ALESUND, NORWAY: An Art Nouveau Gem and Much More

Alesund, Norway. View from the city park.

The last part of our recent trip to Norway was spent in and near the city of Alesund, a small city on Norway’s west coast, once the center of a thriving cod liver oil industry.

On the Alesund waterfront with statue honoring the historic cod fishing industry.

In 1904, most of Alesund was destroyed by a catastrophic fire. With help from other European countries, it was rebuilt, providing the opportunity for new architecture in the Art Nouveau style. Almost every building features some kind of ornament.

Alesund. Art Nouveau inspired house design.

Art Nouveau was a movement within architecture, decorative art, and fine art that took place during the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. In Scandinavia it is known more commonly under the German name Jugenstil. New materials and techniques were explored, and the classical models of the past were abandoned in favor of creative forms of expression inspired by the organic vitality of nature. 

In the Alesund Art Nouveau Centre, everything--from furniture and window treatments, to wallpaper and doorknobs--is in the Art Nouveau style. 

Spiral staircase in the Alesund Art Nouveau Centre.

The Alesund Art Nouveau Centre, housed in historic buildings near the port, tells of the fire and its aftermath, and displays examples of Art Nouveau furniture and home decoration.

Bookcase.

Viking inspired silver baskets. 

The Fiskemuseet (Fishing Museum) in Alesund is also worth a visit. Exhibits, some with life-size figures, show how cod were processed to produce the rich oil, a source of vitamins A and D. I remember that when I was a child my mother put cod liver oil in my orange juice and how I hated the fishy taste.

Historic photos and containers of cod liver oil at the Fiskemuseet.

Many people come to Alesund for trips into the fjords, and before we came to Norway we had thought we would like to do that. But it turned out that our days in Alesund didn’t coordinate with the days of the boat tour. So we adapted our plans.

Former lighthouse at Alesund Harbor, now the honeymoon suite of a local hotel.

On our third day in Alesund we took a local bus to the Sunnmore Museum, a collection of 40 historic houses and other buildings resituated in a large park, as well a museum of boats, including several from Viking times.

Boathouse at Sunnemore Museum.

Graveyard of the Borgund Church, Sunnemore

It was a beautiful spring day, warm, and flowers were blooming.

People in National Dress at Sunnemore, on their way to a reception in a historic meeting hall.

As we walked around Sunnmore, we noticed groups of people in the traditional Norwegian dress—women in long embroidered skirts and men in dark suits. Even children and babies were wearing the national dress. While Norwegians don’t wear such clothing on a daily basis, it is apparently usual to wear the traditional clothing for confirmations and other special events. 

National dress, in store at shopping mall in Alesund.

Later, when we went into the shopping mall near our hotel, we saw the dresses and accompanying accessories on display.

Traditional design wall decoration, historic farmhouse at Sunnemore Museum. 

Our final excursion from Alesund was to nearby Runde Island to see the nesting seabirds. For more about that, go to my post of May 20, 2024 .

On Runde Island..

Norway is a big country and in the two weeks we were there we only saw a small part of it. But our visits to three cities—Oslo, Bergen, and Alesund—gave us a good taste of the landscape, culture, people, food, weather. We’d like to go back someday to experience more.

Art Deco window decoration, Alesund. 

  

SANTA MONICA PIER: Family Fun in Santa Monica, California

Pacific Park Ferris Wheel, Santa Monica Pier

I’ve walked the Santa Monica Pier many times but never, until this summer when my grandchildren came to visit, spent any time at the Pacific Fun Park or visited the Aquarium under the pier. So, we planned an afternoon’s excursion and, instead of driving to Santa Monica, as we usually do, we decided to ride the new Expo Line train, getting on at the Palms Station not far from our house in West Los Angeles. The end of the line is just two short blocks from the pier.

Gateway to the Pier

The Santa Monica Pier extends into the Pacific Ocean at the end of Santa Monica Boulevard and is an iconic southern California landmark dating back to the days when Los Angeles residents closer to downtown came to the beach for summer outings. It has always had a holiday atmosphere. http://santamonicapier.org/history/

Route 66 t-shirts and other tourist souvenirs can be bought all along the pier. 

Santa Monica is the terminus of historic Route 66, the U.S. highway that begins in Chicago on Michigan Avenue and winds its way westward to the California coast.

No one is too old to ride the carousel!

Our first stop on the pier was the carousel, whose history dates back to 1974 and is famous for its individually carved wooden horses.

Jellyfish at the Aquarium under the Pier

We then went down the stairs outside the carousel to the entrance to the Aquarium. Children get in free and I was willing to pay five dollars to support Heal the Bay, a sponsor of the Aquarium. Inside, children were clustered around the touch and feel tank with its starfish and other tidepool creatures. There is also a large tank with a kelp bed display, a jellyfish tank and other exhibits.

