Another New Visitor

The Dingxianghai left over the weekend, and a new ship arrived. It is the Skandi Bergen, and ROV/Service Vessel. It has a very nice shape to it. According to the company website, the ship is only a couple of years old.



Sunrises are becoming more dramatic, and the sun is actually coming up at a reasonable hour. We get the first indications of light around 7 a.m., and the best light just before 8 a.m. Here is a view of Dalsnuten from our balcony the other morning.

The snow is melting away slowly but surely. Our last snowstorm gave us several inches of very nice snow, and we were able to get enough for a couple of batches of snow ice cream. Here is the recipe:

About a gallon of fresh, clean snow
1/2 Cup Starbuck's Flavoring Syrup (we like Toffee Nut the most)
1/2 Cup half and half
Milk

Mix all ingredients by hand except milk thoroughly. Start adding milk, mixing by hand, until the mix reaches a smooth but thick texture. Best eaten immediately, but can be stored in the freezer and eaten as desired.


Sidney got a new book at school called "Look Out!". We just have to share this picture of Kipper riding his Big Wheel through the laundry line. Fortunately, Sidney did not ask for thong underwear like Biff seems to own.

We are looking forward to our trip to Tromso, but a little disappointed that the forecast currently is not conducive to us seeing the Aurora Borealis. Oh, well, at least we will have good dog-sledding weather!

Stavanger Cathedral

In looking through the archives the other day, I realized I did not have any posts about one of the most unique and oldest buildings in Stavanger - The Cathedral.

The building of the cathedral began around year 1100 (though there are indications that an older wooden church from around 1025 lies underneath the stone building. Stavanger was actually established as a separate bishopric in 1125. The cathedral itself is dedicated to St. Swithun, who was chosen by the first bishop of Stavanger, Reinald (he was later hanged for not telling the king where the holy treasury was.)


There was a fire in the cathedral in 1272. Some speculate that this was intentional so as to get money to build a bigger cathedral. There is a definite difference in the architecture between the original part of the church and the part built after it burned.

One of the next major events was the changeover from Catholicism to Lutheran, which occurred in 1537.

There is a school attached to the cathedral, and it is among the oldest continually used schools in Norway. The cathedral itself has been in continual use for over 900 years.

On another note, we depart Friday for Tromso for an attempt at dog-sledding and hopefully a view of the Northern Lights. We hope to get plenty of good pictures and not freeze our bums off!