roffe - the viking from the north

Sheep herding bunny hops to net fame

2012-02-11T15:09:00.000+01:00

Move over Bugs – a bunny is rapidly becoming the most popular rabbit in the world!
Champis the rabbit, has attracted over 600,000 viewers in the week since the clip was posted, and even the owners themselves have been left scratching their heads about the rabbit’s talents.
The video was filmed by family friend and sheepdog breeder Dan Westman. Entitled “Champis - den vallande kaninen” (‘Champis – the herding rabbit’ in English), it shows five minutes of the bouncing bunny making light work of a small herd of sheep, a skill most likely mimicked from his border collie buddies.

Norwegian Joke - The interview

2012-02-03T18:45:00.000+01:00

Lena was being interviewed for a job as maid for the very wealthy
Mrs. Diamond, who asked her: "Do you have any religious views?"
"No," said Lena, "but I've got some nice pictures of Norway."

A Cat Dog

2012-02-01T18:16:00.000+01:00

The welfare state, a warfare defence strategy?

2012-01-29T12:47:00.003+01:00

It is argued that an ulterior motive of the government’s desire to look after its citizens was to make them feel like a united nation in case of war.
With the Global Financial Crisis continuing to take its toll, and the Eurozone struggling to stay afloat, the welfare systems of European nations have increasingly come under the spotlight. With a predicted rise in unemployment forecast for Norway, more and more of its citizens will become reliant on the welfare system in 2012. Fortunately, Norway has long been recognised as a leader in providing social welfare, with a history of supporting its citizens in times of need.

As any foreigner working here will tell you, taxes in Norway are high. Even if earning a modest salary, close to half of everyone’s income is taken in tax, much of which goes to support the welfare system. While this has long been a source of contention, it does mean that the less fortunate are (comparatively) well looked after. As well as free healthcare and education, Norwegians enjoy one of the largest gross unemployment benefits in the world.

The strongest Northern Lights in 50 years

2012-01-25T19:51:00.000+01:00

This winter, the Northern Lights over Norway will be the strongest we’ve seen in 50 years, according to the experts.
The Northern Lights is one of the major attractions for tourists visiting Norway in the winter, and people travel from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the famous phenomenon.
In the county of Finnmark is one of the places where the lights show most frequently, the tourism industry is very pleased with the most recent prognosis. A large portion of the tourism in the North of Norway during winter is connected to the Northern Lights and related activities.
The lights can be admired from the fall and throughout the winter.

Ski track - Cross-Country Skiing

2012-01-21T17:21:00.000+01:00

Track skiing is mainly about lightness of travel over undulating ground. It’s also known as 'cross-country skiing', 'XC', 'langlauf', 'ski de fond' or 'sci di fondo'.

This uses very light shoes, non-metal edged skis and long poles. Forward propulsion is achieved by using wax or a pattern on the central part of the sole of the ski. These allow you to slide forwards but not backwards, and to ski uphill. Skiing is in machine-prepared tracks, usually through beautiful winter landscapes.

Levels can be recreational or up to competition level. Both arms and legs propel the skier. Competing, as seen in the Olympics, is a very technical discipline as well as being one of the most demanding aerobic activities.

Waking in a winter wonderland

2012-01-15T18:44:00.000+01:00

Norwegian film Troll Hunter tops UK charts

2012-01-13T19:05:00.000+01:00

The Troll Hunter, a critically acclaimed horror mockumentary, has become the first ever Norwegian film to top the British DVD and Blu-ray retail sales charts.

Employing the “found footage” device previously used in films like The Blair Witch Project, André Øvredal’s movie tracks a group of students as they join a would-be bear poacher on his hunt for trolls in the forests of Norway.
Released in the UK on Monday, The Troll Hunter sold 16,000 units on the first day alone, according to the Norwegian Film Institute.
After four days more than 35,000 copies had left the shelves, 34 percent of which were Blu-ray sales.
British distributor Momentum Pictures expects the film to stay on top of the charts over the coming weekend.
It’s sensational that a Norwegian film is at the top of the DVD/Blu-ray charts in the UK.
It’s definitely the first time this has happened for the Norwegian film industry and it’s an unbelievable start to the 2012 film year for all of us Norwegians. What’s just as sensational is the fact that a subtitled film managed to secure this position.

Ice swimming

2012-01-12T20:35:00.001+01:00

Norwgians love their winter swimming, and science shows they may be on to something.

Visitors to Norway are often surprised to learn that Norwegians leave their infants outside to sleep in the cold Nordic air. But it takes living here a little while to discover another peculiarity about Norwegians’ fondness for the cold: there are a lot of winter swimming clubs – and they have waiting lists.
Swimming or even just dipping into icy cold water invigorates the blood circulation, raises the metabolism, and flushes out toxins.
The cold shock also sends adrenalin and endorphins racing through the body, producing a feeling of well-being that lasts up to four hours after a cold plunge.
A few studies have indicated that winter swimming reduces pain and discomfort among arthritis sufferers and boosts the body’s anti-oxidative protection, which could make it more resilient to environmental stress, disease and ageing.

Trondheim, Norway tops ‘most expensive’ list

2012-01-11T20:45:00.001+01:00

Nidaros Cathedral

A new list of the world’s most expensive cities has suddenly catapulted the Norwegian city of Trondheim into the top spot. The relatively small metropolis in north-central Norway is now ranked as more expensive than both Oslo and Zurich.
The ranking by website Numbeo.com is based on a comparison of prices for 241,000 various goods and services.
The prices are compared to those in a long list of cities all over the world and more than 23,000 people contributed to the survey. Trondheim replaced Oslo and Stavanger with the dubious distinctions of being the world’s most-expensive cities in which to live.
All of the seven most expensive cities were located in either Norway or Switzerland, both of which have remained outside the European Union and are known for protectionist trade policies. The next most-expensive city within Scandinavia was listed as Copenhagen, in 14th place.

Mother drowns baby in Norway as boyfriend watches on Skype

2012-01-07T17:22:00.003+01:00

A Norwegian woman, separated from her Pakistani husband, drowned her one-year-old baby in a bucket while her boyfriend watched it live on Skype.
Yasmin Chaudhry, 26, killed her baby girl by plunging into a bucket of water at 3 a.m. Skype video call with her British partner. She said she wanted to discipline her baby for "disobeying her". She told paramedics the baby had fallen into the bucket by accident. The girl was pronounced dead next day.
But after being arrested on suspicion of murder, Chaudhry claimed that her boyfriend - who is not the child's father - told her to do it. She says he instructed her to do it, whereas he says that they more or less figured it out together after talking about how to discipline her.
What a world we live in..

