Nordea’s cheif economist Steinar Juel explains Oslo’s place on the world’s most expensive cities list with the high cost of living.  Food, transportation, and housing are all quite expensive in Norway.  While Norway is self-sufficient in many ways (i.e. the oil, hydropower, and maritime industries), many commodities must be imported.  Importation, as well as high taxes, means high costs.  Also, an important thing to understand is that while other countries experienced (and are still experiencing) a dramatic decline in the housing market, Norway’s housing market has remained stable. 

Here are a number of prices of items in U.S. dollars (source: Business Week):  keep in mind that some of these items may be more expensive and some may be less expensive, as BM pointed out.  I got the information from Aftenposten online and it came from Business Week.  So, in short, some of the numbers may not be exactly right, but you get the idea-most things are quite expensive.

Movie ticket: 12.84
Quick lunch: 32.65
Washing machine: 808.01
Kilo of rice: 4.40
Can of soft drink: 2.07

And here are a few tips to help you save money when you are in Oslo:

-avoid tour guides for sight seeing.  Either guide yourself or have a friend/relative show you around.

-if you plan to go out for the night, have a few drinks at home.  Alcohol is extremely expensive at bars and restaurants!  I paid nearly $20 for a beer one time on Karl Johans Gate.

-avoid taking taxis.  Use public transportation or walk.

-cook your own food for the most part.  It is very expensive to eat out.  Also, meat is very expensive at the supermarket, so limit your intake, as hard as it is!  I ate a lot of rice, beans, bread, and cheese.

-buy produce at immigrant markets-it’s worth the trip on the Tbane to the east side of Oslo for this.

-If you have a visa and it allows you to do so, get a part-time job!

-be aware of discounts, especially student discounts.

I lived in Oslo for about 9 months and I was very wise with how I spent my money.  It is definitely do-able to live cheaply.  Make a budget!

Post from: Norwegian Blog

Amundsen, one of four brothers, was born into a family of Norwegian shipowners and captains in a small town called Borge, which lies between Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg.  While his 3 older brothers entered the maritime industry, his mother’s desire was to keep Roald out of it; she wanted him to become a doctor.  Being the good son he was, he kept his promise to his mother until she died when he was just 21 years old.  At this point, he left the university and took to a life at sea.  Amundsen’s secret desire was fueled by Fritjof Nansen’s (another famous Norwegian explorer) crossing of Greenland in 1888. 

When Amundsen was 25 years old, he was first mate on a Belgian Antarctic Expedition on a ship called Belgica, which became frozen in sea ice off of Alexander Island near the Antarctic Peninsula.  The crew endured a tough winter and barely survived to return home. 

Since the time of Christopher Columbus, he and others had attempted to traverse the Northwest Passage.  It wasn’t until 1903 that this mission was accomplished by Roald Amundsen with a small crew in a seal hunting ship called Gjøa.  The trip took several years, during which time Amundsen learned important survival skills from the natives, including the use of sled dogs and animal skins (rather than a cumbersome parka) to keep warm.  It wasn’t until December of 1905, after having successfully traversed the Northwest Passage and on his way back, that Amundsen was able to send a telegraph to Norway announcing his triumph.  At this point Amundsen was informed of the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden; Norway was fully independent with her own king!  Amundsen was ecstatic and fueled his drive even more to explore new territory as a proud subject of the king of Norway.

In 1910, Amundsen left Oslo heading south for Antarctica on Fram, the ship that Fritjof Nansen had used in an earlier expedition.  After one failed attempt to reach the pole, Amundsen’s success was made public on March 7, 1912.  The expedition certainly did not happen without hardship.  Of the 52 dogs the group originally started with, only 11 survived the trip. 

Amundsen endured other polar adventures throughout his life, and as mentioned earlier, the arctic claimed his life when the plane he was in went down while flying over the Arctic Ocean on a rescue mission (1928).  He had always said that he wanted to do in the arctic.   

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

Edvard Munch is one of Norway’s prized artists.  One of his most well known paintings is “Scream,” which you would probably recognize if you take interest in art.  Munch was a symbolist painter, printmaker, lithographer, wood engraver, and one of the forerunners of expressionist art.   Munch’s style of art was a result of the tumultuous times in which he lived (1863-1944) and his own troubled life. 

