Posts under "Sports"

Bird Hunting in Norway

Posted by kari 1 Comment
Nov 16 2011

While I haven´t been to Norway for over a year now (crazy that it´s been that long, gotta get back for a visit), I was very much reminded this past weekend of a very fun experience I had in Norway last fall.  This weekend my boyfriend and I took my dog, a weimaraner (pointing breed) up north for å jakte etter fasaner (to hunt pheasants) near Lake Mille Lacs.  We hunted for a couple of hours in the late morning and early afternoon and guess what?  We continued to shed layers until we got down to our t-shirts.  That is pretty crazy for mid-November in Minnesota.  I remember last fall up in the mountains in Salangen Fylke (County), Norway we were also in t-shirts some days when the sun shone bright and there was little wind.  Then there was a day or two when we were all wearing layer upon layer of clothing including vinterluer (winter hats) and hansker (gloves).

While fuglejakt (bird hunting)  in MN, or any kind of jakt for that matter, is different than å gå på jakt i Norge both because of the type of dyr (animals) and the different topography and climate, the rules and reasons for engaging the activity are similar, as is the popularity.  I can´t seem to find good data on the number of jegere (hunters) in Minnesota, but because Norway has a state-run association of jegere og fiskere (Norges jeger og fiskerforbund), I know that 120,000 individuals are medlemmer (members) of this association.  These 120,000 medlemmer belong to 570 local jeger og fisker klubber.

rype (grouse)

Last fall in Norway, I went with a friend and his fellow jeger og fisker venner (friends) up into the mountains in Salangen Fylke  for å jakte etter rype (grouse).  I had my hund (dog) along and another guy had his very experienced flushing hund.  The Weimaraner rase (breed) is a peker rase (pointint breed), but (perhaps because she had no training whatsoever), she did not peke.  She was, however, very helpful retrieving.  The other hund would peke, someone would skyte (shoot)  and my hund would hente fuglen (retrieve the bird).

As it turns out, she did the same this weekend when we jakte etter fasaner!  We´d walk through the tall grass and try to get her to run in there to scare up fugler.  She didn´t peke at all, but if we shot a fugl, she was extremely helpful in finding it.  I swear these were super fugler!  Several of them were såret (wounded) and were very difficult to find after they ran around in the brush.  Stella did a great job though!

In any case, now you know a few Norwegian words associated with fuglejakt.  I will write a post later with more specific information on the kind of fugler one can jakte.

The Valdres Region of Norway

Posted by kari No Comments
Nov 9 2011

The other day I posted about Rakfisk Festival, which is a festival that takes place every year in celebration of fermented trout and char, as well as other local food production and handicrafts.  Fagernes, a small city in the region of Valdres, Norway is where the annual festival takes place.  Although I´ve driven through Valdres, I did not really know that much about the region–until now.  So, I thought I´d write a bit about the Valdres region of Norway and what it is known for, what one can do there, etc.

First, I´d like to begin by saying that the dialects people speak from this central region of the country are very different than the rest of the country. When I studied at the University of Oslo, I had a class with a girl named Karine who was from Valdres  and I could literally barely understand her.  My Norwegian is by no means perfect, but I am fluent and I can understand all other dialects I´ve heard.  This one was tough though.  I mean, it was almost like the different between spoken Norwegian and Danish-she used completely different words sometimes.  For example, here are some words where you can see a marked difference between a Valdres dialect and standard bokmål:

Examples of local words Squirrel - Norwegian: ekorn, Valdres: ikødn All right (as in an all right person) – Norwegian: grei, Valdres: snodig (which in Norwegian normally means strange/funny) Lonely - Norwegian: ensomt, Valdres: aule

Oppland County

Let´s move on to geography and demographics.  Valdres belongs to the fylke (county) of Oppland and is made up of 6 municipalities:

  • Sør-Aurdal (The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bagn)
  • Nord-Aurdal (The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fagernes)
  • Vestre Slidre (The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Slidre)
  • Øystre Slidre (The administrative centre of the municipality is the village Heggenes)
  • Etnedal (The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat)
  • Vang (The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vang i Valdres)
Valdres is situated between the valleys of Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal (dal means valley) approximately halfway between Oslo and Bergen.  The major European highway E16 runs through it and it also has an airport (in Fagernes).  This part of the country is stunning with all of the mountain ranges and valleys and small farms.
Historically, agriculture was a major industry in Valdres, but today tourism and trout fishing have surpassed agriculture as forms of livelihood.  There is plenty to do for tourists who visit Valdres.  Valdres is well known, as mentioned earlier, for trout fishing, as well as cycling, hiking, horse riding, rafting, golf, and of course skiing in the winter.
Let´s go to Valdres! 

