Goodbye Blogger - Welcome WordPress

I have been using Blogger as host for my blog Visual Natural since 2006. It has been an interesting experience, but also one that has added some grey hairs to the very many I already have. Blogger is very flexible when it comes to design, but it also likes to decide many things for you which you rather would decide for yourself. For instance, they “auto-enhance” and change the photos you upload whether you like it or not. And I don’t. The feature can’t be turned off unless you join their less than successful Facebook-clone called Google+. Which I have no intention of doing.

So now I am on WordPress - visualnorway.wordpress.com. With a new and sharp pencil and a blank sheet ready to go. And I hope many of you will drop by - you are all very welcome.

Have a nice week!

Fringe Benefits

Edinburgh is the city of festivals, and in August there are several of them. One of the largest is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe). The events on offer are almost unlimited. We arrived at the tail end, but still found lots of interesting things to to.

You can for instance take a daytime walking-tour of both the Old Town and the New Town and learn quite a lot in the process.

Or you can take a night-time literary pub tour in the same areas, guided by two professional (and very entertaining) professional actors.

This of course involves visiting some local pubs ...

If you want something a wee bit different, you can enjoy Scottish folk music in a small, but packed cellar salon bar.

 

And there is always whisky-tasting - guided by those who know how (The photo is NOT from where the tasting was located). Somehow i forgot to take any there.

Just Flying Around

Things have been a bit quiet on this blog for a while, but there are reasons. One of them is that we have followed the guy in the photo above and taken to the wings.

We have had the opportunity to look at an ancient volcano - and almost stopped in our tracks by a new one.

We have seen some traditional red phone booths - almost a rarity in these days of the mobile phone.

The city were we stayed is famous for its castle, and as you can see it used to be heavily armed. 

The country is in the middle of a vibrant discussion that is to be settled by a referendum shortly.

By now you should know where we have been. The locals are extremely friendly to visitors, and even have Day Care Centres that take good care of husbands tired of shopping - and the wives too.

Have nice week!

While it is still summer ...

We have had an exceptionally fine summer, and sun, water and small children have been a very large part of it. Let us enjoy it now and remember it in winter.

Have a nice week-end!

Tall Ships on Parade

I promised some more photos from The Tall Ships Races in Bergen 2014. Here they are leaving in amid thunder and rain - the first rain for a very long time. Heading the fleet is Bergen's own "Statsraad Lehmkuhl".

 Here is "Statsraad Lehmkuhl" accompanied by the Dutch "Gulden Leeuw".

"Statsraad Lehmkuhl" in lone splendour.

"Gulden Leeuw" got some technical problems and had to return to port. It is passed by a Dutch colleague.
 

The Danish full rigged ship ship "Georg Stage".

The Norwegian full rigged ship "Sørlandet"

The Norwegian full rigged ship "Christian Radich" and a Swedish rwo-masted vessel.

 And finally three ships that all had got their sails up and making a colourful exit.