Posts under Nature

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

jakt i Norge

Posted by Kari
Nov
2
2009

Hunting in Norway. 

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!

 

 
Posted under Leisure, Nature, Sports 1 Comment | Post a Comment

Norge i et nøtteskall

Posted by Kari
Oct
24
2009

Norway in a nutshell is a fantastic way to see Norway’s natural beauty.  If you ever get the chance to do it, I highly recommend it.  I took the tour with my mother and brother over 5 years ago.  The weather wasn’t the best, but I can still say I have never seen anything more beatiful in my life than I did that day on the tour. 

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.

 
Posted under Leisure, Nature 1 Comment | Post a Comment

Midnattsol

Posted by Kari
Jun
24
2009

Norway-land of the midnight sun.  Midnattsol is one of those words that is really two words smushed together that is pretty easy to figure out if you know what sol means from another romance language and if you can figure that midnatt means midnight…  I have only experienced the midnattsol in one place-Norway.  Anywhere north of polarsirkelen (arctic circle) or nearby it and south of the antarctic circle experiences the midnattsol for a period of time during the year.  Since there really aren’t people who live south of the antarctic circle, the only people who actually experience this phenomenon are those who live in the far north-people in Canada, the United States (only Alaska) Norway, Sweden, Denmark (Greenland-an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark) Finland, and Russia.  And there aren’t many people who live in these far north regions, so there is a small portion of the world’s population that get to really enjoy this awesome midnattsol. 

The farther north you are above the arctic circle, the longer the sun will be out and the longer the duration of days the sun will remain out as long as it does.  So, in way northern Norway, in Tromsø for example, there are many days in the summer when the sun never truly sets.  This is great for parties and outdoor activities of course, but sleeping becomes difficult.  Many people break out their black shades or curtains to block the sunlight so they can catch some sleep.  Of course the midnattsol affects visitors and foreigners moreso than natives who have become used to it.  Jews, in particular, are affected for a reason other than bodily consequences (although of course may be affected bodily as well), and that is religion.  This is true because practicing Jews have religious rites based on the 24 hr day/night cycle.  This issue was cause for a Jewish body of law in the polar regions.  Climatic conditions have affects even on religion.

The first time I went to Norway I was with my dad visiting some relatives.  We were staying at one of their houses on a fjord north of Bergen.  They had a huge party down by the water and everyone was having a blast.  It wasn’t until about 3 am that my dad and I looked at our watches and our jaws dropped.  Did someone mess with our watches?  How could it possibly be that late?  Why aren’t we tired?  It was definitely the middle of the night and we weren’t tired because we were having so much fun and when it’s light out, even if it stays light for longer than your body is used to, you kind of just go with it until you reach a point (3 am that night) when you start to feel tired and wonder what’s going on.�

In Norway, the time to experience the midnattsol is between June 12 and July 1 (at the arctic circle).  This duration of time increases as you move north. 

It is quite a treat.  If you are in Norway during this time period, I highly suggest traveling northward to experience this phenomenon.  Just don’t plan to get a whole lot of sleep. 

�

 
Posted under Geography, Nature 1 Comment | Post a Comment

Camping season

Posted by Kari
May
31
2009

Camping sesong. It is upon us.  Less than half of the year where I reside (in the upper midwest) is suitable for camping in a tent.  Of course staying in a cabin is always an option despite the season or the weather, but rustic camping is a whole different ballgame.  I, personally, love to camp.  It’s such a fun and simple way to enjoy the outdoors.  It really doesn’t have to be that much work either.  I like to backpack and camp in the mountains (which is about a 20 hour drive from me), but driving 15 minutes to the nearest state park is quite enjoyable also.  My boyfriend and I (and our dog) have now been out camping 5 times this season (pretty good considering it wasn’t warm enough until mid-April). 

Norwegians love the outdoors.  I can definitely vouch for that statistic.  Every Norwegian that I have ever spoken to long enough to know a few things about them enjoys being outdoors and camping.  I definintely cannot say the same for all the Americans I know.  My mom and one of my college roommates, for example.  Most Norwegians, regardless of age or sex, love the outdoors.  Anyone who has ever been to Norway can understand why it is so easy to love to be outside there.  It’s beautiful! 

So what is the camping scene like in Norway?  For starters, there are over 10,000 cabins throughout the country that are open to the public for reservations.  They are rated on a scale of 1-5 based on how nice they are and the amenities they offer (size of the cabin, the extent to which they are furnished, the location they are in, etc).  There are also about 400 cabins available to the public that the DNT, the Norwegian Trekking Association maintains.  The DNT maintains mountain trails and cabins and believe it or not, the association was founded in 1868 with the idea to build up travel and tourism.  That’s pretty impressive!  And get this, the president of the association is former Minister of Defence, Kristin Krohn Devold.  Of the 400 cabins, 41 are staffed and the rest are self-service sites.  Most of the self-service cabins do not have running water and electricity, so they are usually located near a river, so campers have access to water (and water that is a lot cleaner than most of the river and lake waters around me-and I live in the “Land of 10,000 lakes”!)  It is good etiquette to leave firewood and a clean place behind you when you leave.  Doesn’t that sound awesome?  And if you are a member of the DNT (which doesn’t cost much at all) you can stay in any of these cabins essentially for free.  You put in an initial deposit via credit card and then get it back after you leave as long as there are no damages.  I am now in the process of daydreaming about a camping trip to Norway. 

Would you like to know some Norwegian camping vocabulary?

ei hytte is a cabin

et telt is a tent….å ligge i telt or å telte is to camp

en teltstang is a pole, like a tent pole

et bål is a campfire

å grille is to grill

en telttur is a camping trip

en teltleir is a camp

and best of all, my dictionary doesn’t exactly tell me how to say marshmallow.  The definition it gives is “en spesiell type godteri” which means ‘a special kind of candy.’  Ha!

 

 

�

 
Posted under Leisure, Nature 1 Comment | Post a Comment