We've conquered it all - to the edge

Žiūrėti didesnį žemėlapio vaizdą
This story definitely requires pictures, but all the cameras we have just went wrong today, although for different reasons. So I will try to make photos with words, and come back to the place later for actual pictures.

I have been hearing about this Oderøya for a while. Supposedly it is a big island, accessible (like seemingly everything in Kristiansand...) directly from the city centre. In summer the main stage for Quart festival is here. Other things I heard were simply "beautiful", "haven't you been there yet?", "I can show you", "You must go there."

Yesterday I counted the days still left here, and decided - tomorrow, regardless of the weather, I have to see Oderøya.


And the weather was very "English" today - sun and rain took each other's place every 15 minutes, and sometimes they "worked" together. The wind was always there - as a background for them both.

When we leave home, the clouds look a tad frightening, but we refuse to retreat. Despite this dedication, drizzling becomes quite a serious rain in a few minutes. Luckily, we find ourselves close to a cosy coffee shop, which I. showed to us the other day. This is the only take-away coffee shop we have so far seen in Kristiansand. It is called Laura's, but we call it the "Norwegian Starbucks."

It's time to finally have some "not office" coffee and both Will and I go for a nice cup of latte. Is it the coffee itself or the fact that I haven't had it in a while, but the latte tastes marvelious. At that moment I would have said - better than Starbucks. The way the cup looks like is new to me - it has a "sleeve" already integrated, no need to put one on. For me it is one of these simple, but genius Scandinavian inventions - like, for example, separate compartments for different coins in a bus.

The coffee shop seems to be a meeting point for foreigners in Kristiansand. The hostess (Laura?) seems to be a foreigner herself as she speaks English not only to me and Will, but also to her staff. At one of the tables I hear people speaking Spanish while a lady next to me is reading some "New York Times bestseller".

The rain predictably stops soon, and we continue our quest of conquering Oderøya. So far all is well known already - the boat "parking", the swans, the little beach. The old wooden boats are the most beautiful, and both Will and I agree that it would be great to own one. However, the huge boat-houses look impressive in their own way. Through the window I see plates neatly put together in the boat-kitchen and wonder how long I could live in such a "house."

But here we come to the bridge, which we haven't crossed before. "Keep left, - were E.'s directions to us." Hmmm, we do, but there are no signs showing that Oderøya is a popular tourist area. We don't meet any other people, we follow a narrow path and go along a row of some boat warehouses. I am nearly sure that this is the wrong way, and that the path will finally become so narrow that we will face a close.

However - here we go - behind the warehouses we find a map of Oderøya and realize that we are already there. I am still surprised that the entrance was nearly secretive... or maybe we didn't find the main one?

We try to go along what seems to be the main path, but often give it up for left and right. The main path goes up and we are soon exposed to the first amazing view - the panorama of Kristiansand, surrounded by the open sea. The view from this side of the town is so much nicer than the ones I saw before. The parts with concrete buildings do not catch one's eye from here, but the white and red houses going up the hill as well as the harbour.

That was a glance to the left and now it's time to check what's on the right side. Here we are tempted by the patch of grass, which finishes with sand and, obviously, the sea. A group of ducks peacefully sleeping far on the shore suggests that people don't walk here often. The ducks seem a bit alarmed seeing us, but peace is restored quicly. If you turn back in this little beach, there are some cars and a concrete building, which reveals that civilisation is close. But if you look forward - it seems that we are the first ones who ever found this wonderful place. Ducks sleeping peacefully on the side, swans floating close to the shore and rocky gates to the sea in front of our eyes. Here it also becomes clear that the camera is not going to work today, so we start the ritual of photographing every beautiful place with eyes for no shorter time than twenty minutes.

Back to the "main" road and up up up. Then a bit down. Here we reach the Oderøya stadium and decide that this seems like a perfect place for the Quart stage. There is a grassy hill in front of it, which we think should be comfortable for attenders to sit. The whole place looks quite small though, so finally we remain puzzled if it is the one.

Although Oderøya looks quite uncultivated, "sublime" place, we see tables and benches for picnics put in the spots with great views. Sometimes (often) this means right on the rocks and even looks a bit dangerous. I tell Will that the only drawback of picnics here would be not enough space for dancing (danger to fall down seems real enough). Will thinks that the tables are more suitable for romantic dinners than wild parties. I have to agree with him and actually during the whole "hike" the idea is persistent that Kristiansand is a wonderful town for romantic dates. In six weeks I already saw so many beautiful places which are never packed with people. You turn back and sometimes see someone running or cycling by. But if you look forward - you find yourself standing on the rocks and looking at the openness of a lake or a sea, with only some birds there to keep you company.

In addition to the tables, another sign of civilisation are houses here and there, sometimes in completely unexpected places. The thing about Norway is that you go somewhere so "sublime" that it seems you just found a new land. And here you go - there is already a table or even a house waiting for you. Slightly disappointing, but can be convenient, I guess... According to my Norwegian knowledge, the houses we found on Oderøya can be rented for special occasions. One of them (the one at the very edge of the island) looked like a cafe, but the working hours are probably very specific.

Like many natural parks in Kristiansand, Oderøya previously was some kind of a military base. (Why do they have so many military bases if they didn't actually go to war?) On one turn to the left we find this abandoned military building and decide to explore it from inside. When the eyes get used to the dark, we notice the stairs. Up - and we get outside - on a rock with another amazing view of an open sea.

It is surprising that these seemingly abandoned places on Oderøya are so clean. Where I come from, even if you go really deep into a forest, the "signs of civilisation" (bottles, cigarettes, packages) are here and there. In the abandoned military building you would definetely smell some "human signs" and face a danger to step into specific remains... Actually, I wouldn't even dare to explore a building like that being afraid to meet some "inhabitants."

It is unusual for me to see that even in the tallest grass or thickest bushes on Oderøya there is no trace of rubbish. And the abandoned military building doesn't smell of anything else but forest. Unsurprisingly already, there is yet one more "romantic" table on the roof of another military building. I don't even see the way to get there! But this table certainly guarantees one of the best views to the sea...

The rocks and the cliffs are completely left for the public's exploration on Oderøya. There are no barriers, no handles to hold, not even signs of possible danger as I am sure would be, for example, in England. I enjoy the "wildness" of Oderøya, but, especially after the cautious England, I can see a possible danger in many steps I take. I also can't watch children running to the very edge at the harbour - there are no borders as well. It seems that Norwegian authorities assume that the public is responsible for their own safety. It is interesting to see how the level of independent judgement allowed in different countries varies.

When we come back from the "hike" and I check the map, I realize that we have walked along the very side of the island. The main and, I guess, the more "civilized" part was left unseen. Even though we got to the very edge, we couldn't touch the sea (as planned), because the shore was too rocky to climb down. So I am defininetely coming back - to touch the sea, to see the rest and to take pictures.