Historically, the Lövö (Leaf) Islands (Stora = Large and Lilla = Small), can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Originally, Sommaröarna (the Summer Islands) including Lövo Islands was subordinate to Estonia/Tallinn, but they were transferred to Esbo diocese in the 16th century. Until around 1800, the settlement consisted only of fishing villages/homesteads, mostly gathered in a cluster at Lilla Lövö (the Small Leaf Island). The Finns were not very good at sea fishing, the first fishermen were therefore Estonians, and some of today’s families trace their roots to Estonia.
Flat as a leaf on Stora Lövö (the Large Leaf Island). The small house by the quay contains a sauna.
There was much discussion about ‘the border’. What belongs to an island? The islets outside the island, do they belong or not? What about the reefs? For Lövö, the discussion included the two islets in the west; Stora och Lilla Grötholmen (Large and Small Porridge Island). It took 30 years before everything was settled. It probably seems somewhat excessive to discuss the reefs year after year, but in Finland the ground rising after the ice age is still so extensive that what is a reef today – suddenly it is an islet and eventually an island.
Stora Grötholmen on the right and Lilla Grötholmen to the left. View from Stora Lövö (Large Leaf Island).
Crossing over to Stora Grötholmen is an easily manageable swim that we have done many times. This little trip is the right thing to do before a 60th birthday, isn’t it?
Visible swimmers in Finland’s archipelago. Photo: Peter Kling
Peter, as HSE officer and boat rower, insisted on wetsuits. And that was a good point, the temperature was 14 degrees, and it would have been cold if we had swum around the entire Stora Lövö, as originally planned. But with Knut partially out of action due to late covid, crossing over to Lilla Grötholmen was a good alternative. It all went well.
Even the smallest victory can be celebrated as a big one! Photo: Peter Kling
On the way back, a boat actually appeared from the neighboring cabin. It was a good reminder of the importance of being visible. Colorful bathing caps are always nice to have, as well as a bouy and a companion boat.
Good to be colorful at sea. Photo: Peter Kling
And after the bath? In Finland, a sauna is mandatory. In case you were wondering: No, all those cabins along the shore are not boathouses. Many are saunas.
Peter’s sauna at Stora Lövö (Large Leaf Island).
Before and after the sauna, time is right to celebrate a 60th anniversary. Sauna is actually the major part of the celebration itself. The gift handover included a circular saw, and this fits perfectly with Terje B’s old slogan ‘Laita mootirosaha pois. Tänää taistelähni veitsilä.‘ = ‘Put the chainsaw away. Today we will fight with knives.‘
Opening gifts at Stora Lövö. Mootirosaha on the way.
In honor of Finland, we celebrated the baths with a small ‘Lapland standing‘ this time. It doesn’t take many of them before you feel really happy.
Kippis! = Cheers!
It is perfectly right with a bath or ten in the Finnish Archipelago, BUT – including the risk of mosquitoes. Normally it is Knut who has the role of attracting mosquitoes in this family, but this time it was Idun who won the lottery. Thank goodness, Monkey Pox is not yet common, Idun actually got on the plane with a huge amount of large mosquito bites.
From the tax registers you can read that there were 3 farms registered on the Summer Islands outside Helsinki in 1570: Stor-Svinö (Big Pig Island), Lill-Svinö (Small Pig Island) and Moisö (?). The farms where richer than average, partly because they were allowed to pay their taxes with oil from seal.
The flag is up at Stora Lövön
The big turnover came in the alcohol prohibition period (1919-1932), when the population on the Summer Islands had a suspiciously higher income than average people. Some of the money was invested in big villas, which where rented to rich Helsinki residents at summer time. The guests where shipped to the islands with steam boats. In the 1950’s there where around 50 households on the Summer Islands. All except 2 where Swedish speaking. Today there live around 570 people on the islands and the Finnish-Swedish percentage is down to 35 %. Finland as a whole had around 17 % Swedish speaking in the 1600’s. Today there are only around 5 %, partly because of emigration to Sweden.
Peter’s boat place is on the island Bodö, with road and bridge connection.
We were in Finland to celebrate our friend Peter’s 60-years anniversary. Peter has (several) cottages on the Island Stora Lövö. Idun finds it rather amusing that she (Løwø) and the island have the same name. Maybe not so strange, since Lövö can be interpreted as “Leaf Island”. Maybe the island has its named because it is so thin (like a leaf). Fun nonetheless.
View from Stora Lövö
The day before the anniversary there was a rock ‘n roll party at Esbo Segelförening (ESF) on the island Pentala. We just had to join in!
