Jugendstil

And that's, that's, I mean, yeah, in, in Belgium as well you have this tradition of, uh, absurdism in, in every, in every, yeah, in every type of, uh, of art.

And, and, and also, also, like for instance, if I go m- may- maybe more away from, from literature, but to architecture as well, in Belgium you have a lot of, uh, Jugendstil, uh, Art Nouveau, and, and in, in Czech Republic you have, you have that as well.

But so, um, in lit- in, in, in literature, my feeling is that you have, in, in Czech literature, these, these authors or these characters in the books that don't take themselves too seriously.

And, and, and I think it's, it's probably a typical thing for a relatively smaller country like the Czech Republic or Belgium, or even like for instance in, in Irish li- uh, um, literature you will find that as well, a lot of humor.

The German Emperor Wilhelm II immediately ordered relief aid.

With practical support from the Germans, the city was completely rebuilt in Jugendstil, a popular architectural style of the day.

The bird island of Runde is located only a few kilometers from Alesund.

The island's trademark is the Atlantic puffin.

It's much more flowing.

That's because that era you have Art Nouveau and Jugendstil and those, and, and those styles which bec-

Influences

... which became much more flowing.

What stands before me now, with its gables, turrets, and spires rising from the islands, is the result of a rebuild that happened within a few years, partly aided after Kaiser Wilhelm II responded to the disaster.

The style is Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, and it gives the town a dreamlike quality, as if the buildings themselves are trying to grow out of the rock like coral.

I walk out into the street, pulling my collar up, and head toward the youth hostel area, passing the old Molja warehouse quarter where the timber houses still hold their shape despite the damp.

This is one of the oldest parts of the town, a millennium site that holds the Fisheries Museum, and I think about how many generations of fishermen have walked these same stones, drying klippfisk in the cold northern air.

[rain pouring] After descending, I walk across the Brosundet strait to Nørvøya, the main residential island opposite Aspøya.

The park, Byparken, is green and damp, filled with families pushing strollers and dogs shaking off water.

I pass the Jugendstilsenteret, the Art Nouveau center housed in the former Swan Pharmacy, and think about visiting it tomorrow.

It tells the story of the fire and the rebuild, and I want to understand the details better, to see the plans and the photographs.