The stone tent at Kristiansand

Most important was the webcam there - this picture is of a better focus, but the church (the actual object of the camera) is in a park-area - so I had quite some effort to ward people off the car (I mean I couldn't say I'm waiting for the coffin, I had a foreign car..).
So while I was waiting for the update of the webcam all kinds of alcoholics staggered towards my car, I even drove a little further to keep them going, finally a drunk guy grabbed my car (I hate that!!!) and gaggled sth. about having seen me in Oslo several times, as he could tell me the correct date and area I had to laugh as he was right, well, this guy was a rotten danish (he he) journalist who lives in Oslo (they even send the scum to Norway nowadays....) and he invited me to his home (yeah, great, sure I'll come...he was nice in a way - but you know what it is like with those blabbing drunkards hanging on your window...).

A short walk by the little fortress, that's more like a stone-tent, was more enjoyable - I had to go to toilet there - and I thought, careful, this area is strange (tons of Blacks and drug checkers hanging around there, felt like Oslo), and right, in December someone was raped inside that toilet, great!

But the alleys leading down to the water are very nice, a bit like in southern France, in those Brigitte Bardot or Alain Delon films, light blue or yellow houses in the late afternoon sunlight, one almost gets a taste of sand on the teeth...

Farsund, easy at first sight

One more great place I wanted to reach by daylight was Farsund, a lovely little spit of land I once spotted in the net, with pittoresque old fashioned houses - and a webcamera of course. The way there was crazy as ever, especially the ride along the fjord on the N 43, the water was changing it's colours every 5 minutes and the road became narrower, sometimes I had to stop to check if someone's approaching behind the next rock....finally getting over the bowed bridge that connects the old parts of Farsund with the mainland it all looked even nicer than expected.

A cute little fisherman's village, nothing suspicious by first sight - but then - this area must be full of religious sects or weird groups; I've seen several houses with crosses and names like "Church of Montana sth."
Very odd - the South is meant to be occupied by sects anyway, the churches are free there and people seem to be involved into religious groups more than elsewhere. Not my place to live, honestly....they'd put me on a stake in a minute, that's just what they seem like...
Nevertheless, Farsund has nice little white houses that reflect the warm light of the late evening sun. As the webcam didn't update in time, I took a photo with my camera from the same angle.

The ride back to the E 39 was incredibly mysterious, the atmospheres in the sky changing every minute, that was a very moving evening, until total darkness broke in.

At Kvinesdal (sounds a bit like Kvinnesdal = women's valley), more or less the only human settlement on the way, I parked my car by the motel, the ride there was crazy again, high-mountain-area, road going up and down, no street light, rain after every third curve, so better sleep soon - that was 9 o'clock on a Saturday (....not my habit, go to sleep at nine on a Sat). Much going on at the motel, must have been a local bar where the guys meet...luckily they were too drunk to recognise the hearse....

Herkules and Conan

The very next morning I realised what luck I was in to have slept there:
Right after the motel the street went downwards with 40 % or so...(not recommended in a rainy, dark night) and the view was overwhelming - I would have missed that at night, too. Behind us was a huge waterfall steaming down to the ground and slowly the valley deep below got rid off the fog and morning clouds, one felt like Herkules himself by this sight.
At the petrol station I bought my first norwegian comic - CONAN, the barbarian - very nice phantasy designs, the cover design must be of Boris Vallejo or rather my favourite Frankie Frazetta, it doesn't say unfortunately.
As I wanted to get into the car I heard someone screaming...hey ho!..and a car rushed by. A very last glimpse told me that they had an Austrian registration number, too. What the hell do they do in this far-off area?

Climbing cops

After a little car-race (they didin't follow the speed limits at all...) we stopped for a conversation; they were state-policemen (!) from Upper Austria (typical austrian cop-faces, by the way...) doing some climbing in the Norwegian mountains. They were in a hurry and wanted to get to Preikestolen (just like me). Of course they were sceptical about me (must come with their job...) and so I didn't talk too much, luckily we didn't meet later on as I first feared (who wants to meet his countrymen in such a great landscape - and even worse - policemen)!

