J’ai dormi comme un loir ! Le bateau voisin est parti à 6 h et je n’ai rien entendu. Pourtant ils ont démarré le moteur, parlé, largué les amarres, fait pas mal de bruit. Jens, lui, s’est réveillé.
Le temps est très beau aujourd’hui aussi. On a de la chance. Mais il ne fait pas chaud. Je retourne parler avec Louise, une des propriétaires du « Spiders web », celle qui parle Français. Elles sont trois femmes à gérer le magasin. Louise est anglaise mais habite a Lerwick depuis 35 ans. Maintenant elle passe 4 mois ici et le reste de l’année en Nouvelle Zélande. Elle sait beaucoup de choses sur le tricot traditionnel des Shetland. Ce ne sont pas seulement des pulls, chaussettes, bonnets, gants mais aussi des châles, très fins. On dirait de la dentelle mais c’est de la laine. Un châle carré de 1 m de côté peut passer dans une bague. Les couleurs sont nombreuses dues aux nuances de la laine et aux colorants naturels : oignons, lichen, plantes …
Je fais des photos de passages étroits entre les maisons et des quelques arbres qui poussent ici. Ils ne peuvent pousser que bien protégés entre des maisons ou des murs. Mais une plante qui se plait ici est le fuchsia. Il y en a beaucoup et ils ont plusieurs mètres. Sinon, dans les jardins, on retrouve les mêmes plantes que sur la côte ouest de Norvège : digitales, ancolies, lupins, hesperis matrionalis, nattfiol en Norvégien (je ne me rappelle pas le nom en Français, quelque chose avec dames), géraniums et même des roses.
Quand je rentre au bateau Jens est avec Edward, Monsieur Fischer Association. Ils partent ensemble acheter des tables de marée. Je vais pendant ce temps visiter un ex-bateau de pêche norvégien, de Måløy. Il est retraité comme pêcheur et sert de bateau d’exposition. Il s’appelle le Nybakk, a 50 ans et est le dernier bateau de pêche en bois construit en Norvège. Il abrite deux expositions en ce moment : moutons sauvages en Norvège et utilisation de la laine ; et production de meules de pierre autrefois en Norvège. On a retrouvé de nombreuses traces de la production de meules à un endroit appelé Hyllestad, un peu au nord de Bergen. Et ces meules étaient exportées dans toute l’Europe. C’était une vraie industrie. La production a duré plusieurs siècles, de 700 à 1400 de notre ère. Intéressant.
Lunch au bateau, journal et graaaande promenade en vélo vers Scalloway, c'est-à-dire qu’on traverse la « Main Land », l’ile principale des Shetland où est situé Lerwick. Lerwick est à l’est et Scalloway à l’ouest. La route monte, monte et on a le vent dans le nez. Paysage de collines, herbes, moutons, poneys et … lapins. Nous redescendons vers Scalloway. C’est là que les résistants norvégiens, pendant la guerre, avaient établi un vrai circuit côte ouest de Norvège-Shetland avec des bateaux de pêche chargés de gens qui se sauvaient de l’occupation allemande dans un sens et d’armes, de munitions, de radios dans l’autre sens. Cela a été très important. Ils naviguaient surtout la nuit et par mauvais temps pour éviter les contrôles allemands. Certains bateaux ne sont jamais arrivés et un monument à leur mémoire est érigé à Scalloway. Des jeunes gars de 21, 23 ans … Le nom donné à cette opération est « Shetland Bus », je ne sais pas si c’est pour rendre hommage à leur régularité. Sinon nous voyons les ruines d’un château. Scalloway était la capitale des Shetland autrefois mais est maintenant un petit village tranquille.
En revenant nous passons par une autre route dans une vallée entre deux collines. Nous passons à Tingwall, l’endroit où les Vikings avaient un lieu de réunion pour prendre des décisions communes. Ils appliquaient, apparemment, une sorte de démocratie. Il ne reste plus rien maintenant mais on voit le lieu, une petite presqu’ile au milieu d’un loch.
Nous montons, montons mais cette fois nous avons le vent dans le dos. Il fait beau mais il y a toujours du vent ici, force 3-4. Nous nous arrêtons pour regarder des chiens de berger diriger un troupeau de moutons d’un pré à un autre. Beau travail.
Nous longeons un golf bien vert. Et enfin, une grande et longue descente vers Lerwick. Nous avons fait 35 km en vélo. Diner de côtes d’agneau et de saucisses locales très bonnes.
Fatigués et contents.
I slept like a log! The boat next to us left at 6 am and I heard nothing. Yet they started the engine, spoke, cast off, did a lot of noise. Jens has awakened.
The weather is beautiful today too. We are lucky. But it's not very warm. I return to speak with Louise, one of the owners of the "Spiders Web", the one that speaks French. Three women manage the shop together. Louise is English but has been living in Lerwick for 35 years. Now she spends four months here and the rest of the year in New Zealand. She knows a lot about traditional Shetland knitting. They made not only sweaters, socks, hats, gloves but shawls as well. They are very delicate, they looks like lace but it's wool. A square shawl, measuring 1 m on each side can pass through a ring. The colors are due to many shades of wool and natural dyes: onions, lichen, plants ...
I make pictures of narrow passages between houses and of the few trees growing here. They can grow only when well protected between houses or walls. But a plant that grows well here is the fuchsia. There are many and they are several meters high. They are also pruned and used as hedges. Otherwise, in the gardens, we find the same plants as on the west coast of Norway: digital, columbines, lupines hesperis matrionalis, (nattfiol in Norwegian), irises, lilium, geraniums and even roses.
