17th May in Kristiansand

Every major city in Norway has Norwegian constitution day celebrations. This takes place on the 17th of May and luckily the sun was shining this year. 

There are many different places to see the celebrations in Kristiansand but most go into the city. I live out near the Kristiansand airport and that is where my children take part in the march.

There are tractors, old military cars, bands, kids parade and dancing. Traffic is blocked off by the police on motorcycles, so please try and avoid this area next year if you plan on going in that direction.

At approximately 11:30am the parade started and the kids started to sing their songs. There is actually a competition between all of the participants. 

The class that sings the best gets a prize at the end, so there were some over-enthuisiasted singing :)

The parade ended at the airport military barracks where there were barbeques and everyone had a chance to relax and socialise.

Afterwards, I took a little trip into the city with one of my sons to see the parade. 

We got there at about 5:30pm which was a little late. We could not get near the parade because there were so many people.

So in the meantime, I walked around and got some pictures of the locals.

Seen in Kongens gate.

Seen in Markens gate

Seen in Dronningens gate

Seen outside the church.

See you at the 17th of May celebrations next year in 2016!!!

Adam Read

Trip to Ravnedalen Kristiansand

Ravnedalen is a park near the city centre of Kristiansand in Southern Norway.

During the summer months, it is a very popular destination for locals to have a meal or listen to some music.

If you stop a local in the street and ask " where is a good place to get a hamburger" the answer will usually be Cafe Generalen in Ravnedalen. 

Of course there are other restaurants in Kristiansand where you can get a good burger, but on a nice sunny day -Ravnedalen is the place to go.

My wife and I decided to take the kids there on a Sunday to try this famous burger. Well actually, there are a few different varieties of this burger, but I decided to go for the "Cafe Generalen burger" - as it is written on the menu.

It did not disappoint.

One thing to keep in mind is that there can be long queues and a long waiting time if there are many people, so a good idea is to get a table, order your food and go for a walk. They can even send you a sms when your food is ready.

The sun was shining and  the birds and swans were out in full force.

There is a little track where you can see the city from the top.
One of my boys decided to see how cold the water was - and in early May, it is very cold!

There was a couple sitting by the water so I went over and did a little Humans of Kristiansand interview with them.

Lets not forget the flowers. My son Jet decided to pick some for his mother.

As you might have guesses, it is also a very romantic spot. I spoke to a couple that were on their first date and saw some trees have " I love" words written on them.

More information about Ravnedalen can be found here.

Adam Read Visit Sørlandet