The skies I'm under
"Hold me fast
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer
And I will learn, I will learn to love the skies I'm under"
- "Hopeless Wanderer" by Mumford and Sons
What, I ask you, is an American scientist in Norway supposed to do on a sunny Saturday in September? Go exploring, of course! My friend, Ingeborg, who grew up in Stavanger, knows all of the cool spots around here, so when she suggested we go for a walk on her favorite beach, I was definitely game.
I didn't realize until I got into her car that I was wearing a T-shirt from London, a headband from Oregon, carrying a sweatshirt from Vancouver and a bag from Bremerhaven, Germany. Quite the international mosaic! We drove for about 20 minutes to a beach south of Stavanger, in a suburb called Sola. I never expected such a beautiful beach to be so close to my city! The water was crystal clear blue, and the temperature was just perfect. At one point, Ingeborg pointed out toward the water and said "If you take off from here and go straight, you'll land in England." Now that's cool.
After we had walked in the sun for a while, we came across a rectangular concrete structure covered in graffiti. It definitely didn't belong on such a pristine beach. Ingeborg explained that during WWII, the Germans built a series of concrete bunkers all along the occupied Norwegian coast in anticipation of an Allied attack. Remember, this beach faces due west toward England. The attack never came, being carried out at Normandy instead, and the bunkers have fallen into disrepair. We climbed on top of one to have a look, and we both agreed that if we were German soldiers assigned to protect the Norwegian coast, we would have neglected our duties and spent our days lounging on the beach and taking in the view.
Not far from the Solastranden were the ruins of a 12th-century church that was destroyed in the mid-1800s. Naturally, we made the short ride over to check it out. Most of the church has been rebuilt in recent years, but the west wall was completely open and only protected by a pane of glass. I was able to get the photo to the right by putting my camera lens up against the glass wall. If you look carefully, you'll see the bricks in the arch above the altar are all numbered - someone must have carved the numbers into them to keep track of their proper order! According to Ingeborg, the church is a popular place for weddings because the glass west wall has a gorgeous view out to the beach.
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer
And I will learn, I will learn to love the skies I'm under"
- "Hopeless Wanderer" by Mumford and Sons
What, I ask you, is an American scientist in Norway supposed to do on a sunny Saturday in September? Go exploring, of course! My friend, Ingeborg, who grew up in Stavanger, knows all of the cool spots around here, so when she suggested we go for a walk on her favorite beach, I was definitely game.
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| Ingeborg at Solastranden |
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| One of the German bunkers, looking seriously out of context on the beach. |
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| Inside Solaruinkirke |
Not far from the Solastranden were the ruins of a 12th-century church that was destroyed in the mid-1800s. Naturally, we made the short ride over to check it out. Most of the church has been rebuilt in recent years, but the west wall was completely open and only protected by a pane of glass. I was able to get the photo to the right by putting my camera lens up against the glass wall. If you look carefully, you'll see the bricks in the arch above the altar are all numbered - someone must have carved the numbers into them to keep track of their proper order! According to Ingeborg, the church is a popular place for weddings because the glass west wall has a gorgeous view out to the beach.
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