to have been a lot of communist influence in the days of Tito and shortly beyond, there is also a strong church presence in many of the towns. I was actually surprised at how many churches stood in these places and seem to be still in use. There was a pretty strong Orthodox and Catholic influence in both places, and the people all seemed to have some sort of membership to the faith. I suppose some of it could be related to the tradition that the financing of defenses of these towns basically came from the church, and that tradition still holds.



We left Budva and headed back to Dubrovnik. We took a ferry across the bay to save on a bit of travel time and had a little adventure while on board. The car parked beside our tour van started up while the ferry was still underway and the driver somehow backed into our van. Our driver and guide conferred with that driver and his passengers for a while, then finally got some of the ferry crew involved. Finally, the captain said something and the driver of the car gave our van driver 5 euros and the incident was over. Nothing like drama on the high seas!

Today we went to Mostar in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city was the scene of fierce fighting between Serbs on one side and Croatians and Bosnian Muslims on the other. Later, the Bosnian Muslims and Croatians went against each other, resulting in the destruction of the town's most famous landmark, the old bridge commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent himself. More on that in a minute.


The drive to Mostar was absolutely beautiful. We drove up the Dalmatian coast and then turned inland toward Mostar, following the Neretva River through a lush agricultural valley. The views of the islands along the coast were striking, but the views of snow-capped mountains as we started inland were almost as amazing.


We stopped in one village just inside Bosnia for a quick look around. The village was mostly Muslim, overlooked by an old Ottoman fortress. A mosque (reconstructed since the war) stood about halfway up the hill. I felt a bit like a gawker invading these people's lives, but hoped our presence could also provide a little support for them.



We then traveled on into Mostar. One is struck by the number of buildings around in the countryside and the city that lie in ruins, or are pockmarked with bullet holes, even ten years after the conflict. Mostar saw heavy fighting, and the bridge the town was named after was destroyed, as seen in this picture.


A little history on Mostar and the bridge - the city has been a meeting place for East and West since early in the Ottoman empire. While many ethnic and religious lines were firmly embedded elsewhere in the region, Mostar was a city that truly blended the cultures. Many couples had blended marraiges, the largest export from the region was wine (produced largely by Muslims), and trade went both ways between the Rome and Istanbul through this region. Since there was no river crossing for about 100 miles around, a letter to the Sultan earned a commission for the same architect that designed the Great Blue Mosque to build a bridge over the river in Mostar.


The bridge took ten years to build, and was the largest single arch bridge in the world when completed about 500 years ago. It was a feat of engineering in its day, and stood not only to bridge the land, but to show a unity of the different religions within the community of Mostar.

In 1993, the bridge was destroyed by Croatian forces after having stood for 500 years. No one can say exactly why the Croatians destroyed it, but it served to hasten international efforts to end the conflict. A later Croatian minister promised to help Bosnia Herzegovina built a new bridge that was older an more historic that the one that stood before.

The minister didn't quite get that one right, but the world community did step in to help. A team of international military engineers retrieved the stones from the river bottom and painstakingly reconstructed the bridge as close to original as they could get it. For stones that were too damaged to use or couldn't be found, new stones were quarried from the same quarry as original stones. It took ten years, the same amount of time the original bridge took to build, but it was completed and opened to the public a few years ago with grand spectacle.



The bridge stands today in a partially reconstructed city, still facing the visible scars and invisible pains of the war. So many people here profess to want to move on and for everyone to live in peace, but the tension is still very apparent. Graffiti professing support for one cause or another is everywhere, and even the Cyrillic writing on highway signs (meant for the Serbians) is painted over black in many places.


But many things have returned to normal. A tradition and competition of bridge diving from the old bridge has revived, even becoming part of the Red Bull Extreme Sports lineup. The local diving club has their office in one of the towers beside the bridge.

On a side note, Sidney is certainly doing her part for diplomacy in the area. While we were waiting for our lunch to come out, she charmed a lady on the patio with us into inviting her over to chat. The lady even gave Sidney a taste of her ice cream! Either the people in Mostar are really friendly, or Sidney is a world-class con!

We are going to hike up the hill overlooking Dubrovnik tomorrow, and will hopefully have some wonderful pictures to share. We have been warned to stay on the trail, as though the minefields that were there have been cleared, one can never be 100% certain.