Traveling Lighthouses

Kavrigen is a small whale-shaped rock islet in the Oslo Fjord municipality.   The lighthouse is located on a smaller island south of Kavrigen.  It was established in 1892 and still active. The tower is octagonal shaped with an unusual wood lantern.   It is accessible only by boat, and the tower is closed.  Ferries leaving from Oslo can pass closeby this light. The lighthouse looks beautiful from afar.  I wish it was a closer encounter.  Nevertheless, my journey to see this lighthouse didn't fail me. It was another surprising discovery that was a part of sailing the beautiful islands of Norway. Traveling alone can be lonely sometimes. But it's not an excuse to make friends with people we meet.  I met these two lovely girls from Brazil who are cousins.  I joined them on the table. We enjoyed our shrimp buffet, had good conversations, and took photos of each other. It was fun.  I witness...

After having a 3-hour sailboat tour of the Oslo Fjord, I ended my day at the harbor with the sight of this lighthouse and the sounds of the place. I sat on the bench with my coffee, overlooking the sight of the Akershus Fortress.  I listened and secretly danced to the music played by the band at the harbor restaurant.  I watched people passing by.   This lighthouse is just one of the harbor lights, where people hang out to eat, drink, dance, sing and have fun.  It serves as a witness to romantic couples. It gives guidance to all voyagers of the islands.  Different kinds of vessels, cruises, and boats come and go.  T ourists and locals meet up to start their boat ride.  I started my day with a ray of sunshine and then witnessed the boat's sunset until I walked away after seeing the dusk.   All of these are part of my wonderful lighthouse adventure in the beautiful country of Norway....

Fyr is the Swedish word for a lighthouse. I learned something new. Many Stockholm archipelago channels require lighthouses, and mostly all of them are located offshore or on an isolated island.  Only a few are accessible to the public.  Lighthouses in Sweden mostly belong to Swedish Maritime Organization, and many of the major lighthouses have guided tours that can be arranged. I got excited when I spotted this small lighthouse ashore. I took a couple of snapshots before they vanished away.  Coming back to the pier, I had a second chance to glance at it and again took some photos. Libertus Lighthouse is located in the urban area of Stockholm, near a junction point where ships channel.  It was established in 1931 and still active.   It was amazing that this small lighthouse serves its purpose to the voyagers of the Stockholm archipelago.  I saw small and medium-size boats and big cruises pass by....

Traveling to Norway, it is interesting to know about Oslo fjord. The Norwegian term "fjord" is a wide range of waterways. And Oslo fjord is an inlet in the south-east of Norway.  It is part of the Skagerrak strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea.   I was lucky to have visited Norway in the summertime of 2019 when I could afford to do some outdoor activity. My sightseeing boat tour made me discovered three lighthouses.  It was a great adventure. One of these lighthouses is the Dyna Lighthouse.   Dyna Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse on a reef in the Oslo fjord in the municipality of Oslo, Norway.  It's a wooden house, constructed in 1875 and was automated in 1972.  The lantern is in one corner of the keeper's house. It was built on a rock and accessible only by boat. The lighthouse is active.  It is surrounded by a stone seawall and looks like a ship sailing down the Oslo fjord. A beautiful landmark in Oslo's waterway painted...

My travel to Sweden made me realized that I am missing something about lighthouses.   I've seen my first lightvessel in Stockholm. The Finngrundet Lightvessel. So what is really a lightvessel?  It is a ship that acts as a lighthouse.  They are used in waters that are too deep or unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Record says that the first lightvessel was off the Nore sandbank shore at the River Thames' mouth in England.  It was invented by Robert Hamblin in 1734.   The lightvessel became obsolete, and the construction techniques of the lighthouse advanced through the years.   The Finngrundet Lightvessel was active for 66 years, from 1903 to 1969. And in 1970, it was donated to the National Maritime History Museum (Vasa Museum), where it has been on display.  I did a 2-hour sightseeing boat tour in Stockholm.  It was a fantastic day . . . the sun was shining, the breeze was perfect, and the ma...