Norsk Folkemuseum

Firstly may I thank you very much for the most thoughtful and kind responses you gave to yesterdays blip of our Golden Wedding Anniversary, they were very, very much appreciated.  Once home from our holiday I shall reply to all of you individually.

Mrs CBL (aka Carol) and I (aka Stewart) started our 51st year of married life with a big day out, one to remember. We visited the Norsk Folkemusuem on a peninsula in the Oslo Fjord called Bygdøy, which is pronounced Bigday.  So it was a big day in Bygdøy!

This weekend there was a Christmas Market being held there.  This added even more interest to the stories of Norwegian folklore for which this open-air museum is noted. Spread over an expansive area (see first extra) the exhibits each tell about the part they have played in the life and times of the country.

We visited many places and our favourites were the Stave Church*, the Bethlehem Chapel School (third extra) and Finnmark house**.  There were many other aspects that interested us and I hope the extras will give you a flavour of our day.

After taking a break back in our hotel we headed out into the night for our evening meal.  We had agreed/promised that at no point would we remark on the cost of anything on this holiday but just grin, rather than girn***, and bear it!  Easier said than done!  The prices for food, drink, clothing etc each cause a sharp intake of breath and we haven’t quite been able keep our promise!

Of course, salaries and wages are far higher in Norway than in the UK.  People are paid very fairly for the contributions they make to Norwegian life.  How they must enjoy visiting the UK and getting bargains galore.

*There are several styles of stave churches, but what they all have in common are corner-posts (“staves”) and a framework of timber with wall planks standing on  sills.  These walls are known as stave walls, hence the name “stave church”.

**The name, Finnmark, derives from the Old Norse form of the name Finnmork. The first element is finn(ar), the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mǫrk which means "woodland" or "borderland". In Norse times the name referred to the land of the Sami people, or any places where Sámi people lived..
  
***girn … a word in the Scots Language which means to have a right good moan or to be very annoyed.