Tips for an active Easter
Happy Easter to all. Even though many restrictions are in place in Agder due to coronavirus, there is much to do in our campus towns. Nice but cold weather is ideal for activities. Below you can find coronavirus advice, and further down, tips for an active holiday close to home.
This article is more than two years old, and may contain outdated information.
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The government asks us to avoid travel during the break due to the spread of mutated coronavirus strains.
We are also told to avoid contact with too many people. But that doesn’t mean we have to resign ourselves to sitting on the sofa.
People who do not head up to their mountain cabin often choose to greet the spring along the coast, coronavirus or not. The weather forecast suggests that the days from Maundy Thursday will be nice.
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Campus will be open for students
The main entrances at Campus Grimstad and Campus Kristiansand will be open round the clock if you have a student or employee card.
Those who want to study for their exams can do that in Gata in Grimstad or in Vilhelm Krag’s hall (Vrimlehallen) in Kristiansand. Just make sure you maintain two metres from others, and you can also use a face mask. Remember to swipe your card at the entrance when entering the building to help ease contact tracing should that become necessary – swipe your card and enter the code. Please swipe your card even if someone has just opened the door ahead of you.
You should download the Smittestopp app from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health if you haven’t already done so. The app will be in use throughout the pandemic.
Opening hours, reading rooms and library
Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 March – normal opening hours.
Wednesday 31 March: Reading rooms and library close at 12:00. Doors will be locked at 13:00.
All cafeterias and kiosks will be closed during the Easter week.
Important phone numbers:
The student phone – an offer from SiA when you need someone to talk to
Helplines – someone to talk to when you are struggling
UiA contingency telephone - for situations which need a quick response
Infection control measures and regulations:
Advice and information from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Grimstad municipality follows the national guidelines and recommendations.
Kristiansand municipality follows the national guidelines and recommendations with some additional local measures.
Easter egg with Corona protection? (Illustration: Colourbox)
- Organised activities outdoors for adults above the age of 20 will be limited to a maximum of 20 people maintaining a 2-metre distance.
- No more than 5 guests are allowed at private gatherings.
- ‘Waiting quarantine’ is in force while waiting for your test results or the test results of close contacts.
- Gyms are closed. Only medically necessary rehabilitation, treatment, and training on referral from medical personnel is open to smaller groups of maximum 5 people.
Lower and upper secondary schools in Kristiansand will be at red level the week after Easter.
Activities
Even though all indoors events have been cancelled, there are other options. Kristiansand Zoo remains open, and with fewer people around it may be easier to see the animals in their enclosures. And spring is also the time when baby animals are born.
Nature has much to offer. There are countless forest and coast trails to explore, some also with cultural elements – such as walking in Hamsun’s footsteps, ‘on overgrown paths’, in Grimstad.
SiA recommends some activities and has created a Facebook group for students who will be staying over Easter.
Global lounge offers several activities - more to come:
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Together with the rest of my team at the Global Lounge, we have planned a variety of Easter events for our international students, to keep them entertained and busier during the holiday period, says Alisha Jane Mahtani Williams.
On Monday, the 29th, we are hosting a virtual Tea Party, via Zoom. Gabby will be making some cookies on camera, and the students are very welcome to join us (if they want) and bake too! We have posted all of the information on this Facebook event, as well as the recipe: https://fb.me/e/1eTMr6xsw
On Wednesday, the 31st, we are hosting a virtual DIY cress egg workshop. During the workshop, we will be planting the cress together on camera. We have bought seeds for the students, and they can come and pick them up from us today or next week. You can find a picture of what we are making on the following link, as well as more information on the event: https://fb.me/e/5qo4i6csN
Last but not least, we are having a Game Night event, on Friday the 3rd, in which we will play some online games together, and offer some prizes to the lucky winners. As usual, all the event information can be found here: https://fb.me/e/1hZwslq9t.
Also – check out the Global lounge newsletter:
Global Lounge newsletter for Week 12 & 13Kristiansand:
Visit Sørlandet: Things to do in Kristiansand
SKMU Sørlandets Kunstmuseum – art museum (website in Norwegian)
Høyt og lavt – climbing park with the longest zip-line in Norway
Kristiansand Zoo – open every day
The Vest-Agder Museum – open 27 and 28 March, scroll down to find the list of museums and sites
Kristiansand Canon Museum – open Sunday 4 April (the world’s second largest cannon mounted on land)
Odderøya Museum Harbour – open 1 April to 4 April
Midt-Agder Ffriluftsråd – offers a list of walking trails, including printable maps
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Grimstad:
Visit Sørlandet: Things to do in Grimstad
The Maritime Museum in Aust-Agder – not open, but a lovely outdoors area
The Norwegian Museum of Horticulture – not open, but a beautiful park at Dømmesmoen to walk around
The town of poets – tread the footsteps of Ibsen and Hamsun
In Hamsun’s footsteps – On overgrown paths (book title)
10 walking trails in Grimstad – website in Norwegian, with locations given on map