At only 5.2 miles long, Norway's Atlantic Road punches way above its weight when it comes to architectural beauty and engineering skill. The road runs across an archipelago of partially inhabited islands and skerries. It is a composite of roadways, bridges, and causeways that is not so much the civil engineers' conquering accomplishment as it is an artistic expression. I think of it as a sculpture that doubles as a road against the backdrop of the ocean. The road is so unique that it was incorporated into the newest James Bond movie "No Time to Die". High winds and Atlantic storms sometimes shut down this road as it struggles to coexist with the sea. Sandy and I rode an excursion bus along this road today.
As a part of the excursion we visited a stave church. Stave churches are an architectural treasure of Norway. They are called stave churches because of tall specifically grown vertical timbers that are the basis for their structural support. But what is so recognizable is the heavily tarred very ornate medieval churches that seem half Christian church and half viking pagan. On the inside I felt as if I was on the inside of a upside down wooden ship hull. The docent agreed with me and said that the part of the church from the altar back was referred to as the ship.
We stopped at a fun restaurant that specialized in Klippfisk, (dried, salted, cod). Their favorite way to serve it was in big tureens full of a soup they called bacalao. They said it was inspired by the Portuguese. It was similar to Portuguese cataplan. I enjoyed it, including the cod.
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