Edvard had 4 siblings:  one older sister, Johanna Sophie, and 3 younger siblings, Peter Andreas, Inger Marie, and Laura Cathrine.  His mother, also Laura Cathrine, died when Edvard was only 5 years old and his older and favorite sister, Johanna Sophie died when Edvard was 14 years old.  His father, Christian (son of a priest) took care of the children after their mother died.  Edvard saw his father as an extremely nervous and religious man, 2 characteristics to which Edvard attributed his own internal demons.  As a young child, Edvard was in poor physical health, and even then he knew that he suffered from deep sadness and depression.  One of his younger sisters was diagnosed with mental illness at a young age, so it clearly ran in the family. 

At the age of 16, Edvard enrolled in a technical college to study engineering.  While he proved to be quite talented, he left engineering behind and enrolled in the Royal School of Art and Design of Kristiania.  A distant relative, Jacob Munch, was actually one of the founders of the school.  In his early years as a painter, Munch experimented quite a bit with Naturalism and Impressionism.  After a while these forms of art did not allow for enough expression for Munch, so he entered a period of self-reflection, supported especially by the views of Hans Jaeger, a local nihilist, who advocated suicide as a form of freedom of self. 

During his young adult life as an artist, Munch began to binge-drink and get into fights.  His first adventure as an artist took him to Paris where he studied for a brief stint and then returned home to Oslo after his father died.  As you can see, death was prevalent in his life.  Munch’s painting “Scream” is understood by many to represent the universal anxiety of modern humankind.   

Many years later as an adult man, Munch was still drinking heavily and getting into fights.  He began therapy and naturally, his art became more colorful and less depressing.  However, not a decade later brought the arrival of the WWI, which Munch had a hard time with, because most of his friends were German, but it was France that he really loved.  After WWI, many of his Jewish friends had suffered great losses under the Germans during the rise of Nazism.  In addition, Munch suffered, but survived the great Spanish flu pandemic.

Most of Munch’s last years were spent at his estate in Ekely, at Skøyen, Oslo, where his art reflected farm life.  He spent much of his time painting self-portraits of the different stages of his life, which in the 30s and 40s the Nazis deemed unfavorable art.  As a result of Nazi opinions of Munch’s style, much of his work was removed from German museums.  Shortly after his 80th birthday, Munch died in his home, after several years of paranoia about the German occupation of Norway.  The Nazis orchestrated his funeral, and therefore many believed that Munch was a Nazi-sympathizer. 

The city of Oslo bought his estate, with all of his art and built a museum for Munch’s work (the Munch Museum) in Tøyen, Oslo, which opened in 1963.  If I had a choice of going to a history museum, a science museum, or an art museum, the art museum would always be my 3rd choice, but I had a great experience at the Munch Museum.  It’s quite astounding to be in a museum in a small country that is so full and dedicated to one artist-a truly amazing man who produced so much meaningful art.  Check it out!

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

Morten Thorvaldsen, CEO of Thon Hotels, is proud to be a joint partner with Icehotel to bring Icebar to Oslo.  Thon Hotels is the 3rd largest hotel chain in Norway, and also provides accomodations for visitors to Sweden, Belgium, and Holland.  I’ve stayed in one and it was very nice. 

So this Icebar in Oslo seems like it’s going to be really cool.  The manager, Joachim Langebrekke Larsen, says that it is not the intention that one should “fryse rumpe av seg hele tiden” (freeze one’s *** off).  It will of course be cold, but the idea is not to hang out in the ice room for a very long period of time.  Camilla Gulsett, Thon representative, recommends leaving your stillettos and and skirts at home and dressing more warmly than if you are going out to a vanlig utested (normal place to go out).  But just in case you don’t dress warm enough or if you want to add to the experience, Icebar offers guests warm jackets and thick gloves (so that it’s not painful to hold your ice glasses).  Icebar will also sell hats and other merchandise. 

