15th July 2020 - the Pearls of Southern Norway

Lindesnes (B)

Many places call themselves the westernmost points of Norway. There is Utvær, an island in the municipality of Solund, which is the absolute westernmost point. At Strongfjorden, the westernmost inhabited point on the mainland is said to be, at Vestkapp the westernmost point on the mainland, and on Bulandet the westernmost point that is still inhabited.

At the southernmost point on the Norwegian mainland, there is consensus: the Lindesnes lighthouse, which is the opposite of the North Cape, located 1682 km away as the crow flies. And as is also the case there, there are many tourists because the lighthouse is also the oldest in the country. Especially for them, a separate facility has been installed, exhibitions have been built, and the tower has been opened.

From above, the view was not particularly good, you could only see the rocky desert on the coast and container ships sailing along the sea.

More exciting was an exhibition in a hollowed-out rock that presented the different lighthouses on the southern coast and highlighted their peculiarities.

A fact on the side: The lighthouse is located at N 57° 58' 53", approximately at the same latitude as the northernmost point of Scotland.

Also worth mentioning is the way there. I was once again in conflict with the navigation system and drove a whole 10 kilometers on some detours, which were sometimes just better dirt roads and absolutely no one should come the other way. Fortunately, on my way to Kristiansand, I returned to the E18, which is almost like a highway and where you were allowed to drive 110 km/h instead of the usual 80 km/h.

Kristiansand (C)

If you are looking for a vibrant city where many people sit in cafes and stroll through the streets and shops, a city that exudes southern flair, then Kristiansand is the right place. Many travelers only use it as a transit city, as the ferry arrives here. Just like I did and just like back then, I got lost in the city for a while until I finally found a parking garage. I strolled through the streets with the Norwegians, past the beautiful cathedral down to the harbor and back again. I would have liked to treat myself to an ice cream, the city is also known for that (keyword Hennig Olsen), but my toothache didn't allow it.

The city center is arranged in a special way: like a chessboard. When the city was laid out, it was intended to prevent the fire from spreading, as wooden houses are prone to fire. The street layout is still preserved in the Kvadraturen district.

Grimstad (D)

In Norway, there are three museums dedicated to Henrik Ibsen. The one in Oslo is closed for renovations. The pharmacy where he lived from the age of 15 and wrote his first plays was also a museum. But it was so small and winding that it could not maintain the minimum distance required by the current regulations and therefore was not open. Nevertheless, I looked at the house from the outside, then I walked through Grimstad, the small town is known above all for its alleys and its white wooden houses. Once to the harbor and back, I discovered another house where Ibsen had written a play ("Catilina").

Even without these famous personalities, Grimstad has something to offer: statistically, the town has the most sunny days in the kingdom! The following quote from H. Ibsen fits well:

"Longing for light is the command of life."