Norway is a country of tunnels, the longest
being 24 kilometers long. They know
how to build tunnels; they were clean, odor free and dry. Maybe Boston should
have consulted the country’s engineers before they started on the Big Dig! And
beside tunnels the country also has speed cameras on most roads.
The country’s scenery is
spectacular! Even in late summer we saw snow on the mountain tops. Of course
the climate is conducive to creating waterfalls and we saw them everywhere in
all sizes, from narrow streams cascading down mountainsides to huge thundering
waterfalls. We stopped to view the spectacular Kjosfossen waterfall with its
590-foot drop. It reminded me of a couple such falls I’d seen in the Swiss
Alps. Absolutely breathtaking scenery around every curve of the road!
On a fabulous leisurely day
traversing the countryside we stopped in Borgund to view and admire an original
stave church, built in 1129. Stave
churches were a blend and bridge of
Viking paganism and Christianity. In 1066 it was declared overnight that
everyone would be Lutheran. At one time there were over 1000 stave churches,
but today only 25 remain. Except for one stave church in Sweden, the few
remaining churches are in Norway.
A guide briefly explained, “Stav in Norwegian means load-bearing
post, thus giving the church construction its name. They are very similar to
the more commonly known post church.
Walls are formed by vertical wooden boards, known as staves. Four corner
posts are connected to ground sills, resting on a stone foundation. The rest of the staves rise
from the ground sills. Each stave is notched and grooved to lock into one
another, thus forming a sturdy wall. Scissor beams support the
ceiling, in other words two steeply angled supports cross each other to form an
X shape with a narrow top span and a broader bottom span. Think of a pair of
scissors that are opened only half way. I believe there are a couple of replica
churches in the United States.”
I commented to my friend, “It would
be fun to research that.”
“They no doubt are in Norwegian
communities, so let’s put that on our ‘to do’ list.”
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