On the menu, there are cold alcoholic drinks, warm alcoholic drinks, and tapas to snack on.  Instead of “on the rocks,” at Icebar, one says “in the rocks,” jokes Gulsett in a recent Aftenposten online article about the new Icebar opening on Friday in Oslo.  Here is the website if you want to test your Norwegian comprehension and see some neat bilder (pictures): http://oslopuls.aftenposten.no/restaurant_uteliv/article294169.ece

In addition to the new Icebar in Oslo, there are several ice hotels in Norway.  There is the Kirkenes Snow Hotel (located in Kirkenes, close to the Russian border), which features a special dinner cooked over open fire, a husky farm nearby, a sauna, and a reindeer park.  The Ice Lodge is another icy place to stay overnight.  Lastly, the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Alta is the world’s northernmost ice hotel.  I haven’t been to any of these places, but I can’t wait.  It sounds like such a fun experience!

Post from: Norwegian Blog

Although there is a lack of artifacts that remain from Vikingtiden (the Viking Age), Vikingskipshuset is home to the majority of remaining artifacts.  Objects found in the museum include sledges, beds, carts (horse carts), wood carvings, jewelry, weapons, and other household items.  It was tradition during that time to bury the dead with grave goods, often in a boat or ship.  Like the ancient Egyptians, the kind of burial depended on the deceased social status.  It was important to send the deceased off into the afterlife with the same kind of social standing that he/she held during life.  Some people of high social standing were buried with slaves.  If you haven’t been to Vikingskipshuset yet, I highly recommend making the visit.  It is breathtaking to see the large ships and imagine how they were built, what it was like to sail them, and the people and places the ships and their crews encountered. 

Vikingskipshuset is located on the Bygdøy peninsula, a 10-minute drive from Oslo Sentrum (the city center of Oslo).  It is very easy to get to, by trikk (tram), bil (car), buss (bus), fot (foot), or drosje (taxi).  The T-bane does not go out to Bygdøy.  Once you are out there on the peninsula, there are other places to visit as well.  The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, the Kon-Tiki Museum, and The Norwegian Maritime Museum are all in the vicinity.  There are also several nice beaches, including the nude beach that I mentioned in an earlier post (the one that my dad and I stumbled upon).  Enjoy your visit to Bygdøy!

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

Holmenkollen ski jump (in Holmenkollen, Oslo) is one of Oslo’s main attractions, one that you will not want to miss.  It is host to the world’s second oldest ski jump competitition (that stil exists) and home to the oldest ski musuem in the world.  Over 1 million tourists visit the attraction every year.  I lived in Norway for 8 months and I visited it at least 5 times.  Every time I would have visitors stay with me, I would take them there and I think I visited it a couple times by myself just to walk around and relax.  It really is a beautiful place.

The Holmenkollbanen, a railway included in the T-bane system brings visitors to the Holmenkollen station where they get off and walk to the ski jump.  If I remember correctly, the ride from Oslo city center to Holmenkollen is about a half and hour long-it’s a pleasant ride.  The view is incredible-it overlooks the Oslofjord and the city of Oslo.  On a sunny day in the winter, the water from the Oslofjord glitters interacts very nicely with the white snow to produce a very bright and happy glimmer. 

The first competition at Holmenkollen was in January of 1892.  A crowd of 10,000 was in attendence to watch Svein Sollid win the competition by jumping 21.5 meters.  In 1923 the ski museum was opened.  The current tower was built in 1939 and since then, the ski jump has been upgraded 15 times.  Most of the upgrades occurred during the 1952 Winter Olympics.  Holmenkollen has also been host to nearly a dozen other nordic skiing and biathalon world championships. 

The Holmenkollen arena is a venue for cross-country skiing, nordic combined (cross-country and ski jumping), and biathalon skiing (cross-country and rifle shooting-one of the most popular sports in Norway).  Every year Holmenkollen hosts world cup biathalon competitions.  In March every year, Holmenkollen Weekend is an event the features mens 50 km cross-country skiing and the ski jump competition.  Before 2011, Holmenkollen will undergo another upgrade to prepare for the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.  The decision to host this event has been a source of much controversy because the current Holmenkollen does not meet the standards to award the event.  Therefore, a lot of expensive changes must be made.  If you would like more details about the controversy or about what exactly the changes will be, search for ‘Holmenkollen ski jump controversy’. 

