Posts under Culture

Isbygninger

Posted by Kari
Nov
11
2009

Ice buildings.  Norwegians seem to enjoy creating indoor venues that resemble the outdoors.  And I don’t mean a nice summer day in the woods, I mean ice.  This month Icebar, debuts in Oslo.  Icebar offers a unique experience of Nordic winter in incredible ice surroundings.  The walls, the furniture, the dishware, and even the art are made of ice from from the Torne River in Lapland, Sweden.  In fact, it was in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden that the concept was born with the world’s largest ice hotel.  Icebar in Oslo is the third and largest of it’s kind; there is an icebar in Copenhagen, Denmark and Tokyo, Japan.  Icebar is brought to these countries by Icehotel, the Swedish company that in 1994 brought Absolut Icebar to Sweden (a perfect harmony between creativity and design and pure raw materials).

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!

 
Posted under Culture, Leisure, Nature 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Vikingskipshuset

Posted by Kari
Nov
8
2009

The Viking ships house.  Vikingskipshuset and det Historiske museet (the Historical Museum) form Universitetets Kulturhistoriske museer (the University Museums of Cultural Heritage) under the University of Oslo.  The main attractions at Vikingskipshuset are the famous Viking ships Gokstad (found in Sandefjord), Oseberg (found in Tønsberg), Tune, and Borre (which is a burial mound cemetary).  Prior to the building of Vikingskipshuset, the ships were stored in temporary shelters at the University of Oslo.  There was an architectural contest to see who would be chosen to build the permanent home for these ships.  Arnstein Arneberg, one of Norway’s most well-known architects, won the contest and with funding from  Stortinget (Parliament), the hall for the Oseberg ship was built and it was moved in in 1926.  The halls for Gokstad and Tune were completed in 1932.  World War II delayed the building of the last hall until 1957, which houses the majority of the other finds, in large part from the Oseberg ship.

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!

 
Posted under Culture, History 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Halloween i Norge

Posted by Kari
Oct
31
2009

Halloween in Norway.  Do nordmenn celebrate Halloween?  The answer is yes, but not to the extent that Americans do, and they do it slightly differently.  It was not until very recently that the trend caught on in Norway to celebrate Halloween.  Actually, there is an interesting chart in an article in Aftenposten online that shows the increase of coverage of Halloween in Norwegian newspapers.  In 1997 there were 15 comments or discussions about Halloween and in 2008 there were 433.  It was only a matter of time before the spooky day became popular. 

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.

 
Posted under Culture, Holidays 0 Comments | Post a Comment

norske navn

Posted by Kari
Oct
27
2009

Norwegian names (notice there is no “er” ending on the indefinite plural “names” because navn is a one-syllable “et” noun).  It’s always for me to learn about names and their origins or what name something equates to in my own language.  Names are kind of funny things, right?  It seems people can always come up with new names out of the 26 letters in the English alphabet.  Many names we might think are new are actually old names from a different culture.  Such as Elias, which equates to Elijah, a name found in the Bible.  Or Filip, which you might guess is Phillip.  There are many names that look familiar, but sound much different (i.e. Elisabet-Elizabeth look very similar but the Norwegian Elisabet is pronounced “Ay-lee-sah-bet”).

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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Posted under Language, Traditions 4 Comments | Post a Comment

Hvor mye vet du om Norge?

Posted by Kari
Sep
21
2009

How much do you know about Norway?

I thought it would be fun to learn some interesting facts that you may not have known about Norway.

Visste du at (Did you know that) Norway’s kystlinje (coastline) is about 25,000km/15,500 miles long?

Visste du at Norway has more than 45,000 øyer (islands) within it’s domain?

Visste du at Norway’s vestkyst (west coast) is home to an 8km/4.97 miles road called Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic sea road)?  It zigzags over 12 bridges in the sea that connect islands from the mainland towns of Molde and Kristiansund.  The workers endured 12 orkaner (hurricanes) during the 6 år that the prosjekt (project) was in process. 

Visste du at Norway is home to more than 150,000 innsjøer (lakes)? 

Visste du at Norway’s biggest byer (cities) are Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø, and Stavanger?

Visste du at the name of Norway’s største fjell (biggest mountain) is Galdhøpiggen (pronounced Gald-huh-piggen)?  It is 2469 meters/8100 feet tall.

Visste du at Sognefjorden is Norway’s største fjord (biggest fjord)? 

Visste du at Norway’s nasjonalsang (national song) heter (is named) “Ja vi elsker dette landet” (Yes we love this country)?

Visste du at Norway is slightly larger than Tyskland (Germany) in square-footage?

Visste du at there are 19 fylker (counties) in Norway?

Visste du at the krone (crown) is one of the sterkeste (strongest) currencies i verden (in the world) right now?

Visste du at only about 20% of ethnic nordmenn (Norwegians) consider religion to be an important part of their lives?  This makes Norway one of the most secular countries i verden.

Forhåpentligvis (hopefully–one of my favorite Norwegian words) vet du mer om Norge en du visste før du leste dette (you know more about Norway than you knew before you read this)!

 
Posted under Culture, Geography, Norway and the world 2 Comments | Post a Comment