Paven restaurant at Esbo Segelförening (ESF).
We managed to book a dinner table, but having lunch so late that we couldn’t eat when we came! So we had to make up by dancing and bringing the spirits up.
Full speed at Pentala. Virpi and Peter started the dancing.
After a great time with dancing and buckets of sweat, a bath is a very good idea. Our luggage had been left at Oslo Airport, so we had to make due without swimming gear. But that wasn’t really a problem. A great bath at sundawn.
Bathing on Pentala. Photo: Virpi Kling
And the luggage? Nicely placed by the garbage container on Bodö, to be picked up after the dancing. Strangely enough, Finnair didn’t deliver directly to any island, but we were still happy. Last time we were on the Summer Islands in a 60-years anniversary (11 years ago), we got our luggage on return to Trondheim! And that party was of type tuxedo. A little embarrassing walking around in T-shirt and shorts…
We had received a tip at the hotel reception about a lake in Rome, where you can rent rowing boats. Perhaps there were bathing facilities there? The tip was Villa Borghese and the associated 80-acre garden. We took metro A to Piazziale Flaminio, from where you get up close to Piazza del Popolo (The People’s Square). This is a very nice piazza. Indeed, there were even a lot of Lionesses at Fontana del Nettuno!
Four lionesses and a goat at Piazza Popolo.
When you ascend from Piazza Popolo to the Pincio hill, you get a fantastic view from Terrazza del Pincio, including the Vatican.
View of Piazza Popolo. St. Peter’s Church in the background. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
The Mansion, Villa Borghese Pinciana from 1616, today houses a museum, but was originally built for garden parties. The building was designed by Flaminio Ponzio on the order of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese. The large garden is filled with works of art, including an insane amount of busts. Idun noted with excitement that several ancient mathematicians were represented (among others Pythagoras), but turned grumpy as it turned out that in this whole crowd of heads, all were male. We searched and searched and finally we found a female statue. Headless! It was more fun to check out the water clock from 1873.
Embriaco’s hydrochronometer.
The hydrochronometer was designed by Gian Battista Embriaco for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where it won both prizes and applause. It was difficult for us to see where the water actually comes up, which made the sight even better. At an entrance to the rural part of the garden we found the Fontana del Fiocco (Leaf Fountain). The temperature in the air was 35 degrees celcius, and Idun had an urgent desire for a fountain bath. ‘There are almost no people here!‘ But Knut didn’t think it was worth risking a fine of 450 Euro, so we did the statue game instead. Esculapius has been removed for restoration, so space was ready for the reservist Idun.
Idun substitutes for Esculapio.
This water was incredibly fresh and clear and tempting, but to no use (the fountain is defined as a drinking water fountain). Correction: There were two turtles in the fountain, and they certainly enjoyed the water, so the water was indeed useful.
Una tartaruga in Fontana del Fiocco.
Further into the park we finally caught sight of the lake. This was bad stuff! There are approximately 40 springs and fountains in the park, and the water quality varies slightly, from dry to overgrown to green (from cynaobacteria?) to crystal clear.
Fontana Rotonda di Villa Borgese.
But where were the boats? The Fontana Rotonda di Villa Borghese is large, but still not a lake, so we just had to continue strolling. Giardino del Lago is a really beautiful park with large, tall trees of many kinds. With a little clean-up, as well as the benefits of a ban on single-use plastic, it can be even nicer… Rome was very dry in July, but under the trees there was green grass every now and then, and there were people who enjoyed life in the shade. Finally we found the lake. Beautiful! Green! On an artificial peninsula there is a temple dedicated to the God of medicine: ‘Tempio di Esculapio’, which was completed in 1792.
Lago di Giardino del Lago di Villa Borghese. (evt Fontana di Esculapio)
Idun was really excited. ‘Then we can rent a boat, row up to the small waterfall and tumble in. If we make it look like an accident, they can’t demand 450 Euros from us?‘ Knut was very skeptical. ‘It will be a big mess and very expensive. And is it really that tempting?‘ We took a closer look. There were birds everywhere. Swans, ducks, even a turkey. What about the bird shit? And that green colour… Bathing with cyanobacteria is very unhealthy. No, indeed, the bath in Lago Giardiano del Villa Borghese with a big disappointment turned to a ‘not’.
What do you do then? There is a café just north of the lake, ‘Satyrus Temporary Bar’, but we would not recommend it. Things are rather slow and the prices on the bill do not match the prices on the menu. Instead, go back towards Terrazza del Pianco and then in the direction of the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna). We found a combined café and restaurant Ciampini at the south end of the park, half outside and half inside. Fresh and nice air, good food. With bird bath. We brought the goat Heidrun, who had a trip to the bathroom. But stuffing your feet in there? In the middle of the restaurant? No, we couldn’t do that.
