A Day Downtown

Saturday we decided to go into Oslo again to play tourist for an afternoon. We have been staying closer to home and enjoying the snow and ski trails, but it was time for some new experiences.

Heading to the train station near our house

Temporary Building set up downtown for information about the Oslo 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships

The Nordic World Ski Championships start here in Oslo this coming week. There is great excitement all through the country about hosting this competition. Norwegians are known for their enthusiasm for skiing, and also for their ability to turn any outdoor event into a great party. According to the official website, they are expecting around 6000 people to camp out in the woods around the competition and to cheer along the ski routes "outside the fence" (ie, without having to buy tickets to go in to the main spectator areas). Middle Child and the Professor are going to go with her class to camp out overnight in the Family Camping area next week. This is all in addition to the thousands who will be there with tickets for the events (including ski jumping on the recently renovated jump we saw last fall).  The "fever" has even hit the grocery stores--since Christmas we have been inundated with Ski Championship-themed food--special labels for milk, cheese, snack food, even the "Holmenkollen Pølser" (hotdogs named for the Holmenkollen jump and ski area where the competition will be held).

Walking the grounds up to the Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

We walked up from the train station to see the outside of the Royal Palace, and even managed to be there to see the changing of the guard. It is not as fancy as Buckingham Palace or some of the other European palaces, but I think it is quite striking as a palace that is very welcoming to the people. The guards are right out front by the gate, but otherwise you can walk all around the parade grounds in the front and actually get quite close to the palace itself. It is located right in the heart of Oslo. The flag was flying to show that the king was in residence this day, but it is our understanding that the royal family actually lives most of the time in a residence in an upscale neighborhood on the shore of the Oslo fjord.

The National Theater

Across from the National Theater

We didn't go in to the theater, but did walk along the pedestrian mall that leads from the palace down through town and past the National Theater. I also had to take a photo of this building across the street--that top floor apartment with the elaborate balcony caught my eye!

When in Rome . . . (When in Norway, go skiing!)

This past week the Professor bought a pair of ski boots, and we are now 6 of the 7 fully outfitted for skiing (borrowed, bought used, and splurged on new). Today was a beautiful day--sunny and warm--and we had nothing particular planned, so we were able to go up to the groomed, wooded trails maintained by our community skiing/sports club. I'm afraid I have only photos of the youngest two, since I was paired up with them for the day. Young Teen and Middle Girl took the Professor on a longer loop to test his mettle. He reminded me that the last time he had cross-country skis on, they were old wood skis with leather strap bindings that belonged to his grandfather! The reports were that he did pretty well. I, on the other hand, fell within about 5 feet of my starting spot! It's been at least 20 years since I was on cross country skis, and it's going to take a little practice for me to get back into shape. 

We started on this wide open track which is groomed into a farm field and designed for young kids (and beginners!). Then we moved on to the wooded tracks. I did a little skiing in the field, but left my skis at the warming hut when we hit the trails so I could help the twins more effectively (just try helping two young skiers up a hill while wearing skis yourself and you'll see what I mean!).

It was just so nice to be outside in the sunshine and enjoying the day. We saw many families with young kids out on the trails. 

To the ER . . . and home again!

[note to concerned family members, this one has a happy ending!!]

Another cross-cultural experience today--visiting the Emergency Room! Twin 2 fell on the ice on our driveway this afternoon on the way to the car and hurt her arm. [Side note: we had very warm temps last weekend and cold temps for the last couple of days. The ice is treacherous! It can be scary just getting around the sidewalks and parking lots.] I tried to check things out [I was wishing my brother, the Sports Medicine Doc, was around]--she could wiggle her fingers a bit and nothing was obviously out of alignment, but it also was clearly hurting her, even after a few minutes. So, I started trying to figure out how to find the emergency room in our nearby town. After a phone call to the Professor and a quick trip to the neighbor's house (thank goodness we have at least one neighbor who works from home most of the time!) we were on our way and managed to find the place without much trouble.

I guess I was looking for something attached to a hospital, but this was a small clinic building offering emergency services. The parking lot was packed. In fact, we had to circle the block and come back before we found a place. It was close to 3, and apparently they open at 3 pm (I guess if you have a problem before 3 you go to your Dr.'s office? It's not entirely clear to me). Anyway, it was full, inside and out. I couldn't read any of the signs very well, so I just kind of followed the lead of the people in front of me in line. As is so common, the staff all spoke English well and were able to help me figure out what I was doing. We got signed in and waited for a little under an hour before seeing the Dr. (Much shorter than I anticipated. The nurse told me they try to give kids a priority, which was nice for us). The Dr. manipulated the arm and didn't find any obvious breaks but, of course, ordered the x-rays. When we sat down in the hallway waiting area outside of x-ray, she started looking at books and playing as if the arm was getting better. Then when they set up the x-ray and kind of twisted the arm into position without her putting up any kind of fuss, I started to think we might have escaped a break after all. By the time we came out of x-ray she was practically waving the arm around! I was relieved but a little embarrassed, thinking maybe a big part of the fuss had been fear about seeing the Dr. and not pain after all.

