I'm glad that I travelled on invitation from Kit- Fai and Arne Naess. I spent the last week of October in Norway appreciating the long heritage and harmonious blending with nature that are written through the Norsk landscape in its artifacts, history and mythology. Oslo is a subtle blend of ancient history with modern energy and forms. Yet they retain their older, more secure ties with the land in buildings, artifacts and families dwelling centuries in specific places. It is impressive to stand on farms, such as those of my cousins', realizing that the valleys have been farmed for thousands of years.
Farms fit into the landscape.
They even enhance it, add greater diversity. The valley in which my cousins dwell was relatively isolated until the mid-19th century. Even now it is remote. It still has wild reindeer herds on its adjacent higher plateaus. The glaciers left it about 10,000 years ago.