Badass Giant Viking Swords Rammed Into Rocks on the Fjord

Today we rode a local bus to see some badass Viking Sword Art. True, it isn't as badass as the Viking you see here so temper your expectations. 

Just kidding!  This is way more badass!  Sverd i fjell is a 32 foot bronze "statue" depicting 3 Viking Swords rammed into the rock of a hill next to the fjord. 

Copied straight from Wikipedia (don't worry, I just donated to them). 

"They commemorate the historic Battle of Hafrsfjord which took place there in the year 872, when King Harald Fairhair gathered all of Norway under one crown."

There was a cool trail along the fjord that we walked after viewing the statue. 

Donna dug around in some seaweed and found a Sea Potato, a species of Sea Urchin. 

We saw some Eurasian Oyster Catchers. I feel this name is a little hyperbolic. Catching the oysters isn't the hardest part of eating them. They should be called Oyster Pickeruppers. 

We saw this art, whatever it is. I can't find it on Wikipedia. 

Its always a good time for a selfie!

After our walk we took a different bus back and then walked around the downtown area. 

More Viking art on the bus ride back. 

Scavanger is known for its street art. 

This morning a cruise ship pulled in and dumped 4000+ passengers into our (yes we have only been here 2 days and it's ours now) little downtown. 

This is the view from our room before the ship came in. 

Here is our view now. 

The Britannia is HUGE!  Check this out!

It's literally taller than all of the buildings around it and it's right alongside the old part of town. It's impressive to say the least. 

Now we are chilling in our room watching YouTube videos about The Cruise Ship Britannia while we wait for dinner to start. 

A Walk Around Echo Park Lake

 Los Angeles, CA

We took a walk

Echo Park Entrance

Today was a day where we had no plans listed on our calendar.  We slept in, made coffee, blogged, and lounged.  We had some leftovers for lunch and then decided to walk to Echo Park.  It's about a mile from us and a mile around so we were committed to a 2 mile walk.

The view of the park on the approach

Entering Echo Park

There were quite a few more people in the park on a Tuesday at 1pm than I would have thought.  Maybe people taking late lunches, maybe people "working from home".  Francis got to meet a few nice dogs and we met a few nice dog owners as well.  When we got to the lake I saw a Black-crowned Night Heron fly into the reeds so I started a bird list.  I haven't done much birding in LA County so I figured this would be a new bird and I was right.  I picked up 3 new birds for LA County, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Brewer's Blackbird, and Barn Swallow.  

One bird that we saw that wasn't new was the Canada Goose.  It's breeding season so we saw probably 100 in different stages.  

We were carful not to get goosed

Echo Park was founded in 1892.  In addition to being here during Canada Goose Breeding Season, we are also here for the Lotus Bloom! The bloom is celebrated with a festival that is in its 41st year.  The festival celebrates the people and cultures of Asia and The Pacific Islands.  

A few different varieties of Water Plants

Water Lillies

The Bloom!

An interoperative sign

Francis isn't really in a headlock,
it just looks that way

We continued our walk around the lake looking at birds and seeing the sights.  Another thing Echo Park Lake is known for is their Swan Peddle Boats.

The boats lined up and ready to go

We are still considering if this is something
we want to pay for. Donna pointed out that it's
cheaper per person than a beer at a comedy show

The last sight for us to see was the WPA era statue.  The Queen of the Angles or Lady of the Lake as it is affectionately called stands with its back towards Downtown Los Angeles.  

The Lady, a Swan Boat, The Fountain,
and DTLA in one shot

Francis sniffing around the statue's plaque

After our walk we went home and I took a nap because I can!  Later we had Happy Hour and then made dinner.  We used up all of the ingredients we bought at Numero Uno Market the other day.  Black beans, Soyrizo, potato, and avocado make a nice bowl.

It's fun to go out to eat but making food at home
is fun and it really helps save on money.

Last night we went to a comedy show.  Check it out here.