Turns out she kind of dislocated the joint at the elbow. Either when the Dr. checked it out, or just after, it popped back into position and thus didn't hurt any more. The Dr. told me this kind of thing often resolves when they take the x-rays, because they have to manipulate the arm to get it into place for the x-ray, and that pops it back.

The Professor met us at the clinic in time to join us for check out. Our health insurance back home covers us here, but we have to pay and then get reimbursed. I braced myself for the bill . . . 75 Norwegian Kroners   (about $13 US). That's by far the best deal we've had in Norway! [I'm still a little concerned that we may get a further bill at some point, but we'll have to wait and see.]

She is back home and happy as can be. And so are we!

I've just been to Sweden . . . my freezer is full!

Shortly after we first arrived, I was invited to the neighbor's house for tea. We were chatting as she was pulling juice and snacks out for the kids, and she said, "My refrigerator is packed, we just went to Sweden yesterday!" That seemed like quite a non sequitur to me, but she quickly explained. Norwegian prices on everything (as we have mentioned endlessly, it seems!) are very high. Swedish food prices are slightly lower, and meat in particular is much cheaper there. We live less than 2 hours from the Swedish border, so it is very common in our area for people to make a monthly trek just across the border to shop in Sweden. 

I thought the school's holiday break would be a good opportunity for us to try this Norwegian custom. We had a great day for a drive--sunny and partly-cloudy but not bitterly cold. The route we took wound around a bit, but in a very scenic way (I could enjoy it, the Professor was driving!).

We found the area that had been recommended by neighbors, and, of course, there was a good-sized shopping mall there, including a large grocery store (and an adjacent hotel, in case you were really into shopping!). We took a turn through the mall to see what was there and found this candy store. Young teen commented that the smell alone must have contained sugar calories! In addition to selling all kinds of Swedish and Norwegian candy, and imports as well (like a wall of M&Ms), they had a center section where you could bag your own candy and pay by weight. We let each of the kids pick out a small scoop of something.

I forgot to take many photos of the grocery store, but they did have a large meat section. We found beef was the biggest "savings" over Norwegian prices--about half price. Chicken, also, was noticeably cheaper. We loaded up on both, then had an ice cream cone at the food court before heading home again. Now to ponder supper . . . beef chili? beef stroganoff? roast beef? hmmmm....

This last photo is for my family--this is the selection of pickled herring choices at the Swedish grocery store. Our local selection is pretty equivalent. Does that make you green with envy?? (or maybe you don't like pickled herring, and it just makes you green?)

God Jul! (Merry Christmas)

Christmas has come and gone (well, in Norway we are celebrating through this week also, but you know what I mean). I haven't been back to this blog for a while, so here are a few photos of our Norwegian Christmas celebration.

Up to the local shopping mall to purchase a Christmas tree. I have read that it is traditional in Norway to put up the tree on Dec 23, but they have been for sale here since the first week of December, and it looks to me like many Norwegians get out their trees much earlier.

We brought just a few special (but unbreakable) ornaments from home. The kids also contributed ornaments made at school, and salt dough ornaments we made with one of Middle Girl's school friends during the holiday break. Twin 2 was adamant that we have a star for the top, so she made one out of yellow paper. It has a certain charm, I think!

Christmas Eve dinner featured lefse that I made at my lefse class earlier this fall (fresh out of the freezer). [See my earlier post on the Lefsekurs]

The traditional Christmas Eve lutefisk! Growing up in a family of Swedish descent, I am familiar with lutefisk, but this is the first time I've actually cooked it myself (I usually leave that job to my mom!). For the uninitiated, lutefisk is a whitefish which is dried, then processed with lye. Before cooking it undergoes a lengthy soaking and rinsing process. It has a distinct odor and flavor, to put it mildly. It is the stuff of legends among Scandinavian Americans!

Here in Norway it is traditional to eat it around the Christmas holidays. We have seen large slabs of lutefisk in the grocery stores for the past month. When the Professor and I went shopping for our dinner, we tried to find the smallest piece possible (knowing that no one in our immediate family is a particular fan!). We ended up with about three quarters of a kg. Interestingly, the package suggested a serving portion of 1/2 to 1 kg per person! (whew, I doubt even my grandpa, who actually liked the stuff, would eat a whole kg himself!).

