June 27 & 28

Camp Brosius, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

[Kathy Gross, a camper last year, couldn’t join us this year but sent this for Rita . . . ]

[My roomies, sacking it in.  For actual sleeping purposes, of course, Rita moved over with Katie while the Super and I shared . . . ]

[Before heading for camp, we always car cruise Sheboygan.  A little marine haze over Lake Michigan that morning . . . ]

[We could hear boats “out there” and were wondering how they could see anything?]

[And always be on the alert for the dreaded Cheesehead!]

[Eerie . . . ]

[The Super exiting the passenger side of our car in a mutinous move to become driver while I was photo opting . . . ]

[Lakeshore property on the channel . . . ]

[Blue Harbor Resort . . . ]

[As the haze began lifting . . . ]

[Along the boardwalks . . . ]

[The sign tells you everything you need to know . . . ]

[And the neighboring yacht club . . . ]

[And Monarchs were hanging out at the beach . . . ]

[A boat in the mist?  Looks like a scene from Jaws!]

[The public landing . . . ]

[I’ve displayed this in previous years.  A wooden shipwreck from days of yore . . . ]

[The beach . . . ]

[Self-explanatory . . . ]

[Generally, our first photo in Elkhart Lake, enroute to the Tiki Bar on Elkhart Lake . . . ]

[Even as a longtime lake person, I always love our opening view here . . . ]

[For a 300-acre lake, it attracts a lot of visitors due to its proximity to Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Sheboygan, and the mid-size cities of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton located on the nearby 137,600 acre Lake Winnebago . . . ]

[Let the good times roll . . . ]

[We stop here every year before heading over to camp at 1:00 pm.  It’s adjacent to the town of Elkhart Lake (population 1,000) here, on the NE side of the lake.  Camp Brosius is on the NW side of the lake . . . ]

[Mr. Excitement!]

[Why yes, my Tiki Bar lunch is always a Bloody Mary . . . ]

[Walking back up from the Tiki Bar . . . ]

[The Super leads the way through Victorian Village . . . ]

[A couple more views to warm the cockles of your hearts . . . ]

[Heading to the car in the parking betwixt Victoria Village and the classic Siebkens resort . . . ]

[Stopping to enjoy the wildlife . . . ]

[Camp!  We beat Katie and Rita, so joined camp staff in greeting them . . . ]

[You are greeted with the Camp Brosius song, as displayed here in a video I took in 2013.]

[Rita broke her kneecap in two a month and a half ago.  Still hobbled by it, the 17-year Katie did most of their driving on the 390-mile trip from Nashville, Indiana . . . ]

[For transportation around camp, Rita ordered up a golf cart . . . ]

[The Super enjoyed her role as chauffeur . . . ]

[Our cabin, Rappaport – 3 bedrooms (each with a sink), 7 beds, living room, kitchen, screen porch, bathroom, separate shower – all the comforts of home!]

[The kitchen – we get three meals a day at the mess hall, and yet manage to stock the larder in our “house” (OK, it’s mostly wine) . . . ]

[The Super’s and my bedroom . . . ]

[The gardens down on the mess hall level . . . ]

[End of the first day of camp – the camp fire, right outside our cabin door . . . ]

Camping is nature’s way of promoting the motel business.  ~  Dave Barry

Up Next:  Continuing camp . . .

June 21

Flam – Bergen

We left Flam in the morning on a 2-hour fjord boat ride, then a 1-hour bus ride, then a 1-hour train ride, then a 1/2 hour walk, ultimately arriving at our hotel in Bergen. 

[Flam, in the morning . . . ]

[Our hotel against a background of nature . . . ]

[After dinner the previous night, I left my camera under my chair and didn’t realize it till morning.  Then we had breakfast at the same restaurant and I misplaced my room key under my chair.  It’s a sign . . . ]

[After breakfast, Ole went outside to smell the proverbial roses . . . ]

[“It’s a beautiful morning,” said he.]

[Where rain can only fall after sunset . . . ]

[The souvenirs are the waterfalls beyond the gift shop . . . ]

[Why yes, the human hand can provide a convenient sun block . . . ]

[Ole found our boat . . . ]

[Honoring the construction workers of Flamsbama.]

[The Flåm Line (Flåmsbana) is a 20.2-kilometer (12.6 mi) long railway line between Myrdal and Flam.  A branch line of theBergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flamsdalent and connects the mainline with Sognefjord.  The line’s elevation difference is 863 meters (2,831 ft); it has ten stations, twenty tunnels and one bridge.  The maximum gradient is 5.5 percent (1:18). Because of its steep gradient and picturesque nature, the Flåm Line is now almost exclusively a tourist service and has become the third-most visited tourist attraction in Norway (Wikipedia).]

[Our fjord cruise would be electric . . . ]

[And there’s the beautiful, new, all electric fjord cruiser (there are at least two) . . . ]

[A final stroll around Flam . . . ]

[Hooray for Norway!!]

[Ole and the Super look to find Flam on the globe . . . ]

[That’s Africa, Ole . . . ]

[OK, maybe too much here, but this thing was moving and we tried to catch it with Ole pointing to Flam . . . ]

[He found it!]

[OK, Ole, let’s get on the boat . . . ]

[The stroll, continued . . . ]

[Great day for a boat ride in one the world’s great fjords . . . ]

[The Super has discovered our A-list seating arrangements . . . ]

[I did a quick exterior roundabout . . . ]

[The bleacher seats . . . ]

[Well, the bleacher stands . . . ]

[Leaving Flam . . . ]

[Heading that way . . . ]

[Leaving that way . . . ]

[A picture postcard setting . . . ]

[As a scenic tour boat heads out . . . ]

[Hi!  It’s me!]

[Hi!  It’s her!]

[Now in several photos through the fjord an appropriate quote may be in order . . . ]

[In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.  ~  Aristotle]

[Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.  ~  Carl Sagan]

[Nature is pleased with simplicity.  And nature is no dummy.  ~  Isaac Newton]

[Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.  ~  Rachel Carson]

[Ooops, these are some selfies . . . ]

[The Super, Ole, and the Norway flag . . . ]

[There I feel that nothing can befall me.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson]

[Leave the road, take the trails.  ~  Pythagoras]

[Going to the mountains is going home.  ~  John Muir]

[I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.  ~  William Shakespeare]

[How did these houses get there?]

[Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.  ~  Lao Tzu]

[Choose only one master – nature.  ~  Rembrandt]

[The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see.  ~  Albert Einstein]

[I never saw a discontented tree.   ~  John Muir]

[Our sister (brother?) boat returning to Flam . . . ]

[Well, there may be more – they provide an amazingly quiet ride . . . ]

[Adopt the pace of nature.  Her secret is patience.  ~  Ralph Waldo Emerson]

[Can’t be an easy commute?]