When I go to the boat Jens is with Edward, Mr. Fischer Association. They leave together to buy tide tables. During this time I visit a former Norwegian fishing boat from Måløy. She is retired and serves as an exposition boat now. She is called Nybakk, is 50 years old and is the last wooden fishing boat built in Norway. It houses two exhibitions at the moment: wild sheep in Norway and the use of their wool (but not knitting), and production of millstones in Norway. Many millstones were produced at a place called Hyllestad, just north of Bergen. And these millstones were exported to the whole of Europe. It was a real industry. The production lasted for several centuries, from 700 to 1400 AD. Interesting.
Lunch at the boat, newspaper and a looong bike ride to Scalloway, that is to say all across "Main Land", the main island of Shetland where Lerwick is located. Lerwick is on the east side and Scalloway on the west side. The road rises up and , up and we had the wind against us. Landscape of hills, grass, sheep, ponies and rabbits .... We descend to Scalloway. This is where the Norwegian resistance during the war, had established a real circuit, from the west coast of Norway to Shetland using fishing boats loaded with people who fled the German occupation in one direction and weapons, ammunition and radios in the other direction. It was very important. They sailed mostly at night and in bad weather to prevent German control. Some ships never arrived and a monument to their memory was erected in Scalloway. Young guys 21, 23 ... The name given to this is "Shetland Bus", I do not know if it's to pay tribute to their regularity. Otherwise we see the ruins of a castle. Scalloway was the capital of Shetland in the old days but is now a quiet village.
On the way back we take another road in a valley between two hills. We see Tingwall, where the Vikings had a meeting place for making common decisions. They applied, apparently, a kind of democracy. There is nothing left now but we see the place, a small peninsula in the middle of a loch.
We climb, climb but this time we have the wind back. Even when the weather is nice here, it is always blowing, force 3-4. We stop to watch sheep dogs leading a flock of sheep from a meadow to another. Nice work.
We see a golf course, green. And finally, a great and long descent to Lerwick. We have done 35 km cycling today.
The weather is beautiful today too. We are lucky. But it's not very warm. I return to speak with Louise, one of the owners of the "Spiders Web", the one that speaks French. Three women manage the shop together. Louise is English but has been living in Lerwick for 35 years. Now she spends four months here and the rest of the year in New Zealand. She knows a lot about traditional Shetland knitting. They made not only sweaters, socks, hats, gloves but shawls as well. They are very delicate, they looks like lace but it's wool. A square shawl, measuring 1 m on each side can pass through a ring. The colors are due to many shades of wool and natural dyes: onions, lichen, plants ...
I make pictures of narrow passages between houses and of the few trees growing here. They can grow only when well protected between houses or walls. But a plant that grows well here is the fuchsia. There are many and they are several meters high. They are also pruned and used as hedges. Otherwise, in the gardens, we find the same plants as on the west coast of Norway: digital, columbines, lupines hesperis matrionalis, (nattfiol in Norwegian), irises, lilium, geraniums and even roses.
When I go to the boat Jens is with Edward, Mr. Fischer Association. They leave together to buy tide tables. During this time I visit a former Norwegian fishing boat from Måløy. She is retired and serves as an exposition boat now. She is called Nybakk, is 50 years old and is the last wooden fishing boat built in Norway. It houses two exhibitions at the moment: wild sheep in Norway and the use of their wool (but not knitting), and production of millstones in Norway. Many millstones were produced at a place called Hyllestad, just north of Bergen. And these millstones were exported to the whole of Europe. It was a real industry. The production lasted for several centuries, from 700 to 1400 AD. Interesting.
Lunch at the boat, newspaper and a looong bike ride to Scalloway, that is to say all across "Main Land", the main island of Shetland where Lerwick is located. Lerwick is on the east side and Scalloway on the west side. The road rises up and , up and we had the wind against us. Landscape of hills, grass, sheep, ponies and rabbits .... We descend to Scalloway. This is where the Norwegian resistance during the war, had established a real circuit, from the west coast of Norway to Shetland using fishing boats loaded with people who fled the German occupation in one direction and weapons, ammunition and radios in the other direction. It was very important. They sailed mostly at night and in bad weather to prevent German control. Some ships never arrived and a monument to their memory was erected in Scalloway. Young guys 21, 23 ... The name given to this is "Shetland Bus", I do not know if it's to pay tribute to their regularity. Otherwise we see the ruins of a castle. Scalloway was the capital of Shetland in the old days but is now a quiet village.
On the way back we take another road in a valley between two hills. We see Tingwall, where the Vikings had a meeting place for making common decisions. They applied, apparently, a kind of democracy. There is nothing left now but we see the place, a small peninsula in the middle of a loch.
We climb, climb but this time we have the wind back. Even when the weather is nice here, it is always blowing, force 3-4. We stop to watch sheep dogs leading a flock of sheep from a meadow to another. Nice work.
We see a golf course, green. And finally, a great and long descent to Lerwick. We have done 35 km cycling today.
Dinner lamb chops and local sausages, very good.Tired and happy.
Un arbre
A tree
Fuchsia
Nybakk
Une meule de pierre d'Hyllestad
A millstone from Hyllestad
Edward sur son Fisher 25
Edward on his Fisher 25
Des ponies
Le chateau de Scalloway
Scalloway castle
De la tourbe qui sèche
Peat blocks, drying
Motif de tricot, Shetland
Knitting pattern, Shetland
35 km! Impressionnant!
SvarSlett