In the Summertime, Part II

In the three previous summers I have been here I had never taken the short boat ride to Munkholmen. That changed in the summer of 2014.  One warm Sunday in July we took the small ferry boat to the island.

That's NOT one of the Hurtigrute ships that travels from Bergen to Kirkenes year-round. It's one of the many cruise-ships that travel up the Norwegian coast each summer.

The little spit of sand is where most of the sunbathers go.

We found our little spot among the crowd.

Safe swimming.  The water was basically the same temperature as the water temperature in Newport Beach in June.

The island's monastery buildings still stand.

Trondheim in the distance.

 

It was a lovely day on Munkholmen.  I would love to take my American friends and relatives here when (if?) they visit.

In the Summertime When the Weather is Fine

The summer of 2014 was the warmest in many years for Norway.  It was delightful.  Here are some highlights:

Just a few days after we got back from the States, we attended the baptism of Kitty's great-great grandchild!  The ceremony took place at a beautiful little church in Malvik, which is just north of Trondheim.  The weather was PERFECT!

Five generations.

Inside the church.  Unlike Roman Catholic priest in masses since Vatican II, Norwegian Lutheran priests still face the altar.  The liturgy was very similar to Catholic liturgy.

Tove loves babies.

A week later we visited another baby, Unn and Ola Morten's new baby boy, Einar.

Einar was ready for his nap!

I helped Ola Morten christen his new Weber grill.  Will grilled steak, marinated chicken, and Greek grilling cheese.

Einar was unimpressed:

This is the driveway to Ole Morten and Unn's new house.

Above is the side-yard where we placed the fire truck wind vane we got in San Francisco

Tove tackled the hillside overgrown garden with a rake.  There were lots of berries growing on the hillside.  Ola enjoyed eating them.

On our way back to Trondheim, the weather was so warm that we stopped at an outdoor cafe in Oslo

The food was good.

We were in Trondheim for Midsummer night.  Trondheim puts on a summer fair called Olavsfestdagene right after the summer solstice:

The Buddhist Association served vegetarian food.

A Swedish vendor was selling "Fresh American Donuts"

It was cool weather, but that would soon change.

The warmest in Trondheim since I've lived here.

It was so warm we went to one of the local lakes at about 9:30 PM to take a swim.  The water was lovely.

Perfect evening.

This is the same lake that I took Devon, Patrick and Piper to when they were here in 2011.

There is a nice outdoor restaurant near the yacht harbor.  We went there several times this summer to enjoy the warm weather. 

More to come!

Chicago II

Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church at Logan Square Chicago 

The day after we arrived in Chicago, we went to meet the kids at Logan Square to go to a farmers' market near the square.  As the four of us (Gunnar, Inger, Tove and I) exited the Blue Line train at Logan Square we were greeted by a huge Norwegian flag that was flying in front of the church.  We walked in and were greeted by several Norwegians (mostly expats).  We sat for a while talking about the old country and drank coffee and ate waffles.

The kids patiently await as their dad searches for the quilt to put down on the ground for them.

Ahhh! Quilt down.

Devon requested this photo of the ladies in different shades of pink. 

After the farmers' market, Ryan took us to a place that served excellent donuts.

I had a genuine Czech pilsner.

Not sure what everyone was looking at.

City of the big shoulders

Chicago

BY CARL SANDBURG

Hog Butcher for the World,

   Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

   Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;

   Stormy, husky, brawling,

   City of the Big Shoulders: . . .

The poem continues here

Or you can watch Mayor Rahm Emanuel read it here.

Chicago River  

We checked Gunnar and Inger into their hotel across from Grant Park.  They stayed at the Congress Plaza, a grand old hotel on Michigan Avenue.  Here's the view from their room.

Room with a view.

We spent some time in the loop area, where the Chicago River winds through the city's center featuring a skyline filled with interesting architecture, not just steel and glass.

The Emerald Loop Irish Pub where in 2008 Tove, Ed, Cindy and I had a drink the day after Devon and Patrick were married.

We took the water taxi - cheap and fun

When Devon and Patrick got married this Trump project was under construction.

From the water taxi

The Riverwalk is being extended.  It will be really nice.

I enjoy visiting my children and grandchildren in Chicago.  Devon delayed Graham's 2nd birthday celebration so that we could be there to celebrate with them.  Graham is enthralled with airplanes, so Devon chose airplanes as the theme for the party.  She had those half-sized cans of soda pop, and the small bottles of wine that you find on airplanes. She had photography books of air flight and toy airplanes, it looked really cute.

Graham LOVES his hat.

Seriously

Loves

The hat. 

Piper was the attentive big sister at her little brother's birthday party.  She even helped Graham open his presents!

Taking a break from big sister duty

She is so adorable.

She was showing us some dance steps. 

Graham was willing to trade his favorite hat for a birthday hat

Devon records the big moment.

I think everyone was clapping.

We brought clothing we bought in Norway for Graham's birthday, but we stopped at Walgreen's on the way to the party to buy Graham a toy, too.  We didn't realize how noisy the jigsaw was until Graham started playing with it while it was still in the box.  Next year . . . a drum kit!

He really liked that jigsaw

If grandfathers can't buy noisy, irritating toys for kids, then who can?