14-May-2008 -- This summer we spent some time sailing, as we usually do, but we had planned a special end to the vacation: We would cross the Oslo fjord from Hvaler on the east side over to Stavern on the west side.

This was because my cousin Nils Mathisen was going to accompany Louis Jacoby at Galeiscenen, a summertime only concert hall in the former (sail era) navy base.

Our sailing plans were cut short though due to heavy winds being forecast in the area, so we had to leave the boat in Viker on Asmaløy, just a few km north of 59°N 11°E, and make a car trip instead, taking the ferry across the fjord further north, between Moss and Horten.

While on the ferry the wind started to pick up, and we saw several kite surfers having a very good time!

After getting ashore in Horten we drove the new highway south past Tønsberg and Sandefjord, then left E18 at Larvik where we had about 10 minutes driving to the point I could park the car and run up to the confluence.

When I first visited this point, in January 2000, it was the first confluence visit in Scandinavia, and before the end of intentional GPS errors. I have since been back in summertime (April 2002), but since then we have gotten EGNOS signals here in Europe, so I wanted to go back and see if I could get an even more precise determination of where the actual point is located.

The top of the hill where the point is located is split into several parts by vegetation-filled ravines, something I had forgotten in the six years since my last visit.

After about 10 minutes I did manage to get to the exact spot, and GPS reception was fortunately very good, with 11 satellites including EGNOS signals. I took several series of photos, a couple of them have been combined into panoramas.

Afterwards I ran back to the car where my wife was waiting, then drove down to Stavern and a quick dip in the ocean to clean up before getting dressed for the concert. Louis is a good writer, of both song lyrics and short stories, and Nils is probably one of the best musicians in the country. The combination was excellent, just like the last time we saw them together two years ago.

This Youtube movie show several clips from a previous Jacoby concert (Norwegian only!):