Random Weekend Fun

This last weekend was so much fun here in Bergen! In the middle of Torgallmenningen, the main square, there were something like 250,000 Legos. Anyone and everyone was invited to build Oleanna. Besides being a Pete Seeger song on that link, Oleanna was Ole Bull's dream town in the US. It failed, and is now Ole Bull State Park in Pennsylvania. Backing up further, Ole Bull was a great violin player from Norway who toured the world and helped create the Norwegian musical identity right before they became a nation. The Legos were to honor Ole Bull's 200th birthday. Children of all ages got involved and spent hours sitting on the square. It was great fun for everyone.

We could see this large crowd on the other side of the harbor from us, paying close attention for hours to something we couldn't see from our angle. Come to find out, it was a Bergen version of "Take the Chance", which is run from the ski jumps in Oslo at the end of every summer. The link above is great - DO click on it! This link is to pictures of the Bergen "Take the Chance". Teams build "boats" in whatever shape they want. These are slid down a ramp into the water, where they may or may not actually float. The "boat people" have to get to a floating bell and ring it. It looks like a great family event.

Then there was the spiral of old shoes filled with flowers out on Festplassen. Schoolkids had donated old shoes, filled them with florist-donated flowers, and for every pair of shoes the city and the Gardening Association donated 20 kr to a fund to plant trees in Africa. This stunt celebrates the Gardening Association's 100th anniversary.

Living in the center of town - the only way to go!