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Diving in Ytre Hvaler NP

admin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:37:44 +0000

Hvaler to get under-water nature path

admin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:37:19 +0000

Ytre Hvaler National Park has just received the green light for establishing a nature path under water. The new ‘path’ will be part of a joint Scandinavian project called the Nordic Blue Parks Project, whose aim is to offer a network of under-water ‘paths’ for divers and snorkellers. The path in the Ytre Hvaler National Park should be ready by the summer.

There will be, among other things, several information signs (anchored in cement blocks) around the wreck of the Lossen, a ship that sank in the area on Christmas Eve 1717 (more on the Lossen at www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/09/the-lossen-hvaler/).

The fauna and flora are protected in the Ytre Hvaler National Park, Europe’s first, and only, marine national park. But the project should not have any adverse effect on the local ecosystem, says Østfold fylkesmannen (the county governor).

Source: Fredriksstad Blad www.f-b.no/nyheter/lager-natursti-under-vann-1.5902688 (Norwegian only)

More info, in English, on the Nordic Blue Parks Project at www.nordicblueparks.com

Recognise these guys?

admin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:25:38 +0000

Gamlebyen ducks win photo competition

admin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:25:19 +0000

I’m chuffed. One of my pix won this month’s photo competition on The Guardian travel website. The theme for November was ‘crowds’, and this picture of the ducks in Gamlebyen was the winning entry.

The resident population of ducks in the Old Town of Fredrikstad is a popular local attraction. In winter the moat freezes over, and the ducks, no longer able to find food there, relocate to the quayside by the River Glomma, where they wait for handouts from visitors and locals alike. They make quite a sight – particularly against the white background of freshly fallen snow.

‘This is a nice simple image which made me smile. The picture would work even better with the top distractions cropped of. I’d like to see just enough to know where the road ends and the hedges start, but anymore is just distracting the eye from the fun part of the photograph’, said judge Nathalie Meyer. Well, I kind of agree re. the cropping, but this is a travel photo competition, so I figured it was important to give a sense of the place too. These are not just any ducks – they are the Gamlebyen’s ducks! Great ambassadors for Fredrikstad don’t you think?

See all the shortlisted entries at http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2010/dec/01/been-there-photography-competition#/?picture=369197741&index=15

Østfold cod best in Norway

admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:49:02 +0000

Deep-water cod from Hvaler

admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:48:25 +0000

Cod caught off the coast of Hvaler, deep in the waters of the Oslofjord, has been named as best sea raw ingredient of the year at Det Norske Måltid 2010, an annual competition aiming to find, and reward, the best Norwegian products and ingredients nationwide. The jury at the Norwegian Gastronomic Institute in Stavanger, led by former Bocuse d’Or winner Bent Stiansen, were impressed with the deep water cod, which is typically caught at depths of 300-400m, because of two distinctive characteristics: its firm texture (the fish swims in strong currents) and its marked crustacean taste (it feeds on prawns).

Want to try the deep-water cod for yourself? Order direct from the producer – Fjordfisk AS, Utgårdskilen, Hvaler. www.fjordfisk.no (Norwegian only)

For Østfold products nominated last year see www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/12/top-5-%c3%b8stfold-producers/

The Tall Ships Races

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:58:35 +0000

Fredrikstad: Port of call in 2014

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:56:29 +0000

Great news for Fredrikstad! The town has just been named as a port of call for the Tall Ships Races 2014. The Tall Ships Races is an international long distance race for training ships. The aim of the race is to encourage international friendship and train young people in the art of sailing. The annual event has been arranged since 1956, and is the only one of its kind in the world. Today, the Tall Ships Races routinely attract a fleet of between 80-100 vessels from around 30 countries, 6-8,000 trainees from some 50 countries, and 3-4 million visitors. Ports of call change every year. Fredrikstad was a port of call for the races once before, in 2005.

More about the Tall Ships Races at www.sailtraininginternational.org

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