I hate winter

2012-01-07T14:25:00.002+01:00

Photos from last winter

Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-31T09:00:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year Everybody, I hope this year brings peace and happiness to everyone.
I wish everyone the strengh to get through any problems they may have, and stop the suffering of many.
If we go into the New Year with hope and positive thinking, together we can make it through.
Love you all, wishing you all the best ~Rolf~

Norwegian Joke

2011-12-29T14:10:00.001+01:00

Photo by Bobby Mikul

Stupid Americans

A Norwegian made a trip to New York and while standing in front of the Empire State building, he started to count all the floors. A policeman came by and thought to himself: "That one must be Norwegian" and decided to take advantage of him.
He went up to him and said: "Do you know that it's illegal to count the floors on buildings in the United States?" The Norwegian replied: "No sir, I did not." The police officer then said: "I'm afraid I'll have to charge you $10.00 per floor you counted." The Norwegian then said: "Oh, I counted 50 floors sir." The police officer left, very happy. Then, a Norwegian comrad came along and asked what had just happened. His friend replied: "My, how these Americans are stupid! I told him that I had counted 50 floors when I had really counted 60 !"

Who is ... Julenissen?

2011-12-27T16:41:00.000+01:00

His name literally means ‘The Christmas Man’ in English. According to where you’re from, this could refer to Santa Claus (USA, Australia), Father Christmas (UK, India), Père Noël (France) and so the list goes on …

Do these names all refer to the same man? Actually there are so many stories and legends that, over time, they have become mixed together. Luckily, I’m going to give you a brief summary of some of them. So, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin.

Legend has it that a baby, Nicolaus, born way back in the third century, in neither Lapland nor Greenland but ... wait for it … Turkey, grew up to become the bishop of Myra. He was rather wealthy and saved a family from poverty by throwing money into their window at night. Is it starting to sound familiar? He also had the handy talent of saving sailors from wild storms. This talent secured him a place in the hearts of shipping folk for centuries to come. Incidentally Dutchmen referred to him as Sinterklass, and when they moored in New York, this morphed into the American Santa Claus.

So why isn’t he called Saint Nicolaus? In Norway, after the reformation, people weren’t supposed to believe in saints. But the new Lutheran church found it difficult to get rid of this particular holy man because he had become so popular. They dropped his bishop’s hat, and as Sankt Nikolaus’s death coincidentally occurred in the month of Christmas, called him Julenissen. The trick was played so well, that the population didn’t even notice!

Breakfast

2011-12-25T11:26:00.000+01:00

Dried Codfish in potash lye - The famous Norwegian Lutefisk

2011-12-19T19:35:00.000+01:00

As christmas time approaches, Lutefisk is to be found on most menues in restaurants around the country. The Lutefisk is also sold in most grocery stores with a fresh seafood department.
Although many Norwegians prepare their own lutefisk at home, there is something special in spending an evening in a good restaurant, eating Lutefisk with good friends. Every town has its own restaurants known to serve the best lutefisk. To get a table in a popular one, - make your reservations early.
Well. I don't like this kind of food..

Vikings, warriors from Scandinavia

2011-12-11T22:39:00.000+01:00

From about 800 to 1100 the Vikings ruled most of the western world. They occupied Britain, Northern France and Germany, and they also had settlements far into today's Russia. They even discovered America 500 years before Columbus.

FAMOUS INVENTIONS

2011-12-08T17:32:00.002+01:00

Norwegian Joke
The Swedes invented the toilet seat. Twenty years later the Norwegians invented the hole in it.

First snow finally falls down this week

2011-12-08T17:03:00.000+01:00

My area residents were among those who woke up to winter on Wednesday, after snow started falling Tuesday evening and stuck around through much of the day. It wasn’t much, only a few centimeters of wet snow that turned to ice, but its sheer whiteness can brighten up otherwise deep and dark December days.

Warm autumn snags sportwear sales

2011-12-05T19:15:00.000+01:00

Norway’s unseasonably warm autumn has left tons of down jackets, heavy sweaters and other winter sportswear piling up in retail stores and warehouses.
After the last two winters with months of sub-freezing temperatures, they stocked up for this year – only to face thermometers well above the freezing point and no snow or ice.
When folks can sit outside at Aker Brygge (a popular waterfront complex in Oslo) and have a beer while wearing a T-shirt, it has consequences..Almost no winter sport sale at all..

Swedish joke

2011-12-04T15:18:00.000+01:00

Wrong way

A Swede was driving along an interstate-highway for the first time. As he was listening to the radio the music was suddenly interrupted by a warning message which said that there was a car driving the wrong way on the highway. "ONE?" the Swede yells out, "there are several hundred of them out there!"

Old house

2011-12-04T14:30:00.000+01:00

Norwegian Advent

2011-11-30T21:42:00.001+01:00

If the darkness of winter's already starting to get you down, the light and merriment –not to mention the calories and alcohol – of a Norwegian Advent should help pick you up.

In the past couple of days, several of my neighbours have erected wooden triangles with little electric lights in their windows. What's that all about?

The triangles are called Advent candlesticks, and signal that the countdown to Christmas has begun.

Advent (the word, which has Latin origins, is the same in Norwegian and English), literally means 'coming'. People are supposed to start putting them up on Advent Sunday, four Sundays before Christmas, which this year fell on November 28th.

By the end of the first week of December, it will seem as though every home, shop and office in Norway is displaying electric candlesticks.

But what's the origin of the candles?

The advent lights are a modern interpretation of traditional advent candles. As in many other Christian countries, many Norwegian keep candlesticks with four candles in their homes during Advent. A new candle is lit on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.

The first electric Advent lights were produced in Norway in 1934. They generally have seven lights and are often put up a few days before Advent Sunday. They are usually taken down on twelfth night - twelve days after Christmas Day.

In the darkness of a Norwegian December, many people are glad to take the chance to spread a bit of light. Indeed, partly thanks to Ikea, Swedish-style advent lights have spread around the world.

Another popular tradition is to hang a paper star in the window. Originally a German tradition, this has caught on in Norway too. The star symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem.

Lights in windows are all very well. What about the food?
Ah yes - Advent in Norway is a good excuse to tuck into some seasonal delicacies. The country's favourite festive beverage is glögg, a sweet, warm mulled wine flavoured with spices including cinnamon, cardamom and served with raisins and almonds. Other forms of glögg are made with spirits such as brandy or akvavit.

Glögg parties are popular in December. As well as glögg, you can expect to be served saffron buns (lussekatter) and gingerbread (pepperkaker).