Heidrun found four friends in Restaurant Ciampini.
Outside, however!
Knut had a foot bath in the Fontana di Trinità dei Monti at Villa Borghese.
After a visit to Villa Borghese, a film from Rome might be an idea. One possibility is Franciolini’s film ‘Villa Borghese’ from 1953, or “Roman Holiday” with Kathrine Hepburn, also from 1953.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, not too far from the sea, northwest of Rome, a Taurus (a God in the form of a bull) strolled in the hills. One day he scratched his hooves on the field. This caused the ground to open and hot, sulphurous water to flow up to the surface. This is how the bathing adventure at Civitavecchia began, according to Rutilio Namaziano.
Terme Taurine.
Purification with water before performing religious acts finds its roots all the way back to ancient Egypt. Health baths in mineral rich water were recognized in ancient Greece, so the Roman ‘thermae’ (baths) are based on very old traditions. The first Termes were based on geothermal energy. The baths were accessible to both rich and poor, and were important meeting places.
Gorgeous mosaics in Terme Taurine.
Over time, advanced facilities were built with good sanitary conditions, and separate pools for hot and cold baths. And they were beautiful! The walls and ceiling were covered in marble and mosaic, there were wonderful archways and lots of height under the roof.
There used to be hot water in the main pool – the Calidarium.
The construction of Terme Taurine started around 80 BC, under the dictator Sulla. It was extended and rebuilt several times, and had a library as well as warm, intermediate and cold pools.
The Frigidarium = cold bath. Somewhat bigger than the typical barrels used today.
Gradually, the Romans developed more and more advanced heating techniques, and during the Imperial period, baths were also built inside the cities, independent of hot springs. They even had saunas!
A 2000 year old sauna in Terme Taurine.
After a visit to Terme Taurine, it is just perfect to try out Terme anno 2022. Our taxi driver could tell us that in his childhood (he was in his fifties), there was still hot water in Terme Taurine. It was a fun activity in the winter to go up the hill and have a hot bath in the old, mosaic decorated pools. Today, the geology has changed, but hot water is still to be found in the new bathing facility ‘La Ficoncella’, 3 km away. We just had to go there and try it!
La Ficoncella.
La Ficoncella is named after a large fig tree that no longer exists. The facility is not large, but there are several smaller pools and also separate pools for those who cannot swim. There are no (!) changing rooms here, but four showers without doors. The water temperature is around fifty degrees Celsius, dripping directly into the shower rooms through 3-4 holes in the supply pipe. Showering is required (fortunately) before entering the pools, but in contrast to Icelandic tradition, your shower in La Ficoncella is supposed to be done without (!) the use of soap.
Simple shower arrangement in La Ficoncella.
Then it was just a matter of jumping into it. Right? No, this simply wasn’t that easy. We were in La Ficoncella in July. It was 30°C in the air. And then you are supposed to voluntarily enter a pool, 42°C? That’s crazy! Like some say it is to take a bath in a norwegian fjord when the air temperature is below freezing.
Wow!
Every centimeter you sink into the water, you feel your body shouting: ‘Don’t do it! It’s too hot!‘ But then you do it anyway, and it’s just fine. And then? Believe it or not, afterwards you cool off and feel absolutely great. Try it!
Knut is testing the warmest water. Easy peasy.
La Ficoncella is an unpretentious place. When we were there, we felt like being a part of the younger generation, but there were a few exceptions, and our daughters were not the only youths. This is a very nice place! People make contact as soon as they see newcomers. You will get a lot of advice and support including pleasant chatting. A bath in La Ficoncella in the middle of summer is absolutely something!
A bath in La Ficoncella in the middle of summer is absolutely right!
‘The old town’ lives up to its name, because people have lived here for a long time. The city is placed over an earlier Etruscan settlement. It was Emperor Trajan who started constructing the first harbor, at the beginning of the second century AD.
Emperor Trajan says ‘Welcome!’ to the ferry tourists from his roundabout.
The city was earlier called Centum Cellae, which possibly comes from the hundreds of rooms in the emperor’s villa. The city became part of the Pope’s property in the year 728. A hundred years later, the city was attacked by the Saracens, and the settlement was moved to a safer place. According to tradition, the city was named ‘Civitas Vetus’ when the inhabitants shortly after moved back to the old city. In 1696, the city became a free port under Pope Innocent XII, and Rome’s most important port city.
The reconstructed city wall and Michelangelo’s fortress in the background. The boats docked here before the WWII.
