Saturday, June 26, 2010

Slinningsbålet 2010 World Record!



AdrianPedersen 40,45 meter
Slinningsbalet 2010 World Record

(Note: why couldn't I live in Alesund--instead of Stavanger, or maybe I should of heard about the monsterous thing beforehand & took a drive just to see it?! Looks like it would of been well worth it--a 2010 World Record?!)

The tallest bonfire in the world, Slinningsbålet 2010



This is the last 10 min slinningbaalet was on fire before tipping over . This is also the worlds tallest bonfire . 40,45 Meters above ground . In Ålesund Norway 25/26 june 2010
by WeirdNorwegian

Cowboy Town Up in Flames - St. Hans Aften

For St. Hans Aften - BonFire Night - 23rd June, 2010 Wednesday (I missed this one?!)

Note: Google Translated Article from Aftenbladet newspaper in Norsk to English...

Cowboyby up in flames

In weeks, the craft up the backdrop of a Wild West town.
But tonight, burn everything.
Each backdrop is named after Neil Young songs, and thus the tone is given for the midsummer festival on the beach in Stavanger Emmaus tonight.



(Photo: Kristian Jacobsen) Marie Rein Bore Posted 6/22/2010 4:19 p.m. - Updated 6/23/2010

8:18 p.m. Midsummer Burning the fires on Midsummer?

Yes
No
Even a real bull's head is in place behind the scenes; purchased at a slaughterhouse and carefully boiled and scraped to get it right legs pale Wild West-characterized.

Each backdrop is named after Neil Young songs, and thus the tone is given for the midsummer festival on the beach in Emmaus Godal in Stavanger tomorrow evening, with the band on stage to play Young-songs.



Even with a bull's head is fixed to create the right atmosphere of Wild West shows in January Steffensen. (Photo: Kristian Jacobsen)

Collaboration

This year's carpentry to bålfesten in Godal is even more extensive than previously.
People have already sawed and nailed for weeks.

Construction manager is Jan Steffensen and the event is a collaboration between several teams and organizations in Storhaug area. They have been given permission and support from the municipality, they have more sponsors, " he said.

The fireplace is like the sea, it is best to be cautious in these times of drought.
And tomorrow night, at 22.00 the scenes set on fire. Not a chip will remain.

Construction manager in January Steffensen still had some nails to turn in when Aftenbladet.no visited cowboy town in the morning.



(Photo: Kristian Jacobsen)


Link: to Aftenbladet - local Newspaper...
http://www.aftenbladet.no/lokalt/stavanger/1223463/Cowboyby_opp_i_flammer_.html

(Again Note: newspaper article was all in Norsk, so above translated--using Google Translate)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About St. Hans Aften...

From Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer...

NORWAY
Sankthansaften is celebrated on June 23 in Norway.
The day is also called Jonsok, which means "John's wake", important in Roman Catholic times with pilgrimages to churches and holy springs.
For instance, up until 1840 there was a pilgrimage to the stave church in Røldal (southwest Norway) whose crucifix was said to have healing powers.
Today, however, Sankthansaften is largely regarded as a secular or even pre-Christian event.

In most places the main event is the burning of a large bonfire.
In parts of Norway a custom of arranging mock marriages, both between adults and between children, is still kept alive.
The wedding was meant to symbolize the blossoming of new life.
Such weddings are known to have taken place in the 1800s, but the custom is believed to be older.

It is also said that if a girl puts flowers under her pillow that night, she will dream of her future husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

St. Hans: Eat Your Porridge and Light Your Fire

St. Hansaften is the ultimate summer feast in Norway. On the evening of June 23, Norwegians light bonfires, pick flowers to put under their pillows, and celebrate summer and light.

