"What are you doing?" I ask curiously to two boys working on 'something' by the side of the road. This 'something' really intrigued me, and there was only one way to find out what it was: just ask.
"We're picking berries," says the youngest.
And his older brother adds: "Look, it's really easy with this thing." And he shows me how it works.
"Do you want to taste?" the youngest asks, handing me a handful of berries. Delicious! The blåbær are early this year, I had already picked a handful that morning.
"Handy, isn't? You can just buy this in the shop!" The eldest is already a good salesman.
"Can I take pictures of that thing and that you are picking?" I ask.
"Yes, as long as you don't put our faces on it."
I promise, and I'll let the boys approve the photos. I can publish them. Great, because how else am I supposed to explain what this 'something' is...?
I can now ask questions in Norwegian, but I don't always understand answers. Unless one speaks clearly and slowly. Unless you speak clearly and slowly. To my surprise, both boys spoke excellent English.
"Where did you learn to speak English so well?" I ask them.
"Computer games," they both reply.
Maybe I should do that too, I could improve my English! The boys, aged about ten and twelve, told me that they have a hytte (summer house) here at Lygra and that they spend the summer here.
Lygra is an island north of Bergen. I'm staying here for a few days in a nice pilgrim hostel and exploring the place by bicycle. This time not a multi-day trip with the tent, but a permanent pitch, to which I will return in the afternoon. There is a 'key place' on Lygra itself, but also in Seim, 15km away. Along the Coastal Pilgrim Route you pass many interesting historical sites. 26 of these have been designated as 'key places'. You can also get a stamp for your pilgrim's passport there.
In Seim it is Haugonhaugen, the burial place of King Håkon the Good. And on Lygra it is Lyngheisenteret, the Heath Centre. At the end of this newsletter I will write something about this very special place.
After the previous newsletter and before arriving at Lygra, I visited the key town of Mosterhamn and spent two days in Bergen.
Mosterhamn has an amphitheatre (with an exhibition space and a café) and Moster Gamle Kirke, one of the oldest stone churches in Norway. I was here last year and the door to the church was being restored. It is now back in place. There are a few special things to report about the church, these are included as text with the photos (you can read them by clicking on the photos).
I did not like the cycling route through the centre of Bergen, but now I have found a good and safe route. Fortunately, Lauritz agreed with me, and he should know, as he cycles 18 km almost every day to work in Bryggen, the old trading quay in the centre of Bergen. Lauritz Haarr is the coordinator of the pilgrim centre in Bergen and I had a working visit with him on Monday. We discussed the route through his region (Vestland), went through the action plan and tried to solve some bottlenecks.
Bergen's Pilgrim Centre is currently housed in one of the old wooden houses in Bryggen, the historic trading quay from the Hanseatic era. The wooden houses are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The photos are from the pilgrim centre in Bryggen and also some photos I took that day.
The weather has been very reasonable, although I think I have used up the sun and heat for the first two weeks. Now it is alternately rainy and cloudy, with a little sun here and there. Fortunately it's perfect weather when I'm on the bicycle, because it's dry, and it's a nice cycling temperature, around 15 to 18 degrees.
Click on the photos to enlarge and read the texts.
Photo's Moster Gamle Kirke in Mosterhamn:
Other photo's of Mosterhamn and the amphitheatre:
Photo's Of the pilgrim centre in Bergen:
Other photo's of Bergen:
Photo's of Seim en Lygra
About the heathlands at Lygra and Lyngheisenteret, The Heathland Centre:
The heathlands are the traditional cultural landscapes of the coast. In more than 4000 years they have been a typical part of the Atlantic coasts from Portugal to the Lofoten. Today this characteristic landscape has become a threatened type of nature; more than 80% has disappeared during the last 100 years.
This development is some of the background for the establishment of The Heathland Centre. In cooperation with the local farmers at Ytre Lygra, 150 ha of authentic heathlands are managed by traditional land use methods. The area is organized for outdoor life, experience of natural and cultural heritage, education and research.
At the same time it is actively farmed, i.e. by all-year-round grazing by the ancient Norwegian breed of sheep, and heather burning.
Four km of walking paths make it easy to move around in this timeless landscape. At the Information building you will find more knowledge materials, exhibition and a documentary movie, museum shop and cafeteria.
The Heathland Centre was opened by HM Queen Sonja in 2000, and it received the Cultural Landscape Prize of UNESCO in 2001 (Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes). The Cultural Heritage Prize of EU was given to The Heathland Centre in 2004 (European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage - Europa Nostra Awards).