If you get a chance to visit Oslo, I highly recommend taking the Tbane up to Holmenkollen to walk around the arena, climb the stairs to nearly the top of the jump, and enjoy the fantastic view overlooking the Oslofjord.  It really is incredible.  I’m sure it will look just as nice or nicer after the changes are made by 2011. 

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

My kjæreste (boyfriend) and I took our hund out yesterday pheasant (fasan) hunting.  Because our høst has been so kald with so much regn, most of the corn fields have not been harvested yet, and thus, it is difficult to hunt for fugler (birds) because they are protected by the corn.  We didn’t even see one fasan or any kind of bird that is legal to hunt, so it was quite disappointing.  I don’t have a hunting license and I don’t know that much about it, so for now, I just go along to be a spotter. 

Being out yesterday got me thinking about jakt i Norge.  I don’t recall any of my friends in Norway being jegere (hunters), but I know some of my family members are.  I’ve done a little research on jakt i Norge that I’d like to share with you in case any of you are jegere or just curious about the topic and perhaps how reglene (the rules) and reguleringer (regulations) differ from your hjemland (home country).   

For starters, I think the age requirements for jakt i Norge and in the state that I live in, Minnesota, are interesting.  In Minnesota, a child can be certified and begin hunting at the age of 11 (which is before junior high).  In Norway, a child can take the proficiency test at age 14, but cannot begin hunting until age 16.  At age 16 in Norway, it is legal to hunt for small game and to trap (all but gaupe, or lynx, which one must be 18 to hunt).  Large game hunting is permitted at 18 years of age.  The age difference for jakt i Norge and the United States is not unlike the age difference pertaining to consuming alkohol, being able å kjøre (to drive), and participate in a krig (war) in the two countries.  In the U.S., a child is allowed to shoot a gun 10 years prior to being able to consume alkohol, kjøre en bil (drive a car) 5 years before he/she can consume alkohol, and kjempe i en krig (fight in a war) 3 years before he/she can consume alkohol.  In Norway, the procession is quite different-one can gå på jakt and drikke alkohol 2 years before one can kjøre en bil or kjempe i en krig. 

Enough political thought and more about hunting…

Similar to the United States and I’m sure many other countries, one must pay a fee to obtain a license to hunt.  In Norway, as long as the jeger has permission, he/she can hunt on government property, state common land (a feature of southern Norway, from Nord-Trøndelag to the south and then also in northern Norway), and private property.  As far as what kinds of dyr (animals) people can hunt, it all depends on one’s status as a citizen of Norway.  Foreigners can hunt in Norway, but there are more regler and reguleringer that apply to non-nationals that live in Norway.  The Directorate for State Forests and Land and the Municipal Common Land Boards are responsible for hunting and processing applications.  You can find more information if you consult these sources.

Lastly, I would like to mention dyr that are commonly hunted in Norway:

rype-ptarmigan/grouse                               gjess-goose

elg-moose                                                    hare-hare

hjort-deer                                                    gaupe-lynx

villrein-wild reindeer                                  ulv-wolf

bjørn-bear                                                    vadefugler-wading birds

sjøfugler-sea birds                                      bever-beaver

and the list goes on….

happy jakt!

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

This year the most popular kostymer (costumes) are edderkoppdrakt (spider wear) and djeveldrakt (devil wear).  There are definitely barn (children) who dress as non-scary things, such as prinsesser or other Disney karakterer.  The following site provides a guide to kostymeutleie (costume rental) places in Oslo: http://oslopuls.aftenposten.no/shopping/article88457.ece 

So what do barn say when they ring a doorbell in hopes of godteri (candy)?  They don’t say “trick or treat,” they say “knask eller knep?”  I have never experienced Hallowen in Norway, but apparently it is not uncommon for barn to actually play a knep or even vandalize something if they don’t get a knask. In the U.S., “trick or treat” is just what you say when you ring a doorbell and someone answers.  Most people will simply smile and give you a treat.  I actually don’t remember ever not getting candy or being asked to do a trick.  The only thing I ever got mad about was getting an eple (apple) or something else healthy for a treat. Halloween is all about sugar!