[In every walk in with nature one receives far more than he seeks.  ~  John Muir]

[The poetry of the earth is never dead.  ~  John Keats]

[Nothing is art if it does not come from nature.  ~  Antoni Gaudi]

[The world owes you nothing. It was here first.  ~  Mark Twain]

[Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.  ~  Mark Twain]

[I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.  ~  Woody Allen]

[The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.  ~ Robert Frost]

[Despite the surrounding beauty, one must still eat . . . ]

[I was determined to know beans.  ~  Henry David Thoreau]

[Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.  ~  Mary Oliver]

[How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!  ~  John Muir]

[Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.  ~  Rachel Carson]

[Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.  ~  George Washington Carver]

[I am not an atheist but an earthiest. Be true to the earth.  ~  Edward Abbey]

[Where we were and where we went (to be continued) . . . ]

It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians.  ~  Henrik Ibsen

Up Next:  We will momentarily leave Norway for “camp” . . .

June 20

Flam

Continuing our train trip through the Norwegian highlands . . . 

[We’ve left Finse, enjoying the arctic scenery . . . ]

[Hallingskeid Station (Hallingskeid stasjon) is a train station on the Bergn Line in the  municipality of Ulvik in Hordaland.  Located at an elevation of 1,110 meters (3,640 ft) above mean sea level, the station is situated inside a snow tunnel.  It opened along with the central section of the line on 10 June 1908 and remained as a staffed station until 1982.  It is located on the Hardangervidda plateau in an area without population or road access.  The station therefore serves trekkers and mountaineers. Only some of the  Northern State Railways (NSB) trains stop at the station (Wikipedia).]

[Myrdal Station (Myrdal stasjon) is a mountain railway station and junction, located on the Bergen Line regional mainline.  The railway station is also the upper terminal of the Flam Line local railway, which ascends from the valley floor of the Sognefjord to the mountain-top junction, providing a vital public transport link, but deriving a majority of its passengers through tourism.  Most passengers using Myrdal station are changing trains between the two lines (Wikipedia).]

[Yup, here’s where we change trains for Flam . . . ]

[Coming soon . . . ]

[All aboard a classic rail car to Flam . . . ]

[Ole’s diggin’ it . . . ]

[The poop, the whole poop, and nothing but the poop . . . ]

[Vatnahalsen Station (Vatnahalsen holdeplass) is a railway station on the Flam Line in Aurland.  It is 1.13 kilometers (0.70 mi) from Myrdal Stattion, 336.93 kilometers (209.36 mi) from Oslo Central Station and 811.3 meters (2,662 ft) above mean sea level. The station opened on 1 August 1940 (Wikipedia).]

[A Super/Ole train ride series . . . ]

[Going down . . . ]

[What’s this?]

[A big waterfall . . . ]

[So big we’re making a stop and deplaning . . . ]

[Ole and the Super are getting a little damp . . . ]

[What fun!]

[OK, I’ll admit this caught me totally by surprise . . . ]

[See it live in the following video . . . ]

[This video was borrowed off YouTube, as is the following description:  The magnificent Kjosfossen Waterfall was one of the highlights of our Flamsbana train ride from Flam to Myrdal (we went in reverse order). What was surprising and cool was when a hulder maiden in red came out and started to dance & gyrate while dramatic singing and music played!  Another on-loan description:  Students from the Norwegian Ballet School in Oslo have been portraying the “Huldra”, the forest siren, every summer since 1999.]

[Back on board, more scenery on the way down to Flam . . . ]

[Waterfalls and water are everywhere – a reminder of the importance of hydropower here . . . ]

[Idyllic]

[Our train . . . ]

[The other train going back up the hill . . . ]

[Waterfall . . . ]

[Waterfall . . . ]

[Waterfall . . . ]

[Waterfall . . . ]

[And waterfall . . . ]

[River, likely the result of all the waterfalls . . . ]

[Flam!  We are here!]

[Flåm is a village in Flamsdalen, at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden – a branch of Sognefjorden.  The village is located in the municipality of Aurland.  In 2014 its inhabitants numbered 350.  The village of Flåm has since the late 19th century been a tourist destination.  It currently receives almost 450,000 visitors a year.  Most ride the 20-kilometre (12 mi) Flam Line between Flåm and Myrdal, one of the steepest railway tracks at 1 in 18 (not counting rack railways) in the world. There are also a few spirals.  A former rail station building in Flåm now houses a museum dedicated to the Flåm railway.  The harbour of Flåm receives some 160 cruise ships per year (Wilipedia).]

[Not our ship . . . ]

[The town appears to consist of a train station, a visitors center, a museum, a hotel, and a pier . . . ]

[And scenery!]

[After a long day, Ole was ready to hit the hay . . . ]

[The Super searches for dining attire . . . ]

[Should we eat in the hotel dining room?]

[Of course . . . ]

[Nice setting . . . ]

[And now, fine dining . . . ]

[And my entree – cauliflower . . . ]

[Mmmm, dessert . . . ]

[Why not – fine dining came with a view . . . ]

[After dining, I left my camera under my chair and didn’t realize it till morning. Then we had breakfast the next morning, and I misplaced my room key under my chair.  It’s a sign.  And then we were a bit “boggled” when we got the bill for the wine at check out the next morning.]

[A final dining view . . . ]

[The view from the lobby . . . ]

[A bit of a stroll to walk off dinner . . . ]

[Good-night . . . ]

The majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right.  ~  Henrik Ibsen

Up Next:  Off to Bergen . . .

June 20

Oslo – Flam

On the road again . . . 

[Our last morning in Oslo.  Anne and Bill would have one more night here.  Before we schlepped off to the train station, we did one last tour of the area – specifically to visit the opera house . . . ]

[Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano.  She ranks among the greatest singers of the 20th century, and many opera critics called hers “the voice of the century.”  Desmond Shawe-Taylor wrote of her: “No one within living memory surpassed her in sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone” (Wikipedia).]

[The Oslo Opera House, up close and personal . . . ]

[The Super and Anne lead the assault on the summit . . . ]

[A pause to peek in a window.  She Lies in the watery background . . . ]

[And just behind is the new Munch Museum . . . ]

[A foreground avian model for a view of She Lies . . . ]

[The herring gull was obviously quite comfortable among homo sapiens . . . ]

[She Lies (but OK as long as she doesn’t use Twitter) . . . ]

[With the new Munch in the background, the Super, Ole, and Bill on top of the opera house . . . ]

[Lots of construction; and lots of cloudy skies.  We would see plenty of both the rest of the trip . . . ]

[Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough.  The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress.  It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva.  Since the 2000s, it has been undergoing urban redevelopment, being transformed from a container port. When completed, the Bjørvika neighborhood will be a new cultural and urban center in Oslo. The multi-purpose medium-rises of the Barcode Project dominates the skyline to the north; to the east the residential area of Sorenga is under construction.  The National Opera is located at Bjørvika, and both the Oslo Public Library and the Munch/Stenersen museum is currently under construction here, the latter replacing the existing Munch Museum in 2020 (Wikipedia).]

