Our new bird feeder created a fair amount of interest. Rainbow lorikeets arrived first.
Next came the cockatoos. Initially there were only 2, later we counted 11 birds.
Our granddaughter is observing carefully while holding the binoculars back to front.
The lorikeets are small in size but know how to scare the much bigger cockatoos.
The kookaburra was stoically observing the acrobatics.
Seasons Greetings!
This week we left early to look at the Sculptures by the Sea on the coastal walk between Bondi and Tamarama. It was a beautiful peaceful morning though the sea was still very powerful. The day before waves had damaged some of the sculptures on Tamarama beach.
The waves were a sight you just had to record.
The rocks at Mona Vale beach have many different lines and faces.
The first part of this trip is by train through the beautiful country side past the odd skyjump.
We drove past the Hardangervidda National Park and reached 1200 meters on the mountain plateau at Finse, the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system.
It was high enough to still have snow in late July. At the train station in Myrdal were bicyles for hire.
In Myrdal we changed trains and took the Flåm Railway. It is one of the steepest trainlines in the world on normal tracks, where almost 80% of the journey has a gradient of 5.5%.
The train stopped at the Myrdalfossen waterfall, one of the 10 highest in Europe.
The village of Flåm has since the late 19th century been a tourist destination and is visited by 160 cruise ships per year.
The Flåm Church was built in 1670.
From Flåm we took the ferry to get to Bergen. It rained on the first part of the trip, so we didn’t see much of the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway.
The weather improved for the later part of the trip while sailing past colourful houses.
Late in the afternoon after more than 5 hours we reached Bergen.
This year we decided to visit Norway. On our flight to Oslo we saw what was going to follow us around for the next 2 weeks – clouds, lots of clouds. From the 25th floor you have a good view of the city.
The Oslo Opera, completed in 2007, is home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The roof of the building angles to the ground level, creating a large plaza that invites people to walk up and enjoy the panoramic views of Oslo. While much of the building is covered in white granite and La Facciata, a white Italian carrara marble, the stage tower is clad in white aluminum, in a design that evokes old weaving patterns.
A must is the visit to the Viking Ship Museum, displaying 3 wooden, 9th-century Viking ships, plus artifacts recovered from burial chambers as well as the Fram Museum, telling the story of Norwegian polar explorations. Both are located on the peninsula of Bygdøy, a short boat trip from Oslo’s city centre.
We also visited the unique Vigeland Sculpture Park, Gustav Vigeland’s lifework with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. Vigeland was in charge of the design and architectural layout of the park, which was developed between 1939 and 1949.
We enjoyed visits to the Advard Munch Museum and the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, located in Aker Brygge right on the harbour.
Three days was too short to see all of what Oslo has to offer. We will have to come back.
I spent some beautiful hours in the city today.
Last weekend the east coast of Australia experienced heavy rain and wild storms which eroded beaches by up to 50 meters. Today, Wednesday I visited Collaroy and Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches. While the sun has returned the sand has not.
