Happy Christmas

I just wanted to share some photos of some of the delightful Madonna-and-Child paintings that I took in the Vatican Museum this autumn, – along with the very best wishes for a Happy Christmas for everybody.

Eldrid

The World’s Largest Gingerbread City

During our weekend in Bergen, we also went to see what has become a yearly event, namely the Gingerbread City. It has grown year by year, and is said to be the largest one in the world.

In the beginning it was situated in one of the shopping centers in town, but it soon grew too large for the rooms there.

A special tent is now erected in the middle of the Torgallmenningen square, and the Gingerbread City is built in there every year.

Everyone who wishes to, can contribute to the city.

There are contributions from individuals, from children in kindergardens and schools, and from other people all over town and beyond.

There are lots of fantastic houses set in a mountainous “landscape”, – just like Bergen itself, which lies in between seven mountains.

 

In between the houses there are several model trains, chuffing in and out of tunnels.

I am not sure if the organizers publish beforehand what types of buildings they want, and how many of each. In any case, there is a wide variation of houses,  and even a roundabout, – which every city ought to have.

Every magic city also needs a castle, – or several.

Even though the city is not lacking in transport facilities, Santa uses his own transport, as usual.

Some contributors have not limited themselves to building just one house, but have aimed for a whole street. The one above is a recreation of Hollendergaten.

And here it is in “real life”, – Christmas garlands and all.

Churches were abundant, along with recreations of school buildings and kindergardens, and also of some of the old historical buildings in the city.

There were also examples of modern houses, – and Santa visits them all.

I liked the theater scene with the attentive audience…..

… and also the lonely log cabin in the mountains.

GOD JUL  -  Merry Christmas!

Eldrid

Bergen

A couple of weeks before Christmas my husband and I spent a weekend in Bergen. Although it is not far, we seldom spend much time there as we usually just travel through. This time, however, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

We were travelling with a group, and it was mostly a social trip, but with plenty of time in between for walking around the town, and for shopping.

The Saturday was very nice, so most of the day it was possible to walk the streets without an umbrella.

The harbour area is a very nice place on a day like this.

People were coming and going by boat, just as they have been doing for centuries in this place.

I could not resist zooming in on some of the patterns created by the reflections in the water.

Walking past the market stalls was also a feast for the eyes.

… and you could grow hungry just by looking…

We also walked over to the Bryggen area, where the Farmers’ Market was open this weekend.

The stalls were filled with lots of goodies, and there were lots of people looking and buying.

It is hard not to be tempted to buy even more than you can carry.

We were especially tempted by all the delicious home made cheese, and we bought pieces from several stalls. They will be a tasteful addition on our Christmas lunch table.

Bryggen has some very old and pittoresque buildings, which are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

The narrow alleys between the buildings are worth exploring.  Many small shops, galleries and studios can be found here.

There are also many charming open spaces at the back of the buildings.

When it started to rain, we ducked into one of the shopping centers nearby. As this was two weeks before Christmas, they were not too crowded, and as we were not in a hurry either, we had time to look around and enjoy the Christmas decorations.

I especially liked theese:

When strolling along the festive streets, we also came across this sculpture:

A useful reminder that not everyone is prosperous, and someone might be in need of assistance, – and not just at Christmas time.

We also visited the Gingerbread City, but I’ll have to make a separate post about that. After all, it is the world’s largest of its kind.

Eldrid