why going north?
Posted on July 23, 2021
So far here in my blog, I have been traveling northwards. Norway is situated in the northern part of Europe, and I am most of the time moving to the north in my own country. And for many summers I preferred going in that direction.
I don’t like heat. I never liked to lie down on a sandy beach in burning sun, doing nothing. I don’t like to have my dinner sitting in the sun, I would always seek the shadow of a tree when having a meal outdoors.
So, for me, I prefer the northern parts of Norway, or the islands north of Scotland.
I have been in warmer and sunnier parts of the world, often in connection with my work. I was an employee in the Norwegian Volleyball Federation for 33 years, and I was photographing volleyball after that. As a volleyball photographer I visited Hermosa Beach in California, Montreal in Canada for the Olympics 1976, Soviet Union, Finland, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and England. I also visited Tanzania as a volleyball instructor.
Here are some images from these volleyball photographing travels.
I would like very much some comments from you readers! (Bottom right).
I found this video from 1976. I am the photographer to the left. 
In front of the large museum in Leningrad 1978. Image: Svein Rørvik- 
At the World Volleyball Congress in Rome 1978 
I brought my two youngest sons to get pictures of the new game, Beach Volleyball, to Normandy in France. 
In Amsterdam for European Championships. 
Photographing in Norway. 
More mg td images
Posted on July 21, 2021
My 1953 MG attracted attention wherever it went. Two adult women on the island of Røsr told me later that they thought it was the king who came around a bend. The characteristic grill made a royal impression.
When I was photographer at an International beach volleyball event in Kristiansand on the Norwegian south coast, the tournament director asked me to park the MG between the courts for everybody to see. At one time I discovered that a Brazilian player, Juliana Silva, was sitting on the car having a snack. I think she was the only World Champion in any sport sitting on my car!
Some of the details on the car were pieces of art in themselves, like the bold in the picture. Sometimes, people would wave their hands at me when I was driving by. The organisers of a car show outside Oslo wanted my car in the exhibition, side by side with great newcomers.
In Norway, you can get the registration number of an older car if it is available. I naturally chose the number that had sat on my fathers 1933 Chevrolet. I have sold the car, but it is still wearing that plate.
Brazilian World Champion, Juliana, taking a break on the MG.
A small piece of art
Appreciating the details 
Exhibited because of its beauty 
Chevrolet 1933, me to the ft (1947) 
Same reg no as my fathers Chevrolet 1933
traveling through norway
Posted on July 20, 2021
This blog was supposed to be about trips between Oslo and yte island of Røst north of the Polar Circle, and not only about my old MG. I had the MG for five years, but I traveled with several cars, by plane or by train. I found the journey by train to be a very pleasant one. Leaving Oslo early afternoon, reaching Trondheim in the evening. Night train from Trondheim to Bodø, getting to Bodø around noon. The ferry to Røst would leave Bodø at three o’clock and reaching Røst early evening.
But let me first go by car. Here are some images from some of the car trips.
Driving through a dramatic landscape is best in a convertible. 
Beware of moose! 
An old colourful barn 
Wellkept farm in the north 
Abandoned farm 
Great landscape
MG practicalities
Posted on July 18, 2021
My MG TD was of course old fashioned in many ways. That was ok most of the time, but not always. When you go on a long trip with it, 2400 kilometers both ways (sorry folks, but the sooner you move from miles to kilometers, the better for everybody!). Hehe. I had sun and rain, and had to organise the car in tune with that.
The luggage compartment, see the first image, was always full. A jerry can with extra petrol just in case, some tools and a rather bulky car cover to use in rain when I spent the night in a hotel or B&B (see image).
So I needed a suitcase for my personal stuff, and space for my photo gear. I bought a suitcase that fitted to my rack in the back of the car. I always expected rain on the long stretches, so I had a cover for the suitcase, too (see image). I found the tonneau cover very practical. At Røst, where I knew most people, I could leave the car overnight with the tonneau cover on. Sometimes, I also used the tonneau cover instead of the roof, and had a nice (and cosy) opening for myself at the wheel. My camera bag went to the passenger seat, “under cover” so to say, a camera and the lenses never far away.
Once, on the trip along the coast on my way home, I checked into a hotel in heavy rain and parked the car under my windows. This is when the large and heavy car cover did its job.
Rather limited space in the lugge compartment.
I arrived at the Polar Circle Centre in rain, but with everything dry. 
At Røst, I stayed at t5he hotel and only used tonneaucover at night.
From Røst. I found the drivers seat a cosy place t be in when some drops might fall. 
My undercover sportswear.
people liked my mg
Posted on July 17, 2021
Naturally, my old vintage vehicle was popular wherever I traveled. In the first image I stayed in my car when we were crossing a fjord somewhere, and another person with a camera wanted a picture of the MG. But there is more to tell about this crossing.
When I arrived at the crossing point, the ferry was already quite full and there was a long line of cars waiting for their turn. They would have for the next ferry. Then the guy in charge of taking cars on board noticed me arriving and came up to me. He said I could pass the waiting line and get on the ferry; he had space for just on more car. This man was a car enthusiast and he really liked my MG! He could have a closer look at it when he got it in the ferry. And – he would not let me pay for such a special and beautiful car!
The MG on a fully packed ferry. 
