elusive moose

Get on your bike!

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:05:55 +0000

Top 5: Cycling routes around Fredrikstad

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:58:11 +0000

- Torsnes: A scenic tour that will take you through varied landscape, and avoid the worst of the traffic. Start in Gamlebyen and follow Torsnesveien (Rv107) all the way until you pass a sign for Nes, then take it right into Thorsøveien at the next crossing. The loop road will take you to Torsnes, and back onto Tornesveien (24km).

- Glommastien: A popular day cycle along the River Glomma between Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg. Start from the ferry departure point on the west side, and come back on the east side, ending your tour in Gamlebyen (30km).

- Ullerøy: Follow signs for Ullerøy off Rv110, and continue on this road, Ullerøyveien, all the way to the little bridge leading to Nordre Karlsøy. You can continue onto the two small islands before starting the return leg of your trip. On the way back take it left at Røaveien, about 1km after the bridge. This dirt road will take you back to Rv110 through the forest (16km).

- Storedal: Combine this easy cycle through pretty kulturlandscap (fields and farms) with a visit to the Storedal Centre before heading back the way you came. Starts just past Årum off Rv111 (11km).

- Vikane: Start at Slevik on Rv117 and head for Vikane. You will follow a beautiful stretch of coastline before turning inland towards Rv116. Take it right here, and stay on this road for about 1km, before turning right again back towards Slevik (16km).

Alfresco lunch at Bakgården

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:06:42 +0000

Where to eat: Bakgården, Halden

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:03:03 +0000

This restaurant, in a side street just off Halden’s main pedestrian street, is a reliable option for both lunch and dinner. You can sit in the secluded patio in summer, and make the most of the sunshine, or opt to eat inside in winter. The main dining room is cosy, with its wooden interior, original art on the walls, table cloths and candle light, and there are a couple of additional smaller rooms, as well as a room reserved for private functions, should you want more privacy. The reasonably priced menu features brasserie-style food at lunchtime, including salads, sandwiches, omelette, tapas and even English breakfast and fish and chips (yes!), while in the evening slightly more elaborate dishes make their appearance (often featuring locally caught fish or meat from the grill) and prices go up a notch – but not as much as one would expect. Pleasant atmosphere and service, together with good food, make this a good all-round choice.

Storgate 22B. Tel: 69 18 82 90, http://bakgarden-halden.no. Expect to pay around 100-150Kr for a main course at lunchtime, and around 200Kr for dinner.

Must-see exhibition at Soli Brug, Sarpsborg

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:36:43 +0000

Hariton Pushwagner

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:34:54 +0000

Today was the opening of the Pushwagner exhibition at Soli Brug (on until 5 Sep). Pushwagner, real name Terje Brofos, was born in Oslo in 1940. One of the most acclaimed, and controversial, contemporary Norwegian artists, Pushwagner is known for his colourful yet dark pop art tableaux inspired by city life. The office, commuters, tall buildings and cars are recurring themes in his work, in which distorted perspectives, repetition, and primary colours are used to striking effect to depict a modern society in which the individual has all but disappeared.

Educated at the National Arts & Crafts School, and then the National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo, he has also studied/lived in London, Stockholm, NYC and Paris. Pushwagner won back the rights to his drawings from Morten Dreyer, his former agent and benefactor, after a high profile court case in Oslo in 2009. Pushwagner, who in 1998 was homeless and struggling with drug addiction, had ceded the rights well under their market value. Dreyer was asked to return all artwork, estimated at a value of 30 million kroner, and pay one million kroner in compensation.

More info on Pushwagner at www.pushwagner.no

Modern design in ancient landscape

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:37:21 +0000

The Solberg Tower (Solbergtårnet)

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:33:41 +0000

The brand new Solberg Tower (Solbergtårnet) by the E6 motorway in Skjeberg was officially opened today. The tower, which is almost 30m high, and cost 50 million kroner to build, was designed by Todd Saunders, the Canadian architect behind the popular Stegastein viewpoint in Aurland, western Norway. It’s a joint project between the Norwegian Public Road Administration (Statens vegvesen), the county of Østfold and the municipalities of Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad. The view from the top floor is enticing enough, but the main reason for building the tower here was to highlight the many sites dating back to the Bronze Age along the nearby Oldtidsveien. Facilities at the Solberg Tower include a lift, toilets, rest area and information panels (in Norwegian and English) on the various attractions in the area, as well as maps of the different sites.

More on Oldtidsveien at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/10/26/

More on the Stegastein viewpoint at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/04/stegastein-viewing-platform/

Photos of the Solberg Tower under construction at http://www.sa.no/lokale_nyheter/article5185109.ece

Competition: Come visit Østfold

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:53:27 +0000

Win a weekend at the Quality Hotel Fredrikstad

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:50:17 +0000

An hour’s drive from Oslo, and stretching all the way to the Swedish border to the south, Østfold is home to beautiful nature and many great attractions, yet this county is still relatively unknown outside Norway. Heard of Gamlebyen, Scandinavia’s best-preserved fortress town? Or the stunning Hvaler archipelago? Fredriksten Festning? The Halden Canal? All are located in Østfold, where you’ll also find, among many other things, prehistoric rock carvings, top art galleries, Europe’s first marine national park, and Scandinavia’s last manned fire-watch tower. All this, plus acres of forests, myriad lakes, and miles of coastline. Direct flights from several European cities to Rygge Moss Airport mean it’s easier than ever to get here. And now you even have the opportunity to win a two-night stay in one of the best hotels in the region.

WIN A WEEKEND AT THE QUALITY HOTEL FREDRIKSTAD

To celebrate a year of blogging, www.elusivemoose.eu, your (unofficial) guide to Østfold, has teamed up with the Quality Hotel Fredrikstad to run a competition, and offer one lucky winner a two-night stay for two here in Østfold. The Quality Hotel Fredrikstad, which opened in October 2009, enjoys an excellent location right on the main pedestrian street in central Fredrikstad, with the riverside bars and restaurants only a few minutes away. This is a great base to explore the town, and the rest of the county. So now there is really no excuse not to come and visit Østfold.

All you have to do is leave a comment, anywhere on the site, before 30 September. The more comments you leave, the more chances to win. So get involved, and share your views (you can use the ‘search’ function or the tag cloud to the right to look for topics that interest you). We’ll draw a winner among all the entries in October. Good luck to all of you!

* Please note that the prize is subject to availability, and only applies to weekends. Travel to and from Fredrikstad, Østfold, is the responsibility of the prize-winner. For more information on the Quality Hotel Fredrikstad visit http://www.choicehotels.no/hotels/hotel?hotel=NO117