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Feb. 29, 2008
The One Place to See Before You Die – Part 2 of Kristiansand
ANITA ALAN Carmel, CA
A
map of the City Center (Kvadraturen) reveals an easy, square grid—one laid out in 1641 by King
Christian IV of Denmark and Norway. To get lost, you would need to leave town. The main streets,
once gated, end in “gate” or “gata.” Beautiful Domkirken on Kirkegata stands out across town almost
as visibly as Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Kristiansand’s Neo-Gothic Cathedral, in its current
form, took five years to rebuild following an 1880 fire. The current church was blessed on March
18, 1885. Three previous churches stood on this site through the centuries, the most recent one
designed by architect Henrik Thrap-Meyer. The 1000-seat church is Norway’s third largest.
Magnificent view
On this clear day, light streamed in through stained glass, and glinted near the 54-pipe organ
in the east gallery balcony. The church installed the beautiful instrument in 1967. Behind the
altar, a well-lit painting of Jesus by Eilif Peterssen (1852–1928) added to the serenity of the
Domkirken interior. Our stay was too short, but do try to give yourself time enough to climb the
church tower, a year-round opportunity, and gain unparalleled views of Kristiansand. From the tower,
you have southeast views of another promontory, Christiansholm Fortress with its 15-foot thick
tower walls. Beyond the main city grid to the north stands the oldest part of the city, Posebyen,
a superbly maintained, fashionable area with 150-year-old wooden homes, a part of Kristiansand
spared by fires
Setesdalsbanen Vintage Railway
Confession: Had we not missed the three-hour ride on the Setesdalsbanen Vintage Railway, we would
have missed so much of Kristiansand itself, as well as its environs. The 20-kilometer narrow-gauge
rail steam engine pulls out of Grovane Station and missing it was not in our plan. That said, Kristiansand
itself offers far more. Staying just a day or two does not do justice to this sun-bathed city.
Another good thing that comes from not doing something you truly hoped to do...is the incentive
to return, to take it over. That missed chance places a new item on this traveler’s Bucket List!
Given one more journey to Kristiansand, we would visit its open-air museum, Vest-Agder-Museet,
the largest cultural museum in Sørlandet (Southern Norway), the Sørlandet Art Museum, the 150-acre
Kristiansand Zoo, the Botanical Garden, and taken a coach to Lillesand with its whitewashed wooden
homes and businesses – a town just forty five minutes from Kristiansand.
Ravnedalen Nature Park
The city’s layout encourages walking, and walk we did! We left the Kristiansand
City Center and its easy-to-negotiate grid where, were it not for our good fortune to meet Graciela
Nilsen, we might have lost our way. Avid cyclist, Graciela knows back roads as well as the main
streets of Kristiansand. At her suggestion we struck out (still on foot), arriving at picturesque
Ravnedalen Nature Park north of central Kristiansand. Its proximity to the city makes this idyllic
strolling and hiking area a favorite with locals and tourists alike. When you come here, you feel
entirely apart from the city, as though you had taken a mini-vacation. Wildflowers dot the winding,
tree-lined trails; and steep, rugged cliffs tower above. Swans and their cygnets lend a restful
presence to the pond that skirts part of the trail. Adjacent to the large pond, the Café Generalen
offered us a chance for refreshments and a much-needed respite following our trek. From here, our
paths diverged. This writer’s aching feet snapped up the opportunity to hitch a bus ride back to
the Veendam, while my travel partner and our new friend took a several-mile bike ride back to Kristiansand,
the end of a pleasant adventure the three of us could never forget.
Coffee with Garrison Keillor
Back aboard the ship for our last weekend, we began to think of practical matters such as leaving
the ship with clean clothes! We still had two more weeks and much more of Scandinavia to see. Our
morning started in the Rotterdam Dining Room—coffee with Garrison Keillor, who signed a treasured
page in my writing journal: “This page is empty. Why? Garrison Keillor.” We returned to the same
dining room for a full course meal that ended with a flare—Baked Alaska. Entertainment followed,
as it had every night, but this time it included A Prairie Home Companion Passenger Talent Show!
A performance and Sing-Along started appropriately with “Count Your Blessings,” easy enough to
do during this week-of-weeks. Among the dozen or so songs Keillor, Robin and Linda Williams led,
we sang along to “Remember Me” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” realizing that tomorrow the Prairie
Home Companion crew would take a much-deserved day off in Oslo, our last glorious port before returning
to Copenhagen.
Ravnedalen Nature Park (above) offers winding trails, wildflowers and rugged bluffs. The park is located near the Kvadraturen in Kristiansand and is a popular recreation, running/jogging area. The centre of Kristiansand is called Kvadraturen due to its square gridline of streets.
About Anita:A former teacher and flight attendant, she is the author of “Big Sur Inn: The Deetjen Legacy,” the award winning history of the famous, beloved landmark inn and its creators, Norwegian immigrant Helmuth Deetjen and his wife Helen.
Norwegian American Weekly