[Bill shooting back at our plaza . . . ]

[Dredging appears to be part of the overall area redevelopment . . . ]

[Stepping back down to  . . . ]

[The close-up dredging . . . ]

[And now the Super and I bid adieu to Oslo, boarding the train to Myrdal where we would catch another train to Flam, our final destination on the day . . . ]

[Ole’s looking forward to visiting new places . . . ]

[We are now 43 km SW of Oslo.  Drammen is a city in Buskerud. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.  Drammen is the capital of the county of Buskerud.  There are more than 68,000 inhabitants in the municipality, but the city is the regional capital of an area with more than 150,000 inhabitants. Drammen and the surrounding communities are growing more than ever before.  The city makes good use of the river and inland waterway called Drammensfjord, both for recreation, activities and housing.  No city in the country has received as many awards for environmental and urban development as Drammen: 6 national and 2 international prizes since 2003 (Wikipedia).]

[Drammen . . . ]

[And now out in the country (looks like home).  This scene is a relative rarity as only 2 per cent of Norway is arable . . . ]

[As you know, the best views are always on the side you’re not on.  But we learned our neighbors across the aisle were from Brisbane, Australia . . . ]

[In Minnesota, this would be known as a farm . . . ]

[We are not at great elevation here (like, 460 feet above sea level . . . ]

[Nevertheless, we were in the clouds . . . ]

[Lupine field . . . ]

[Flå (population about 1,000) is the southernmost municipality within Hallingdal and forms the gateway to Hallingdal from the south.  Travelers from the south pass through the 65 m long tunnel Hallingporten on Norwegian National Road (Riksvei 7) just located north of Gulsvik. Vassfaret is a forested mountain valley bordering Flå.  The Norefjell mountain range also includes parts of Flå.  Lake Kroderen (Krøderfjord) stretches about 41 km north from the village of Kroderen and reaches to Gulsvik.  The Hallingdalselva river flows into the lake from the north.  The area includes the Vassfaret and Vidalen Conservation area which includes Festningen Nature Reserve and Bukollen Nature Reserve as well as the Inner Vassfaret Conservation area which includes Bringen Nature Reserve (Wikipedia).]

[Our train chugging through the mountains . . . ]

[And a tunnel.  Much of Norway had always only been accessible by water or air because of its topography.  With the discovery of oil, the country could finance the construction of tunnels to open up the country by road and rail . . . ]

[The dreary weather actually made for good photo ops . . . ]

[Nesbyen has a population of about 3,500 inhabitants.  It is located on the Bergen Line railroad which runs between Oslo and Bergen.  Nesbyen Station was opened in 1907 when the Bergen Railway was opened to Gulsvik.  Nesbyen is located on Norwegian National Road 7.  Nesbyen is listed as the location with the highest recorded temperature in Norway, with a record of 35.6°C. set on 20 June 1970 (Wikipedia).]

[And arriving in the next town . . . ]

[Geilo is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Buskerud.  Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,300 inhabitants.  It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 km from Bergen (i.e., the middle of the country).  The Bergen Line facilitated Geilo’s development as the first skiing resort in the country, and it is still one of the largest.  It is also known for having some of the most luxurious and expensive holiday cabins in Norway.  The center of the town lies at 800 meters above sea level, and its highest point is 1178 meters above sea level (Wikipedia).]

[Ski slopes . . . ]

[A tarn . . . ]

[We are now in a totally different in geographic region of rugged snow-capped treeless mountains.  Not so much because of elevation, but because this is the country’s interior and located at 60 degrees north latitude (about 1,000 miles farther north than Minneapolis . . . ]

[Ustaoset (unlisted population) is a village in Hol municipality, Buskerud.  It is situated 990 m (3,250 ft) above sea level and is the finish for the cross country ski event Skarverennet.  The rail line between Oslo to Bergen provides year-round access to this high mountain valley. Ustaoset has a rail station on the Bergen Line running between Geilo and Finse, as well as a hotel and mountain resort cabins.  Families from both cities built cabins, some now over one hundred years old, from which they could ski in the winters and hike in the summers.  Reaching the summit of Folarskardnuten, at 1,933 m (6,342 ft) the highest point in the region, on skis or on foot is a notable achievement (Wikipedia).]

[As the train passes . . . ]

[The Ustaoset hotel . . . ]

[A feeling of heading further into the wilderness . . . ]

[Haugastøl (Haugastøl stasjon) is a station on the Bergen Line.  The station is located in the Hol municipality situated between the stations Ustaoset to the east and Finse to the west.  The station is 275.50 kilometres (171.19 mi) from Oslo if one follows the track over Roa.  The altitude is 988 metres (3,241 ft) above sea level (Wikipedia).]

[Heading into where no man has gone before . . . ]

[Barren landscapes . . . ]

[And now into the land of the snow fence . . . ]

[Tunneling through . . . ]

[To where . . . ]

[We come out onto a moonscape . . . ]

[Remember, this is late June . . . ]

[And thus I will always remember Finse as a place where the lakes had summer ice . . . ]

[Finse is a mountain village area on the shore of the lake Finsevatnet in Ulvik municipality in Hordaland county.  The village is centered on Finse Station on the Bergen Line.  The village sits at an elevation of 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) above sea level, making it the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system.  The village lies in the eastern part of Ulvik municipality, and it is not easily accessible from the rest of the municipality.  There is no road access, only a railway stop. The long Finse Tunnel lies just west of the village area, replacing a difficult section of rail that frequently was blocked by snow and difficult to clear.  According to the BBC, the village was used for expedition training by Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton (Wikipedia).]

[Since there are no (public) roads to Finse, the railway provides the sole means of transportation to and from Finse. During summer, however, it is possible to walk or cycle to Finse on the Rallarvegen road (owned by the railroad) (Wikipedia).]

[During the winter, Finse is popular for cross-country skiing, sail skiing (due to its location on the edge of the frozen lake Finsevatnet), expedition training, and Red Cross training. The ill-fated Scott expedition to the South Pole trained here, and outside the hotel there is a monument to those that died.  There is one small drag-lift which allows you to downhill ski on one slope back into town.  During the summer, the recreational focus switches to mountain cycling, walking, and glacier walking on the adjacent “blue ice” Hardangerjokulen glacier.  The Rallarvegen is a popular bicycle route from Haugastol to Flam (Wikipedia).]