The St. Hans celebrations have roots across northern Europe, and were also brought to Canada with the first French colonialists...
The celebrations take on somewhat different forms in the different countries, but the origins are much the same.
St. Hans is a Christian holiday to honor Saint John the Baptist (also called Saint Hans).
The day of celebration was set to June 24 to outdo the pagan celebrations of midsummer or summer solstice.
However, it is the celebration of summer, sun, and light that has survived in countries such as Norway.
In Norway, celebrations take place the evening before June 24. Aften, as in St. Hansaften, means evening.

The tradition of lighting bonfires on this occasion came from the pagan belief in fire as the protector against evil spirits.
The sun, which in the Northern hemisphere is at its highest at midsummer, probably inspired this belief.
The night of St. Hans was supposedly a night of magic.
If, for instance, a young girl picked seven flowers and put them under her pillow, she would dream of her future husband.

As on any day of celebration, food is important on St. Hansaften.
When asked what she associates with St. Hansaften, Ingeborg Nygaard, the chef at the Norwegian Embassy, said:

“bonfire, rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge), cured ham, barbeque, midsummer, sun, family, friends, children, and my childhood. On St. Hansaften I get together with my family and friends and go to a field to make a bonfire. We bring sour cream porridge, cured ham, barbeque food like sausages, and just have a good time for as long as we can stay awake. It is all about celebrating summer with the people you love the most. When I was little I was very superstitious. I made sure to jump seven fences and pick seven different flowers, put them under my pillow, and try hard to dream about a boy I liked.”

“Why we eat sour cream porridge on this day? Well, it is a tradition. Eating sour cream porridge on special holidays is a strong tradition in Norway, and St. Hans is a special holiday. Sour cream porridge is a tradition that goes far, far back in time. It is such a simple and timeless recipe,” she said

(Tine Dairy Recipe follows--I didn't add it, you're Welcome to look it up on your own though...am not a huge fan of)

Link: http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/food/sourcreamporridge/

Note: I did not know it was a night for eating porridge too, I thought that was just for Christmas Eve. here in Norway?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...a favorite song, “Vi Skal Ikkje Sove,”
by Auslaug Lygre and Geirr Tveitt:

Vi skal ikkje sova bort sumarnatta,
ho er for ljos til det.
Då skal vi vandra isaman ute,
under dei lauvtunge tre.

We won’t sleep away the summer night,
it’s too light for that.
We’ll wander instead together
under the trees, heavy with leaves.

Note: borrowed from Sons of Norway Blog on Blogspot -
they're in Minnesota, or I'd add them to my Norway Blog list
(plus they sell insurance, etc.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, June 25, 2010

Empire of the Sun - Video

YouTube - Empire of the Sun Live...

Note: same video was posted on Hove Festivalen Music Festival Webpage...

links: http://www.hovefestivalen.no/ or http://www.hovefestivalen.com/

For a mini-taste of the "live" show coming on the 29th of June, next Tuesday!

Read more below - so far away & so late/early a show, will have to wait for another YouTube video of them singing live there?!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Empire of the Sun



Empire of the Sun finally arrives...

Great news! We tried hard to get Empire of the Sun to Hove 09, but since they weren't touring at the time we had to come up with a fresh idea! How about inviting them back this year? The Australian pop phenomena said yes, and here we are, celebrating in our offices! Empire of the Sun promises a live show like you've never seen before, click here to read more(*), and will be a great closing act on the idyllic Amfi Stage on June the 29th.



(*)Artists 2010

The empire strikes back!

The Australian pop sensation Empire of the Sun promises a live show like you've never seen before. The Empire is bringing more than 2000 pounds of costumes, 1,2 gigawatts of lights and effects, a dancing swordfish, four pink guitars and more than a dusin dancers and other colouful people onto the stage! Just look at their live show in the video below. Just look at it. This dreamy electronic music duo formed in Australia in 2006. Empire of the Sun achieved massive chart success with their first single "Walking on a Dream" which peaked at number ten on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and climbed high on the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album also titled Walking on a Dream, released in October 2008, to date has been certified platinum in Australia and has spawned the top 25 hit "We Are the People". Empire of the Sun has gained mainstream media attention for gaining fourth position on the BBC’s annual Sound of Music poll 2009. We're walking in a dream!



music festival link: http://www.hovefestivalen.no/

festival program link: http://www.hovefestival.com/uploads/Dagsprogram2010eng.jpg
Amphi Stage Night 24:00 - 1:00 Empire of the Sun (Aus)



About the Festival

Q: Why are we doing this?

