The lighting of the Christmas tree is a social tradition in every city in Norway on the first Sunday of Advent. Today was extra special for us as we got to share in Lilu’s delight. Half way through the celebration I found myself alone in the middle of the crowd and realised how strange everything [...]
It takes about six hours to drive to Alta, more if you stop and eat, miss the car-barge or take pics. On a straight highway it would only take about two hours to drive from Tromsø to Alta, but because Norway is built by fjords and mountains, the road winds in and out, up and [...]
Tonight’s sky was filled with the Northern Lights. The picture above was taken from our balcony at around 7:30pm. The view is to the North and as you can see the city lights do not compare with the big green monster in the sky. This picture was taken about 11pm. The view is towards Kvaløya. [...]
The photo above was taken at midday – the sun never made it over the horizon. Today was the first day of the long night in Tromsø. This is the beginning of the dark season, or the dark Winter, where we have no sun for two months. Technically there are no more sun-days until mid-January [...]
From the west, a wall of stone Saints and Prophets will confront you. All sides of the Cathedral are very textured and deserve a long walk around. You’ll see gargoyles and gothic arches, thick wooden doors with rusty floral art and Anglo-Norman/Romanesque bits and pieces ‘stuck on’ that intensifies your ground view. However, the outside of Nidaros Cathedral is even more intriguing when you know the history.
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Pølse is THE fast food of Norway. When the grilled pølse was first introduced to Norway in the 50s it was eaten naked – without bread.
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.
The further ‘out of the way’ you go the more common it is to see folk cottages standing by the side of roads, along fjords or in a thicket of trees, minding their own business.
How Norway became a country is shrouded in mystery and folklore. The most well known tale is of Harald Hårfagre who gathered the small kingdoms of the north into a unified nation in 872AD – and of course, this story is about love.
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