Therefore I have a question for your readers: Would you rather have me post photos without all the texts and explanations (which takes a lot of time to write), rather than no photo at all?

Here is one from yesterday! Please enjoy! And you make med extremely happy every time you hit the Like-button!

Evensong for The Fjord – this is how dark it gets here in the Arctic Region of Narvik right now. Photo taken on May 19. 2013 at 11:34 pm

The Norwegian Flag is seen everywhere in Norway and even Norwegians abroad wave the flag on the 17 of May

Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent.

Historical background

17th of May 1893 by Norwegian painter Christian Krohg (1852–1925). Note that the flag does not have the Union badge of Norway and Sweden, the so-called sildesalaten (Herring salad).

The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17 in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent nation.

The celebration of this day began spontaneously among students and others from early on. However, Norway was at that time under Swedish rule (following the Convention of Moss in August 1814) and for some years the King of Sweden and Norway was reluctant to allow the celebrations. For a couple of years in the 1820s, King Karl Johan actually forbade it, as he thought the celebrations a kind of protest and disregard—even revolt—against Swedish sovereignty. The king’s attitude changed slightly after the Battle of the Square in 1829, an incident which resulted in such a commotion that the king had to allow it. It was, however, not until 1833, that anyone ventured to hold a public address on behalf of the day. That year, official celebration was initiated by the monument of the late politician Christian Krohg, known to have stopped the king from gaining too much personal power. The address was held by Henrik Wergeland, thoroughly witnessed and accounted for by a Swedish spy, sent by the king himself.

After 1864 the day became more established when the first children’s parade was launched in Christiania, at first consisting only of boys. This initiative was taken by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, although Wergeland made the first known children’s parade at Eidsvoll around 1820. It was only in 1899 that girls were allowed to join in the parade for the first time.

By historical coincidence, the Second World War ended in Norway nine days before that year’s Constitution Day, on May 8, 1945, when the occupying German forces surrendered. Even if The Liberation Day is an official flag day in Norway, the day is not an official holiday and is not broadly celebrated. Instead a new and broader meaning has been added to the celebration of Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17.

The day focused originally on the Norwegian constitution, but after 1905, the focus has been directed also towards the royal family.

Read more about the 17 of May here: Wikipedia

The day today has otherwise stressing. It is the day before our constitution day – May 17. – so, along with a long list with pressing tasks on my to-do-list, we’ve shopped for tomorrow in the absolute frenzy today.

Just popped out to draw some fresh air and shoot a quick shot of the current weather today, but back to the last piece of work that needs wrapping up!

Fortunately I have done a few soothing pieces that I listen to, during stressful times. I did a series of classical pieces a while back, where I tried to use only my favorite synth ANTIDOTE by Synapse (a German built, 800 oscillator synth). I will share these with you – piece by piece.

First one out is the timeless “Air” by Johann Sebastian Bach. Please read the comment on my Soundcloud-page - soundcloud.com/northernblogosphere for further info and feel free to subscribe there to listen to other pieces!

Young Female Moose trimming the tree buds in between the houses today

That’s close enough mate! Neighbor taking a close-up of the local moose

This young Moose (Alces alces) female is wandering around in the area, mostly trimming the wild tree buds – but occasionally also helping herself to some of the more exotic and delicious shrubs in the gardens around here. And she isn’t very much afraid. In fact, one of the neighbors came driving home today, but she wouldn’t move, so he had to park down by the road and take a detour to get up to his house. The other neighbor wanted to take a close up, and walked near enough for her to raise her leg in warning that he was close enough. One shouldn’t be afraid of these animals – but they demand to be respected and kept at a distance. A kick from the fore legs can easily be deadly. Usually they don’t attack, unless you startle them, come between a cow and her calves or are perceived as a challenge from one of the bulls during mating season.

The Norwegian female Moose is usually between 180 and 210 centimeters tall (shoulder height) and weighs between 200 and 400 kg. The bull is about 190 and 220 centimeters and weighs 200 to 600 kg.

Their fantastic ability to digest cellulose through an intricate system of bowl enzymes has been studied so that the same enzymes could be used to produce sustainable biofuels from wood.

The championship exceeded any and all expectation for the Norwegian fans! Tora Berger beat Liv Grete Skjelbreid Poirée’s old record of a total of 7 gold medals in total. Tora has now taken 18 Olympic and World Championship Medals. In this championship alone – she took 4 Gold Medals and 2 Silver Medals… Emil Hegle Svendsen was the strongest Norwegian competitor on the men’s side with 4 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal. Unbelievable…

In all – the Norwegian Team took 8 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze Medal in 11 different races…

The fantastic statistics can be found here in this Wikipedia Article.

A BIG THANK YOU to Norsk Skiskytterforbund (Norwegian Biathlon Association) for granting me permission to use this photo that represents the biggest I have ever witnessed in the World of Sports – ever. Please visit the Norwegian Biathlon Association here for som great photos and news (Norwegian)

And special thanks to Tora Berger, Tiril Eckhoff , Hilde Fenne, Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland, Fanny Welle-Strand Horn, Synnøve Solemdal, Lars Helge Birkeland, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Erlend Øvereng Bjøntegaard, Tarjei Bø Gull, Emil Hegle Svendsen and Henrik L’Abée-Lund AND last but not least – The Norwegian Support Team, trainers, ski-preppers, association representatives and fans who all made this a FANTASTIC event for a guy totally hooked on what must be the most thrilling sport in The Entire World!

Photo Credit: Norges Skiskytterforbund (by special permission): -Norwegian World Championship Gold Medalists: (back from the left) Tarjei Boe (Bø), Emil Hegle Svendsen, Henrik L’Abée-Lund and the “King of Biathlon” Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Bjørndalen)
(Front from left to right) Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland, Hilde Fenne, Synnoeve (Synnøve) Solemdal and the “Queen of Biathlon” Tora Berger.