The Nordlys (Northern Lights) were wearing their best tonight. Although, they looked so good they were ’smokin’ – straight up into the night’s sky. Usually they laze over us like a rippling waterbed.
Moose started calling it’s name ‘Nordlys, Nooordlyyys…’ I laughed at him ‘what are you doing?’ ‘If you call its name it [...]
The first snow came slow and steady today – as if warming us up to a cold winter.
Last night, as we were walking in town, I looked up, and little white specks were floating down in the black sky. Gasp! It’s snowing! We were happy to get white fluffy water in our hair and all over our clothes as we walked. But it didn’t last long – 5 minutes or [...]
First comes snow on the tips of the highest mountains. Then comes the breeze – it chills itself as it passes over the mountain tops before plunging into the valleys. Then comes the Autumn frost. First, it disappears in the morning, but soon it stays longer and longer, until it covers the landscape with a [...]
Halloween is this week so we have beautiful orange pumpkins in the stores at the moment. Living in Norway has really made me value food. In Oz we have everything all the time – pumpkins all year round – so nothing is special any more. But in Norway most things are very seasonal [...]
You guessed it – potatoes! Barrels of potatoes – new and fresh from the Autumn harvest. Farmor grows enough potatoes to last the family through the long winter and to the next harvest. Potatoes are eaten at nearly every middag (dinner). No frying, roasting, or mashing required – potatoes are enjoyed for their [...]
No, I don’t have a flat tyre. It’s just that time of year again to get down and dirty and a little jack. Every autumn Norwegians are required to “sko om bilen” (change the shoes on their cars), and for a very good reason. Even the main roads in the North get covered in a [...]
I find it very curious how Norwegians approach their animals – they give them pet-names but then they can also eat them…lol. One time when we were on the farm we were eating venison. It was so lovely – and I told Farmor so. She smiled and said ‘Benson would be happy to know [...]
Oldervik is a little fishing village, 40 minutes drive north-east of Tromsø. It is a dead-end, tucked away behind the Lyngen Alps.
Oldervik may not be the most spectacular place in the world (and there are no shops, no activities and no attractions) but it does have a great view and, I must say, [...]
My Little Norway
2010 Calendar
In Norway, there are still Lefse recipes around from the 1630s! This is supposedly the traditional and original Hardanger recipe used:
Even though the males are called bulls and the females cows, the muskoxen are more closely related to sheep than cattle. Make no mistake, though – this is not your average cuddly ba-ba-blacksheep! A grown animal can be 2,5 m long and weigh up to 400 kgs, and their long curved horns mean business.
I think Autumn is my favourite season in Norway – the weather is still warm here in Tromsø, the sunsets come down over the mountains again and the blueberries are ripe for the picking.
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There is an opposition in everything. At the darkest time of the year, we celebrate Christmas. And at the exact opposite end, when the midnight sun is at its highest, we celebrate Midsummer.
On any celebration table in Norway you can always find a Norwegian layer cake (bløtkake). What better way to celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day than with fresh cream, wild berries and a little bit of sponge in between.
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Runes were the written language of the Vikings.