In earlier times, the city was a shipping port for the mineral alum. Today, tourism is the main source of income, in addition to a large energy factory and the ferry port, with departures to Sardinia, Sicily and various cruise destinations. The city was bombed to pieces during the WWII, but has been nicely rebuilt, including much of the old brickwork. The beaches at Civitavecchia are many and long, the water fresh and clear, so it is really nice to swim here. But please do remember to bring your swimming shoes! There are pebbles and not sand on the beach. But otherwise excellent. And romantic too!
Romantic atmosphere at the beach in Civitavecchia.
We had a cozy picnic under the palm trees by the beach, and this can be safely recommended.
Picnic
But: If the children want a little more action, there is a completely different option in Civitavecchia: The Aquafelix water park. Don’t be confused by the slightly depressing entrance – this is a very good bathing place.
Decomposing city by the entrance to Aquafelix.
Once inside the facility, our daughters immediately threw themselves into the dance. Yes, you read that right: The dance! At Aquafelix there was ‘Dance along’ in the water lead by an energetic DJ. Just great!
Tremendous dancing spirit in the pool.
Aquafelix is beautifully built and maintained, with paved paths between the facilities. They have built a number of exciting slides, one of which goes through a dark tunnel. For Idun, who is not very enthusiastic about slides, a tour in the current ringpool was more tempting – on a tube. The only concern is therefore this, from Idun: There is no suitable training pool in this water park. But they do have a small fountain, which made up for the disappointment. Finally, Idun could have a fountain bath in Italy!
A fountainbath in Aquafelix is just right.
After the bath, time is just perfect for dinner. We suggest you to head for Piazza Aurelia Saffi. There you can find several cafès, restaurants and pubs, and a beautiful view of the medieval walls. Buon appetito!
Piazza Saffi – Lively sitting (pedestrian) street in Civitavecchia.
After an intense search for our kind of bathing places in central Rome, we just had to capitulate. There are none, NONE! Of course there are spas and swimming pools, but no lakes, rivers or old thermes. Big disappointment. Big!
Technically there is a river, The Tiber, in the heart of Rome. It just wasn’t very tempting
The temptations did exist, in the form of Rome’s many large and beautiful fountains with crystal clear water. Don’t do it! It is strictly prohibited, and suddenly you have got a 450 Euro fine. So we didn’t swim in the Fontana di Trevi (Fountain of the Three Roads). It is simply too expensive. And certainly you will get a troublesome and bad day with a lot of yelling.
The Trevi Fountain: Just don’t bathe! This bath is a DON’T.
On the other hand, it’s not very far to go from the center of Rome to have a nice swim. What about a volcanic lake? 20 km southeast of Rome there is a 36,000-year-old volcano, and inside it two collapsed magma chambers, which today appear as the lakes Nemi and Albano.
Ingrid, Knut and Giulio in front of Lago di Albano. View from Castel Gandolfo.
The name Albano has been much discussed and comes either from ‘alp’ = ‘high’ or from ‘alba’ which means white (the hills around the lakes consist of, among other things, light grey tuff). The volcano still emits gases, and in 1999 29 cows died of CO2 poisoning. In some places in the area, it is therefore not recommended to have bedrooms on the ground floor.
Lake Albano. Castel Gandolfo to the back right.
Rich people have spent their summer holidays by Lago di Albano for thousands of years. For example, Emperor Titus built a villa by Lake Albano around 100 AD. The summer here is peaceful and the air is fresh and relatively cool. On a hill above the lake lies the town of Castel Gandolfo, which has just below 9,000 inhabitants. The palace ‘Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo’ has been the property of the Vatican since 1596, and was for many years the Pope’s summer residence. This was to the great delight of the inhabitants, as it attracted many visitors to the town. However, today’s Pope, Francis, has stated that traveling to the countryside in the summer is something the rich people do, and he is not (!) rich. So now there is put an end to this tradition, and the Castilians despair: ‘It is possible that you are not rich, but the fact that you do not come here in the summer any more, makes us poor!‘. To ease the situation, the palace has been converted into a museum, and tourists are arriving here again. But life in Castel Gandolfo is not as it used to be.
Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo. Not very crowded at Piazza della Libertà.
Lago di Albano experienced very varying water levels in ancient times, partly due to the CO2 production, which is known to have led to flooding at least once, as the gas lifted the water. Therefore, around 395 BC, a drain was carved out at one end – through the Albano Hill. The tunnel is 1,600 meter long, 1.2 meter wide and 2 meter high, and this is how the flooding problem was solved once and for all.
