“På ferie” (on holiday) is one of the first phrases you learn at Norwegian language school here in Norway and there is a very good reason!  Norwegians love going on holiday – it is Norway’s biggest past time.  Come Summer and practically the whole country shuts down to cater for all the Norwegians taking their [...]

It was Farmor’s 70th birthday and Tante made one of her famous cakes for the occasion.  The flower decorations were all hand-made with marzipan.

Tante’s marzipan cream cake was the first to be devoured.  But luckily Norwegian birthday parties never have just one cake.  We also had a bløtkake (cream cake) with pineapple made by Farmor [...]

The church in Talvik, a small village just outside of Alta, holds a little bit of our family history.  A lot of Farfar’s family came from this area in Finnmark.  His great, great, great granddad, Arne Jacobsen, donated a seven stick chandelier in celebration of his seven children.
On a trip back to Tromsø we had [...]

The days have been beautiful over Easter and so we couldn’t let all the sunshine go to waste.  A family BBQ on the sledding hill was the perfect way to make the most of our holiday.

At 1 o’clock the hill was packed with sun-bathers and families.  The hill is in a great position facing the [...]

Decorating Easter eggs is a big tradition in Norway.  They are used to beautify the home and are especially featured on the påskeris – a birch twig decoration.  Making them is a fun activity for the whole family.
How to make Norwegian Easter Eggs
With a raw egg, first make a small whole at one end to [...]

Easter in Norway is a time of renewing.  Spring is in the air and the sun has returned.  New life creeps into the landscape, homes are redecorated with Summer colours and Norwegians enjoy the outdoors with snow activities.  This time of year marks the end of the long Winter.

Symbols of Easter
Chickens and eggs are the [...]

In Norway it is the chicken that is the symbol of Easter and the Easter egg the traditional treat.   The eggs themselves, made of paper or cardboard, are a fairly new tradition and are specifically for wrapping Easter sweets.  They are brightly decorated and come in many different sizes – normal to huge.  Smågodt, [...]

Sometimes nature does all the work for you.  This ready-made snowball is ready for throwing.  The fun thing is that on the farm with all the fence-posts, you always have a snowball-fight waiting to happen.

Birdseed!  On the farm we take good care of the birds, especially throughout Winter.  We have a couple of bird houses around the farm that provide shelter and food.  By Spring, it is really hard for the birds to find food so sometimes we grab an extra handful of seeds to throw out in the [...]

We love to hang in Farmor’s kitchen.  It’s the family’s meeting place.  Not only do you get good, hearty food but great company and fond memories.  When sitting in the kitchen you can’t help but notice all the things just hanging around.  Farmor’s kitchen is full of gifts and mementoes from family, friends and visitors, [...]