Friday, December 11, 2009

SIXTY


I was born December 8th 1949. I was blessed to be the first and a wanted child. Since this autumn has been extremely exhausting, with our house turned upside down, due to renovating, I decided to celebrate with only my nearest and dearest; Gunnar and Serina. We sneaked off to the city of our liking; Bergen.
Somehow my bestest must have found us, I don't know how, because a couple of hours after we arrived, this parcel was delivered at the hotel. Champagne and glasses in a nice bouquet, exquisite confection and even a gift card for coaching lessons. Wow. If you take a close look, I had tear in my eyes.

No time for waiting; The celebration started at 08oo p.m. the seventh and didn't stop until 0800 p.m. Decmber the 10th.
With three loaded cameras we started out next morning.
The Church of St. Mary is a must.
I know, I know; I should have photoshopped. Maybe some other day.
Such a peaceful quarter of the town.
Serina taking a break with her Dad's newest love; Cannon Eos 7D.
At the Bryggen Museum we met one of Gunnar's forefathers. The picture talks for itself about genes and the likes.

Lots of items found in layer under layer at the Hansa Brygge sites.

Christmas in the old city.
The Gingerbread City. Made twice through a huge common effort from kindergartens to high tech companies. It was completely crashed by a poor boy last week. Creating headlines greater than those of Obama and his peace-price.The Bergeners didn't mourn for even a day, before they set out to make a new Gingerbread town. As you will see it's placed so low, to be at eye level for the preschool children.

Walking and watching made us hungry.
A room at the top floor with quite a view.
Serina didn't complain for a second during three days of walking through new and older art. An art dive for hungry souls.
Kitty Kielland painted my Mother's Jaeren more than hundred years ago. My mother and her family also had to do hard work in the turf moors to find fuel for the winter.
From Joelster at the end of the Sognefjord, longest fjord in Norway, the painter Astrup lived with his wife and children, also a hundred years ago. He was poor, had lots of children,- and a lovely wife, but managed to share love of nature and family in a magic way.

The apex of our celebration was December 9th in the Grieg Hall. Conductor and soloists famous from Metropolitan, Covent Garden performed Beetoven's 9th Symphony; To Joy.
I hope I never get so senile, that I'll forget those magic hours.
I humbly thank blogfriends, local friends, family and the great God for making these days unforgettable .

14 comments:

Terry said...

oh felisol..this is so wonderful!
i will be back later to drink this post in.
bernie and i are on our way out!!
i am glad you had such a happy birthday and oh!! these pictures!..love terry

Debbie Petras said...

Felisol, I love how you spent your birthday in Bergen. That is one city that I really enjoyed, especially the market where they sell fish and flowers. I have relatives who live in Sognefjord and I visited them and took a trip out in their boat and we had a picnic lunch. This was way back in 1985 though.

Oh how fun your day seemed and I so enjoyed your photos. That church looks amazing. What a joyous day of celebrating a very special lady ~ Felisol.

Happy Birthday to you my friend.

Love and hugs,
Debbie

Saija said...

it sounds like you had the BEST birthday celebration any woman could ask for!!! and you look just marvellous too!

happy happy birthday to you, dear Felisol!

Crown of Beauty said...

Now your post had me crying again, dear Felisol!

Beautiful, beautiful...lovely, lovely.

No words to express the beauty of what you shared.

I can't even imagine what it's like.

I had to smile at the resemblance between Gunnar and his sculpted forefather!

And as usual, lovely and unique Serina just allowing her mom to photograph her...


What a lovely day. I praise God with you for making you feel so special.

Love
Lidj

John Cowart said...

Been having computer problems so I could not comment and wish you a Happy Birthday sooner.

I can't get over what a rich and colorful tradition you have! Magnificent. I loved the juxtaposition of Gunner's face with the museum statue. Both look regal and noble.

From the other far side, my side of the Atlantic, you appear to lead a rich and beautiful life full of color, family and love . That's why your posts are such a delight.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Felisol! What a wonderful time! Thank you for sharing it with us.

Mrs. Mac said...

You are a blessed woman, dear Felisol! What a grand adventure you three had! See, sixty isn't so bad :). Happy birthday.

Amrita said...

Oh my that celebration in Bergen was really special with the gift parcel, music, museum, paintings and relaxing.The gingerbread village is lovely, does anyone get to eat those creations after the show is over?

Gunnar 's look-a-like is fantastic.

You all look at the tops.

Trish said...

As always Dear Felisol, I love the history and culture of your land...simply beautiful. Thank you, for sharing your 60th celebration with us!!!
Love,
trish

Mrs. Mac said...

I have use of a laptop computer today ... so am coming back for a revisit of your 60th b/d celebration to get a better look at your pictures. The view from my iPhone is rather small and doesn't do justice. Did the painter, Astrup, you mentioned in this post also create a beautiful garden? I seem to remember you did a post once about him ... but my memory is vague ... not vague enough to forget beautiful symphony music ... but perhaps a blog post from last year.

Felisol said...

Dear Mrs. Mac,
I am impressed.
Autumn 08 Gunnar and I were in Joelster and visited the Astrup garden. Its a special place on a steep hillside.
Amazing that you remember.
From Felisol

Annie Jeffries said...

Hanging my head in shame. Serious Mea Culpas for missing your birthday by A WEEK no less.

Your gift of a tour of Bergen was a welcome respite for the end of my day. Gunnar and Serina fit right in with the strong face of their ancestor totem.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Thank you for visiting, it is good to see photos of a place I almost visited.

My husbandis a water engineer and he worked very closely with some one in the water or marine institute in Norway. One day, he said, may be I get to go to Norway.

I was very happy. I said, may be I go with you. It did not materialise. I never got to go to Norway.

When I was a teenager, I went to a St Mary's church in Sibu, Borneo.

Your daughter is good, she lets you take herphoto to post on the blog. My 21 year old daughter won't al;low it. Only my 13 year old son is OK.

Merry Christmas.

Vicki said...

What wonderful things to enjoy on your special day! Love it! Thanks for sharing these photos so we can also enjoy! My belated birthday wishes to you, dear friend - seems we both share December birthdays:-) Left you a note at Pals, but I am soaking in the beauty of this post and thanking God for you, dear Felisol. ♥

love,
Vicki