Following the package directions, I lightly salted the lutefisk and let sit for about 30 minutes before baking in foil. I guess the salt is supposed to draw out some of the water and make the fish a little more firm (it has a bad rep for being gelatinous and gummy, especially if overcooked). The Professor and I both agreed that, for whatever reason, this turned out to be pretty good lutefisk. The thicker section was nice and flaky, and the over all taste was not too strong. (OK, "pretty good" is a bit of a stretch. I think what we actually said was, "this is not horrible, I can manage to eat this!")

In my family, lutefisk is eaten with a white sauce or mustard sauce. We have seen it pictured here in Norway with the sauce and served with crispy fried bacon bits. I decided to try this, and I have to say it was a really good addition. The texture and salt of the bacon were a nice complement to the "softer" texture and strong flavor of the fish. I think this is one tradition we will bring home with us.

We didn't have this on Christmas Eve, but it is an Advent tradition in the Scandinavian countries--Gløgg. This is kind of like a heavily spiced cider. You can add it to wine for an alcoholic drink, or you can drink it as is. It is served warm. We enjoyed ours earlier in the week with some pepperkaker (cut out cookies very similar to gingerbread cookies). This particular bottle is Swedish, given to us by the Swedish cousins who visited earlier in the fall. It was a big hit with the whole family.

Norwegians traditionally celebrate on Christmas Eve with a big meal and then opening gifts. Our friends here have been a little surprised to learn that we also traditionally open gifts on Christmas Eve (at least in my family) and not Christmas Day. I don't know whether this is a holdover from our Swedish background or not. It's just "the way things are done"! In many homes in Norway, Julenisse (Santa Claus) arrives after dinner in the form of a neighbor or the father of the family dressed up in the usual red and white outfit. Our Julenisse doesn't come until all the children in the house are asleep, but he did manage to find us all the way over here in Norway and left plenty of goodies for everyone.

In the midst of the food and gifts, however, we also took time to remember the point of it all--the miraculous birth of a baby in Bethlehem who was so much more than just a baby. 

Wishing you all the grace and peace the the first Christmas made possible!

Luciadagen (Santa Lucia Day)

December 13 is Luciadagen (Santa Lucia Day). This is a day in celebration of the Italian saint, Saint Lucy, and is celebrated (with some variations) in all of Scandinavia, as well as in other European countries. Saint Lucy was a 4th century Christian martyr. The date of her martyrdom, December 13, is also said to be the shortest day of the year, hence the "darkest" day of the year. Saint Lucy, whose name means "light," is a natural for commemorating this dark day and giving hope that the light will return. The Scandinavian legends tell of a time of severe winter famine in Sweden, when the local community gathered to pray for food. Two ships appeared across Lake Vänern, loaded with food. Saint Lucy, with her white robe and wreath of candles, appeared at the helm of the first ship. (A similar miracle is part of her legend in Italy).

Luciadagen in Norway is borrowed from the Swedes. With the protestant reformation, saints days were mostly abolished, but after World War II, Luciadagen was resurrected in Norway. Traditionally, the oldest girl in the household will dress in a white gown with a red sash and wear a wreath with candles on her head. She may be followed in by her sisters (and sometimes brothers) also carrying candles. She brings food to all the inhabitants of the house (the Lussekater or Lucia buns). Now, it is most common for the children in schools to process through the school and hand out Lussekater. One girl is chosen to lead the procession as Santa Lucia, and she wears the crown of candles. In the kids' school today, the fifth grade performed the Lucia procession. They processed all over the school with candles (battery ones!) and handed out Lussekater to all 10 grades. As they process they sing the traditional Santa Lucia song.

If you want to hear the song, here is one of many YouTube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0FyZqNp5Q

The words for the Norwegian version of the song (each country has their own version in their native language) are given, with translation, here:
http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/12/saint-lucia-day/
(By the way, this is a really fun blog about Norway written by an Australian who married a Norwegian and found herself way up north in Tromsø. It's well worth browsing, for the photos as well as the insights into Norwegian culture).

One of the commercial results of the widespread celebration of this day is that Lucia gowns have been for sale since late November at our local toy store and other clothing stores. One of the signs that Christmas is coming!

The Twins and I bought our Lussekater at the local bakery, but we enjoyed them just the same! They are a sweet bun made with saffron to give them a really lovely golden color.

More Winter Shots

Young teen was busy on the drive home from Oslo on Saturday snapping photos of the hoar frost, which was quite stunning against the bright blue sky and the sunshine. She did a pretty good job!