Better Late Than Never: Ski VM

Can you tell I'm on a break from norskkurs? So far in the past week, I've blogged several times, balanced four months of three different bank accounts, baked batches of goodies, and watched the most recent Amazing Race episodes. And tomorrow I'm going to Paris for the weekend to see my dad. Apparently I don't do lazy.

And my point is...I'm catching up. What have I been doing for the past two months, if I haven't been blogging? Well, aside from studying and going out for random evenings of overly expensive pilsner and watching re-runs of The Office and taking cross country ski lessons, G and I went to the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, known as Ski VM 'round these parts (VM = verden mesterskap = world (verden) championship (mesterskap)).

Ski VM lasted ten days and began with opening ceremonies in downtown Oslo in late February. In addition to the spectacular competition centered around Holmenkollen on the hills just northwest of downtown, the medal ceremonies and various exhibits and cultural events happened every day in the center of town. We debated over whether to go see a competition since we'd heard that it was sold out, and it was expensive to get any tickets that could be had. Then a friend of ours asked if we wanted to go and - poof - we had tickets to the men's big hill ski jump (menn storbakken).

The result: awesomeness. Talk about a party. You haven't been to a ski competition unless you've been to a ski competition in Norway. For Americans, I'd compare it to going to see the NBA Championships in Chicago in the 1990s with Michael Jordan. Cowbell? Check. The Wave? Check. Enough red, white, and blue (that's Norwegian red, white and blue to you, amerikanene!) to rival Boston Harbor on the 4th of July? Check.

Here are some images from our adventure. Heie Norge!

Opening ceremony in downtown Oslo.

G believes in getting to know art. Like these snow sculptures on Karl Johans gate downtown.

Coolness, huh?

No Ski VM art exhibit in Oslo would be complete without a replica, in snow, of Munch's work.

The train to Holmenkollen from Majorstuen. Sardines doesn't begin to describe it.

Finally through security.

Storbakken!

  How's that for scale? There is tiny little jumper, aiming for the K line (the red line).

Winners' podium: Austria took first, with Norway in second and Slovenia in third.

Snow sculpture at Holmenkollen.

 

 

 

Party party, with cowbell!

So You Want to Learn Norsk?

I know you're all just itching to learn Norwegian so you can say "uff da" with meaning and conviction (note to Ballardites and would-be Ballardites: I have yet to hear anyone utter "uff da" here). Assuming you don't want to take a Norwegian language class in Oslo, here are some references that G and I have used since moving to Norway (note: I have not been paid, or received any free lutefisk or lefse in order to provide these reviews; this is just from user experience).

The Norwegian-English Dictionary, by Einar Haugen is a handy tool. G bought this even before we left the States after reading stellar reviews on amazon.com. However, he has been less than enamored by it. It is certainly not pocket-sized, and does not have the helpful English-Norwegian dictionary in the back so you know how to say, for example, "watermelon" in norsk. I, on the other hand, use it almost daily in norskkurs (Norwegian class) and at home when studying and doing my homework. It is super helpful to have when the instructor teaches us the fifth word for "in," or when there's not quite an English translation for a word (like døgn, for example). Highly recommend if you are going to take Norwegian language classes.

The Langenscheidt Universal Dictionary - Norwegian is pocket-sized for starters so that's a big plus. It also has both English-Norwegian and Norwegian-English in it, and a decent pronunciation section. Bonus: there's a small phrase section and grammar section in the back, as well as info on how to read time and temperatures. I would recommend this book just because it's so cute (it's about 5 inches by 3 inches), but it's helpful too.

Sadly, Lonely Planet does not have a norsk phrase book (shocking, seriously). The next closest thing  found was Dover's "Say it in Norwegian." I am not sure I would recommend this book. First, it was published in 1957, so if you're looking for anything about "where is the internet cafe?" or "how about that women's football team?" you're not going to find it in this book. Besides the lack of recent cultural references, it's just not organized very well. I think you are better off with this, although I have not used it. Berliz teaches Norwegian classes here, and they are a reputable company. Honestly, though, if you're going to just visit here for a short period of time, everyone pretty much speaks English and you're probably okay with just the phrases in the back of your guidebook.