Finally the Hav

The seaside was on my list for this day - after a great ride through a bizarre landscape of basalt rocks between Lund and Krossmoen I took it down to Egersund (funny, there is an Egerland in Gemany, too) and finally found the desired foaming breakers and harsh salty winds at Sirevag bay. A wind, blowing your feet off the road, together with rain, wonderful to walk along the shore (for me at least), totally alone, for no one wanted to come out by this storm.... The high-tide was about to come, even though one can't remark it as easily as in Northern Gemany, where the shore is very flat. Standing there by the little rising lakes one got the impression, that the breakers are much higher up than onselves - quite a scaring impression....
Soaked wet I had to quit and get into the car, there were no more than 10 degrees...but the skin on my face felt great, and the hair smelled like rain, salt and wind, wonderful. I wanted to get a hot tea (never expect anything like that in Norway - you only get black coffee, hours old, tastes terrible, colour undefinable.... so no british habits (that's nice about England, one gets great tea all over the island). Looking for warm rooms I peeped into some of the ceramics-exhibitions, alternative people trying to sell their ideas in clay, something different for a change.

The Three Swords near Stavanger were very hard to find, I had to ask 4 times in petrol stations, local people don't know it either... On my way there I passed the "MC ODIN" a motorcycle club with a funny logo.... .I'm sure Odin would have liked it.

The weather was still the same when I finally found the 3 swords at Hafsfjord. They monument is very impressive (especiallly with this savage weather). It's actual dimension can be seen on the third photo underneath.
They symbolise the three kings that were united under King Harald Hårfagre around 870. Unfortunately one couldn't rest there for some thoughts as the cold and the wind were too strong.....

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Stavanger

Stavanger was interesting to me as the web-cams are nice and the Gamle Stavanger seems to be sth. very special. Unfortunately the old district is very small, parts of the road under construction and so I didn't step out of the car (no parking space anyway...) and the normal Stavanger was not very trustworthy, again tons of coloured people hanging around, Stavanger has the highest rate of immigrants, no original Norwegians, this was a Sunday evening, so I thought, better not hang around there too long....of course I had to see the Olje Museum, the parking space is in the web as well... The people in the butikk were very nice, I bought some real smelly North Sea Oil (he he) and got an interesting story told: The young man, Fredrik, has a grandpa who's driving a hearse, too (!!!? jau!) and he would send me pics of the two. Just IT! I couldn't imagne a grandpa cruising around in an old hearse! But have a look yourself (of course we'd have a little trip this summer when I'll be in Norway again, just can't wait!!) You'll find him and interesting photos of old hearses here.

I wanted to eat real Norwegian Northseafish in Stavanger, but that's not possible, there was one restaurant doing fish (!!) and they had mostly asian dishes, so I had a potato at the fastfood place at the Vågen. The Vågen is a nice bay you can explore it virtually, military boats with saluting crew there, but better be off, for the night breaks in.

Preikestolen in fog and rain

The ride from Stavanger (were I slept at a 24 hours STATOIL) to Lauvvik the next day, where the ferry across the Lysefjord to Preikestolen leaves, was very enjoyable, I even encountered appletrees and a foggy agricultural landscape, all of a sudden the ferry-landingplace was there - right after a curve the road was finished (never go too fast there!). No austrian cops to be seen, but nevertheless, the weather was so bad that I changed my plan and left my desired object, the impressive boulder, that reminds of a pulpit, the Preikestolen ("Preachers'Stool") to the next year. I would have to climb up there alone, and if the fog is increasing (never mind you get soaked wet from the heavy rain anyway...) I won't see anything and might get even lost....

So, U-turn and off to Telemark, where I wanted to visit some old friends.