It’s 10 AM and I’m watching a memorial ceremony on TV from Oslo, reading the names of the 77 who lost their lives 6 years ago in what has been called Norway’s 9/11: The bombing of a government building, and the shooting of young people attending a political camp on the island Utøya on July […]
My own egg cups The thing about growing up with a Norwegian grandfather is that you assume everybody has a cheese slicer and egg cups. Turns out that one of the things American immigrants left behind in Europe were egg cups. I was reading an article on Lifehacker about how Americans eat soft-boiled eggs, seeing […]
I mentioned a new sign (piece of art, actually) that will greet travelers when they exit our new airport terminal that’s opening in August: Art at Bergen Airport I also promised the view from Landås. I deliver thusly: Different angle: Bergen as seen from Landås And a bonus because you’re here: A child having fun […]
Lygra As Eddie and I carefully set our feet down between sheep droppings, we caught a whiff of fresh manure. Instantly, I was transported back to my childhood in Norway, spent in the country with a potato field in front of the house, a couple of steers grazing in a pasture next to the carport, […]
Bergen just broke a weather record from 1952: The number of consecutive days with precipitation in June. In 1952 it was 24. This year it was 26; we had rain every day from June 1 through June 26. I pity those who will go through breaking this year’s record because clouds and wet every single […]
I was asked by a foreign-looking gentleman today, who spoke broken Norwegian, if I knew the area. And I do. He wondered if any of the buses at the bus stop we were at went to the bus station. Perhaps oddly, they don’t. It used to be that all buses eventually ended up at the […]
I hear Americans go on about a war on Christmas because someone says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. Bizarrely, Norway seems to be showing up the Americans on how to actually wage a war on Christmas. There are some true and some fake stories about a war on Christmas here in Norway. From a […]
When I was a child, I hated autumn. I saw no colors, only leaden skies, naked ground and continuous rain. And the ugliest thing ever was to see the green fern leaves turning brown. Ferns are often called snake grass (“ormegras”) here in Norway, and are seen as similar to seaweed: A creepy plant that […]
12 days of my home turned into a construction site, finding bits of concrete in my bed every night, and concrete dust everywhere (I still have to clean all that up). And a bold floor that is not typical for a Norwegian bathroom. But it is done! Tomorrow morning will be the first weekday morning […]
My shoulder scan This post contains astrology. And bathrooms. And frozen shoulders. Not necessarily in that order. I have discovered I don’t take my own advice, which makes me perfectly normal. I always tell people to get their pains and troublesome body parts checked out sooner, rather than later, but I delayed seeing a doctor […]
Something interesting has crystalized so far in 2016: A clear desire to change citizenship. I start by applying for Norwegian citizenship, and hope they’ll let me keep my US one until I decide what to do about it. The background for this are FATCA and FBAR. FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) cracks down on […]
Here’s a follow-up to my last two posts: The Indians visiting here noted that Norwegians didn’t stay long at the office, leaving to go home to dinner with their families, and that on the weekends, the whole family did things together. The right-wing government insists that Norway wants shopping malls to be open on Sundays. We don’t. That’s one […]
Youngstorget, Oslo When I first moved to Norway in 1969, politics here were so left-leaning that they were approaching extremism. Yesterday, in local elections, the Norwegian Labor party (Arbeiderpartiet) once again became Norway’s most powerful party, and had its biggest win in Bergen since 1967. A fact that makes me happy now, but which was my bane […]
Ferry to Stord I never tire of taking ferries. A break in the driving, and a chance to get some fresh sea air. West coast landscape somewhere along the bus ride to southern Norway Lindesnes lighthouse is at Norway’s southernmost point, all of 2518 km from Norway’s northermost point, Nordkapp. Our first destination: Lindesnes The […]
Moonrise from my kitchen window (Trying to automate posting this photo led me into the land of IFTTT. I still don’t have automation, but I’ve acquired a new password to herd.)
A Roll in the Universe 