The old Roman harbor by Lago di Albano.
Knut’s cousin Ingrid has lived near Lake Albano for over 30 years, and she told us that the water level has been dropping steadily all these years. The ruins in the picture above were previously under water. This was the old harbour, and close by were several Roman villas.
And the bath? How was it? Great! Easy to get into the water, there is fine, grey sand on the beach, and the water is clear and fresh. Here you can both have a bath and do some swimming exercise. During the Summer Olympics in 1960, all the competitions for rowing and paddling were performed in Lake Albano. ‘The Albano Buoy System’ set a standard for lane marking which is still in use, and the buoys can be seen at the eastern end of the lake.
Annoying with all this sun
A swimming trip to Lago di Albano is just fine! And after? If possible – take the train back to Rome and go to a concert in Circo Massimo! We saw ‘Måneskin’ together with 70,000 others a few days before, and it was a great experience. After our Albano bath on the other hand, there was a family dinner at Knut’s cousin’s. Very good for us, but not possible for everyone of course.
Denmark is lovely! And maybe Copenhagen is extra lovely for strict Norwegians? Nevermind, after a day or two in the city center, a bathing excursion is just right. We strike a blow for Amager Strand (Beach)! It’s a good idea to go bicycling there. Rental bikes (without electricity) are only an app download away. Idun even found a ‘Comrade’, which ‘The Julekalender’ sang about in ‘Spikk a Bitte Little’.
The little ‘Kammerat’ (Comrade).
Before you start cycling in the Copenhagen traffic, there are a few things to think about. First: The cycle roads have two lanes that are used as if you were a car. This means that you keep to the right until you pass someone, only then do you go to the the left part of the bicycle lane. NB – Keep right, there is ALWAYS someone cycling faster than you! Secondly, it is expected that you warn with your hands whether you intend to turn left or right – in addition to one hand up, which means that you are going to stop. If you ride together in a group, everyone (especially the last one!) must show stop signs.
The left turns aren’t always simple.
The bike ride to Amager Strand is a flat and nice ride that takes about half an hour from Copenhagen city center. Amager is a flat island in the sound of just under 100 km2, with approximately 200,000 inhabitants. The island is known in written sources from the year 1100. The first part of the name can possibly be explained as an old name on the strait between Sjælland and Amager. The second part might come from Old Danish ‘haki’ = garden. From 1898 until 1970, Copenhageners dumped their latrines here, and the island got the nickname ‘Lorteøen’ = ‘Shit Island’. The population is jokingly called Amagerkanere.
Wind mills and beaches north at Amager Strand.
The shit is thankfully gone now! Amager Strand is a 2 km long sandbank connected to Amager island with 4 bridges. This is an eldorado for all kinds of water activities, and it is well invested.
Map of Amager Strand. North to the left.
At the northern end (Helgoland Søbadeanstalt) there is a disabled-friendly access to the sea. However, we were not overwhelmingly impressed by this solution:
Wheelchair friendly solution?
What is the idea? Should the wheelchair user be thrown into the water? Knut was so excited by this sight that he wanted to make a film that shows what happens if you try to go by wheelchair out into the sea from here. But that surely was not easy without a wheelchair. However, our grins had to be thoroughly wiped off when we found the wheelchair lift inside the facility. It’s super!
Wheelchair lift directly into the sea – this is great!
If the timing is right, maybe you can join for winter swimming here? We saw a sign: ‘Det Kolde Gys, Helgoland’ with reference to ‘The cold horror’. Inside the Amager beach there is a 400 m wide and sheltered lagoon, great for SUP, OWS, kayaking and swimming for those who want to avoid waves. There are beaches and sand on all sides of Amager Strand. Along the small island, there is a beautiful promenade, popular for joggers, wheelchair users, roller skaters and walkers – basically everyone.
Amager beach direction north.
South of Amager Strand, Kastrup Søbad has set up a facility they call ‘Sneglen’ = the Snail. This is a beautiful, spiral-shaped wooden construction with benches, fresh water showers, diving tower and many stairs down to the sea.
The Snail.
And here we finally found it – a working wheelchair ramp. It was not crowded by bicycles, either.
This is how to do it!
We swam around the Snail, and discovered to our excitement that the underside is a densely populated Martin bird area. Great!
Swimming outside the Snail. The Øresund Bridge at the back to the left.
There are a lot of different activities around Amager beach. This guy had dropped surf kiting in favor of skateboard kiting, he thought it was more social.
Easier to get in touch on land
On the way back to the city center, a waffle fits well. And waffels can be bought in the Norwegian Seamen’s Church. It was a positive surprise for us to find it, since Knut was baptized here.
