Day 12
We are berthed on the island of Nørvøya, or Nørve, in the Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.
Norway is filling all of my expectations about the country. It is raining, somewhat overcast and grey, and the temperature is in the 50’s. The mountains run down into the sea, and there are lots of islands. Many of them too small of be inhabited or perhaps too barren. It is green, and unlike the Shetland Islands there are trees.
Ålesund is a picturesque village. According to local legend, Ålesund was founded by Gangerolf (outside of Norway better known as Rollo), in the 9th century. Rollo was the 10th-century founder of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy, hailed from the community of Giske, north-west of Ålesund.
Like our beloved San Francisco, Ålesund was destroyed by a fire. On the night of January 23, 1904, practically the entire town of Ålesund was destroyed by a most terrible fire. Throughout the night gale force winds aided the flames. Like most Norwegian towns of the time it was built largely of wood. The population had to leave the town in the middle of the night with only a few minutes' notice. Fortunately, only one person died in the fire, the 76-year-old Ane Heen, but more than 10,000 people were left without homes.
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany had often been on vacation in nearby Sunnmøre. After the fire, he sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and barracks. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in Art Nouveau style, or Jugendstil, between 1904 and 1907. The structures were designed by approximately 20 master builders and 30 Norwegian architects, most of them educated in Trondheim and Charlottenburg, Berlin, drawing inspiration from all over Europe.
It is interesting this past winter we visited Napier, a coastal city on New Zealand's North Island, which had a tragedy more like San Francisco, an earthquake in 1931. Napier was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style as well. Both cities today are the city is known for Art Deco landmarks. Note it is both cities, meaning Ålesund and Napier, who are known for their Art Nouveau or Art Deco styles. San Francisco is not. To be sure there are a number of Art Nouveu and Art Deco buildings in San Francisco they just aren’t celebrated like they are here.
Some is going to call me out on it, so let’s face it now. Art Nouveau and Art Deco are not the same thing. They shared some similar motifs of beautiful women, animals, and flowers. The main similarity between these two movements is that both sought to create a decorative art design style that would represent the modern world.
The Art Nouveau movement was inspired by the Aestheticism movement and by the British Arts and Crafts Movement. The Aestheticism movement sought to emphasis beauty for beauty's sake over having another purpose for art. The Arts and Crafts Movement emphasized style in decorative arts.
The Art Nouveau movement is defined by a rejection of historic styles and inspiration from natural forms. It emphasized beautifying even ordinary objects. It draws inspiration from natural forms and focuses on lavish and intricate designs. Art Deco draws inspiration from industrial machinery and focuses on simplified geometric designs.
Art Nouveau occurred first from 1890 to around 1910. Art Deco became as popular as Art Nouveau. Starting in the 1920’s Art Nouveau was seen as old-fashioned, and Art Deco become a major artistic style in the 1930s.
So, what happened to San Francisco? The earthquake and fire too place April 18, 1906. This is about the time Art Nouveau was falling out of fashion, yet before Art Deco came into style. Was it just that the world was between styles? World War I? No that is too late. The Spanish Flu epidemic? No that was after World War I.
Perhaps it was the Panama–Pacific International Exposition? A world's fair held in San Francisco between February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake. Yes, that was built using both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Styles.
Oh no wait, the buildings were mostly constructed from temporary materials (primarily staff, a combination of plaster and burlap fiber). Almost all the fair's various buildings and attractions were pulled down in late 1915. They were, in fact, intended to fall into pieces at the close of the fair (reportedly because the architect believed every great city needed ruins) The only presently-surviving building on the Exposition grounds is Bernard Maybeck's Palace of Fine Arts Building.
San Franciscans, or maybe Americans, are interested in flash! Their eyes twinkle with with shinny glitter of something new, at least until something else caught their eye. No thought for the future and permanence. It is one of the things I appreciate about Europe. Things are meant to last. An appreciation of the past. San Franciscans, even today, only looks to the nee shinny toy. This maybe what caused my dislike for Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Nothing there is “real” it is all Disney World. Plaster and burlap.
We have a general panoramic tour this morning. We rode out to Giske an island west of Ålesund and visited Giske middelalderkirke og kirkegård, or Giske Medieval Chruch and Cemetery. They date from the 12th-century. The church is the main church for the Giske parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. The white marble church was built in a long church design in the 12th century using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 125 people.
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1309, but the church was not new that year. The church was likely built in the 12th century, but exact dates of its construction are not known. The church was originally a family chapel for the noble Giske family which owned the Giske Estate. A majority of the graves around the church have the name Giske on them, or at least some form there of. The original building consisted of a rectangular 40 foot × 29 foot nave and a 25 foot × 20 foot chancel, but it has been refurbished several times over the centuries. After the Protestant Reformation, the church fell into disuse and disrepair until 1756 when the Estate was purchased and the new owner, Hans Holtermann. Holtermann ordered the extensive renovation of the church soon after. Most of the interior today can be dated back to this renovation, carved by the local craftsman Jakob Sørensøn Giskegaard (1734–1827). The church was again renovated in the 1860s where it received new, larger windows and a new entrance to the choir for the priest to use.
