Archive for January, 2011
Ice Harvesting in Norway Posted by kari on Jan 31, 2011
On any given day between November and March (give or take a bit), I can have a chunk of ice in my hand within 1 minute. If I wanted to, I could refrigerate and freeze all of my perishable items right outside of my door. Because it’s 2011 in the developed world, during the…
Ski Resorts in Norway Posted by kari on Jan 26, 2011
Oh, how I long for mountains sometimes. I grew up on the prairie, but I feel totally at home in the mountains as well. Before a couple of years ago, I had never skiied in the mountains. I had hiked mountains, but the only skiing I had done was in Minnesota, either at Welch Village…
Soldagen-´Sun-day´in Norway marks the end of Mørketid Posted by kari on Jan 25, 2011
It is now søndag, the 23rd of januar. Just 3 days ago, northern Norway celebrated Soldagen, the end of mørketid, or the dark time in the north. It´s sounds strange when you first hear it, doesn´t it? When you think about not seeing the sun for 2 months out of the year, you quickly understand…
Ostehøvel-a Norwegian invented the cheese slicer Posted by kari on Jan 21, 2011
Sure, the French are known for their oster (cheeses), but a Norwegian invented osthøvelen (the cheese slicer). Although some sorts of ostehøvler have been around in Europe for ages, it was not until 1925 that Thor Bjørklund, a Norwegian carpenter from Lillehammer, patented osthøvelen. Do you wonder why this carpenter invented something to slice cheese…
Norwegian winter Posted by kari on Jan 20, 2011
January in the north always drags out because it is so cold and dark. I live in MN where the temperature is frequently in the single digits, and sometimes (like right now…) below zero. I´ve lived in MN my whole life except for the 2 times I lived in Norway, so cold and snowy climates…
Svalbard Posted by kari on Jan 19, 2011
I briefly thought about spending 3 months in Svalbard. If you are aware of the archipelago half way between mainland Norway and the North Pole, you are likely wondering why I would think about living there? Svalbard is a group of islands where polar bears roam, where the global seed vault is located, and…
Pondus-Norway’s most famous comic strip Posted by kari on Jan 11, 2011
I’ve never been big into comics. My brother would read them ever Sunday morning from front to back and laugh hysterically. I’m not sure why I never got into them, but I can say that I am more interested in Norwegian comics because they present at least a bit of a challenge. I find that…