Eli is the wife of a prominent politician in Norway.  One day (in 2001) she had to drop off her husband at the royal palace in Oslo for a government dinner.  She had been to the palace grounds many times before but had never driven.  Not sure where to go, Eli headed straight for the [...]

As an Australian, it is common courtesy to bring a gift to give to the person or family you are visiting.  You never visit empty handed.  However, in Norway this custom is not recognised unless it has been pre-arranged for a party or event.  This has put me in an unusual position.  I want to [...]

There is a running joke amongst Norwegians that they eat anything and everything, so when Moose said the family in Alta ate the horse I thought he was just horsing around.  Nope.  I didn’t believe at first because of his casualness or the Norwegian thrill to shock outlanders with their own outlandish habits, but it [...]

I had the opportunity to be in Oslo the day Obama left.  I arrived early in the morning and when I reached the city the streets were filled with police and their automatic weapons.  They completely outnumbered the pedestrians.  It was hard to get around as the footpaths were still lined with steel fences.  There [...]