A: The Hove Festival is a festival for those people who believe that combining the best artists with on site camping, nature, beaches and idyllic suroundings form the ultimate festival experience.

We started this festival because we live and breathe music.
We believe that important and beautiful things can happen when
people get together to have a good time. Hove Festival mixes
large international acts with Norwegian bands in the unique setting of an
island outside Arendal city. The festival is five days filled with bands you love,
and ones you may never of heard of before, but will learn to love.

Besides the music, you'll share experiences from the quirkiest art
scenes, watching yet-to-be-released movies and eating delicious
ecological food.

Hove Festival sets new standards for environmental
awareness. Not only because we want to preserve the beautiful nature
that surrounds the festival, but because we believe that a music
festival can make for an interesting way to increase enviromental
awareness, both with our audience and our partners.

We're so proud to be able to invite you all back to the pearl that is Hove,
and we're looking forward to greeting you at the gates on the 30th of June!
*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*

Q: How to get there.


A: Getting to Hove is easy!

If you're travelling by plane, you're most likely to land at an airport which is located in a place called Gardermoen, outside of Oslo. However, there are two other airports much closer to Arendal. One is called Kjevik, and is located outside the city of Kristiansand, and the other is Torp, located outside a city called Sandefjord. If you can get to either of these two airports you'll save some money, a lot of time and maybe even spare the environment some unwanted CO2. Kjevik Aiport is the nearest airport.Buses and trains go direct from all three airports to Arendal city.

If you can get yourself to Oslo Central Station and jump on a train to the city of Arendal. After a few hours, get off and jump on the bus to Trømoya. There will be a Hove Festival info stand, both at the train station and the bus station, to point you in the right direction. The bus from Arendal will take you all the way up to the festival gate.


Most Norwegians speak fluent English, so just wave your hands and ask them for directions and you'll be fine. Really!

In line with our environmental focus, we hope you will all select the most environmentally friendly way to get to the festival.


*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*^^*
My Note: all above borrowed from webpage for the Music Festial, like the art -
reminds me of Beatles albums, Yellow Submarine (aka Peter Max Art?!) -
& esp love they're trying to be Environmentally Friendly...You Go Norway?! :oD


Thursday, June 17, 2010

Viking Market - Kaupang 2010

Hafrsfjordvikingenes Kaupang 2010



Starts Friday, June 18, 2010 at 4:00pm
& Saturday, June 19 at 11:00am
& Sunday, June 2 at 11:00am
Ends Sunday, June 20 at 4:00pm
Location: Jernaldergarden at Ullandhaug



their link...
http://hafrsfjordvikingene.no/kaupang-jernaldergarden-2010/hafrsfjordvikingenes-kaupang-pa-jernaldergarden

(Note: in Norsk, couldn't get to Google Translate - see Facebook Page link below...)



From the Facebook Page:

Hafrsfjordvikingenes Kaupang 2010

Take an exciting step back in time, to the Viking age.
The viking-group Hafrsfjordvikingene will arrange their traditional Kaupang - marked, at the beautiful and scenic iron age farm - Jernaldergarden (jernaldergarden.no), just outside Stavanger.
This is an event we have in tight cooperation with the Arkeologisk museum, UiS, in Stavanger (http://www.arkeologiskmuseum.no/ ).

With a spectacular view over the sagafjord Hafrsfjord, where norway was gathered in the famous battle in 872, it's an excellent place for a viking marked.
Right smack in the middle of the area where the vikings lived and fought.