The Norwegian Seamen’s church in Copenhagen.
Here they are just very happy to get visitors – you are not many seconds indoors before someone has made contact. Lovely atmosphere here too!
Knut by his baptismal font.
If delicious water sports – and Norwegian waffles – have refreshed you sufficiently – maybe it’s also just right to do a bike ride on dressin? The Amager Train’s Friends rent out bicycle dressins. The track is 1.2 km long, and this gave Knut an idea: Maybe this is the solution to the ‘Train problem’ in Knut’s project ‘To go to work in different ways by his own engine’? The future will show…
We were in Copenhagen at the end of june. Where we could witness the celebration of ‘Studenten’. While in Norway we have “russefeiring” which lasts a long time, this is supposedly a one day celebration (although we saw students partying all the weekend). The class hires one car where they can stand on the truck bed and party and drive around to all parents. All these cars stop on Højbro Plads. Accidents happen – some got the party cut short.
End of mandatory school is celebrated in Denmark as well. Some blood was spilled, though, and the fire department took the cleaning job.
Strangely enough, we heard no one singing ‘Tri smi kinisiri pi Hibri plids’, but there was enough noise without that. The stork fountain was foaming, so someone had had fun with dish washing detergent.
Our photographer didn’t sing at Højbro Plads. Neither did we.
At Højbro (High Bridge) there has been a bridge over to Slotsholmen since the middle ages. Todays bridge is from 1878 and drawn by Vilhelm Dahlerup. But we can’t really say it is very high. At Højbro you can meet The Merman in a sculpture of Suste Bonnén. Under water, of course.
The yellow buoy marks the sculpture.
This work of art was given to Copenhagen City in 1992, promising the city would maintain it. And they have – the sculpture was newly renovated.
The statues can be seen from the bridge. Sculptor: Suste Bonnén
For this bathing adventure we needed a photographer, our daughter Une volunteered (under pressure). An easy job when the models are as photogenic as this!
Photogenic tobathe-models. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
We first planned to jump from the quay for the sightseeing boats, right next to the statues. But there was a sign forbidding anyone not going on a cruise to be there (nothing against bathing). While we were contemplating this, a boat actually came and we realized this was a bad idea. The solution was to use one of the ladders on the other side of Højbro bridge. Idun was a little scared we would be “saved”. But there was nothing to worry about. Hardly anyone took notice of us undressing, climbing down the ladder and going into the water. Only smiling faces and waving hands from the passing boats. And the sculpture? Great!
Big grief in the ocean. The smallest boy on daddy’s arm. Sculptor: Suste Bonnén
The fairytale about Agnete and the Merman is rooted in middle age ballads, but is a 1800’s folk song. The song tells about Agnete, who falls in love with a merman and follows him to the bottom of the ocean. She lives with him for eight years and bears him seven sons.
One day, when she hears the church bells ring, she asks for permission to go back to the humans world. And she is allowed, but the Merman reminds her that her children will miss her deeply if she doesn’t return. When Agnete meets her mother, she renounces her children and never returns to the ocean (in the most common version, there are many versions of the story and in some of them she does go back).
Her not returning brings great grief under water, and this we think Bonnén really has shown in these bronce statues.
Strong impressions!
Hans Christian Andersen actually wrote a theater play about Agnete, which became a flop. His later story about “The Little Mermaid”, however, was a hit. It is a plot twist of Agnete’s story. While the human girl Agnete was lured into the ocean by a merman, The Little Mermaid went onto land drawn towards a human man. Andersen dropped the kid part, but also has a really tragic ending (very different from Disney’s version). Outside of Denmark, Agnete isn’t much known and The Little Mermaid is by most people thought to be completely H.C.Andersen’s own idea.
A similar motive we can find in old stories about getting “taken into the mountains”. You could e.g. listen to Gåte’s song about Margit Hjukse. Who takes a quite different choice from Agnete.
So it was time to swim back to the human world again. It was definitely a good time to take a bath with The Merman. The water was clean and clear. Until a boat passed, which had a diesel leak, so we could see stripes floating from it. Not that they seemed to bother much when we told them.
Low swimming under the high bridge? Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
What to do in Copenhagen after a nice bath? We found Tivoli to be a good choice!
After a bath it can be just the right time for Tivoli.
Copenhagen, or ‘Merchants’ Harbor’, has been inhabited since the ninth century, and was probably only called ‘Harbor’ in the beginning. The city is strategically located nearby the boat traffic in and out of the Baltic Sea. As we were planning the Copenhagen trip, the proposal to swim by The Little Mermaid came up almost immediately.