Most of the food can be bought in supermarkets, but the lussekatter and pepparkakor are best bought in a good konditori - or even better, made at home. For the stronger versions of glögg you will have to brave the Vinmonopolet liquor monopoly stores.

Another popular way of putting on weight during Advent is the chocolate Advent calendar. Open one window per day in your calendar between Advent Sunday and Christmas Eve, and start your calorie-fest four weeks early.

Norwegian Jokes

2011-11-27T15:07:00.000+01:00

Little Ole and the Stork

Little Ole was sitting at the kitchen table doing his school homework. He had a puzzled look on his face at he considered the assignment that was due--writing an essay about his origin. He turned to question his mother. "Mama, vere did Grandma come from?" he asked. "Da stork brought her," answered mama Lena. "And vere did yew come from?" asked Little Ole. "Da stork brought me," his mother answered. "And vere did I come from?" Little Ole inquired. "well, son, da stork brought yew, tew," mama Lena replied. With a scowl on his face, Little Ole picked up his pencil, turned to his school tablet, and began writing his essay: "There have been no natural births in our family for three yenerations."

Record warmth keeps Norway's snow at bay

2011-11-24T17:27:00.000+01:00

The unseasonably high temperatures across much of Norway have left much of the country free of snow and has put autumn 2011 on track to be one of the warmest ever recorded in Norway.
Last year it was down to -20°C at the same time of the year, this year up to +15°C.

Norwegian Jokes

2011-11-20T21:11:00.001+01:00

Workers
Ole and Lars were working for the city public works department in Wisconsin. Ole would dig a hole and Lars would follow behind and fill the hole in. They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then moved on to the next street, working furiously all day without rest, one digging a hole, the other filling it in again.

An onlooker was amazed at their hard work, but couldn't understand what they were doing. So he asked Ole, 'I'm impressed by the effort you two are putting in to your work, but I don't get it -- why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?'

Ole, the hole digger, wiped his brow and sighed, 'Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-person team. But today Sven, who plants the trees is sick.'

Christmas for the little ones

2011-11-18T16:58:00.000+01:00

Winter is approaching, and with its long evenings, cold days and the inevitable series of sniffles, it can seem a bit of a chore. But winter means Christmas, and that means excited children, and a whole new set of traditions to learn.
Norwegian Christmas is a very handmade affair, with ‘hygge’ going into overdrive and children getting involved in the preparations and celebrations.
For children the countdown to ‘Jul’(Christmas) starts in earnest on 1 December with the opening of the first gift of their Christmas Advent Calendar (Julekalendere). Traditionally kids receive a small present such as chocolates, toys, books and activities on every day, or every Sunday, of the advent period. Most supermarkets sell a range of chocolate calendars, or you can get others that contain toys such as Lego, Schleich, Playmobil.
If you’re feeling creative you can make your own calendar, and if you want to keep your budget down, you can always pop in a few activity cards.

No snow yet

2011-11-17T22:03:00.000+01:00

The ground is still not frozen….no snow yet…. is global warming taking its toll?
Well, I'm not ready for winter!!! I don't like winter...

Norwegian History in 5 minutes

2011-11-13T18:38:00.000+01:00

Alcohol damages women's brains faster than men's

2011-11-09T22:12:00.001+01:00

Women alcoholics suffer damage to the part of their brain that controls moods, impulses and sleep three times faster than their male counterparts.
Women suffer a 50-percent reduction in the so-called serotonin function in their brain after four years of excessive drinking, while men show the same amount of damage after 12 years of alcohol abuse.

What does this mean? What are the consequences? That's a question that needs answering.
The best thing to do is to stop drinking alcohol. While more men drink to excess than women, the number of females binge-drinking has increased significantly in the last 10 years in Norway.
Drinking for every occasion, whether it's to relax, socialise, celebrate or commiserate, has become ingrained into our everyday lives.

Oslo goes ahead with Christmas tree gift plans

2011-11-07T17:31:00.000+01:00

City officials in Oslo, faced with budget cuts, considered dropping their annual gift of large city Christmas trees to London, Reykjavik and Rotterdam, to save money. They apparently didn’t want to be seen as Scrooge, though, and the trees will be sent as usual.
Last year, it cost Oslo taxpayers NOK 780,000. (USD 140,000 )
City politicians opted to carry on as usual, noting that the Christmas trees are a symbol of close ties between Oslo and the three cities.

Autumn colors

2011-11-06T17:17:00.001+01:00

Halibut Attacking Underwater

2011-11-06T09:07:00.000+01:00

Big halibut -- or "storkveite" as we call them in Norway -- are off course impressive, but to the small film crew, the most sensational capture was done when filming under-water. Several times they were able to film how a halibut attacks the lure.

Hundreds volunteer for street patrol

2011-11-05T16:20:00.002+01:00

Nearly 500 people have answered the call for more civilian foot patrols on the streets of Oslo, to help stem a wave of rapes and other forms of violence so far this year. Meanwhile, the average length of prison terms for convicted rapists was being criticized as much too low.

The organization behind the street patrols, Natteravn, was encouraged by the high turnout of Norwegians willing to do what they can to make Oslo’s streets safer. Both men and women, young and old, with and without immigrant background, from Oslo and out of town have signed up to don the yellow vests worn by Natteravn patrols and spend late night hours making their presence known.
The patrols are viewed as a preventative measure against assault, and are meant to provide a sense of security on streets that suddenly seem to have become mean in the Norwegian capital.

Hi, I am Lucas and I'm here waiting for a mouse or a bird.

2011-10-30T17:14:00.003+01:00

Curious dog

2011-10-29T17:26:00.002+02:00

Do you wanna take a picture of me like I'm a celebrity?
A picture of me like I'm in the magazines?

Autumn colors

2011-10-28T15:44:00.004+02:00

Viking grave found in Scotland

2011-10-26T21:04:00.002+02:00

Hannah Cobb, a co-director of the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project, studies an ancient Viking sword found at an excavation in Musselburgh, Scotland.

Photograph by: David Moir, Reuters, Agence France-Presse

A British archaeologist has discovered what is believed to be a unique piece of history on the UK mainland.
A fully-intact Viking burial boat found in the West Highlands. A male Viking was found on the west coast of Scotland and was buried in a five-metre long boat approximately 1,000 years ago.

Included in the grave was an axe, a sword, a spear and a shield. Teeth, bones, and pottery and a grinding stone from Norway were also discovered.
Whilst burial finds such as these are not uncommon in Norway, others in the UK have previously only been found on the Orkneys.