Experience an "authentic" viking market with traders, fighters, archers, storytellers, craftsmen, games and spectacular entertainment.



Opening hours:

Friday: 16:00 - 20:00
Saturday: 11:00 - 18:00
Sunday: 11:00 - 16:00


the little-est viking...
(Note: all photos above borrowed from 2009 Vikingmarked)


Some of the attending vikings:

Dariusz Maciejko from Polen with his amazing swords.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1806897260

Søren Damsgård – Bone, horn much, much more

Stig Nielsen – Viking Kristall – Beautyful jewlery
http://www.vikingkristall.com/

Lars Martinen from Denmark. Tatoo the old fashion way.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1782472431

Ragnhild og Tore Dahl with their handycraft, drums and woodwork.
http://www.facebook.com/tore.dahl1?ref=ts

Nordlys – huge tent with all a viking may desire.
http://www.facebook.com/Nordlys.viking

Poul Kristensen – Blacksmith from Denmark

János Müller from Hungary – Bows and leatherworks

Lars Åke Strøm from Sweden – makes jewlery from horeseshoenails
http://www.designbylars.se/

Götz Breitenbücher from Sweden – blacksmith.

Louise Villadsen danish pearlmaker

Peter Wiking makes tool of flint, the old fashion way. http://www.wikingflintworks.com/

DiGrease's Buffoon Theatre – music-, dance- and entertainmentgroup from Belarus.
http://medievalbelarus.org/

(Note: Medieval instrument, from the Buffoon webpage - is it an antique bagpipe?!)

Vikinghorses from Stavanger
http://vikinghest.no/

(Note: can't borrow their horse photos, have to go see Viking Horses there for yourself?!)





Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ice Troll


ICE TROLL
...offer tours on 3 very different lakes, Tunsbergdalsvatnet, Styggevatnet and breifly at the start of the season Nigardsbrevatnet.


In addition, ICE TROLL offer Glacier River Rafting, privately guided tours for individuals and groups (including corporate tours for companies interested in incentive & team building trips)...

We were given this tour as a gift...

NIGARDSBREVATNET (285m ASL) is a smaller lake we can offer pre-organised tours on. This lake is close to the Breheimsenter and tours are held only early in the season, of 5-7 hours in duration, including a short kayak of 30mins to the glacier, and a 3+ hour hike on the Nigardsbreen (glacier) with the guide.


ABOUT ICE TROLL

ICE TROLL use the Norsk Fjellsportforum (Norwegian Mountain Guiding Assn) and the British Canoe Union as qualifying associations, both of which are highly regarded organisations in their areas.
ICE TROLL guides have completed comprehensive pre-Hospital First Aid courses and have high levels of interpretation of glaciation and the local areas.

We are privileged to have 6 guides with experience from around the world to help you enjoy your tour in Jostedalen to the maximum...


Our Guide...

ANDY CULLENS (35, although he feels like he is 25...and looks like he is 55) began working as a glacier guide in New Zealand in 1996 for Franz Josef Glacier Guides. He was managing for the company when he left New Zealand for Iceland. He spent the 2000-srping/summer season guiding in 'Superjeeps' around SW Iceland, including the icecaps Langjoküll and Myrdalsjoküll.

Having toured Norway in 1999, Andy began working for Jostedalen Breførarlag, the other glacier guiding company of Jostedal, in 2001. Having spent two summer seasons working in Jostedalen, Andy then started ICE TROLL in 2003.

ICE TROLLs recent expansion to include tours to countries such as Iceland and Chile/Argentina is keeping his skill of hiring better folks than himself in top gear!

Browse other links on the left to find out more about where we work, thoughts of previous clients about our trips, what you can expect from your ICE TROLL tour, other companies we recommend and how to get in touch with us.

Note: our photos from our glacier adventure, there are more...
(e-mail if you'd like to see/know more or catch me over on Facebook)