[Finse is home to the Alpine Research Center operated by the University of Oslo and University of Bergen.  The Centre began its work in 1972, initially under the title of the High Mountain Ecological Research Station.  The Centre hosts numerous workshops, conferences, and research projects from both Norwegian and international institutions. It is part of EU-funded International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT) (Wikipedia).]

[Finse is the setting for the climax to the 1948 Hammond Innes novel ‘The Blue Ice.’  In March 1979, Finse was the location chosen to portray the ice planet Hoth in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, the sequel to the 1977 ‘Star Wars’ film.  The Finse Tunnel, the village, and the “Finse 1222” Hotel are the setting of Anne Holt’s 2007 novel ‘1222’ (Wikipedia).]

[Thusly, Finse seems like a good place to end Part 1 . . . ]

Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.  ~  Henrik Ibsen

Up Next: Part 2

June 19

Oslo

Yes, it was a very long day.  For this last segment, we concentrate mainly on the art of Edvard Munch . . . 

[But first, we have cows . . . ]

[We bused to the maritime museums, but we decided to stay aboard to visit the Royal Palace and Munch Museum.  Anne & Bill would be spending an extra day in Oslo, so they came back to this and 5 other museums the next day . . . ]

[Back into town where we would de-bus and walk to . . . ]

[Haakon VII (born Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel; 3 August 1872 – 21 September 1957), known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was Danish prince who became the first king of Norway, after the 1905 dissolution of the union with Sweden.  He reigned from November 1905 until his death in September 1957.  As one of the few elected monarchs, Haakon quickly won the respect and affection of his people. He played a pivotal role in uniting the Norwegian nation in its resistance to the German invasion and subsequent five-year-long occupation of his country during  World War II.  Regarded as one of the greatest Norwegians of the twentieth century, he is particularly revered for his courage during the German invasion—he threatened abdication if the government cooperated with the invading Germans—and for his leadership and preservation of Norwegian unity during the occupation (Wikipedia).]

[The royal tourists at the Royal Palace . . . ]

[The Royal Palace is situated on a rise, the Bellevue, at one end of Oslo’s main thoroughfare, Karl Johans gate. The Royal Palace is one of the country’s most important buildings, and a concrete symbol of the course of Norwegian history since 1814.  Building activities commenced in 1824, and the foundation stone was laid by King Carl Johan on 1 October 1825. The Palace was officially taken into use on 26 July 1849 by King Oscar I. The Royal Palace is owned by the state and placed at the disposal of the head of state. It is where the daily work of the monarchy is conducted and where the King and Queen live (www.royalcourt.no).]

[Guy on a horse . . . ]

[Looking back down Karl Johans gate . . . ]

[How do they keep down the weeds?]

[Again, where we were.  We walked around the palace looking for entry.  We discovered it was closed for reconstruction, like I-35W.  So we found a corner pub for lunch.  Inexplicably we have no photographic evidence of this event?]

[Victoria Terrasse is an historic building complex located in central Oslo.  The complex now houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wikipedia).]

[And now to the subway ISO the Munch Museum . . . ]

[On our walk to the museum, which was farther from the subway stop than it appeared on the map (amazing how often that happens) . . . ]

[Whew!  Found it . . . ]

[After a pay in and be searched entry (OK, there’s valuable stuff in here) . . . ]

[The building we’re in, soon to be replaced by the new museum behind the opera house.  In fact because of this transition period, we didn’t think we’d be able to see Shrik . . . ]

[And now a tour of Munch art . . . ]

[An all-time favorite word . . . ]

[Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter, whose best known work, ‘The Scream’, has become one of the most iconic images of world art.  Studying at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania (today’s Oslo), Munch began to live a bohemian life under the influence of nihilist Hans Jaeger, who urged him to paint his own emotional and psychological state (‘soul painting’).  From this would presently emerge his distinctive style.  In Paris, he learned much from Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, especially their use of colour.  But it was back in Kristiania that his legendary work The Scream was conceived.  According to Munch, he was out walking at sunset, when he ‘heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature’.  That agonised face is widely identified with the ‘angst’ of modern man.  Between 1893 and 1910, he made two painted versions and two in pastels, as well as a number of prints.  One of the pastels would eventually command the fourth highest nominal price paid for a painting at auction  (Wikipedia).]

[And here it is.  Likely one of the 10 best known paintings of all time.  Right up there with The Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, The Last Supper, The Night Watch, and The 4 Dogs Playing Poker . . . ]

[1894?  Madonna wasn’t born yet?]

[The Super has her ears on and her camera ready . . . ]

[The red dots indicate the number of Munch exhibitions abroad . . . ]

[Walker Art Gallery caught my eye – turns out there is one in Liverpool . . . ]

[Munch . . . ]

[The Super in the Madonna room?]

[Bill indicating an object of interest?]

[Discussing the finer points of Munch’s brush strokes . . . ]

[A wall of art . . . ]

[A wall of posters . . . ]

[Where to next?]

[Poster of the new museum . . . ]

[Indicating a final departure date?]

[Park art . . . ]

[Returning to the subway stop was a long uphill walk.  We decided to just walk directly back to the hotel . . . ]

[Again, Norwegian names.  It’s a shop, it’s on a corner; thus, it’s the Corner Shop . . . ]

[Proudly displayed outside the Corner Shop . . . ]

[Strolling through the city, following the blue dot on the Super’s GPS map . . . ]

[The neighborhood’s starting to look familiar . . . ]

[Oslo Cathedral clock tower . . . ]

[As the sign says, Comfort Hotel Grand Central in the heart of the city . . . ]

[Returning to the site of our first repast . . . ]

[Watching the world pass by . . . ]

[While enjoying adult beverages . . . ]

[I have no idea?]

[I have no idea (part deux)?]

[Restaurant in the old post office . . . ]

[We’ve discovered The Hand again, so we know where we are . . . ]

[Actually, after returning to the hotel, we decided to dine in the area of The Hand, having noticed many restaurants in the area . . . ]

[And here was one, though I don’t recall the name?]

[To the best of my recollections, that was not Chelsea Handler at the next table . . . ]

[I think we liked it . . . ]

[I’ve decided every city in the world with a population of over 100, 000 has a The Dubliner . . . ]

[Mini bottles of adult beverages through a selfie . . . ]

[The M/S Bretagne Figurehead . . . ]

[Oslo Stock Exchange – we did not place any bets . . . ]

[Home sweet home, for one more night . . . ]

[And how we knew we were home again . . . ]

[On this day, we walked 18,641 steps – made us want to SCREAM!]

I want to go away, oh so far, far away.  ~  Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Up Next: Norwegian train trip

June 19

Oslo

When last we left you, we were heading back down the mountain from Holmenkollen . . .