An equally exhilarated Viking expert and archaeologist, tells thats the boat will be reconstructed to learn more about its history. There is no doubt that the discovery is from the late Viking age, and there are indications there this has been a state burial.

Tropical fish caught in North Atlantic Ocean

2011-10-24T20:10:00.003+02:00

A Norwegian fisherman caught this week a fish in his net that he had never seen before. It was a tropical moonfish or sunfish (Mola Mola).
I have been fishing since I was 14, but I have never seen anything like this before, the fisherman said.
Normally the moonfish is found in tropical waters, but from time to time, one is caught also in Northern waters.
It may reach a weight of up to 2000 kilos, but the fishermans catch only weighed around 20.

Global sea surface temperature is approximately 1 degree C higher now than 140 years ago, and is one of the primary physical impacts of climate change. Sea surface temperature in European seas is increasing more rapidly than in the global oceans.
Projections show the temperature increases will persist throughout this century. Ice-free summers are expected in the Arctic by the end of this century, if not earlier. Already, there is evidence that many marine ecosystems in European seas are affected by rising sea temperature.
That's why tropical fish move north.

Northern light - Aurora Borealis - Lofoten Islands Norway

2011-10-23T12:20:00.000+02:00

Recycling of ‘tea lights’

2011-10-18T19:59:00.002+02:00

Norwegians are known for lighting lots of candles when the days grow shorter and darkness settles in. Now Norsk Hydro, one of Norway’s biggest firms, is spearheading a campaign to recycle the little aluminum containers holding the popular candles known as telys (tea lights).

The light from a telys that weighs five grams corresponds to the amount of energy used by a 40-watt lightbulb for two hours, It’s therefore worth the effort to get this back in the value chain.
Consumers are being encouraged to recycle used telys, which can be thrown into the same containers used for glass and metal.

Norwegians flock to the South Pole this year

2011-10-14T18:57:00.001+02:00

As the 100th anniversary approaches of Roald Amundsen’s first successful expedition to the South Pole, Norwegian officials and adventurers are already trying to follow in Amundsen’s footsteps.

Some will be flying in to the spot where Amundsen raised the Norwegian flag on December 14, 1911, others will be trekking in the hard way. It may be a bit crowded at the pole on December 14 this year. It's cold there, even in "summer" time, down to -50C at the coldest.

Norway Tv

2011-10-10T20:50:00.000+02:00

First snow today in the highland (above 1000m)

2011-10-09T17:22:00.004+02:00

It's always wise to keep an eye on winter weather predictions and forecasts in Norway. A common topic of conversation when the first snow appears is how so many of us forget what it can be like to drive on snowy or icy roads or, even, to be stranded in a sudden winter blizzard.

Famous moose shot by a dane

2011-10-06T17:54:00.004+02:00

Photo:Sigmund Lerheim / Scanpix

Moose lovers were mourning the highly publicized loss this week of Norway’s near-legendary albino moose, killed by a Danish hunter who reportedly has few regrets. The moose wandered into his hunting area southeast of Oslo and he simply pulled the trigger. He was five years old this year.

Albin had been protected, if only by loose agreement among Norwegian hunters, since first spotted in 2007. “We had agreed that no one is so hungry for meat that we had to shoot him” the Norwegian hunters said. His fellow Danish hunter clearly thought differently.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

2011-10-02T19:07:00.000+02:00

Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread..
Apples have a good claim to promote health. They contain Vitamin C, which aid the immune system and phenols, which reduce cholesterol. They also reduce tooth decay by cleaning one's teeth and killing off bacteria. It has also been suggested by Cornell University researchers that the quercetin found in apples protects brain cells against neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's Disease.

Apples may be good for us but it wasn't their precise medicinal properties that were being exalted when this phrase was coined. In Old English the word apple was used to describe any round fruit that grew on a tree. Adam and Eve's forbidden fruit, which they ate in the Garden of Eden, is often described as an apple but, in the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, it is just called 'a fruit'.

Sunday Quotes about Children

2011-10-02T11:44:00.009+02:00

Hitler, Stalin, Mao and other dictators were exposed to severe physical mistreatment in childhood and refused to face up to the fact later. Instead of seeing and feeling what had happened to them, they avenged themselves vicariously by killing millions of people. And millions of others helped them to do so.

The claim that mild punishments (slaps or smacks) have no detrimental effect is still widespread because we got this message very early from our parents who had taken it over from their own parents. Unfortunately, the main damage it causes is precisely the broad dissemination of this conviction. The result of which is that each successive generation is subjected to the tragic effects of so called physical "correction."

In the short term, corporal punishment may produce obedience. But it is a fact documented by research that in the long term the results are inability to learn, violence and rage, bullying, cruelty, inability to feel another's pain, especially that of one's own children, even drug addiction and suicide, unless there are enlightened or at least helping witnesses on hand to prevent that development.

All quotes by Alice Miller

My town bask in late summer heat

2011-09-30T17:39:00.002+02:00

Just when all but a few hardy souls had fished out their thicker coats from their wardrobes, my home town measured a record high temperature over 25 degrees with the weekend promising more of the same.

Peak summer heat is everything above 25 degrees. Normal temperature for this time of year is between 13 to 17 degrees, which makes this a truly unusual happening.
The warmer weather will linger until early next week, with a few rainy interruptions, to then give way for what might be the official start of autumn.

Angry cat

2011-09-29T18:44:00.002+02:00

A woman had just curled up in bed next to her cat, her beloved bedfellow for the last 13 years, when the cuddly companion suddenly jumped down from the bed and started attacking her. Never let a cat sleep in the bed, that's my opinion.

The cat flew at me unprovoked and bit and scratched me all over my body. It hung by its mouth from my arm, she said.
The neighbour, who had donned rubber gloves, tried to lure the aggressive animal out from under the bed to where it had retreated hissing and spitting.
When the attempts to entice the cantankerous cat out were unsuccessful, the pair called on the help of some other neighbours, and three men came to their rescue.
Older cats go through a dementia-like phase on occasion...maybe ten percent of them. If the lady had simply left the cat for a couple of hours....it might have recovered somewhat. Well, they kill the cat with a kitchen knife, in the flat..

Eagle safari in Lofoten, Norway

2011-09-26T18:33:00.000+02:00

Video: Stories for Life: Eagle safari

Visit the official travel guide to Norway

On his way out to meet sea eagles in Lofoten, Norway host David Spinx can hardly contain his excitement. Join him on his bird-watching experience.