The World´s Only Bicycle Lift “Trampe” Invented in Trondheim, Norway

Posted by kari No Comments
Sep 13 2011

Further to my post yesterday on Cycling in Norway, I want to share an interesting piece of bicycle equipment with you.  The sykkel heis/trampe (bicycle elevator/lift) was invented in Trondheim, Norway in 1993 and is currently the only one of it’s kind in the world.  Why Trondheim, you might wonder?

1)  Trondheim is a university city with over 30,000 students.

2)  Trondheim, like many other Norwegian cities is very hilly.

3)  Jarle Wanvik, the inventor of the sykkel heis and owner of the company that built it, Design Management AS, is from Trondheim!

Wanvik wanted to use ski lift technology to design a machine that would increase the number of cyclists and frequency of cycling, while addressing the commuters´challenge of enduring sweat and overexertion on the way to work or school. Nobody wants to show up to work or to school all sweaty and exhausted.  The University of Trondheim is at the top of a large hill, so most of the students have to climb that hill on a daily basis to get to class.

example of a nøkkelkort (key card)

In order to use the lift, one must obtain a key card from the nearby bicycle repair shop.  The cost is 100 NOK per year.  Tourists and one-time users can rent a card for free.  The lift is about 130 meters (400 feet long) long.  The maximum length of a bicycle lift is 400 meters (about 1200 feet).  The speed of the lift is 1.5-2 meters per second.  5 cyclists can use the lift at the same time.  Please see the technical explanation from the official website here:

It consists of a wire rope with 11 foot plates attached to the rope. On its way downhill, the foot plates are cleaning the lift channel. At the starting point, there is an accelerator (kind of piston) to make the start easier. The foot plate takes over the cyclist after the accelerator. At the top of the hill, you find the 5,5 kW electric motor.

After the sykkel heis was installed, bicycling in Trondheim became more and more popular.  Over 220,000 people have used it! And over 20 million NOK have been spent over the past 20 years in the city of Trondheim to encourage bicycling as a mode of transport.  The official site of the Trampe is a very informative site that I enjoyed perusing. You will find many photos, videos, the history of Trampe, User instructions, and more.

Watch this great You Tube Clip on the Sykkel heis YouTube Preview Image

Click here to see more pictures of sykkel heis on a blog.

Cycling in Norway

Posted by kari No Comments
Sep 13 2011

I have had cycling on my mind as of late.  Every year our town celebrates the Defeat of Jesse James with MN’s largest all volunteer fair.  There are lots of carnival rides, food vendors, a bingo tent, a beer tent, a massive arts and crafts fair, a classic car show, a motorcycle ride, a parade, and a bike ride!  One can either bike 10, 30, 45, 60, or 100 miles.  This was my second year completing the 100 mile ride.  It was excellent.  The weather could not have been better (all sunshine, almost no wind-hard to get better than that for biking!) and the route was a beautiful journey through rural MN.  Rolling hills, lakes, woods, corn and soybean fields, tiny towns, all the best of southeastern MN.  My dad rode the 60, so I had a buddy for half of the trip, which was awesome.  My companions for the second half were my ipod and my thoughts.

I started to think a lot about cycling in Norway.  My first round of residency in Norway unfortunately did not involve a bike.  Modes of transport were the T-bane, my feet, and my friend Jeff’s grandpa’s old, beat up Sierra.  However, my second (albeit brief) round of residency in Norway did involve en sykkel (a bike). Rather than pay to ship my road bike or deal with the hassle of taking it on flyet (the plane) with the rest of my belongings, including my 50 lb. weimaraner, I decided to purchase a hybrid in Tromsø.  It was quite dyrt (expensive) (yet still somehow one of the cheapest in the whole store), as you can imagine, but it was nice, new, and well built.  If you have ever been to Tromsø you know that although it is a relatively small island, to get anywhere in the center of the island requires a nice climb up en bakke (a hill).

There aren´t many areas of Norway that aren´t mountainous, or at least hilly.  Furthermore, there are several other things that make cycling in Norway more challenging than some places, including where I bike.  Much of Norway is rural and even in the bigger cities, the roads are often in poor condition.  The weather in Norway varies from region to region, but there are rarely days like the one I described earlier re: my bike ride on Saturday in southern MN.  Last, but not least, Norway is laden with tunnels due to the mountains.  Bicycling in tunnels that do not have a separate bicycle tunnel can prove challenging, so I have heard.  So, as you can see, there are several challenges or at least things to keep in mind if you are biking in Norway for the first time.