Leaving one of the several ferries
Rain and rein
Posted on July 15, 2021
Driving an old convertible is an art. The roof system can be a job to manage. It is nothing like the modern versions. which take only seconds to raise. And of course when traveling to the north in Norway, you will have rain at times. On the MG TD from 1953 you can still get comfortable! Roof on. You can mount four windows, one on top of each front door and a smaller one behind them. However when I had rain, I only used the two back windows, and drove without the two windows in the front, both to get a better view on the surroundings, but also to have fresh air.To keep me dry, I wore a heavy raincoat that kept me dry and warm
On one of my trips it started to rain. But not only that, the window wipers did not work! So for meny miles it looked like in the first picture. Not very sharp. When I stopped to fill up my tank, I noticed a car repair shop across the road. They fixed the wipers, it was just a nut that had come loose, and the cars was ready for more miles in the rain, but with working wipes!
It was raining on morning when I was leaving the B&B. Notice the small window in the back. 
No window wipers working.
This heavy windbreaker/raincoat was perfect.
Image: Ketil Wardenær
A lot of reindeer beside and on the road. 
Reindeer crossing, trusting us to stop,
In my old MG going north.
Image: Ketil Wardenær.
searching origin of my name
Posted on July 13, 2021
On one of my trips north, my brother, Ketil; came along. Since he wanted to stay in Bodø and I needed the car on the island, we drove both cars. He he’d a modern BMW and I used my old MG. We decided to go north on the eastern route, since that would enable us to visit the farm where our family name, Wardenær, originated.
This place is situated in Rendalen meaning Reindeer valley. Very appropriate for an area with a lott of food for reindeer, Lichen. See the first picture.
The lichen gives the forest a strange colour- 
My companion on one of the trips, my brother Ketil.
The old farm we wanted to visit changed name at the end of 1790. I have not succeeded finding when the beautiful buildings were built.It was called Søndre Karlshaugen, and owned by Karl Karlsen Nordset. He was appointed the guardian of the cairn above his farm. A cairn is called en varde in Norwegian. These cairns were used as part of the warning signal system all around the country, to tell the war was coming. People would lit fires inside every cairn to warn about the threat. When Karlsen Nordset became responsible for his local cairn, or varde, he changed his name to Vardenær. Nær means near. So in English it could be Cairnnear.
Later on many with the surname of Vardenær, changed to Wardenær. Maybe they thought that looked more impressive.
So here are several photos of the farm that gave name to my family.
My old MG in front of the very first Vardenær. 
The twin store buildings.
Going north
Posted on July 11, 2021
I hope I can make my blog here a bit better an more interesting. My first story will be about traveling in a car from Oslo to Røst in the Lofoten archipelago.
Around the world you will find countries in all shapes and sizes. Norway is one of those with a strange shape, fat at the bottom and skinny on the way north. It widens out a bit at the top, where you find Finnmarksvidda, a wide area where the Sami population and their reindeer roam.
In the middle, Norway is only 6,3 kilometers wide. No wonder you cannot chose which road to take, there is only one. Further down you have a choice, the inland road or the coastal road. They are both beautiful.
Norway has a very long coastline, one reason being all the fjords that cut in. In the whole world, only Canada has a longer coastline with its 202.080 kilometers. Little Norway comes second with 100.915 kilometers.
My images are from several of the trips I have made from my home in Oslo, to the town of Bodø, and then by ferry across Vestfjorden to Røst. The distance between Oslo and Bodø is approximately 1200 kilometers. I usually made two overnight stops in hotels. The last stretch would be shorter because I wanted to catch the ferry at 1500 from Bodø.
So let’s go!
The west coast of Norway has a lot of fjords and islands. On the right side the longest border is with Sweden, in the north both Finland and Russia are neighbours. The Polar circle ia south of Bodø and Røst. That means midnight sun in the summer! 
It was always a special feeling to pack the car, drive out of my garage and start the long trip. 
On the road in my vintage 1953 MG, a car I had wanted to have since I was a little child just after the war. 
I took a lot of pictures of this great car. Here, I wanted the old car in front of an even older barn. The picture was taken before I reached Røros. 
I walked to the other side of the car to get another picture. I did not see the ditch and fell into it backwards. Lying there, probably looking stupid, I though I might sas well take a picture!
images from norway
Posted on July 10, 2021
I often traveled by car when I was going up north to “my” island north of the polar circle, Røst. I also made some stops to photograph things and places along the road, or from the ferries. I shall test some of them out in this blog so you can see what I am talking about. Unfortunately, I did not write down where I was when used the camera. It could happen that some Norwegian recognise the place, we can always hope.
Please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think about this idea.
fresh waffles
Posted on June 29, 2021
Sometimes you can get hot waffles on the street of Oslo. The wonderful smell bring customers to the sale.
the smell of peat, revisited
Posted on June 28, 2021
Some years ago I wrote here about the wonderful smell of burning peat. I have passed 80 years of age now, and I am not traveling any more. Since I love the smell of burning peat so much, I have managed to get the nice smoke of peat at home in Oslo!
I wrote to some people somewhere in Asia and suggest they make incense with the smell of peat. No response. But then, on my last trip to Edinburgh I found a shop that was selling just what I needed! And now I can order this from Scotland whenever I need more!
Here is how the kit looks.
Shadows can make some images interesting
Posted on June 24, 2021
At least more interesting than if they were not there.
Colours of norway
Posted on June 4, 2021
The colours of Norway on a dull day between the mountains.
I can almost smell it.
a special truck in oslo
Posted on May 21, 2021
I wonder how much time and money the owner used to get this fantastic result. Let us hope he/she does not have a crash.
the ocean is his neighbour
Posted on May 8, 2021
This man lives at Røst and he lives as close to the ocean as you can. I would think he can feel that when yte winter storms hit his house. I think I would have built a lower house on the same site, but building restrictions made people built like this at the time. He is sitting at the window in this image, looking away from the sea and instead watching who is traveling on the road.