Denmark is lovely!
Knut was a bit busy, so Idun and Une made a survey the first day. On the map, there seemed to be bathing opportunities at the Citadel, which is located between the city center and the Mermaid. Idun had a good feeling, and wanted to surprise Knut with a bathing place he had not thought of. And yes, there is water at the Citadel. But was it really tempting?
Moat at one of the gates of the Citadel.
The rules of order at Copenhagen Citadel.
It was not forbidden to swim, strangely enough (a ban on fishing is one of the rules, though). On closer inspection, this was completely understandable. The water was not tempting at all, probably like the vast, vast, vast majority of moat waters out there in the world.
But The Little Mermaid, what about her? Would a bath be right by her? Well, it actually is just right to have a bath with The Little Mermaid. BUT – at low tide there is not much water around her, so a bit of planning with regard to the tide is necessary.
Mermaid at low tide. Sculptor: Edvard Eriksen
The statue of The Little Mermaid was erected in 1913, and is made by Edvard Eriksen. It was the brewer Carl Jacobsen who donated the sculpture to the city, because he wanted to honor the fairy tale writer H. C. Andersen. The fairy tale about The Little Mermaid was published in 1837 together with ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. The mermaid’s infatuation with a human prince was impossible love. Both the fairy tale and the statue describes a great sorrow, which reflects H. C. Andersen’s own unhappy love life. The statue has been heavily exposed to vandalism, and its head has disappeared several times. The statue was painted red in 2017, in protest against the Faroe Islands’ hunt for humpback whales (!). Fortunately, Eriksen’s family owns a couple of plaster versions, which are very helpful in reconstructions. When we visited the lady, her lips were painted very red.
AFUK = Academy For Untamed Creativity.
We were in Copenhagen to watch the end of Ulvhild’s one year study at AFUK. It was a very nice experience! Great circus shows with a broad variety. Idun remembered to take pictures during the first piece, but afterwards it was just glancing, so the small taste for Tobatheornottobathe will only be the picture shown below (Ulvhild in the pink bucket, with violin). Between the shows, it was possible to dine in the courtyard.
The opening number for the Artist Class’ Show ‘No no no, but I am taking a detour’.
After the performance, Tobatheornottobathe went on a bathing trip to The Little Mermaid while the youths were left for the final party. The timing was perfect, as we cycled to the Mermaid at high tide, straight from the circus show. There are considerably fewer people gathered in the port of Copenhagen in the evening. And there is absolutely no one who raises an eyelid neither over ongoing bathing nor being asked to take a picture. So then it was just to swim to the Mermaid and say hello, and this was both beautiful and nice, as the Danes say (deijligt and skønt).
Hello to you, Mermaid!
Luckily enough, nobody ran away with Knut’s cell phone, either. Isn’t that great? Just finishing dressing after the bath, this suddenly happened! What a luck!
Mermaid in star rain.
It was midsummer and fireworks at 23:00 in Copenhagen. Awesome! A little less hectic than fireworks often are, but with many really grandiose solutions. Absolutely superb! A midsummer bath in Copenhagen is just right! And to swim with the Mermaid, it’s just right, too.
On October 13th 1899, the port of Titran was full of fishing boats. Lots of herring had arrived, and fishermen from all of Mid-Norway hoped to make good money. This was at a turning point between the old and the new times. There were many traditional fishing boats built for sails and oars, but also some larger ships with steam engines.
Titran anno 2022. No fishing boats in sight.
Many were those who had a bad feeling before they left for sea. Friday the 13th made them feel insecure, in addition to a falling barometer pressure. But the desire for profit, how to handle that? Nobody wanted to stay ashore and watch the other fishermen go to sea and collect boatloads of the ‘silver of the sea’. By six o’clock in the afternoon, most of the fishing teams had placed the nets in the sea. Years later quite a lot of the survivors said that they had seen a warning, a ‘Merman’ who got up from the sea and looked towards them, but they did not take notice of it.
Titran. Here you could cross the bay on foot in the old days, when herring fishing was at its peak.
At about two o’clock after midnight, the fishing fleet was attacked by a storm. A survivor, from one of the steamships, later told that he was thrown out of bed, because the wind came so suddenly. The sky cracked with icy rain, hail and gusts of wind that tore sails and rudder to pieces. The smaller boats tried to find their way back to Titran, but it was impossible. The night was dark, no visibility in such rain and wind. 31 boats went down, and 140 fishermen lost their lives. Of those who survived, many were aboard the larger ships that stayed at ocean all night in the storm, instead of trying to find a harbor. During the whole night they were waiting for the wind to reduce and the sun to rise. This is how they avoided the dangerous waters off Frøya in the gloom and darkness of the night.