So if you are going out for Halloween in Oslo tonight, it sounds like there are plenty of fester (parties) and feiringer (celebrations).  There is even an event up at the lake that I lived by in Oslo-Sognsvann.  There is a huge bål (bonfire) up by the lake where you can roast pølser after you walk through the dark forest to get there.  You can take a trip to the Historisk Museum to decorate a skull.  You can go to Akershusfestning and hunt for ghosts or listen to live musikk inspired by spooky things.  There is plenty to choose from in Oslo to feire Halloween tonight.�

Post from: Norwegian Blog

The following is a list of names and their equivalents that look, but maybe don’t sound the same in English:

Edvard-Edward                                     Anders-Andrew                             

Daniel-Daniel/David-David (the “a” is and “ah” sound in Norwegian)

Brigitta/Birgitta-Bridget                     Aksel-Axel (again the “a” is prounounced “ah” in Norwegian)

Joakim-Joachim                                    Johanne/Johannes-John�                     

Kjersti (pronounced “Chair-stee”)-Christi/Kristi                Lars (pronounced “Larsh”)-Laurence

Mikkel-Michael                                    Morten-Martin                            Pål (pronounced “Pole”-Paul)

You get the picture…

And now, let’s look at norske navner that have meanings

Trygve-a name derived from an Old Norse word meaning “trustworthy” (trygg means “safe”)

Viggo (like Viggo Mortenson)-derived from an Old Norse word meaning “war”

Solveig-derived from Old Norse words for “sun” and “strength”

Olaf-derived from Old Norse word meaning “ancestor” or “descendent”

Helge-derived from Old Norse word meaning “holy” or “blessed”

Leif-derived from an Old Norse word meaning “descendent” or “heir”

Magnhild-derived from Old Norse words meaning “mighty/strong” and “battle”

Arne-derived from Old Norse short term for “eagle”

Bergljot-derived from Old Norse words meaning “help/save” and “light”

Halstein-derived from Old Norse words meaning “rock” and “stone”

And you get the picture…

I love norske navn.

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Post from: Norwegian Blog

Norge i et nøtteskall takes you through the breathtaking country by local train, regional train, tourist boat, and bus.  Some of the highlights include the Bergen railway, the Flåm railway, Nærøyfjord, Aurlandsfjord, and Stalheimskleiva.�  You see mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and beautiful fjords along the way. 

The Bergen railway is northern Europe’s highest altitude railway; it endures harsh weather for part of the year and thus requires extremely skilled technical expertise to maintain it and provide a safe, enjoyable experience for all who use it to get between Oslo and Bergen. 

The Flåm railway was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  It takes passengers from the mountain station of Myrdal down to Flam.  It is a fairly short leg of the trip, but the train travels slowly and makes several stops to really get good views. 

Once the train reaches Flåm, you have some free time to walk around until you board a tourist boat which sails through the Aurlandsfjord and into the Nærøyfjord, one of the narrowest fjords in Europe and also on UENSCO’s World Heritage List.  This part of the trip is pretty magical with the mountains surrounding you, views of traditional, picturesque Norwegian farms (if you’re lucky, you might see seals basking on rocks and goats grazing).

After the boat trip, the journey takes you by coach up the curvy, steep roads of Stalheimskleiva.  I remember looking out the bus window and seriously wondering if it would be possible to get up and down these narrow, steep, and extremely bendy turns.  Kudos to the bus driver.  This is the leg of the trip where you see waterfalls, including Stalheimsfossen and Sivlefossen.  From Voss, you can either go to west to Bergen or east to Oslo. 

The trip is not too expensive and it is completely worth it for what you get to see.  Before I sign off, I forgot the most interesting part.  At one of the waterfalls that we stopped at, a hulder emerged from the waterfall and was singing beautiful music.  She had a red dress on and donned a cow’s tail.  Huldrer are seductive forest creatures.  Needless to say, my 20 year old brother was impressed.  I had never before seen a cow woman pop out of a waterfall and belt out what sounded like magic fairy music.�

Post from: Norwegian Blog