It doesn't take long until Spinx's eyes are wide open. The captain throws fish in the sea. The eagles follow him closely from up in the mountain wall. They wait. They know the fish are too big for the seagulls to swallow. We wait. We look. And then, finally. One of the eagles leaves its spot on the mountain wall and comes gliding towards us. It scares off the seagulls, aims for the fish and comes all the way down to the surface to pick it up with its sharp claws.

From our garden

2011-09-25T12:02:00.000+02:00

Funny facts about Norway

2011-09-25T09:31:00.003+02:00

All the bad things in the world, the trolls, the vikings, all the barbarians, are from Norway. But the funny thing is, we're actually very nice people. I think it’s just a projection. We just want to show that we have a tough exterior, but we’re really friendly.

Afternoon walk along the river

2011-09-22T20:21:00.005+02:00

Autumn colors

2011-09-22T17:09:00.007+02:00

Norwegian Woods, by the Beatles

2011-09-19T22:01:00.005+02:00

Facts:
Norwegian Wood is a fake wood that was used to make cheap furniture. Lennon knew people who were using it in their homes and thought it would make a good title.
There are not many lyrics in this song, but they tell the story of a man who gets invited to a girl's house. When she won't let him into her bed, he sleeps in the tub. When she leaves the next morning, he sets the place on fire. It was one of the first songs Lennon wrote that told a complete story.

Here is my point of view:
I am Norwegian and I think I know where this lyrics comes from.
Being Norwegian is much about being in the nature while on the family cabin.
This song is about a memory from a cabin in Norway made of Norwegian wood and the girl of course.
If you guys have seen twin peaks and been to the state of Washington , there you have the Norwegian style of cabins.

Flooded River

2011-09-18T11:31:00.005+02:00

It's still raining almost every day.. What happened to the nice weather this summer? Gosh it’s cold today, only about 8 degrees Celsius.

Bad hair day

2011-09-14T20:12:00.004+02:00

A man in Drammen (where I work) was so unhappy with his new haircut that he called police, demanding assistance because he didn’t want to leave the hair salon.

The man claimed that the hairdresser had done such a bad job that he couldn’t go outside without a cap. He apparently didn’t have one. Maybe he should ask the hairdresser to put the hair back..hehehe.. and use glue.

He also had complained about the result of his haircut to the salon’s proprietor, but was told it was too late to do anything about it.

The police receiving his call for help told him they had many duties in the course of a day, and responded to many calls, but his would not be one of them. What a stupid man.

Sunday's Walk Along the River

2011-09-11T20:01:00.006+02:00

Sunday walk by the river Drammenselva, Norway.

The river Drammenselva is my "home" river. This is a very good river for BIG Atlantic salmon. The fishing is public with a "nice price". I live only around 100 meter from the river.

Would you believe that taking a walk by the river could have a measurable effect on your health and well-being?
Sometimes, serious academic research is needed to conclusively prove what we've suspected all along. For example, scientists have shown that nature is good for you - and even imagining walking in a forest or by the river is good for you!

Drunken moose rescued from an apple tree

2011-09-07T21:08:00.008+02:00

Photo: Jan Wiriden/GT/Expressen.

A drunken moose desperate for just one more mouthful of fermenting apples lost its balance in the attempt, leaving it stuck in an apple tree. The moose was severely drunk after eating too many fermenting apples.

Drunken elk are common in Scandinavia during the autumn season when there are plenty of apples lying around on the ground and hanging from branches in the gardens.

While the greedy animal was reaching ever higher to reach the delicious but intoxicating fruit, it most likely stumbled into the tree, getting itself hopelessly entangled in the branches.
I am glad they didn't just shoot it.

Running uphill takes off in Norway

2011-09-06T21:19:00.008+02:00

Photo: Knut Haavard Solberg / VARINGEN/Scanpix

Ski season is not yet started in the mountains, but while skiers at lower elevations wait for snow they’ve been using local slopes in new way — by running up them.

A moose attacked a female athlete who was part of a group competing in a race up the hill this weekend.
Without warning, it attacked a female participant. She had apparently tried to shoo it away from some small children herself, but fell and the moose apparently kicked her in the leg. She suffered a large cut and possible fracture.

First day back to work after vacation

2011-09-05T19:53:00.000+02:00

Today was my first day back at work after my vacation. Grrrrr!
Going back to work after a holiday vacation is typically something that you dread. While it naturally may be a jolt to your system when you first get back to work, there are a few things you can do to make the transition back to work a bit smoother.

Try to get back on your regular sleep routine.
If possible, try to get back into your sleeping routine a couple of nights prior to your first day back at work. While it may be hard to do, try to go to bed when you normally would and set your alarm, too. Sometimes, when you have been off of your sleep pattern, you feel a bit of jet lag that first day back. If you take this step, you can deal with that feeling while still at home versus on the day you return to work.

It's a fact: by the time you get used to being on vacation from your job, it's just about time to go back to work again, and the whole idea of jumping back into the routine is frightful! The first day back at work after vacation can be somewhat akin to jumping into a cold shower.

Sunday smile

2011-09-04T12:45:00.014+02:00

Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is
stand up and say, 'My name is Rolf and I am an alcoholic'?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but
don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Politicians are wonderful people as long as they stay away from
things they don't understand, such as working for a living.

Sex is like playing bridge: If you don't have a good partner, you
better have a good hand.

Is French kissing in France just called kissing?

View from the mountain

2011-09-04T09:22:00.007+02:00

A mountain represents both a high point and a low point. And even climbing a mountain, there will be spots where you are going up, and then need to change direction and go down in order to continue to the peak.

Life is like this. There will be ups and there will be downs. The important thing to remember is that through it all, we remember where we’re headed on our life journey. Have we thought about the peak we’re aiming for?

Drinking Horns

2011-08-31T17:02:00.002+02:00

It is a very old tradition and the only thing better than drinking mead (An alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water) is drinking mead out of a traditional drinking horn! They also make pretty neat display pieces.

Funny thing about the Viking sense of humor is that if you don't get a stand or somebody hands you a drinking horn full of mead you can't put it down anywhere so you have to drink it! You can see this problem by the shape of Viking horn :)

Silver viking drinking horn >$5000+++

Another rainy day - Rain Quotes

2011-08-30T21:23:00.000+02:00

Still falls the rain -- dark as the world of man, black as our loss -- blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails upon the Cross.
Dame Edith Sitwell
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
John Ruskin

Walking Path

2011-08-29T13:43:00.003+02:00

We care more for our health, we want to keep fit, to breath fresh air and strengthen our body and soul. So, why don't we walk more. It's free.

Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg

2011-08-28T17:33:00.003+02:00

Morning Mood (Norwegian: Morgenstemning; German: Morgenstimmung) is a composition belonging to Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, op. 46.
This composition is often used in films, television commercials, and shows (most notably cartoons). The piece depicts the rising of the sun. Along with In the Hall of the Mountain King, Morning Mood is one of Grieg's best known works.

Norwegian Highland Landscape

2011-08-25T20:30:00.003+02:00

German eatery refused Sweden’s King and Queen

2011-08-21T19:12:00.009+02:00

Zum Gueldenen Stern - Photo from Wikimedia

Sweden’s King and Queen did not receive the royal treatment last week when they were turned away from a busy German restaurant. The owner admits she failed to recognize the noble duo, but said she still wouldn't have let them in.

A red-faced restaurant owner in southern Germany admitted Sunday she had turned away Sweden's king and queen when they asked for a table after failing to recognize them.

Nadine Schellenberger of Zum Gueldenen Stern, a half-timbered inn and pub founded in the 16th century in the centre of the southwestern town of Ladenburg, said the royals stopped in while she was hosting a wedding party.

Cannot the king (or his secretary) use his phone to book a table? Like anybody would do?
Why should all restaurant owners of GERMANY know how the king of SWEDEN look like? Sorry for the Swedish readers but outside Sweden, nobody knows the king of Sweden (well, perhaps Danes and Norwegians do, but that's it)hehe...Well, Silvia (Sommerlath) is from Germany..

Roads and rails under water again

2011-08-16T18:16:00.004+02:00

This video is from June 2011

The unrelenting rains of the summer of 2011 continue to flood and wash away local roads and a major highway in southern Norway, as well as force closure once again of a key passenger- and cargo train line. Transport engineers say they’ve never seen anything like the water damage caused over the past several months.

Sunset in the forrest

2011-08-14T19:53:00.002+02:00

Watching the sun set so low
Tells us that it's time, the day is too end
Nobody cries as it leaves
Or reaches for the light
But soon back again

Into the wilderness

2011-08-13T17:46:00.008+02:00

Don't you ever watch the eagle fly to the sun
And wondered how he got to be so free
If you ever have you know your journey's begun
Hey what've we got to lose boy, when already we are
Lost in the wilderness

A long walk in the wilderness

2011-08-11T20:20:00.004+02:00

Today I had a 9 hours loooong walk in the forest. I only met sheep, birds and mosquito, no people, all alone. Nine hour without phone signal.

I also visit an old hut built by the Finnish a long time ago. They call the place Finnemarka.

Finnemarka received its name after the Finnish immigration and settlement in the 17-18th century, and traces of these settlements can still be found. This magnificent area of forest is quite varied, and dominated by rolling ridges and shining water at a height of 400-600 meters.

A rotten tree will never grow, it is slowly going back to the ground.

There are plenty of paths here, mostly sheep tracks.

Masturbating man 'moaning louder than an animal'

2011-08-11T10:17:00.007+02:00

A man has been reported to the authorities by his neighbors after they was tired of his noisy masturbation habits, which they report can strike at any time of the day or night.

Neighbours of the man, had long suffered due to his tendency to watch television at high volumes. "He moans louder than an animal... I can feel how it affects my state of mind," one of the neighbor said.

Are you sure it is only masturbation?? Maybe there is something more to this...and he lives in Sweden too...LOL...

Polar bear kill British tourist

2011-08-07T11:28:00.014+02:00

Photo from NRK

A polar bear has killed a 17 year-old British tourist and moderately or seriously injured four others who were part of a British school trip at the Von Postbreen glacier on the remote island of Spitsbergen, the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago.

The bear attacked the youths, estimated to be aged between 16 at 20, in their camp, and was shortly after shot by those other members of the 13 member travelling group. Two of the injured were adult leaders of the trip.

Around 3,000 polar bears are believed to live on Svalbard. The last time a polar bear was involved in fatalities on Svalbard was in 1995, when two were killed. Four people have been killed and a further four have been injured by polar bears on Svalbard since 1971. Since 1993, around three polar bears have been killed each year in situations where they had aggressively approached groups of people.

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. Located north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

The River City Drammen, Norway

2011-08-05T18:05:00.004+02:00

Drammen, the River City, is located 40 kilometers west of Oslo. Drammen has more than 63,000 inhabitants, but the city serves as a regional centre for an area with a population of about 150,000. Drammen is a city of diversity and 20 percent of the population have immigrant background, a fact which leaves its colourful mark on the cityscape.
This is the city I have my work, but don't live here. I live 42 km from the city and have to drive there every day by car.

Married Lesbian Couple Saved 40 NorwegianTeens

2011-08-02T20:32:00.007+02:00

A married lesbian couple in Norway used their boat to rescue 40 teens from last Friday's Norwegian killing spree. Risking their lives, these women saved people, even as bullets hit the side of their boat. They're heroes and you've never heard of them.

Enjoying a dinner at their campsite in Utøya, Hege Dalen and her wife, Toril Hansen stopped eating when they heard gunshots and screaming from the campsite across the lake. Realizing that something was seriously amiss, they pushed their boat into Lake Tyrifjorden and headed across the water.

Over the course of four trips from the island to the mainland, bullets smacking into the right side of their boat, Dalen and Hansen pulled the young and the wounded from the water, rescuing 40 teens in all.

Anders Behring Breivik, a Christian fundamentalist, went on a killing spree at a youth camp on Utøya Island, one of two attacks on Friday, July 22 that resulted in the deaths of more than 76 people. A bomb detonated in Oslo earlier in the day.

It's been over a week, so why is the news of this couple's amazing heroism just reaching world shores? One would think that the story of two women, a married lesbian couple, saving 40 teens on their own would be big news. But it hasn't been.

Why not? Why isn't there a major celebration of the heroism of this couple? Why aren't these women being honored for getting involved in a horrific situation, when it would have been much safer and easier to just ignore it?

The truth is that Dalen and Hansen risked their lives to save people they didn't know. They left their dinner, pushed their boat into the water, and flew into danger with no regard for their own safety. The fact that they are a married lesbian couple should have no bearing on why they did what they did, and it should not take away from the honor and respect they have earned. Spread the word; these women deserve it.

Norway changed into an ocean of flowers

2011-07-29T09:12:00.005+02:00

Instead of responding with hate and calls for revenge after those who died in last Friday's attacks , the vast majority of Norwegians are recovering from attacks on their capital and their youth last week with flowers, hugs, moments of silence and a series of memorial services.

