the winters are long, dark and so cold that the harbor freezes. some years with a prolonged period of slack winds the open sea freezes far out beyond the harbor. most years fishing vessels operate year round when there are clear sunny days with calm enough seas to venture out to sea. here are the entrance to stavern harbor
the island with the iconic gunpowder house gets only slightly. less snow than the nearby mainland
the floating sauna in the sound between the island and the mainland is popular year-round. after a good while sweating away in the hot steamy sauna a quick dip in the freezing cold sea is exhilarating. but it sure is nice to hurry back inside the stylish structure to warm back up again. some hardcore viking spirits meet up at the beach every friday evening for a swim without any need for the sauna.
april is the most unpredictable month. some years it is still full winter while others can be surprisingly summerly. either way the season for pleasure boats is underway. here a viking ship replica is making its way through the sound with the island behind. the red shack, called kikut which means lookout, on top of the hill was part of the naval station
the view from the hill in front of our house, looking out the entrance to the sound
every vessel with any respect is launched well before midsummers night. the event is celebrated by an early evening procession through the sound after which the boats split up to various destinations and folks gather around the many bonfires that dot the coast to the wee hours. while the sun does set it is not long before it rises again and it is light all night. each year the major concern is whether or not it will rain.
long ago when norway was under danish rule, a naval base was built here in the sound on both the mainland and the island. during the war with sweden the swedes attacked the base but were defeated by the local heroes under the leadership of commander tordenskiold. a few summers ago the battle was reenacted with tall ships from around scandinavia.
the lighthouse on the island is open for rustic overnighting. a couple of years ago we spent a delightful night in august there with some friends. hindavi and i climbed up to the highest point with the red shack, kikut where i took this shot of the view past the gunpowderhouse, out the eastern entrance to the sound and across the larviksfjord.
a kilometer or two southwest from town lies a rocky cove called gumser;dbukta. the 35 km long coastal pathpasses along the cove
in the winter it is dark when the moon rises and in the summer it is light but during the spring and autumn it is twilight. weather permitting in october we can get a truly magical harvest moon rising above the islands to the east.
without a doubt november is the grayest month of all. a sunny day in november is rare. the norm is a continuous thick cloud layer with or without mist and rain and sometimes snow flurries but not enough to cover the ground and lighten up the place. i took this black and white shot a few kilometers southwest of town at a cove called ødegaard. the private dock is raised for the winter to prevent any stray boats from attempting to land there.
the low winter sun peering through the clouds above the harborside. our house is in the photo as is the low hill with the statue of tordenskiold where i took several of the earlier shots. the red shack in the foreground is the sea rescue station. whenever there is no mission to be occupied the rescue boat docks here.
i took all the above photos through the years from 2016 with various cameras, mainly my lumix fz300 or my samsung s22 phone. older ones with my nikon dsc
