Scaffolding Insights from Vik, Norway

Okay, I've been complaining about the scaffolding that I always seem to encounter on my vacation trips. Here is a little insight that was bestowed on me by Arne, our guide at the stave church in Vik. Arne was very knowledgeable regarding the history of the church. On exiting the church at the end of our tour, I asked Arne about the scaffolding. Here is how the dialog unfolded.

Me: When do you expect that the work will be completed?

Arne: I'm not really sure about when the work will be completed. This type of work requires specialized workers. They are specialists at restoring buildings in the old ways.

Me: I don't see any workers. Have they started working on the church?

Arne: They were here in the Spring, but the proper materials for the restoration had not arrived. So, they went to work on another restoration.

Me: Do you know when they might return? Do you have a schedule?

Arne: The workers are in demand for the restoration of buildings. They will return when they have finished there scheduled work on other historic buildings.

Me: Why did they put up the scaffolding if they don't have a scheduled time to start the work?

Arne: They put up the scaffolding in June or July of 2007.

I guess there is an excess of scaffolding in Norway if they can erect it more than a year in advance of starting the work. This must explain a comment made by another Norwegian that we met. He said, "There are 3 things that Norwegians have a lot of. The first is time. The second is time. And, the third is time."

Enough said!