On the other hand, there are of course endless benefits and value that cycling in Norway will bring to you.  It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying bensin (gas) for a car, it’s great exercise, and you can see one of the most beautiful countries in the world up close!  You can ride through skoger (forests), fjell (mountain), vidda (tundra), prairie, sjøen (ocean), and fjorder.  You can experience biking across bodies of water and catching ferries to small, lively islands.  You can stop to hike up high above the fjords and sit on a rock dangling over the water.  You can ride through the vidda and see reinsdyr (reindeer) right by the side of the road, and can see the sun shine 24 hours a day or none at all!  Along the coast you can experience modest, quaint, fishing villages.  There are Bed and Breakfasts that are particularly for cyclists-equipped with a repair shop, laundry facilities, and other amenities appreciate by the cycling community.

I found this blog/very informative website most excellent.  If you are at all thinking about a biking trip to Norway, I would read through this site.

Share your adventures biking in Norway or dreams about biking in Norway!

Gun Politics in Norway

Posted by kari 3 Comments
Aug 3 2011

After Anders Breivik  open fired on innocent victims on the island of Utøya, many people have expressed their belief that Norway´s gun laws should be stricter.  Until guns are banned completely from the public, rules and regulations can always be stricter. We in the U.S. have had so many instances of school shootings and other violent domestic terrorist attacks involving guns, it only seems natural to assume that the first course of action in trying to prevent another Utøya like situation would be to tighten gun laws.

Having had conversations about hunting and shooting as a sport with Norwegians, I have to step out and applaud Norway for the gun laws that they currently have in place.  When I lived in Tromsø, I accepted an invite from a friend I had just met to shoot clay pigeons at a public range.  It isn´t every day a young American woman shows up at the Tromsdalen Shooting range, so I naturally had a few conversations with the local members.  They asked if I had to carry an sort of license with me.  I explained that I didn´t have to, but I did have my little orange business-card sized ´Firearms Certificate´which states that I passed the short course that I took.  They asked how involved the course was and what else is required to purchase a gun in the U.S.

These Norwegian men were surprised to hear that all I had to do was take an afternoon course in the field and a relatively short online test.  They asked, `You mean you don´t have to apply with the police to get approval to purchase a gun?´  I explained that the police have essentially nothing to do with consumers buying shotguns in the U.S.   The rules are different for different types of guns, but we all know that gun laws in the U.S. are very loose when compared to other countries.

Many Norwegians hunt participate in competitive sport shooting and therefore own guns.   As mandatory civil service is still in place, many Norwegian men are also active in the military.  Very few people own guns for self defense.  Semi-automatic and bolt action rifles, as well as shotguns are the most popular kinds of guns owned by most.  Automatic weapons are only legal if they are collectors items and will not be used to shoot.  It is a felony to modify a rifle into an automatic rifle.

To obtain a firearms license, one must first identify a reason for needing a gun.  Hunters must complete a 30 hour, 9 session course (includes firearm theory, firearm training, wildlife theory, and environmental protection training) and pass a written multiple choice exam. Once the exam is passed, the applicant may enroll in the hunters registry and obtain a license.  Then, the individual must bring the license to the police station and apply for a permit to purchase a gun.  The police will review the applicants background and determine if he or she are suited to own a gun.  If approved, the applicant takes the form to a gun store (keeping in mind that you cannot buy guns and ammo at KMart like we can in the U.S.) and purchase a gun.

Sports shooters do not have as many restrictions on purchasing a gun, but the course is much more involved.  The written exam is shorter, but the field requirements are greater.  A sports shooter must show regular attendance and compete at an approved gun club for 6 months.  Until this 6 month period is over, the sports shooter must use the guns provided at the gun club.

Gun storage laws are strict and police can randomly check homes for proper gun storage at any time.

There has been no evidence to my knowledge that Anders Breivik was granted any gun rights that the law doesn´t permit.  I am not saying that Norway shouldn´t tighten gun laws even futher than they already are.  However, I think it´s important to be aware of the process in place to obtain a license to purchase a gun in Norway.  While it was nice to not have to jump through hoops for me to obtain a hunting license and get a gun, I would have gladly done so knowing that it may decrease the liklihood of criminal acts, or at least make it much harder to commit them.

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