Brygga of Tønsberg

Early morning in Höganäs flying club; Flemming volunteered to bike to the nearest ICA (our favourite supermarket chain in Sweden) and get us some breakfast:

We were otherwise prepared, all flight plans acknowledged, PPR granted, and we took off quickly after finishing our meal.
Sweden is oftenmost endless forests and beautiful lakes, always so pretty to fly over:

After approx. 2.5 hours we reached Strömstad/Näsinge airfield, and on left downwind I realised the airfield was surrounded by quite high hills. I wanted to have a nice long approach (it was my first time landing there), so I decided to fly futher to the boarder with Norway and position myself for a long final. Flemming took this photo, illustrating how close we were to Norway:

In Näsinge, Johannes – pilot from the club – welcomed us in. He made coffee and even brought cardamombullar (cinnamon buns, my favourite Swedish pastry), which we enjoyed in front of the hangar:

Johannes had also brought fuel for my Aeroprakt. After the break, Flemming refuelled with the help from Johannes, and I cleaned the aeroplane – it was almost completely covered in myriads dead flies we met in the air…

Soon we were on our way to Jarlsberg in Norway!

The flight was short and easy, but when we reached Torp, the air traffic controller asked us to wait outside controlled airspace.

Jarlsberg airport is located inside the Torp control zone, and we had to wait to get permission to land. We didn’t mind at all, and used our waiting time for flying over Tønsberg and taking nice pictures:

Jarlsberg airport is a busy place – there are many flights (and they also wait for permissions to take-off and land), military flights training in Torp with wild aerobatics, skydiving club with about 800 members (can you imagine?!). So when we finally got permission to go on landing, there was that DHC-6-200 Twin Otter with a bunch of skydivers taking off (with drop off 10 min later), and a couple of General Aviation aeroplanes in the landing pattern. I was the closest one to the airfield, and went first for landing, after the departing skydivers. When I was backtracking to taxiway, the next landing aeroplane was already on touch-down. All were mindful of others, well-communicating, and the runway – long. We parked on the grass, tied down my OY-9797, and watched the landing skydivers for a while.

A pilot from the Jarlsberg flying club kindly offered us a lift to Tønsberg where we were going to stay. When Flemming and I arrived to our place, we couldn’t believe our eyes – were we really going to stay in that enchanting old villa? I double-checked the address and yes, indeed, it was correct:

It was only a small apartment we rented, but the property was so charming, and so nicely located! We left our bags, and went out – Brygga, the lovely seaside promenade with restaurants, boats, people – was just a hundred metres away:

Flemming adored the sculpture of a young woman! We both thought the posture was probably a bit sexy, but most of us love looking at the David sculpture by Michelangelo, so why not a young nude woman with spread thighs.

Tønsberg is the oldest town in Norway. Founded approx. AD 871, it quickly became an important trading centre. In the 13th century, King Håkon Håkonsson built his Tønsberghus castle there. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Tønsberg became a major port and one of Norway’s major shipping and whaling centres.

The first thing we saw on Brygga was D/S Kysten – Norway’s oldest and most original steam powered coastal vessel:

Built in 1909, she was operating the route Trondheim – Namsos.  The trip had 45 calls and took almost two days to complete (around 300 km). The ship was lavish and had modern solutions such as electricity (own generator). There were mail cabin, 1st and 2nd class, ladies’ lounge, men’s lounge, smoking lounge. In addition, the captain’s and crew’s cabins, galley and plenty of space to transport goods. The boat sank after a serious grounding in 1926, and was later raised and restored. In 2019, DS Kysten embarked on the next chapter of its long and eventful life, with daily tourist sailings from the pier in Tønsberg during the short summer period.

Flemming and I hoped very much to go on a sailing tour with Kysten, but – though it was sunny and +15C, people were wearing light and colourful summer clothers – it wasn’t sailing yet.

The cannon exhibited in front of the sailors’ assosiation was produced in 1897. It was used for killing small whales, its inscription read:

Whale products were in high demand during 18th and 19th centuries. The whale oil was used to fuel lamps, lubrication in machinery, for soap and candles production. Meat – in pet food, and served to tourists as “traditional” dish.

The world’s most important discovery from the Viking era (according to the tourist information of the town) was made just outside Tønsberg in 1904 – the famous Oseberg viking ship. Saga Oseberg is the exact replica of the original one, built with the tools and methods identical to the ones used during the construction in the Viking times:

A box for bike parking on the photo below, for 10 NOK/12 hours. One has to install a free app, and – use the storage room. I have no opinion whether it is good or not, cheap or useless, the bikers might tell. Someone probably has a very expensive bike, and then safe storage is very welcome.

There were many interesting things on Brygga, among others – an open workshop where a group of skilled people was creating a replica of another viking ship:

After walking there for some time and reading lots of fascinating historical information, Flemming and I wanted to have a break. We opted for a cup of coffee, and got a sunny table at the Foyn restaurant. Waiting for the waiter, we got inspired by many people having a drink – so we changed our mind and ordered drinks insted of coffee. We can drink coffee at home, after all. We were in Tønsberg!

It was so relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable to sit in the sun, we decided to stay for dinner. And then our first day in Tønsberg was over. We looked forward to the day ahead, where we had planned to see more of the town.