[And this is our next destination, Frogner Park, which will be the focus of the rest of this blog . . . ]

[Frogner Park is a public park located in the borough of Frogner and is historically part of Frogner Manor.  The manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses the Oslo City Museum.  Both the park, the entire borough of Frogner as well as Frognerseteren derive their names from Frogner Manor (Wikipedia).]

[Frogner Park contains, in its present centre, the well-known ‘Vigeland installation’ (‘Vigelandsanlegget’),  a permanent sculpture installation created by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943.  Although sometimes incorrectly referred to in English as the “Vigeland (Sculpture) Park,” the Vigeland installation is not a separate park, but the name of the sculptures within Frogner Park.  The sculpture park consists of sculptures as well as larger structures such as bridges and fountains (Wikipedia).]

[Helen organizes her troops for the assault on the park . . . ]

[Frogner Park is the largest park in the city and covers 45 hectares; the sculpture installation is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist. Frogner Park is the most popular tourist attraction of Norway, with between 1 and 2 million visitors each year, and is open to the public at all times.  ‘Frogner Park and the Vigeland installation’ (‘Frognerparken og Vigelandsanlegget’) was protected under the Heritage Act on 13 February 2009 as the first park in Norway (Wikipedia).]

[The sculpture area in Frogner Park covers 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures, all designed by Gustav Vigeland.  The Bridge was the first part to be opened to the public, in 1940.  The Bridge forms a 100 metre (328 ft)-long, 15 metre (49 ft)-wide connection between the Main Gate and the Fountain, lined with 58 sculptures, including one of the park’s more popular statues, Angry Boy (Sinnataggen).  Visitors could enjoy the sculptures while most of the park was still under construction.  At the end of the bridge lies the Children’s Playground, a collection of eight bronze statues showing children at play (Wikipedia).]

[The Monolith is the above photo and the background of the below photo . . . ]

[Time for the cutesy-touristy photo . . . ]

[The Vigeland installation’s granite and wrought iron Main Gate also serves as the eastern entrance to Frogner Park from Kirkeveien.  From there an 850 m (2,790 ft) long axis leads west through the Bridge to the Fountain and the Monolith, and ends with the Wheel of Life.  The Main Gate consists of five large gates, two small pedestrian gates and two copper-roofed gate houses, both adorned with weather vanes.  The Monolith Plateau is a platform in the north of Frogner Park made of steps that houses the Monolith totem itself.  36 figure groups reside on the elevation, representing a “circle of life” theme. Access to the Plateau is via eight wrought iron gates depicting human figures. The gates were designed between 1933 and 1937 and erected shortly after Vigeland died in 1943.  At the highest point in Frogner Park lies the park’s most popular attraction, the Monolith (‘Monolitten’).  The name derives from the Latin word monolithus, from the Greek μονόλιθος (monolithos), μόνος meaning “one” or “single” and λίθος “stone”, and in this case is a genuine monolith, being fabricated from one piece of solid stone.  Construction of the massive monument began in 1924 when Gustav Vigeland modelled it in clay in his studio in Frogner.  The design process took ten months, and it is supposed that Vigeland used sketches drafted in 1919.  A model was then cast in plaster.  In the autumn of 1927 a block of granite weighing several hundred tons was delivered to the park from a quarry in Halden.  It was erected a year later and a wooden shed was built around it to keep out the elements.  Vigeland’s plaster model was erected next to it for reference.  Transferring the design began in 1929 and took three masons 14 years to accomplish.  The Monolith was first shown to the public at Christmas 1944, and 180,000 people crowded into the wooden shed to get a close look at the creation.  The shed was demolished shortly afterwards.  The Monolith towers 14.12 metres (46.32 ft) high and is composed of 121 human figures rising towards the sky (Wikipedia).]

[The 850-meter axis from the Iron Main Gate through the Bridge to the Fountain and the Monolith, ending with the Wheel of Life . . . ]

[Smooth as a baby’s bottom . . . ]

[The Circle of Life beginning above and circling around . . . ]

[The Wheel of Life . . . ]

[Am I intruding?]

[Moving from the Monolith to the fountain . . . ]

[Helen checks to see who’s missing.  Old people tend to wander away . . . ]

[And what the Super shot . . . ]

[And photo-bombed by tour guide Helen.]

[Around the fountain base . . . ]

[The struggle between good and evil . . . ]

[Rear view to the fountain . . . ]

[Moving forward onto the bridge . . . ]

[Angry Boy . . . ]

[(Or why I never had kids) . . . ]

[Gustav Vigeland (11 April 1869 – 12 March 1943), born as Adolf Gustav Thorsen, was a Norwegian sculptor.  Gustav Vigeland occupies a special position among Norwegian sculptors, both in the power of his creative imagination and in his productivity.  He is most associated with the Vigeland installation in Frogner Park.  He was also the designer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal (Wikipedia).]

[Leaving the park, exiting stage center to the bus . . . ]

[Ha det!]

[Next, same day, we’re going to catch up with Edvard Munch . . . ]

I gained a sense of why Grieg was so touched by the wistful, elegiac folk music of Norway, and what he meant when he said self-effacingly that his music had a ‘taste of cod’ about it.
~  Anthony Tommasini

Up Next: Finishing up Day 2

June 19

Oslo

Reminder, where we were in the world . . .

[So you don’t have to refer back to day 1, here’s the schedule for day 2 . . . ]

[We walked to meet our sightseeing tour.  But before we left the hotel, the Super wanted to be “throned” . . . ]

[And here was our sculpture in the lobby.  In fact, as far as I could find, it is known as the sculpture in the lobby . . . ]

[It’s rather unique, but somehow I missed it when we first entered the place?]

[I mean, the guy doesn’t even have any legs?]

[Outside, the Oslo Opera House is right across the street.  The Norwegians are known for being descriptively basic in naming things – this is an opera house, it’s in Oslo, hence it is the Oslo Opera House . . . ]

[Now because this is art (in the water outside the opera house), a basic descriptive name doesn’t necessarily follow.  She Lies is a public sculpture by Monica Bonvicini of stainless steel and glass panels measuring approximately 12 metres (39 ft) by 17 metres (56 ft) by 16 metres (52 ft).

[The opera house . . . ]

[The Nomadic art project where 1000s of shirts hang outside on gigantic wooden poles at the SALT venue (that brings together art, music, food and architecture with spectacular wooden constructions inspired by the traditional Norwegian racks for drying fish) . . . ]

[We left early enough to take a non-direct route to our sightseeing bus . . . ]

[By all appearances, definitely Norwegian . . . ]

[We’re getting a little military bent here in the neighborhood of . . . ]

[Akershus Fortress (or Akershus Castle) is a medieval castle that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo, the capital of Norway.  The castle has also been used as a military base, and is today a museum, open for public (Wikipedia).]

