Risør and Kragerø 2006

mv /Sverige/Stockholm /Norge/Risør; cp -r /Norge/Risør /Norge/Kragerø

Initially we had hoped to visit Stockholm for a day visit, returning at night, but it turns out that Sweden sucks. They do not want spontaneous visitors. All must plan and purchase many weeks in advance in order to guarantee a place on the train, or must bribe the conductor. No thanks.

So we paid a visit to the bus station, and were helped by the very kind dame ('dahmeh' - not the American 'daym') there to choose a place to visit. She told us to try Risør, as it had distinctive white houses - unusual for Norway, and we would have more time there than if we went all the way to Kristiansand or Arendal. The tickets, she told us, were open for a month, so if we met some pretty damer in Risør, we could stay and come back whenever we needed - or, she added, we could just stay in Oslo, as there were pretty damer there too; hint, hint.

• Holsfjorden, much wider than it is further north.
• Drammen, a city a little to the east of Oslo.
• Then it breaks out into the countryside.
• As with almost everywhere in Norway, any ground about 1000 metres or lower, is covered in trees and lakes. Almost no variation at all. Still, someone has to make up for all of the pollution and tree removal from other countries, and it might as well be Norway.
• Next is Larvik, or more importantly Larviksfjorden. As with all the fjords around here, they are certainly not as impressive as their northern and eastern cousins.
• As the road rises, it passes over a series of bridges. This one is over Langangen.
• Stathelle on Frierfjorden.
• Stokkevannet.
• The cliffs above Stokkevannet.
• Smoking in public buildings and public transport is forbidden in Norway. So the bus makes a routine stop here, to allow the smokers to get out and relieve their nicotine cravings for another few hours. Ikke damer - I dunno what happened here, but it seems we had a convention of the more generously proportioned on the bus, certainly not typical for Norway.
• Vinterkjær, where we waited for the connecting bus to take us to Risør.
• A small island on the road from Vinterkjær to Risør.
• In Risør. This is, believe it or not, called a city by its residents (although it actually has only town status). And this is the high street - the main shopping street of the town. Cute.
• Here, the houses are not built with foundations; they are simply shaped to fit the bedrock.
• A residential area.
• A decorated house - or at least; as decorated as they get around here.
• Galleri Branntårnet, a prominent fire watch tower, built in 1880 after a fire in 1861 burned down most of the houses in the town. The price you pay for building houses out of wood.
• The houses in Risør are not placed in logical order. They are never quite aligned with each other, as their locations were dictated by the shapes of the rock that serves as their foundation, and the twisted roads added later in an attempt to provide access to them.
• Some steps - as well aligned as the houses they serve.
• My house. Mine. All mine. I wish.
• The anchor and police station.
• A red phone box. This is a little sentimental for me, as they have now been systematically wiped out in the UK (although I must say that ours looked a lot better than this one).
• The harbour, or at least one end of it. The harbour is about as big as the city itself.
• Sailboats in the harbour.
• This is the first time I have ever seen anything like this; a petrol station, for boats.
• One of the breakwaters. The area is actually protected by the archipelago, but they feel the need to add extra breakwaters.
• Kanonjolla Øster Riisøer III. Or in other words, the third cannon boat of Øster Riisøer - the old name for Risør.
• The bridge connecting to the breakwater.
• Looking along the breakwater.
• The end of the breakwater.
• Cannon on the other side of the harbour, pointing at the breakwater. I always thought cannon were supposed to be used to stop enemies before they reached the town, not once they were already inside. Shame that any that failed to hit their target would just hit the town instead. Oops.
• The colours are what is important. Stop laughing. Anyway, purely for the sake of tourism, the jetty here houses an underwater post office (or at least, that is what they tell the tourists). Letters posted in the nearby post box are taken down to the underwater post office by a postal diver, sorted, and then delivered normally. And no, I am not joking. Perhaps the boat was being used by the postal service for deliveries - and yes, that part was a joke. You may laugh now.
• The lighthouse on Stangholmen.
