claire and karin ride through stockholm

Sunset from apartment [Funkisgården] balcony

We spent an amazing week in Lofoten, Norway, a string of islands north of the arctic circle. We hiked, went sea kayaking in the fjords, and roamed the beach under the midnight sun. It's absolutely, spectacularly beautiful here. The landscape is like nowhere I've ever been, and when standing on the top of any of the peaks, one can look down and see the ocean breaking on the beach on each side.

The archipelago's beaches are strewn with wooden racks, called flakes, drying Cod. The method has existed for over 1,000 years, as salt wasn't always economical. The construction of the racks is beautiful in its simplicity, with two vertical columns bridged by a timber beam, and buttressed by columns pushing in at an angle. Sun filters through the structure during the afternoon. It is surprising the many sea guls in the area don't have field day with the potent smelling cod, especially considering there is often only a single scarecrow poised underneath.

I suspect it is because they long ago tired of eating the same thing, and have moved on to other feasts (i.e. the spoils of visiting tourists).

I have been running every other day or so along Akerselva river up to Maridalen Lake, which has a much-frequented pedestrian path running along its banks. Architecturally, this has been extremely valuable. Many of the buildings along this path are adaptive re-use projects constructed of brick, similar in style and site conditions to the Olympia Brewhouse renovation I am proposing for my thesis. The Akerselva path is always busy, teeming with groups of young parents pushing strollers, joggers, and mountain-bikers. I feel that the successful development of this area will be a good inspiration when considering the brewhouse's proximity to the Deshutes river, and how to best take advantage of this relationship.

From the area's history, I have learned that Akerselva river has contributed greatly to the culture and history of my neighboorhood, Torshov, and the borough overall, Sagene. The river has long been exploited for energy, powering mills and and turbines during the 18th and 19th centuries. Norway's oldest industrial building - Glads papermill - is located in Sagene, the nieghborhood next to Torshov. This area once served as Norway's "cradle of industrialism" during the mid-1800s, with establishments such as Graahs spinnery and Hjula weavery employing hundreds of workers. Small wooden houses that sprang up during the 1700s, along the streets of Maridalsveien and Sandakerveien, were supplanted by large, concrete laborers' housing during the following century.

During the latter part of the 20th century, the old industrial buildings lining Akerselva have been apaptively reused to house various IT, graphics and media companies. I look forward to drawing on the successes and failures of these during the ensuing months!

week 1 - settling in

I spent my first week or so in Oslo getting to know the area. My apartment is in the neighborhood of Torshov, and is in a large, white apartment complex. The building is in the shape of a horseshoe, with a pleasant courtyard in the center, and sits above the well-known Åpent bakery. The apartment is about a quarter mile from Akerselva river, which runs from Maridalen Lake to the north, bisecting the entire city, and emptying out into Oslofjorden (the Oslo Fjord) to the south.

The bakery serves a wonderful variety of breads, and we pick up a new loaf ever couple of days to make our traditional breakfast of brødskiver --sliced bread, cheese, sliced meat or laks, and vegetables.

I have been running every other day or so along Akerselva to Maridalen Lake, which has a well-used path that runs along its banks. Architecturally, this has been extremely valuable. Many of the buildings along this path are adaptive re-use projects constructed of brick, similar in style and site conditions to the Olympia Brewhouse renovation I am proposing for my thesis. The Akerselva path is always busy, frequented by groups of young mothers and fathers pushing strollers, joggers, and mountain-bikers. I feel that the successful development of this area will be a good inspiration when considering the brewhouse's proximity to the Deshutes river, and how to best take advantage of this relationship.

When in Oslo...

I arrived to Oslo a few weeks ago, and haven't been very good about documenting my time here thus far (as evidenced by the fact that I am only creating this blog now). This is is the first step, however, and I intend to begin uploading photos and descriptions of the past weeks immediately, in hopes that this might serve as both electronic journal, and a means of keeping my friends and family up to date.

This pic is from Vigelands Parken in Oslo's center. There are some wild statues here, with this example being mild in comparison to others.