Trond Kristiansen

The drive from Grand Canyon to Phoenix offers a lovely panoramic view of the desert and plains of Arizona. On the way, we stopped in the nice town of Flagstaff and visited the Montezuma Castle. The Montezuma Castle is one of a number of preserved anicent dwellings in northern Arizona that offer a glimpse of how the Native Americans of the area lived (NPS). On our drive to Phoenix, we visited the Desert Botanical Garden which has a enormous collection of cactii. At the time when we visited there was also an impressive art exhibit by Chihuly.  The Botanical Garden was a must see.  Pictures are out online here.

Last summer I went to Victoria, British Columbia and experienced some great days by the Pacific Ocean. Victoria is a nice trading-post type of town at the southern tip of Vancouver Island (wikipedia). I had some nice days there and I enjoyed running in Beacon Hill Park, went to the Royal British Columbia Museum. One day I went by bus to see the Butchart Gardens, which were really impressive and a great opportunity to take some pictures of flowers. I also rented a car and took a day trip to East Sooke Park, about 1.5 hours drive from Victoria. I hiked for a few hours through thick forest until I emerged at cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I have put some pictures from my trip to Victoria online.

We have finally had a couple of weeks where Liz and I were both in Bergen. My parents came visit one weekend and we did a day trip to Sotra, a major island outside of Bergen. Last weekend the weather was fantastic and we took a bus 1 hour north of Bergen to hike a mountain called Eldsfjellet. Although the mountain was steep to climb, the view from the top was spectacular. See some pictures from our last couple of weekends here.

Lars and I went for a long weekend trip to Bruges in Belgium last week. Belgium is famous for beer and chocolate, and to be honest we did not really know much else about Belgium. We also did not know much about Bruges, except being inspired to go there after watching the movie “In Bruges” and a second-hand recommendation from Liz through her friend Susan. Bruges is situated in northwest Belgium, not far from the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands. It is connected to the ocean through canals, which were also the reason why the town blossomed from 900 to 1500 AD. After the 15th century, the canals clogged up and the town went into an economic depression that lasted hundreds of years and is part of the reason the town is a well-preserved medieval city. The city is now a magnet for tourists who want to enjoy the beautiful old buildings and streets, often by riding in a horse and carriage. Lars and I had a great time walking through the city and stopping at the excellent beer brasseries scattered everywhere in town such as Bierbrasserie Cambrinus. Pictures from Bruges are found here.

Spring has definitely come to Bergen so one week ago I decided to go for a hike to enjoy the nice, warm weather. I first went to Fløyen using the funicular, and then I started hiking towards Skomakerdiket. Hikes around Fløyfjellet in Bergen are popular and you are not alone at the mountain. However, around Skomakerdiket i chose to go to Søre Midtfjellet (Southern mid-mountain), which turned out to be a path less hiked. I found myself in a beautiful forest with lots of green moss, pine trees, and once in a while, an overview of the city. I walked higher and higher up the mountain until I reached a desolate cabin called Fjellhytten. I enjoyed the sun in peace and quiet while sitting outside the cabin with a perfect view over Bergen. This trip was very enjoyable and I hope you like the pictures I took.

I looked through some pictures from last autumn and decided that I liked some of them enough to put them online. Most of the pictures are from day hikes that Liz and I have done during the weekends. Follow this link to see the pictures.

One of the really nice day hikes we love to do in Bergen is to hike from mountain Fløyen to mountain Ulrikken across Vidden. The trail takes you into some really beautiful scenery and even though you are just a short trip from Bergen city you feel as though you entered a national park. A map of the trip is available from Bergen Turlag here (PDF). Liz and I decided to do this trip last September on a sunny day, starting at Nygårdsgaten, hiking to up to Fløyen, and from there across Vidden to Ulrikken where we took the funicular down the mountain. The trip was amazing and exhausting and we did it in 7 hours. Pictures available here.

I have uploaded some more pictures from our trip to Praha last week. The last two days of our stay we spent exploring the Old Town Square and the Jewish Quarter (Josefov). I think that one of the highlights we saw was the beautiful Old New Synagogue (wikipedia), built around 1270. There is so much to see and enjoy in this fantastic old town. Enjoy the pictures!

After I lived in Woods Hole for half a year in 2005 I always jump on any chance I get to go back to that quaint little town, and so I did last December when I got to go for a few days. Woods Hole is truely a wonderful little place, perfectly surrounded by water. Although much of the ocean properties are private, there are several beaches and small forests where you can go hiking and running and just enjoy the scenery. One of my favorite places in Woods Hole is Nobska Light, and I always go for a walk to the lighthouse whenever in town. This time I also took a couple of pictures.

Last week Liz and I decided it was time to have a short vacation and we went to Praha. Praha is the capital of the Czech Republic (see wikipedia), and has been the center of Bohemia for hundreds of years. The city is so rich in history and culture, which is clearly reflected in the old buildings and streets of the historic old centre.  I think it is probably the most beautiful city in Europe. It is a joy to wander around the streets, enjoying the statues, squares, and houses from hundreds of years ago. No wonder the city center is put on UNESCOS list of World Heritage Sites. We took a lot of pictures during this trip and I have put the first batch of pictures online: click here for pictures from Praha.