• Risørflekken. This used to be used a century or so ago, to help guide shipping into Risør, as it can be seen for many miles out to sea. Now it serves as a lure for tourists, enticing them onto the painted rock for the rewarding view. So we will head up there now.
• A dark cloud threatening to put an end to this visit. It failed.
• Grand houses on the far side of the harbour. These are used by more high profile businesses, like banks. I wonder if their secure safe is made of white painted wood too.
• A little closer.
• A rose in the gardens of Risør.
• Another cannon. Instead of being aimed defensively, this one is beautifully aimed directly at the local police station. Can you aim one at your foot while you're at it?
• The road up to Risørflekken contains some small treasures, such as this house. A very small but beautifully ornate house. For a rubbish bin.
• Sometimes it is not the foreground that counts. Risør.
• The road is steep, but the houses continue.
• Yes, I said it was steep. So steep, the fence has to be stepped quickly to keep up with it.
• Art.
• Ikke means "not" and well, "no problem" means "no problem". To us foreigners at least. Two negatives makes a positive; "not no problem". You don't want to use a company that has this for a slogan! Ok, to be fair, "Ikkeno'" is short for "ikkenoe", meaning "not some", but it is an unfortunate abbreviation when so many people speak English and Norsk.
• Artistic tree. The gateway to Risørflekken.
• Risør from Risørflekken. Cameras ready! This was just five from a huge number of pictures, and Moose took plenty as well. Some of the others will follow.
• Islands in the archipelago.
• More islands. Perhaps I should build a hytta on this one.
• The crane. Would you know if I didn't tell you? :P The wind blowing through the cables, and the ropes on the many boats, made a continual whistling sound, audible all over the town.
• This gull landed on the painted rock, gave us a confused look, stared directly at us with its beak wide open, and gave a loud squawk. Stupid tourists. You are supposed to give me food! It flew off with an empty stomach.
• And some more islands. Now, it's time to leave this pretty town, and head for one with some more colours; Kragerø.
• On the way to Kragerø.
• Still.
• It's a fair way there.
• The route took us through the little town of Helle (seems to be a popular town name in Norway), with its obviously named Hellekirken - Hell's Church. On arriving at Kragerø we are greeted with this prominent church, obviously placed there to protect the people of Kragerø from the Church of Hell down the road.
• Stacked houses in Kragerø.
• Vinmonopolet. As its name would suggest, it was the wine monopoly in Norway; the only shop where you could buy wines and spirits. For a long time, drinking alcoholic drinks in Norway was frowned upon, and people would be embarrassed to be seen carrying shopping bags from Vinmonopolet. Trying to buy more than a bottle at a time may have ended up with you being given leaflets for alcoholics recovery programmes. Sheesh.
• A quarry perhaps? Or more likely, a place where the land is being flattened to make space for more houses. Bærøy, across Bærøyfjorden.
• A narrow street, showing that the houses here are also aligned by the rock, not by human design.
• The road to the Torg - a Multitorg (Opera) if my imagination will allow.
• The torg, where we tried to avoid American tourists, and take photos instead. Local damer tried to keep out of the way of the photographs. They should not try so hard.
• A balcony in the torg.
• In case the last street was not narrow enough, they got even narrower.
• The wood bases of the houses were build directly on the rock. I hope that there is a proper attachment to the rock underneath this - even with the wood shaped so beautifully, it could not provide much purchase.
• Grey houses on the high street.
• A pink eyesore bumbling through the shopping centre of the town. I tried to hide it behind a Moose, but I was not quite fast enough. The luminance of the pink is actually higher than that of the white building behind it. Such things should be bannished to a place where photographers never tread.
• If you thought they could not get any narrower, this should challenge perceptions.
• Moose invading a private courtyard to take a picture. The owner appeared suddenly, and demanded payment. After waiting for just the right amount of time for the shock to spread across our faces, he said it was a joke. That sense of humour is something I would expect back home in Britain.
• A manor by the bay.
• A storm approaching from Kragerøfjorden.
• Rainfall in the little harbour.
• Fart gently.
• Small harbour after the rain.

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