Farmor has a great little strawberry patch in the front yard and this year I’ve assigned myself to make sure we get as many strawberries as possible. The season hasn’t been very good to us – cold and cloudy – so the berries would likely be few and small but I thought I’d give it [...]
It seems we have a little problem in Tromsø. In Summer, residents have to play dodgems with the local seagulls. To me seagulls are like pigeons – just add water and they become the flying rats of the sea. However, in Norway they have the biggest seagulls I’ve every seen – the Great Black-Backed Gull [...]
Australians grow up with the idea that the great Aussie barbie is a true blue tradition that distinguishes us from the rest of the world. We (used to) get a kick out of our Australian icon Paul Hogan (aka Crocodile Dundee) trying to teach the Americans how to put on a ‘real’ BBQ. When I [...]
Food is very important in Norwegian culture, a proud part of their identity, however, food connoisseurs in Europe have always thought the Nordic countries lack quality and sophistication in their cuisine. (Finland is always picked for the worst cuisine in Europe every year.) I find that the ideas behind food in Norway is very different [...]
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.
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.
The sun never goes down during this season but the mountains to the East are so high that the sun still has to raise above them in the morning hours and an artificial dawn-effect wakes the city.
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.
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