[It is not known exactly when the construction of the castle started but it is believed that it took place around the late 1290s, by King Haakon V.  It was constructed [when] it became clear city’s existing defences weren’t effective and therefore, a stronger defensive centre was needed.  The fortress has successfully survived all sieges, primarily by Swedish forces (Wikipedia).]

[This large 1970 sculpture is located just inside the entrance to the Akershus Fortress and is by Gunnar Janson. It depicts a huge towering nude woman standing next to a much smaller man who stands naked on a raised block. The pair are in front of an abstract blob-like object.  It is called “Nasjonalmonumentet for ofrene fra andre verdenskrig” or “National monument for victims of World War II” (www.waymarking.com).]

[Within the fortress . . . ]

[Shooting from the pedestrian crossover in the following photo . . . ]

[Anne and Bill on said pedestrian crossover . . . ]

[Inside the fortress . . . ]

[A horse’s . . . well, you know . . . ]

[Barnacle geese . . . ]

[Anne on the trail to the top of the fortress . . . ]

[Getting high enough for some views . . . ]

[Kinda looks like our neighborhood . . . ]

[The double towers (the right one with a clock) center right is City Hall, our destination for catching our tour . . . ]

[There must be guards . . . ]

[And there he is, in all his spiffiness . . . ]

[Not the same horse as previously exposed . . . ]

[We’ve wandered back onto the streets again – with Sculpture of the Hand of King Christian IV . . . ]

[This statue is titled “Piperen in Pipervika” (English: Piper in Pipervika), and it was created by Norwegian artist Dyre Vaa in 1972. The statue is located between the Oslo City Hall and the Akershus Fortress. Although this area of Oslo is called Vika, Pipervika was formerly the name given to the area where this statue is located because the military pipers (flutists) from the Akershus Fortress lived here (www.waymarking.com).]

[Six sculptures elevate common tradesmen to works of art at Oslo City Hall . . . ]

[Women and children by artist Emil Lie at City Hall Square (Norwegian: Rådhusplassen) with Oslo City Hall in background . . . ]

[Exterior sculpture and fountain (built in 1931 by Arneberg and Poulsson) outside the City Hall . . . ]

[Memorial plaque to Fridtjof Nansen and the Nansen passport on an exterior wall of Oslo City Hall . . . ]

[And now on the front side (?) of City Hall . . . ]

[And now we have begun the bus tour.  Stuff is happening here . . . ]

[Henrik Ibsen, playwright, National Theatre, through the bus window . . . ]

[Grand Hotel, and indeed, it looks pretty grand . . . ]

[Parliament building drive-by . . . ]

[And a drive-by of The Hand . . . ]

[A ferry, likely to Denmark . . . ]

[And a “shirt” drive-by . . . ]

[A busy time at the Opera House as the crowds move about on the exterior “ramps” . . . ]

[And She Lies, again . . . ]

[And the entry area to the Opera House with She Lies in the background . . . ]

[Seem to waiting for permanent placement in the vicinity of the Opera House?]

[The train station (didn’t even have to look it up) . . . ]

[In Roman mythology, Fortuna was a goddess of good or bad luck. Her statue mounted at the wall of Rica Oslo Hotel pictures her with two of her traditional attributes: a sail and a globe, symbolizing the fate and the chance. The statue has been placed there in 2005 (www.waymarking.com).]

[The original hang glider?]

[King Christian IV, known for making a “bird-on-the-hat” fashion statement . . . ]

[The 2nd photo ever taken of this fountain statue.  The 1st didn’t identify it either . . . ]

[But it was in this neighborhood . . . ]

[Construction and re-construction – the nature of the beast everywhere we’ve been the last few years . . . ]

[Either a famous Norwegian or a character in a “Harry Potter” novel . . . ]

[As the sign says, the Norwegian Nobel Institute . . . ]

[And now we’re going up to the Hollmenkollen . . . ]

[We’re on the switchbacks going up the mountain . . . ]

[Our tour guide told us that the physical activities-crazed Norwegians attempt to bike to the top of this mountain without ever letting their feet hit the ground . . . ]

[Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill.  It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 70,000 spectators.  Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1892, which since 1980 have been part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup and 1983 the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup.  It has also hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982, and 2011.  The hill is the most popular tourist attraction in Norway, and has roughly one million visitors each year (Wikipedia).]

[This is a pretty awesome piece of construction, so I gave it a few shots . . . ]

[View from there . . . ]

[Boy, doesn’t this look like it would be fun . . . NOT!!!!!   A little gust of wind and you end up in grandma’s lap in seat 4, aisle 12!]

[The Troll Sculpture Kollentrollet . . . ]

[You should see all the ones I didn’t post . . . ]

[Say, WHAAAAA????]

[Serious issues with head alignment with the opening . . . ]

[The famous Norwegian arctic explorer – we’ll see more of him along the way . . . ]

[Where we were in relation to where we weren’t . . . ]

[Wow!!!  They’re flying!]

[Our wheels . . . ]

[Our guide Helen directing back on the bus . . . ]

[A final good-bye to the jump – we’ll continue the day in the next post . . . ]

Even without the fence this story had an element of farce.  Thousands of migrants crossed Norway’s Arctic border by bike last year, because by law they could not go over by foot.  ~  Howard Johnson, BBC  [Apparently Norwegians are mocking efforts to build a fence between Norway and Russia.]

Up Next:  The day continues . . . [An aside: as I was just typing a clap of thunder just about bounced me off my stability ball!]

June 18

Oslo

OK, here was the idea.  Finally making a visit to the Motherland.  Mom’s family is from Norway, but I had never been there.  In fact, I had never been to her hometown of Worthington, MN, until recently.  Ruthie’s dad’s family is from Norway.  She has been there several times.  Mostly on business.  As you may recall, she sold fighter jets to our allies.  She was particularly happy to do so for Norway.  Norway needs a strong defense lest others seek revenge on the Vikings.  Oh, and Ole was with us for the whole trip – Ole is available for purchase from the Runestone Museum, then he must travel with you . . .

The plan:

But first:

[The Super and Ole at MSP, ready to board for the first leg of the trip to Keflavik on Icelandair . . . ]

[And yes, these first four photos were actually taken on June 17 . . . ]

[Ole was pretty excited about his first trip, don’cha know . . . ]

[And now he’s on the plane . . . ]

[And now he’s in Oslo!]

