June 12: Ancient Rocks and a Fishing Village in Sweden, and on to Oslo
We were up early again for our long bus ride from Varberg, Sweden to Oslo, Norway – but as always, our travel day held some nice surprises along the way.
Tanum UNESCO World Heritage Site
Our first stop was the Vitlycke Museum, which is part of Tanum, another UNESCO World Heritage site that includes several areas of Bronze Age rock carvings. We walked across the highway and up a small rise to a large area of bare rock in front of the forest above where we found the Vitlycke collection of carvings. Because the figures carved into the rocks had been smoothed out by the ages, the archaeologists have filled them in with red paint so they are easier to see, but if you looked closely, you could still see the grooves worn into the large boulders by ancient stone instruments. We were near the sea, so the drawings included lots of boats, along with human figures and symbols whose meanings are lost to time.
 |
| Bronze Age Museum at Vitlycke |
 |
| Flowers in the Swedish Forest |
 |
| The white patch of ground is the large rock holding the Bronze Age rock carvings |
 |
| The rock carvings in the Vitlycke location of Tanum |
Because of our lunch reservations at the next stop, we only had a few minutes here, so there was only time to see one area. I was sorry about this, as the small museum told us about the other areas close by, which held many more carvings, and it would have been interesting to see them.
 |
Images from the four areas of the Tanum World Heritage Site.
Museum explanations beneath each image explained the most notable images. |
Vitlycke: "The world picture of the Vitlycke rock face is one of love, power, and magic. Several of the scenes show the connection of the rock carvings to a fertility cult. One of the most famous rock carvings in the world, called "The Bride and Groom" is found here."
Litsleby: "The Litsleby rock is dominated by the gigantic Spear God, the largest rock carving in Scandinavia. Today, the rock face lies 25 meters above sea level. In the Bronze Age, the ocean reached all the way to the rock."
Asberget: "The largest concentration of rock carvings in Tanum - perhaps in the world - is here. The rock face is alive with pictures, some of them damaged by exposure to the weather. We have been forced to cover one of the most beautiful with soil. Others are completely intact and appear as brilliantly today as when they were carved 3,000 years ago."
Fossum: "The approximately 200 figures on the Fossum rock face seem to have been put together in a conscious composition and must be the work of one person. The figures are stylistically similar and were skillfully carved. The artistic execution was extremely accomplished."
Bohuslän Archipelago Cruise
We drove from Vitlycke to the small seaside village of Grebbestad on Sweden's west coast to meet Per and his daughter, Hanna, who had restored an old fisherman’s house and turned it into a small bed and breakfast with a restaurant called Everts Sjöbod (Everts Boathouse). Per takes groups out for a cruise through the Bohuslän Archipelago's hundreds of small granite islands. Because his boat could only hold half of our group at a time, some of us went on the boat, while others went to lunch.
 |
| Everts Sjöbod |
The ride was delightful. The many islands protect the shore, so the water was smooth and calm. Our cameras snapped away, but the photos couldn’t capture the beauty that surrounded us on every side. After an hour, we returned to the dock and were treated to a delicious home-cooked meal of mussel soup, split pea soup, fresh-baked rolls, and salad. After lunch, we all sat on the deck outside enjoying coffee and “biscuits” (home-made cookies) while we waited for the second group of cruisers to return.
 |
| Group II waits patiently for our return... |
 |
| ...and then sets out to sea... |
 |
| ...while Group I enjoys the great lunch and coffee and biscuits in the sunshine. |
Arrival in Norway
After lunch, we were back on the bus – and in less than an hour, we were in Norway, my wonderful home for a year from June to June, 1969 to 1970! In the late afternoon, we arrived at the Thon Hotel Cecil, just kitty-corner to the plaza in front of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament Building).
 |
| Almost there! |
 |
| The Storting Plaza near our hotel. |
After a quick check-in, our group headed right back out to Frogner Park, Oslo's oldest park and the home to one of my favorite art exhibits in the world, the fabulous Vigeland Sculptures. In fact, it is so fabulous that I went a little crazy photographing as many of the sculptures as possible, and they will be included in their own post coming up next.
 |
| The entrance of Frogner Park |
 |
| The Vigeland Monolith at the back of the park. |
 |
| One of the best things about this entire tour was the wonderful group of travel companions! |
Our long day ended with a fun group dinner at Rorbua Restaurant, which specializes in traditional Norwegian specialties like reindeer, moose, deer, whale, and lutefisk. (The reindeer was delicious, but trust me, you don't want to order the lutefisk!)
 |
| Oslo Harbor with Akershus Fortress in the background |
 |
| Oslo's Radhus, the City Hall |
 |
| Our group enters Rorbua Restaurant |
 |
| Visiting under photos of old Oslo |
 |
| Reindeer with lingonberries and roast potatoes - a delicious way to end a very full day! |
No comments:
Post a Comment