Archive for June, 2010
A popular recreational area
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on June 30, 2010
Pretty in white…
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on June 29, 2010
Bog cotton (Eriophorum angustifolium)
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on June 29, 2010
Bog cotton or cotton grass (myrull in Norwegian) is a common sight this time of year in Østfold, particularly in wet, peaty ground (acid soil), and in pools of shallow, still water, often along the coast. Bog cotton actually comes in two forms, single headed and many-headed, but the two plants are very similar, with white fluffy cotton seed heads and grassy leaves. They usually appear around June each year. The white cotton flowers, which are attached to the seed, are easily dispersed by the wind, thus ensuring the spread of the species. Bog cotton grows to about 60-70cm – the long narrow leaves which surround each stem turn from green to red-brown in autumn. In the old days bog cotton had many uses. It was used for stuffing pillows, to make candle wicks, and also as commercial cotton to make thread and cloth, but it is more brittle than cotton and do not bear twisting so well.
The view from the top of Sprinkelet
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on June 28, 2010
Walks in the Fredrikstad area
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on June 28, 2010
- Mærrapanna: A short, pleasant coastal walk just west of Fredrikstad. Popular with local families. Child-friendly beach and facilities including BBQs, football pitch and toilets. Follow signs from Rv117 between Slevik and Vikane.
- Langvikkilen: A full-day tour in one of the prettiest coastal landscapes around. Path is not marked, but follow the coastline and you can’t really go wrong. Depart from Thorshøveien in Torsnes.
- Fredrikstadmarka: Recreation grounds used year-round by local dog owners, joggers, cross-country skiers, etc. Plenty of trails to choose from, right on the city’s doorstep. Start from behind Tara School, north of the centre.
- Elingård: Easy walk in pretty agricultural landscape around one of the county’s best known manors. Good picnic facilities by the river at the old mill ruins west of Elingård. There is a car park near the manor on Elingårdsveien, off Rv116.
- Sprinkelet: Great views over Fredrikstad and the surrounding area from the observation tower. The track starts from just behind Gressvik IF football pitch.
- Gamlebyen: Wandering around the Old Town’s atmospheric cobbled-stoned streets makes for a great walk, whatever the season, or the time of day.
- Blåsopp: A short, easy walk rewarded by fantastic views over the Oslofjord from the top of a rocky cliff. Follow the coastal path (kyststien) from either Oksrødkilen or Slevik.
BBQ time is upon us
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on June 26, 2010
The weather forecast for today is 21°C and sunny here in Fredrikstad. Guess what I’m thinking? Too right – BBQ time! Apparently I’m not the only one. I read in an article recently that people in Østfold are among Norway’s most enthusiastic BBQ aficionados, only beaten by their counterparts in Vestfold and Aust-Agder on the other side of the Oslofjord. As many as 25% of local residents in Østfold barbecue once or twice a week in summer, and a further 8% as often as 3 to 5 times a week! (In Vestfold, by the way, 36% have a BBQ at least once weekly, and in Aust-Agder it’s 39%. Probably not such a good idea to hang your clothes to dry outside if you’re visiting Sørlandet in summer then!)
No garden? Not a problem. Pack an engang grill (a little disposable BBQ that you can purchase in most shops for around 20Kr) and off you go. But please take care when lighting it up, and ensure you are well away from trees and grass – it can get really dry in Østfold in summer, and forest fires start faster than you think! By the way, a reminder that there is a fire ban throughout Norway between 15 April and 15 September, so don’t even think of lighting up an open fire anywhere during that time.
Norway beat Brazil in the World Cup
Posted by admin in Photos and videos, Sport on June 25, 2010
Back in 1998 
Footage of that match in Marseille, France, when Norway famously beat Brazil 2-1 after a penalty by Kjetil Rekdal put them in the lead.
About Norwegian football
Football fever is upon us, and regardless of what team you support, it seems football is the conversation topic of choice just now (or should that be the ‘only’ conversation topic?). Anyway… Norway’s not in the World Cup this year, but here a few footie facts you might or might not know about this country:
- The Norwegian national football team played its first international in 1908. Its home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. Norway took part in the FIFA World Cup three times in its history, in 1938, 1994 and 1998. They only played in the European Championship once, in 2000.
- The national team’s hour of glory was their beating Brazil in the 1998 World Cup in Marseille, France, after Kjetil Rekdal fired a decisive penalty into the back of the net. They proceeded to the second round, but lost their first match (against Italy) and went out of the competition.
- There are a total of 1,800 football clubs in Norway (amateur and professional), with over 280,000 players.
- Norwegian players to have achieved a degree of fame abroad include John Arne Riise, a Liverpool player for several years before he moved on to play in Italy, Ole Gunnar Solskjær (known as Manchester United’s ‘baby-faced assassin’) and Tore André Flo, who played for Chelsea, among other clubs.
- The Norwegian Premier League (unofficially known as the Eliteserien) is the top competition in Norway.
- Most successful Norwegian clubs in recent years include Brann (Bergen), who won in 2007; Stabæk (Bærum), who came top in 2008; and Rosenborg (Trondheim) who accumulated an impressive 13 consecutive titles between 1992-2004, and also got gold in 2006 and 2009.
- Women football is big in Norway, with some 110,000 registered members. There are 12 clubs playing in the top division, and 12 in the first division.
- Norway hosts the world’s largest football tournament for children and young people, the Norway Cup, every year in August. The tournament, which dates back to 1972, is hugely popular – in 2009 it attracted some 30,000 participants, with 1,371 teams from 49 countries.