[Because of his heritage, he did not need a passport . . . ]

[At the airport, Bill, Ole, and the Super in line to buy our train tickets to downtown . . . ]

Oslo has one airport – Gardermoen (45 km from the city centre). The fastest way to downtown Oslo is by Flytoget, the shuttle train, which takes you to the city center in 20 minutes. A one-way ticket costs NOK 160. Trains run from 5.35 am to 12.35 am every 10 minutes.

[Train ride selfie (OK, not totally a selfie with Bill and Anne in the background) . . . ]

[Our destination was Oslo Central Station . . . ]

[A shout out to our longtime trip planners, Skads Travel, who set up our first four days before the start of the cruise . . . ]

[Above and below, Ole approved of our hotel room . . . ]

[Our first two nights here.  From the plaza below, you could hit the train station off to the right with a Hail Mary pass.  Nice to be able to schlep the suitcases less than a block!]

[Though, as usual, I didn’t sleep on the plane, the day was young and we were about to hit the streets . . . ]

[This is Oslo Central Station square, a/k/a, Jernbanetorget . . . ]

[We’re on the street, heading to the square, shooting back at our hotel . . . ]

[And there’s from whence we walked.  Tres convenient!]

[In the square, with the station, and with an unidentified and apparently non-functioning fountain?]

[Since this is a major feature of the square, I was surprised I could find no information about it.  One Google-machine photo just labeled it as “a man and woman”?]

[They may be Ingemar Stenmark and Sonja Henie?]

[Our hotel, in all its glory . . . ]

[Looking opposite our hotel from the square.  On the right is where we lunched . . . ]

[Our view from the square of:  In the city centre around the main street Karl Johans gate you find night clubs, bars, jazz clubs and cafés in between stores, shopping centres and hotels. Downtown Oslo has a little bit of everything.  Kvadraturen is the name of the historical centre in Oslo. The area between Akershus Fortress and Karl Johans gate, Jernbanetorget and Egertorget got its name because of the rectangular street pattern. This is where king Christian IV founded Christiania after the big fire in 1624. Some of Oslo’s oldest buildings are located in Kvadraturen, and and now the area can boast a number of fine art galleries and museums (www.visitoslo.com).]

[After a long flight, let’s eat!]

[Skol!]

[The Super and Anne . . . ]

[Discussing the finer points . . . ]

[Of Anne’s cider . . . ]

[Dig in!  Bill and I shared an appetizer-sized charcuterie board.  I can’t recall what the ladies had . . . ]

[Back to our walkabout . . . ]

[The tiger in front of Oslo Central Station is one of Oslo’s most photographed “inhabitants” and one of the first things that meet a visitor arriving at Oslo Central Station.  When Oslo celebrated its 1000-year anniversary in 2000, Eiendomsspar wanted to give the city a gift. Oslo wanted a tiger, and that’s what they got: a 4.5-metre bronze tiger made by Elena Engelsen.  Why a tiger?  The reason Oslo wanted a tiger, is the city’s nickname  Tigerstaden (“The Tiger City”), which most Norwegians are familiar with.  The name was probably first used by Norwegian poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.  His poem “Sidste Sang” from 1870 describes a fight between a horse and a tiger; the tiger representing the dangerous city and the horse the safe countryside.  Since then Oslo has been known as “The Tiger City”, but these days it’s not necessarily meant as a negative thing. “The Tiger City” can be an excitingand happening place rather than dangerous (www.visitoslo.com).]

[This sculpture is a monument to the Osvald-gruppen (English: Osvald Group) for its resistance efforts during World War II. The monument was unveiled on May 1, 2015, in front of Oslo’s central train station (www.waymarking.com).]

[The “no name” sculpture fountain from the other side . . . ]

[And from this side . . . ]

[They appear to be Grete Waitz and Henrik Ibsen?]

[This is our hotel bar.  We never partook.  Never enough time . . . ]

[Outside our hotel bar, the Super found a friend . . . ]

[Sculpture of man with suitcases.  That’s it . . . ]

[Ambling down Karl Johans gate (street) . . . ]

[The Super found some of my distant relatives . . . ]

[Still ambling . . . ]

[The Royal Palace at the end of Karl Johans gate . . . ]

[Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist.  Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motives from everyday life.  He was the director and served as the first professor at the Norwegia Academy of Arts from 1909 to 1925 (Wikipedia).]

[The Storting building (Norwegian: Stortingsbygningen) is the seat of the Storting, the parliament of Norway. The building is located at 22 Karl Johans gate in central Oslo.  It was taken into use on 5 March 1866 and was designed by the Swedish architect Emil Victor Langlet (Wikipedia).]

[Johan Sverdrup, the father of Norwegian parliamentarism . . . ]

[Parliament building garnished by three American tourists . . . ]

[Statue suffering from the usual avial abuse . . . ]

[Carl Joachim “C. J.” Hambro (5 January 1885 – 15 December 1964) was a Norwegian journalist, author and leading politician representing the Conservative Party.  A ten-term member of the Parliament of Norway, Hambro served as President of the Parliament for twenty of his thirty-eight years in the legislature (Wikipedia).]

[Grand Hotel . . . ]

[Olav Thon (born 29 June 1923) is a Norwegian real estate developer and listed in the Forbes list of billionaires as the 198th richest person in the world with a net worth of $6 billion as of March 2013.  He is Norway’s richest person and his Olav Thon Group is Norway’s largest private real estate company, with 450 properties, including 60 hotels (Wikipedia).]

[Time to head back to the hotel . . . ]

[As the sun begins to  . . . well, not set . . . ]

[Botanical growing things in a big pot adjacent to female feet . . . ]

[Reliving those high school skin years with a window selfie . . . ]

[You’ve been told!]

[Innovation begins with the right sign . . . ]

[Fred’s street . . . ]

[Warrants a “don’t walk” signal . . . ]

[The Opera House across the street from our hotel . . . ]

[I’m eating what??]

[Looks good, Anne!]

[Bill’s . . . ]

[Mine, all good, can’t remember where . . . ]

[Goodnight, Oslo!  Thanks for a fun first day!]

Norway is not a good country to have for the fatherland, especially not in the winter.  ~  Henrik Ibsen

Up Next:  More Oslo

June 13

‘Twas a beautiful morning . . . 