A thrilling ride in Inkie's Scrambler

But the highlight of the afternoon for the kids (ages 10, 12 and 14) was the Pacific Fun Park where they rode the ferris wheel, scrambler, and dragon while Art and I stayed safely on the ground and took pictures.

End of the Santa Monica Pier

At the far end of the pier, fishermen dropped their lines over the side in hopes of catching a fish. But most people on the pier were there just enjoying the ocean breeze and view of the beach that stretches on one side all the way to Malibu and on the other, south to the Marina. We saved our beach fun for next day, when we donned our swimming gear and the kids boogie boarded in the waves.

Japan Alps, Nagoya, Gifu: Part III

Gifu.  Statue of Cormorant fisherman wearing traditional clothing.

Gifu and Nagoya (Trip to Japan, September 2008)
After our visit to the Japan Alps, we took a train back to Gifu from Takayama and arrived in Gifu by 11:30. We bought food for lunch at a market in Gifu station and pastries at a French bakery for my breakfast the next morning, and got a taxi to the Miyako Hotel, a 15 minute ride from the center of town. Our room the 10th floor overlooked the river and was the perfect spot to watch herons, kites and the cormorant boats at night.  

View of river and Mount Kinka from our room at the Miyako Hotel

Tuesday, September 9
Got up at 5:00 for a taxi to Gifu station for a 5:58 train to Nagoya.  I changed there at Kanayama station for Kosoji Station.  All went like clockwork; the trains were not crowded and left precisely on schedule.  While Art attended his conference, I spent the day doing an author visit at the Nagoya International School.  After school, my hosts took me to the 100 yen store (like a dollar store) where I picked up a basket full of toys and souvenirs.

Sidebar on Japanese toilets: Japanese toilets never cease to amaze.  In public places, such as the airport, one has a choice of traditional–a hole in the floor over which you squat–or western style. The western style seat in the airport was 3-way: a regular seat for adults, a smaller flip-down seat for a child, and a baby seat, on a hook on the wall, which could be inserted for a very small child.  Many toilet seats, including the ones at the Best Western, come with a console that allows you to heat the seat and/or the water.  Another button triggers a spray of water on your bottom or converts the toilet to a bidet.  My hosts had a further addition to their toilet.  A small basin mounted on top of the toilet tank has a spout that gushes water when you flush the toilet.  You can use the water to rinse your hands.  The water runs until the tank is refilled.  Apparently another teacher at the school had a toilet with an electric eye that lifts the lid when you open the bathroom door! 

Coffee in a Can 

Typical vending machine.

Wednesday, September 10
Got up early for another day's school visit and had bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt and coffee from a can.  You can buy canned coffee (and almost any other kind of drink) in vending machines, which are ubiquitous. You pour the coffee into your cup and heat it in the microwave.  It is surprisingly good!

Fish Cookies, an Insect Museum, and Tame Squirrels 

The Nawa Insect Museum displays insects collected from all over the world.

Thursday, September 11
   I spent the morning walking with a friend along the river by the hotel and shopping and sightseeing on the other side.  We bought some fish shaped cookies (fish are a theme throughout Gifu) and peeked in at a temple with a giant golden lacquer Buddha.  At the park, we went to the insect museum.  After lunch I returned to the park and rode the “ropeway” (a cable car) to the top of Mount Kinka to see the view and tour the Shogun era castle, now a museum.  Before leaving, I stopped at the featured squirrel village where I was given a glove and food so I could feed the squirrels, who scampered about in their enclosed "village".  Apparently Japanese people think that squirrels are exotic and feeding them is a treat!  Perhaps they don’t have squirrels being a nuisance in their yards and stealing food from their bird feeders. 

Traditional Cormorant Fishing

Cormorant fishing.  (Itai) The fish are attracted to the surface of the water by a fire suspended from a basket at the front of the fisherman’s boat.

In the evening, Art’s host at the conference  took us on a boat to see the traditional cormorant fishing.  As in the children’s book Ping (one of my favorites as a child), the cormorants are trained to catch fish for their master.  A ring around the cormorant’s neck prevents it from swallowing the fish it catches. One at a time, the birds are hauled in to disgorge their fish into a basket.

Bakery in Gifu.  Colorful sweet cakes are filled with bean paste.

Friday, September 12
In the morning, Art and I toured the cormorant fishermen’s village and then went shopping for souvenirs at a bakery across the river.  Then I left for the airport to return to Los Angeles and Art left for Kyoto and Fukuoka, where he attended another conference.