Avaldsnes

The roller coaster started moving, and we plunged into darkness. The ride went around and around, slowly descending. Then it climbed up and descended again. Finally, it ascended, and we were back where we had started. Beforehand, we had ridden an incredibly goofy ride, which was kinda annoying, and a dizzying one that spun and spun and spun, and didn’t do much else. We ended with the Bobsled and an ice cream. The Bobsled was really fun, but the wait was long. We also went all over the park catching Pokémon, with the Pokémon Go app. We even caught a female Niordian, which are really, really rare. It was pretty exciting.

As you may already know, we are renting an apartment for 5 weeks. We got a good deal on it, so now we are here! Catching Pokémon on a daily basis! Our best is a Fearow at level 439. Isn’t that powerful?

We also saw the botanical gardens. It was dense with plants. It had a huge, spiky water lily the size of a bunk bed. I’m not kidding. Its huge pads looked as if you could step on them – of course, I didn’t want to find out the hard way. That would probably end up with me getting spiked to death. I wouldn’t want that.

Finally, we went to the palace and Rembrandt’s house. In the palace, we learned about the rulers. William III became the King of England, since England’s former king had died, not leaving any heirs. Luckily, William’s distant cousin took the throne. Soon, Dutch independence was recognized by the Spaniards, a whole 69 years after it had been declared! Not cool. Although, the Dutch still have a king to this date. Cool, huh?

As I mentioned, we also went to the Rebrandt house. They had some of his artworks in there (mainly reproductions). They also had diverse and interesting items in a large display room. The whole house looked just as it had back in Rembrandt’s days. Click here if you want information on Rembrandt’s life. They had been able to do this, because Rembrandt had to sell everything he owned. Interesting, isn’t it?

A Short Biography of Rembrandt van Rijn:

After years of good money off of his paintings, and marrying his beloved Saskia, the mayor’s wealthy daughter, he bought a lovely little house right on a canal for 13,000 guilders (a lot of money!), but the money came from the bank, not his pockets. Instead of spending his money on mortgages, he spent it on purchasing exotic goods. His social life was no better. Saskia had lost three babies, and each loss tormented her health. Fortunately, Titus would survive infancy. It all ran down to 1642, a disaster year for Rembrandt. In June, Saskia passed away. Also, Rembrandt plunged into debt, everything he owned being sold away, but that still didn’t cover Rembrandt’s debt. Somewhere in the mess, Rembrandt remarried and had a girl, Cornelia. He and his two kids, 17-year-old Titus and 4-year-old Cornelia, moved into a smaller house, bankrupt. Rembrandt painted until he died, a poor man with nothing but his clothes and art supplies, at the age of 63.

Hike James Kjerag

Science Plasma Ball2 — Moving energy through my body

At the science museum, Vitenfabrikken, I placed my hand on the plasma ball. All the plasma shot to my hand. An employee held a light bulb out to me. I grabbed it, and it lit up. She explained how the energy moved through my body to the bulb, which lit up. We also watched a space presentation in English (which was really more of a presentation on how space exploration has changed our everyday lives). I also tried to break a glass with my voice. I was close, but not successful. It was so hard!

Viking James Dressup We also went to the viking museum and farm, Avaldsnes. At the museum, I had a sword fight with a Norwegian boy. We learned that the vikings mainly used spears, instead of axes or swords, because they were cheapest, and had no horny helmets. There used to be a woman from Siberia, Ljufvina, who had married a Norwegian king, Hjor, became queen, moved to Avaldsnes, and had two sons. One of the sons, Prince Geirmund the Black-Skinned, was supposedly the most successful settler of Iceland. However, when he came back home to claim the throne, he found he was too late and the kingdom had already been taken over by Harold Fairhair. That must’ve sucked! He went back to Iceland for good. We also saw the model farm, and I got to do some archery. I even shot the rubber warthog in the neck!

Hike James Snowball Finally, we went on famous hike, to Kjerag Rock. There were three sets of climbing chains. Each of us slipped on the chains. When I slipped, I landed on my back with a thump. However, I felt no pain. At the top, it was incredibly foggy. There was still snow on the ground, too. I played in the snow, but got wet, cold, and miserable. Then we took pictures of Dad on Kjerag Rock with a 3,000 foot drop below him. What a way to end Norway!