[Merill Kiehne, 97, of Alexandria (in fact, exactly one block from the Echo Press) won a reduced price newspaper subscription by holing a bean bag toss.  Merill (Alex class of 1942) was able to accomplish this feat by totally ignoring the advice of his two septuagenerian sons, Jerry (Alex class of 1963), from Florida, and Tom (Alex class of 1965), from Texas, in town to celebrate Father’s Day this weekend.  Al Edenloff, Echo Press editor, was on hand to referee said activities . . . ]

June 14

[A nice evening, so we decided to lead the Kiehne family’s first visit to Lure Lakebar for dinner.  In keep with current trends, we ordered our drinks with a front row view of Lake Le Homme Dieu only then to be chased inside by rain . . . ]

June 15

[Professor Doctor Colonel Kiehne was joined by fellow class of 65ers, Little Mayo from Burnsville, and Bradley, fresh off his latest bout of things injurious to his person, for a noontime repast at Interlachen.  The out-of-towners last recalled frequenting this place from 37 to 50+ years ago.  Here the professor is greeted by the maitre d’, the last and final replacement for Cindy Cupcake (R.I.P.) . . . ]

[The boys from the south complained about the refrigerator-like temperature in the restaurant, contemporaneous with their acquired need for  90-degree temperatures to be comfortable . . . ]

[The questionable weather and the anticipated crowds kept all except the Super and me from then going out to Carlos Creek Winery for the grand opening of 22 Northmen Brewing Company.  The crowds were the equivalent of Grape Stomp crowds as we had to park far out in the fields.  The lines for the 9 crafted beers and brick oven pizza detered us attempting such on this day . . . ]

[We were happy to pull our usual shift as fans of Josie, outside with a bottle of wine . . . ]

[But the weather drove her inside after set one . . . ]

[And inside the winery tasting facility it was as crowded as at the brewery . . . ]

[We were able to join a couple from Benson for a side view of Josie . . . ]

[Then Nicole Mulder, the executive director of the Theatre L’Homme Dieu, arrived with the theatre’s summer staff . . . ]

[And one with flash . . . ]

[Obviously not the photographer, above and below . . . ]

[We were interested in lining up Josie for a TLHD event . . . ]

[I think it’s going to work . . . ]

June 16

[Back to the winery the next day, Father’s Day, as Patchouli was in town . . . ]

[Truly the beginning of the summer season when Julie & Bruce return from Florida . . . ]

[Greg (Little Mayo) had expressed a strong desire to see them perform on the previous day, but he had to return home to Burnsville . . . ]

[I asked Julie to do a short “Miss you, Greg” video.  The first attempt at such yielded these two still photos . . . ]

Dear Dad, Happy Father’s Day.  Lo these many years later you’d probably be surprised to learn your writings are as relevant today as when you wrote them.  Nah . . . you wouldn’t be surprised . . .

[Dad with brother Cam at the “U,” c. 1971 . . . ]

Dad, You’ve done a lot of great things, but you’re a very old man, and old people are useless. ~ Homer Simpson

Up Next:  We’re outa here . . .

June 2

ALUMNI BROADWAY REVUE: We were joined by fellow music junkies, Karin and Dave Berg, for a pre-event repast only to discover the golf course closed its restaurant at 6:00 on Saturdays. So, on to the Garden Bar, where we all got flatbread pizzas. Then off to the high school . . . but wait, Karin said it was at DMS, whatever that was? Sure enough, it was at the middle school – I would have trundled on to the high school where confusion would have reigned. But we made it to DMS where, as totally anticipated, the kids put on a great show. The 300 seat auditorium was about 80 per cent full, a good sign.  And apparently all three performance drew such as well . . .

June 5

Fund raiser for the Alexandria track and field team . . .

Located at Alexandria, United Methodist Church, 2210 6th Ave East,  Alexandria, Mn

Summer 2019 Schedule June 5, 2019 – 4:00 PM

Musician: Mikko Cowdry and Friends

Partnered with  Alexandria Track

June 7

Killer Vees at Carlos Creek Winery . . . 

Jeff, Tommy and Matt Vee, national music scene veterans and sons and nephew respectively of the legendary Bobby Vee, join forces with their family and friends as The KILLER VEES to celebrate timeless music classics from a wide variety of eras. Known as the “rhythm section to the stars” The KILLER VEES have toured and performed with a virtual who’s who in the music business: Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ronnie Wood just to name a few! Coming from a musical family of the late Bobby Vee, the KILLER VEES are joined by Matt’s wife Julie Velline on vocals, Mark Levandowski and Frank Plachecki on keys, and guitar king Kurt “Lightning” Rodman. It’s going to be a high-energy rockin’ night! (from their Facebook page) . . . 

[And away we go . . . ]

[Julie, Matt, and Tommy . . . ]

[The Super shimmies (I think) through the crowd . . . ]

[Septuagenerians hitting the dance floor to Bobby Vee’s extended family . . . ]

[A fun evening of great music . . . ]

[The next day Julie posted this shocking news:  Today I am at a loss for words. Last night we lost a man who was a BIG part of our lives and family. We all loved him like a brother and was one the THE best guitar players I’ve ever heard! Our guitar player in our Celebration of Neil Diamond and Killer Kountry show, Kurt “lightening” Rodman, passed away of a heart attack last night. We are still in total shock and will miss him beyond words. My eyes are overrunning with tears….It just will not be the same! ]

[Our sincerest condolences to the Rodman and Velline families . . . ]

June 7 & 8

The state track meet to which our boys and girls teams qualified 17 competitors after both teams won section titles.  We’ve got to do better about getting our school song on YouTube as this is one I posted 9 years ago by Doc’s All Stars . . .  

Why yes, we did do very well!

[Our 4 x 100 relay team won the state title; Drew Olson on the far right won the 100 individual (it appears he was the first outstate runner to do so in over 30 years) . . . ]

[Mya Lesnar & McKenzie Duwenhoegger finished 1 – 2 in shot put and were 2 – 3 in discuss. A better tandem than Batman and Robin!]

[It also appears Alex (1200 students) finished 3rd in total points (boys & girls) behind Rosemount (2200 students) and Wayzata (3500) students.  Congratulations to both teams for a great year!]

June 9 

A beautiful Sunday afternoon for our first visit to Lure Lakebar (it’s been packed daily since its opening).  It’s a renovated version of Bug-A-Boo Bay and under new ownership, still with the background view of Lake Le Homme Dieu . . .

[We were there for a snack and to listen to Anthony Miltich . . . ]

[The new look . . . ]

[Very nice . . . ]

[Joined by usual music partners, Karin and Dave . . . ]

[Are you taking our picture?]

[Yes I am!]

[A look inside from outside . . . ]

[Further inside . . . ]

[A look outside from inside . . . ]

[Furtherer inside . . . ]

[The bar . . . ]

[The lake . . . hence Lakebar . . . ]

[The menu – not as scary as we were led to believe (and they know who they are) . . . ]

[The previously acknowledged Bergs . . . ]

[We were shortly joined by Deb and Paul Trumm (see video) as we would be going to their place for bookclub next . . . ]

[And Anthony keeps going . . . ]

[And going . . . ]

[And going . . . ]

[The walleye sub – catch you again next time!]

And a panorama video!

My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a producer.  ~  Cole Porter

Up Next:  A lull in the storm?