Saturday 17 January 2009

Stormy Family Hike



Today we joined up with another family in our family and took our family hike on one of the smaller islands surrounding the large island where I live. The day was windy and dark - the past 40 hours or so we've had pretty extreme weather, with winds blowing up the the category of a 'little storm'.




Here we are driving out towards the island of Ramsøy - now there is a direct road here, with land bridges made of stone. This however does nothing to keep the water from washing up over the road during fierce weather.


Getting closer and closer to the water....


Pretty much as sea level here......


Here we can see the houses of Ramsøy in the distance.



Getting closer....



Once here, we head towards some old German Bunkers left over from WWII. My children and those that were with us were looking so forward exploring the 'caves' and 'tunnels'. It crosses my mind that while I was born in 1973, the war was still 'in my lifetime' as my grandparents lived through it and I heard direct stories from them. Now those people in my life are gone, and WWII getting close to being a full century old. I imagine this war will have little meaning in my children's lives.

We don't tell the children that all of these bunkers were made by Russian prisoners of war, almost all who lost their lives doing so. When does one begin to share such tragedies with small ones?



70 and 80 year old rubble still lying around....




A view back towards the island that I live on (that would be the dark mass far into the distance).




A really cool and scary hole where 3 of the kids swore in all honesty that they could hear a troll lurking in the depths.



A machine-gun bunker where no doubt dozens of planes were shot down from.

One nephew getting a little too close to the dark and chilly waters for our liking....



The last and final reminents that are eroding away. What will my children show to their children?

8 comments:

Malene said...

Really cool post, Nicole!
It looks soooo cold...I admire your will power to go out into that weather.
I am like a bear at winter :-)

Sigmosaics said...

looks incredible there .. so isolated too. What a fabulous trip ... wonderful photo's and thank you for sharing this :D

ingermaaike said...

Way cool bunkers, the sharing of these stories is indeed important. But for the children it is a far away remnant of a life far beyond their own.

matchstickgirl said...

wow amazing ....

love road trips !!!

StaroftheEast said...

I've always been fasinated by WW2, my father was born in 39 just before the war so it is not so far yet but indeed it will be in a few years...

andee said...

This looks like a great trip!

karuski said...

My Grand Dad was in The Winter War against former Soviet Union in 39-40 and got injured there. I have heard sad stories from my Mom and I think they are valuable in order to understand how war affected their family life. I think it's the next generation (like your children) who will be free of these feelings, finally.

minna

Kreativlink said...

Yep, we can just hope that our children will not be affected by any wars....