May 17 is National Day in Norway. Everyone gets dressed up and heads out and just has a blast. At the Palace, the king and his close family wave to the the children's parade from the Palace balcony. And the children's parade goes on for hours, with lots of flags, marching bands, and much hoopla. Many of the Norwegians dress in their bunads, which are wonderful and each unique and often with a story of their own about who sewed them and what the colors and details mean. It is always a highlight of Spring here, and some photos from the Oslo celebration follow. Helicopters got us in to the area, and there were just a few square meters where they could sorta land. But it all worked out and here is a pic of Don McFarlane sitting on one of the earth's most remote bits of rock.
Russ, and all that it entails, I am sorry to say that I am not expert enough to cover. But the short version is that high school seniors, before graduation, get a set of colorful bib overalls (most are red, but there are other colors), and generally go about making a lot of noise... and do those things folks at that age with no adult supervision, will do. More info can be found on this wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russefeiring So one fine Sunday morning we were walking about in Tromsø, Norway, and even from a distance noticed that the statuary in a local park had an odd appearance. Once near, it was pretty clear that the Russ folks had painted the head red during the night (which is pretty bold, as while the sun does set, it never gets dark in Tromsø in early May). So I took a photo of the statuary, with the red head. However, just as I was taking this photo, some folks showed up who had a more professional interest in the vandalism. So I took their picture as well. Overall, a case of vandalism by students with no adult supervision, which will likely cost serious money to repair, and unlikely anyone ever gets punished for it.
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AuthorKeith Christenson - Wildlife Biologist Categories
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Keith Christenson Wildlife Biologist Archives
September 2021
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