Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Day before Advent along Randers Fjord






                                                                          
 
It's now the last Saturday in November, and tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent. The weather is dark and gloomy with a sun peeping out for seconds once in a while. Maybe the sun is tired. Better luck in the spring. It's a very small tour on this day, and if you don't mind we'll  pay a short visit to a few churches in the Randers district. I had to control some old church photos. When we pass the town of Randers, a new building  lies close to the road, it's an Elvis Presley Museum. It's called Graceland, but I suppose the real Graceland is much bigger. They have placed Santa Claus' reindeers outside, but where is Santa?
Lem church










There are many medieval churches in this area, most of them built in the Romanesque period but with Gothic towers. Lem church has got a pretty church bell from 1547 and other details like the fine stone portal with a bow. It's almost like a Christmas band! The church was locked - nearly all churches are closed in the week-end, except at service-time of course, but I only had to look at some details on the outside walls.

 - coming to Linde village.

The next stop was close by in the village of Linde. The gravestone with cross inserted in the church wall  is Romanesque. Upon the church yard is a crooky tree and a tree with yellow paradise apples, and in a corner was a funny Christmas decoration, some "shoes" plant with house leek.  Along the church dike was a pretty hedge of holly trees with glossy leaves and lots of red berries. A very suitable tree for this time of the year.
























In the village Mellerup was a small church without a steeple, and it was open. It's a little simple church without much ornament. There is a special Gothic crucifix above the triumph arch, called the Mellerup crucifix.
The pulpit and sounding board are Renaissance from 1634, and above the granite baptismal font was an Advent's wreath with purple bands, a colour which is a part of church traditions. The church was ready for the first Sunday of Advent, and it would probably be decorated with spruce and candles tomorrow. But outside along the dike are some trees I find very prettty, the pollards. Like an ink drawing. There are not many left by now.
The Gothic Mellerup crucifix
Mellerup church bell from Middle Ages.





A tiny ferry called Ragna

Biking the Greyhounds


We drove down to Mellerup fjord, which is a part of Randers fjord,  to take a coffee break, but it was extremely cold with a very cold wind. The weather people on TV had been threatening us with storm and the sky was black in the horizon. A cyclist passed us with two beautiful dogs, greyhounds, a little one and a big one. The little one was a greyhound-child I suppose. Here is a tiny, tiny  ferry called Ragna, which is crossing the fjord in a few minutes. In summer this is quite a different place, well, but so is everything. In a distance along the fjord is a long plateau. Here lie a long row of houses, a part of the village Mellerup, they've got a fine view over the fjord, but it is an icy cold pleasure today!

On our way home we passed a church in Albæk, also Romanesque and Gothic, amazing how many churches in this district. People will visit them in December for the Advent's service and the Christmas service, especially on Christmas Eve. Or else the churches suffer from "emptyness."  I'm not a church goer myself, but I would be sorry if some of them are abandoned. I hope the medieval churches will be allowed to stay - they are an important part of our history.


Close to Randers fjord lies the manor Støvringgård with a history from the 1300s. The present building is from the 1500s. For a period it was a kloster for ladies of aristocracy, but it has now rented apartments for common people, who are chosen by the bishop, so I guess the residents are not so common after all.

                              

There was a sudden sunlight across the landscape, but suddenly it became darker, the wind blew up and the November day ended with dark drifting clouds.









photo Randers fjord district 26 November 2011: grethe bachmann

10 comments:

Gerry Snape said...

the candle ring is just so Danish...
we had a bit of that fierce storm this way as well...trees blown down etc.

Wanda..... said...

Beautiful countryside along the road to the village of Linde. I was very surprised to see an Elvis
Presley Museum in Randers, that's even modeled after Graceland.

Love the photo of the stately old tree.

Cheryl Kohan said...

What a nice tour, Grethe! Such a peaceful countryside.

I'm amazed that there's an Elvis Presley museum! Wow! I've been to the "real" Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and it's really not very big. It was interesting...like a step back in time.

Michael and Hanne said...

Thank you for the tour!

Thyra said...

Hej Gerry, I've just heard on the news that it was the worst storm in 6 years. One of the large windmills fell over in North Jutland, and they are usually very strong.

Hej Wanda, a guy in Randers had collected Elvis Presley stuff since he was a kid - and it was such a large and fine collection that there was enough for a museum. So they built this house.

I like "crippled" trees! ´)


Hej Cheryl, I have not seen the museum inside. They call it an "event museum". I've just found a link. If you google: Elvis Presley Randers, then there is a website about it and you can choose American. I was amazed to see the website, I had imagined an "old-fashioned" museum!

Cheers to all of you!
Grethe ´)

Kittie Howard said...

In summer this is quite a different place, well, but so is everything.

Grethe, I love this sentence. Yesterday, the weather was warm and sunny. During the night, cold rain and winds moved in. Everything looks so different.

The crucifix is very interesting. I believe there is a crucifix in a museum in the restored village near Aarhus that is also unique -- it's been several years now, but I believe there are three arms.

Love that crooked tree...what stories it could tell. Sorry about the windmill toppling over.

Out on the prairie said...

Some of the area land looks like here. I liked the crooked tree, I wonder if they helped the shape.

Thyra said...

Hej Michael and Hanne, you came in here after my answer! But thank you very much for your interest! And I hope your Christmas fever is not too high!

Hej Kittie! It is so nice to see you again! The crucifix might be the Tirstrup crucifix, which is unique, but I'm not sure. I don't know which village you mean.
Yes, those trees fascinate me too. Also the poplars. They are so pretty without leaves. See you soon.

Hello Steve, you also like such crooked trees. Maybe the gardener has done something, cut it when it was young. It's like a big Bonsai tree.

Cheers to you!
Grethe `)

Marilyn & Jeff said...

I love your farewell to November photos, I especially love the photo with five trees on the right of the road. I love all trees in all seasons but I think they look wonderful in the winter with their bare bones showing.

Thyra said...

Thank you Marilyn, I have put the poplar photo in the header. It's more November than the other. Yes, I love trees in winter too, when they take a break and show their beautiful silhouettes. And we can look forward to spring where they show us another pretty figure.
Cheers
Grethe´)