An enormous gathering prompted another spontaneous display of support and solidarity: Norwegians used the roses they’d brought to the gathering to decorate the capital afterward

Streets, fences, plazas, buildings, brick walls – all have been adorned with flowers carried by those attending the huge gathering in the plaza outside City Hall. At that event, folks were urged through a spontaneous grassroots movement started on the social media site Facebook to bring a single rose. At various points during the memorial, they were called on to raise their roses, giving the impression of an enormous rose garden spread over the sprawling plaza.

Mountain flowers

2011-07-29T08:30:00.002+02:00

Island paradise turned to 'nightmare'

2011-07-24T23:28:00.003+02:00

CNN's Richard Quest talks to Stine Renate Haheim about being at the youth camp when the rampage started.

The killer of 78 peoples

2011-07-23T17:18:00.006+02:00

At least 78 people are killed in a massacre at a youth camp only hours after a deadly bomb blast in central Oslo.

Anders Behring Breivik (32), a Norwegian citizen of Norwegian descent, was arrested after the two attacks.

The first reports of the massacre on Utøya, an island about south-east of Oslo, came around 18.25 Friday.

According to a witness the gunman claimed to be a police officer offering help, before he opened fire and started killing people.

Nearly 700 young members of the Labour Party were on the island for an annual youth camp.

It took a while for the police to realise the full extent of the massacre. Saturday afternoon police confirms that at least 78 people are killed in the shootings on the island.

Some of the youth tried to swim to safety to escape the gunman.
The death toll may rise even more as rescue workers search the water around the island.

Yesterday police said they also found explosives in a car on the island.

Two deadly terror attack in Norway, 78 killed.

2011-07-23T13:38:00.016+02:00

On a normal Friday afternoon, downtown Oslo is a lively place, full of folks winding down. The bars are full and the restaurants busy. It’s a happy, energetic city, fueled by weekend expectations and 12-dollar beers.

But in the hours after the deadly fist of terrorism struck Oslo, the sights and sounds of Oslo were very different. There was no laughter and no clinking of glasses. There was no rush-hour traffic as the police had sealed off a large area around the blast site.
All those familiar sounds had given way to an eerie silence, broken only by the the occasional ambulance siren and the subdued voices of shell-shocked locals trading information and rumors, standing around in huddled groups in the drizzle, or talking to someone on the phone.
Seven persons were killed in Oslo and severals were wounded.

After great speculation that Norway had been hit by terrorist attacks on Friday, police confirmed that the suspect they arrested is a 32-year-old ethnic Norwegian. It remained unclear late Friday night whether he was acting alone, or had ties to a terrorist organization. Speculation was rising that he’s linked to right-wing extremists, not Islamic terrorists.

Norway ’s worst catastrophe since World War II continued to deepen during the night, when the director of the state police announced that at least 86 persons were killed in a massacre at the Labour Party’s annual summer camp.
A gunman dressed in a police uniform opened fire on campers on the island Utøya and shoot 85 young persons.

The camp is not far away from where I live.. This is a very dark day for Norway.

Angler got more than he could bear

2011-07-20T20:19:00.006+02:00

The police in my district were called to help a man fishing on Monday night after he browned a bear off.

He phoned from the roof of a mountain cabin, telling us he had been standing fishing when he heard it break a few branches behind him. He turning around, he saw a brown bear coming towards him.
He dropped the fishing rod and ran at full speed to a nearby cabin. However, the bear would not leave and stood below, waiting for him.

Efforts by local police to scare the bear away using sirens and waning shots failed and it was not until Sea King helicopter crew called in to assist saved the man by winching him up. He was flown home unharmed.

It's incredibly rare that bears follow people, even in parts of the country where they are many. It must have been because the fisherman had refused to hand over some trout he had caught.

Rain almost every day since april

2011-07-17T15:07:00.005+02:00

drip drip drip.............. this is the sound when I wake up, drink my tea or coffee, drive to work, come back from work, watch tv and sleep.
Its raining everyday, its wet everyday, I hear the thunder roaring outside, and I see lighting sparking outside.

Drunk parents forget kids on holiday

2011-07-14T21:24:00.003+02:00

Some Norwegian embassies in countries popular with vacationing Norwegians have been dealing with a thorny problem of late: Drunken adults who forget their children while on holiday in foreign countries. The children face traveling home alone, when their parents fail to turn up for flight departure times.

Norwegian embassies in countries like Spain, Turkey and Greece have been contacted to help sort out assistance for children abandoned by parents who have gone off partying without them.

In one recent case, Foreign Ministry personnel were contacted at 4:30am by a travel firm concerned for the welfare of an 11-year-old Norwegian child whose mother couldn’t be found just hours before their return flight to Norway was due to depart. Ministry staff scrambled to arrange for the child to travel alone but be met by the state childrens’ protective services staff when the flight landed in Norway. The mother eventually turned up but was so drunk that airline staff wouldn’t allow her on board. The child then traveled home in the company of another Norwegian family, and officials arranged for her uncle to pick her up at the airport. The mother returned on a later flight.
Shame on you to all parents who drink too much and don't take care of their children..

Anti-whaling activists still angry

2011-07-10T20:05:00.003+02:00

A Norwegian official’s claim that the country no longer faces international protests over its commercial whaling activity has been soundly trounced by anti-whaling activists. They claim opposition to Norwegian whaling is as strong as ever.

The mass street protests of the 1990s, it’s claimed, have evolved into “more sophisticated campaigns” targeting actual whaling interests. Some UK food retailers and wholesalers are reportedly refusing to buy seafood from any companies with a link to whaling.

Norway is one of six countries in the world, along with Japan, Iceland, Russia,Greenland and USA that has continued to hunt whales. The hunts are in defiance of a global ban on whaling.

Lofoten, Norway

2011-07-03T11:10:00.001+02:00

July Norway's deadliest month in traffic

2011-07-03T10:23:00.004+02:00

If you're a man driving on a Saturday afternoon in July, you'd be advised to take it easy on the road.

Seasons have a significant effect on who is involved in traffic accidents. Among men and young people, the summer months are the most dangerous, while women and elderly more often have accidents on wintry roads.

A majority of last year's fatal accidents occurred in daylight, on dry roads. June and July top statistics, due to the many motorcycles rolling on roads.

If you wear a seat belt, follow speed limits and stay sober, you'll come a long way.

Mountain Lake

2011-06-28T20:25:00.003+02:00

About Norway

2011-06-24T22:12:00.003+02:00

Video: Norway. Powered by Nature (5 minutes)

Visit the official travel guide to Norway

Norway is known for nature attractions like fjords, mountains and midnight sun, and is easily accessible by plane from most European countries.
Norway has a population of about 4.8 million and covers an area of 385,155 square kilometres. The official Head of State is King Harald V.

