After a few days in Flekkefjord, we turned back east along the coast. We drove down to Lindesnes, site of a famous lighthouse that marks the most southern point of Norway. It was a fine summer day...bathers gathered along the few sandy beaches...and the local grocery store was full of summer residents occupying the summer cottages and condos that were springing up in spite of the very strict and expensive zoning regulations. We visited Vikingland, a small park designed mainly for very young vikings, where I posed beside the replica of one of the dragon-prowed ships that carried the medieval Northmen off to Ireland, Fance and points beyond.
We continued east to Kristiansand, a city of some 80,000 where we were to catch the ferry to Danmark. Arriving in the late afternoon, we had time to join the throngs in the downtown. Norway has vibrant downtowns, again the result of restrictive zoning that keeps stores and shops from sprawling out along the highways...no strip malls here. We chose one of the cafes nearby to watch the folks. Norway is the only country I've been in where they provide blankets in the outdoor cafes to keep warm in the chill (even in summertime) air.
Yet neither the chill nor the frequent showers has put a chill on our trip. As this pose of Charlotte on the bridge over the canal in Flekkefjord would indicate, we are having a fine voyage. And still we are not even half way through this exploration of our homelands.