The carvings of the alter piece is exquisite. The pulpit is as well. It is a small church for sure, but it has a great deal of character. Hearing the young woman, with nose and lip piercings, tell us about the church as difficult. Hearing her was most difficult from the back of the church so I walked around the church and looked at the graveyard. The headstones are very interesting. The older ones have character and tell something of a story of the person. Maybe not much but something. The newer ones are just names and dates.
Oh, by-the-way, we rode through three tunnels connecting the islands and a causeway between two of them. This is a seafaring country, but driving is much easier than puttting a boat in the water and going to the next island. Driving is slo probably faster. Interestingly the tunnels, two of them anyway, are single lane. There is a gate at each end of the tunnel which controls the flow of traffic. There weren’t a lot of cars to control but it is interesting that the Norwegian’s would go though the expense of building the tunnels.
The next stop was along Fylkesveg (country road) 5592 just below the waterfall in Alnes on the island of Godøya. Godøya is famous for its beautiful nature, dominated by the 1,631 foot tall mountain Storhornetand the large lake Alnesvatnet. The waterfall apparently runs from this lake. It is small island only about 4.2 square miles of area.
Apparently, there are a number of hiking trails and other outdoor activities. According to the guide a variety of wildlife can be found on the island, mammals such as Red deer, Roe deer, Otter, Harbour seal and American mink are predominant. The steep mountain sides of the island also have a number of nesting White-tailed eagles. The name stems back to the Viking Age, and is derived from the name "Gud øy", which translates to "Island of God(s)" in English. The current name, Godøya, can be loosely translated to "the good island"
Back on the motor coach we headed to Alnes lighthouse. The lighthouse was established in 1852 to guide fishing boats safely to the harbor much like all lighthouses. The current lighthouse was built in 1876 and is still in operation with a few modifications. The dates above are off the internet, which also says that “the old keeper's house has a café and an exhibition hall where artwork from local artists are displayed.” And, “There is also a small historical museum inside the lighthouse tower.” The bus dropped us off right in front of the visitors center, built into the hill just below the lighthouse, which was very modern and fairly new. It had a coffee shop, and it had a area for local artists to exhibit their work. They were in fact installing a new exhibition while we were there.
We walked up the hill to the lighthouse. The old keeper’s house is there and a a couple other small buildings, but they were all closed. You could climb to the top of the light house but apparently the stairs are very steep and equally narrow, so we skipped that part.
There is a sign on the gas’s next to the lighthouse which says: Alnes Lighthouse as constructed in 1937. The 22.5 meter tall tower was constructed using angle bars on a square foundation, a construction method not often used in Norway.
The first aid to navigation was a privately owned lighthouse used by local fisherman erected in 1853. Three cancels in a small shack were the guiding lights during winter fishing. Those participating paid a local tax covering running and maintenance, but when the fisherman refused any further contributions, the lights were extinguished in 1861.
In 1869 the Norwegian Lighthouse Services took over the running and maintenance of the Alnes Lighthouse. A lighthouse keeper was employed, and accommodation erected in 1876. Since then, the lighthouse has been upgraded several times. The French lens dated 1905 is still is use to this day.
Alnes Lighthouse was full automated in 1982, and The Heritage authority declared three building listed for further protection in 2000. With the exception of the tower itself, the lighthouse station was sold to Giske council in 1993. The buildings were restored and taken into use as a community center. Giske council and the foundation for the preservation of Alnes Lighthouse opened an activity center her in 2016.
In was probably in 2016 or shortly thereafter they built the visitor center. A couple things stand out about the lighthouse. The first is obvious, it is square. Most lighthouses are round. Apparently, round lighthouses use less wall, floor and roofing materials. And, it they are on an exposed point, or a small island offshore, wind and waves move naturally around a round building rather than getting caught at and potentially ripping off corners. Second, the light house is built on the island itself, non on a desolate island or far out on a point.
On the way back to the ship we passed a number of TV news trucks and a good crowd of people were on hand to try and see the Norwegian king’s eldest child, Princess Märtha Louise, and her soon-to-be husband. Didn’t know about it until we got back into town. Apparently, it is a Netflix event. We got off the motor coach and walked into to for lunch. We stopped a Thai Street Food place called Soi One.
It was an interesting Norwegian version of Thai food. We had spring rolls, chicken satay and pad thai. All the ingredients were there, but maybe not in exactly the proper proportion. The chili sauce for the spring rolls was good. The peanut sauce for the chicken satay was very different, not as peanutty as expected. The pad thai was good, certainly much better than they tried to serve me in Compass Rose.
We had dinner in the Pacific Rim speciality restaurant with Mike and Maddie. Tahoe Korean BBQ ribs were very good. The spicy Asian lamb chops were good. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their dinner.
Stopped at the casino and made a contribution before heading off to bed.
Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria
Comments