Viewers love to watch the "Hurtigruten"

2011-06-20T18:31:00.005+02:00

Public broadcaster NRK's "Longest Tv documentary in the World", featuring the non-stop five-and-a-half day around the clock voyage of the coastal steamer "NORDNORGE", has become a hit with the viewers.

Altogether 1.345.000 persons watched the start of the voyage between 19:45 Thursday evening till 03:00 Friday morning.

In addition there are a high number of viewers from abroad, watching the NRK2 feed via the Internet. During the first hour of the broadcast on Thursday evening, more than a third of the web viewers had logged on from abroad, NRK reports.

By noon on Friday, 245.000 had logged on, and most viewers came from Denmark, the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain.

In Seoul, South Korea, subway riders are able to follow the journey along the Norwegian coast on TV screens.

Still rain and no summer here

2011-06-19T12:18:00.000+02:00

Rain wreaks havoc

2011-06-10T16:54:00.016+02:00

Still no sign of real summer here..

Torrential rain continued to pound down on wide areas of southern Norway during the night and on Friday, washing out bridges, setting off mudslides and leaving some communities isolated. The train line was blocked and traffic was a nightmare, just as the long three-day pinse holiday weekend was getting underway.

Traffic was already expected to be heavy out of Norway’s cities on Friday, as Norwegians planned escapes to holiday cabins along the coast and in the mountains. Flooding and mudslides made it even worse, and cars on all highways in and out of Oslo, for example, were mostly standing still Friday afternoon. State highway officials urged those who hadn’t left the city for planned holidays to just stay home and wait until congestion eased.

Stories for Life: Hiking to the top of Preikestolen (the Pulpit Rock)

2011-06-04T18:20:00.003+02:00

Video: Stories for Life: Hiking to the top of the Pulpit Rock

Visit the official travel guide to Norway

Hike from the Preikestolen Mountain Lodge to the top of Pulpit Rock, 600 metres above the Lysefjord.

Sweat and sore muscles will soon be forgotten. The view from the Pulpit Rock over the Lysefjord and Ryfylke and the adrenalin you feel on the edge will make you forget anything. Really. This is a true moment that can do something to you. Open your mind. The hike is less than five kilometres each way.

Stories for Life: Fjord cruise on the Lysefjord, Norway

2011-06-04T17:45:00.002+02:00

Video: Stories for Life: Fjord cruise on the Lysefjord

Visit the official travel guide to Norway

The Lysefjord
The Lysefjord is 500 metres at its deepest and 42 kilometres long. It is home to Preikestolen, the famous Pulpit Rock.

Green water against the brutal mountain walls and a blue sky. Dreamlike.
The combination of high mountains and the fjord almost makes you feel the enormous glaciers brutally forming the fjords so many years ago.

The Lysefjord is most famous for the Pulpit Rock and Kjerag, two distinct and unique mountain formations. Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, is the most easily accessible one. The 600 square metre plateau, 600 metres above the fjord, is a five kilometre hike form the Preikestolen Mountain Lodge.

Steigen - My Birth Place

2011-06-02T19:02:00.005+02:00

Steigen has fertile lowlands in between the mountains and the sea. There are several archeological sites showing settlements from the Bronze age, Iron age and Viking age.

The Iron Age
During the centuries before and after the birth of Christ the new iron technology was gradually adopted, making new fishing/hunting and agricultural techniques possible.

From this age we find a lot of burial places, house and boathouse sites, and accumulated layers in the earth from the settlement of many different generations at the same place.

The most striking difference between our age and this period of settlement is that they buried their dead on the farms where they had lived all their lives, whereas we bury our dead in the cemetery near the church. Their dead were still a part of the life on the farm - marking a sort of continuity which seems to have been of great importance to the Iron Age people.

Stormy cold weather this week

2011-05-24T21:27:00.003+02:00

It's almost June, where is the summer. Seriously,i remember in the old days that summer came at least in early may,and it STAYED hot, now it is stormy and cold almost like October.
I've heard that its global warming, but is there anything that can be done to make summers normal again?...and winther too.. Winter is colder than before, too..

Summer pasture farming in Norway

2011-05-21T18:23:00.004+02:00

The practice of summer pasture farming is ancient, almost as old as farming is here in this country. Archaeological finds uncovered in mountain valleys witness that summer farming took place already in the Iron Age, in the 7th century.

Summer pasture farming has been – and is – an integrated element of Norwegian agriculture, that is, first and foremost with regard to production of milk from cows and goats. Summer farming was first regulated in the laws that were laid down in the 12th century. According to the Gulatingslova (old Norwegian law) if a farmer did not herd his cows and goats to the summer pasture, he could be reported for illegal grazing – "grass robbery". In olden times cows produced 2⁄3 of their annual production in the summer farming period, and in a wintry country (like Norway) it was vital to process this raw material into food that could be stored and used throughout the long winter.

Summer farming in Norway, as elsewhere in Europe, has diminished – but we are nonetheless a key element for this form of joint European operation. Around the year 1850 there were perhaps as many as 100,000 summer farms in active use, in 1939 around 27,000.

Norway's summer farm culture is highly diversified: from south to north, from west to east, single summer farm units or shared summer farms, located in the highlands and the lowlands, isolated or with neighbouring farms,, near or far, purely milking operations or including processing, some don't even have roads leading up to them. The uniqueness of the Norwegian summer farm is that we still find sustainable active summer farm environments in fjord and coastal districts as well; that is, not just in mountain districts.

Troll from the north

2011-05-19T19:32:00.002+02:00

A troll is a fearsome member of a number of creatures from Norwegian mythology. Originally they are, sort of, the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size.
The different pictures and sculptures have come to range from the extremely wicked or cruel giants – to a dishonest, more human-like folk of the wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or piles of earth. In the Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland tales, trolls are called trows, taken over from the Norse language when these islands were settled by Vikings.
Nordic literature, art and music from the romantic era and further ahead in time has adapted trolls in various manners. Often in the form of an aboriginal race, with oversized ears and noses. The biggest troll in Norway can be found in Hunderfossen familypark in Gudbrandsdal.

HISTORY: The usage of the word troll has developed over time. Probably it had the original meaning of supernatural or magical.
Another likely suggestion is that it means "someone who behaves violently". In old Swedish law, trolleri was a particular kind of magic intended to do harm. It should also be noted that North terms such as trolldom (witchcraft) and trolla/trylle (perform magic tricks) in modern Scandinavian languages does not imply any connection with the mythical being. Moreover, in the sources for Norse mythology, troll can signify any mysterious being, including but not restricted to the Norse giants.