Old Sletringen Lighthouse. From the Information board by Høynesveien, Titran.
After the accident, a nationwide fundraising campaign was launched for the bereaved. There were many widows who were left alone, crying with their flock of children. The collection was very successful, it raised over a million NOK. Idun’s grandfather, Emil Herje, interviewed survivors and widows, and has written about the Titran Accident. These are strong stories. In many families, all the adult men disappeared that very night. Fathers, sons and brothers often fished from the same boat. According to tradition, many men took care of the money in the family and kept it with them at all times. Therefore all the family savings disappeared into the sea together with the man.
‘When will he return?’ Memorial to the Titran Accident, by Kristoffer Leirdal. Unveiled at the 50th anniversary in 1949.
When the accident occurred, Sletringen lighthouse outside Titran was brand new. This led to a lot of criticism. The lighthouse, with its 20 m was too low, and the light did not go far enough. It was decided to build a new and taller lighthouse, and the result was a new cast iron lighthouse which, with it’s 46 meters is Norway’s tallest lighthouse. The name comes from the island where it is placed, which is ‘slett’ (plain). The old timber house was moved to Sandstad by Hitra island, where it still makes use as a lighthouse (Terningen).
Sletringen lighthouse is now the landmark it was supposed to be.
Between Titran and Sletringen there is an infinity of islets and reefs. Could it be a good idea to swim to Sletringen? After some study of maps, we came to the conclusion that we had to do a variation of the sport known as ‘Swim-Run’, if the Tobatheornottobathe-people were to reach Sletringen without motorized help. The speed of some of the participants is not very impressive, so it is tempting to translate Swim-Run to ‘Walk-Swim’ in this case. For the occasion, we dragged with us a not insignificant amount of luggage, including an inflatable boat. We did not stress the time schedule, the most important thing was to come home without any accidents.
Walking towards Sletringen Lighthouse.
From Høynesvegen we went northwest as far as we could, and then started swimming. We wore wet suits, gloves, wet socks and fins. We crossed three narrow ‘channels’ on the way outwards. At first we changed from regular shoes to wet socks/fins and back again, but after a few times we got tired of it. Knut managed well, he had also a pair of wet shoes in his luggage, but Idun’s wet socks did not survive the trip. In advance, we had thought a bit about this thing with high or low tide, but on closer thought, it was not very important. Actually, we could spend a whole day on the trip if necessary. And the tour turned out quite exciting (but not dangerous!). Especially when crossing a small channel, where the current was so strong that it felt like crossing a flooded river instead of the ocean.
Crossing a river or crossing a channel?
After passing three channels and as many islands, we were ready for ‘The big crossing’ over to the lighthouse. It is about 250 meters open water to Sletringen. The weather was fantastic, no wind or waves. But still – the swells really broke against the shears on each side of the lighthouse. Idun was very thoughtful. “I reserve the right to turn back as soon as I notice there is too much current!” Idun said. And then we set off. There was no current! Not scary at all, this absolutely beautiful day. Once there, it was a bit awkward to get up on the rock. The swells pull you down as soon as you think you are ashore. You have to grab the rocks while the sea recedes, waiting for the next wave to push you ashore. It went well!
In good flow towards Sletringen.
However, Idun had to admit that the new, beautiful bathing cap she had received as a Christmas present was too cold for this type of expedition, so on the way back she switched to a warmer hood. But what a marvelous place Sletringen island is! A fantastic landscape! A beautiful lighthouse! Though, it must have been harsch to live out here in the stormy winters. Sletringen is not a big island. In bad weather, the waves cross it all. The lighthouse was vacated in 1999. Frøya municipality has started a project to make the lighthouse accessible to the public. We really hope this will actually happen. Imagine spending the night at Sletringen lighthouse!
Sletringen lighthouse is tall and beautiful.
The return was just as nice as the way out. This time the sea was ‘flooding’, and we felt that we were pulled inwards. We swam past the first island – but with the tide the islands had become more numerous, so we ended up with 4 crossings back as well. All in all, a brilliant day. It’s great to swim and walk to Sletringen lighthouse! But we want to point out that good wetsuits, exceptionally calm weather and sufficient experience / adaptation to cold water is needed if this kind of expedition shall be successful. You are hereby warned!
A trip to Sletringen is just right!
Sources: ‘Titranulykka’, Edited by Hans A Grønskag ISBN: 82-993698-1-9 ‘Stormhav’, Leo Oterhals, ISBN: 82-90757-1-23