Strike two on using well-known sources: Rosetta Stone does not have a Norwegian language series (I mean, come on; they have Irish, Welsh, and even Swedish, but no Norwegian). The next best thing we've found is the Teach Yourself Norwegian. Teach Yourself is a reputable line of books for learning language; I would say it's the next best thing to Rosetta Stone. The Complete Set comes with two CDs and a book with exercises in it. I ripped this onto my computer and use it on my iPod. Or at least I did until I started taking Norwegian classes here. I still use it for pronunciation, though. It's helpful.

What? You don't want to spend hundreds (or even tens) of dollars on learning Norwegian? You're in luck. Check out One Minute Norwegian on iTunes. It's a free series of ten lessons of simple phrases to know when you come visit Norway. I think G and I have already learned everything in this series in the first two weeks of class, but you could completely get by on that level of understanding for a short visit to Norway. It also has a neat video of Dag and his friends on Constitution day waving their flags, talking about how cool Norwegian is to learn. This whole series is also on my iPod. It's a good reality check when I feel like I haven't learned anything in norskkurs, and then listen to lesson 10 and realize I know everything. Go me. Check it out.

Did I mention I pretty much love Lonely Planet? I will forgive them for not having a Norwegian phrase book. For now, they have a solid Norway guidebook, with tons of information on visiting the entirety of Norway, not just certain areas. I really enjoy this book and use it for a reference for things like skiing and hiking, not just general sightseeing. It is also well-organized and has good maps; it provides websites for companies and organizations for further information, on things like camping, rock climbing, mountaineering, fjord trips, etc. If you are going to visit Norway and are going to be anywhere for any extended period of time, I highly recommend this guide.

My dirty little secret is that I like the Rick Steves series of books. Okay, Rick Steves is hardly a secret. But, some people poo-pooh them for being too simple or only focused on the big picture, but that's also something I enjoy about his books. I bought his Norway book before we came here, which is a section of his larger Scandinavian book. Instead of reading a 3000-year history of the Norwegian people in detail (ahem, Rough Guide), I can follow a four-page walk that leads me through downtown Oslo and see some key sites and get some a flavor of Oslo's history (note: we actually did read about the history of Norway. Research, I guess. Just sayin). I also like Rick Steves' "rating" system. Don't miss it, worth seeing, nice but not necessary - or something like that. That way I know when friends come to visit they should really see Frognerparken, but maybe not so much the Kon Tiki Museum. 

Bored yet? Don't really have any desire to learn norsk and aren't going to visit Norway anytime soon? Then you should at least take a peek at Brown Cheese Please. Tongue-in-Cheek picture book illustrated and written by an Australian living in Norway, this book is filled with her observations of Norwegian life. Cheese slicers, queues, midsummer night's eve, work-life balance, love-hate relationship with H&M, etc. She covers it. I love it. The longer I'm here, the more I get it. Worth the read, I promise.

Glad leser! -Colleen

Christmas in Oslo: the same, but different

Christmas in the States has always been an 'experience,' both good and...let's say challenging. Not bad. Just challenging. Sure, it varied from year to year, but in general it followed the same pattern: enjoying some sort of start to the season such as the lighting of the Westlake Christmas tree; shopping with the hoards; wrapping presents until the wee hours of the morning; baking cookies or such; getting a stollen from my mom; traveling to one or more relatives' house(s) for Christmas Eve and/or Day, potluck item in hand, end enjoying the holiday with family. Add to that holiday work parties, get-togethers with the girlfriends, hunting down a tree, hauling out the five or so boxes of decorations and decorating the house, and crafting and mailing out Christmas cards, and that's about how it rounded out on a yearly basis.

This year was very different. Given our recent move, many things got dropped off the list. I made no cards this year, which is a first for me in many, many years. We left almost all of our decorations in cold storage in the States; I even forgot to bring our stockings. Cookie making was pretty unnecessary, given the surprise shipment of homemade almond roca and biscotti from my family. And holiday parties? Well, we shared a nice evening with our landlord and her husband, but with just the two of us here and the lack of the obligatory Work Party Christmas Culture found in the States, we found ourselves with a lack of social commitments during the holiday season.

As for shopping and presents, G and I decided to give ourselves a trip to Spain during the week after Christmas, and we didn't exchange presents for the most part with family, considering the seemingly daunting logistics of planning for Christmas presents amongst the chaos of our recent relocation.

Plus, to top it off, we were just plain busy. Unpacking boxes, organizing, shopping for new furniture, etc. It didn't really feel like there was time for Christmas this year. This year, we tried to focus on the experience and observance rather than so much of the stuff. In a nutshell, here’s what we did:

1. Celebrated Solstice on December 22 with a bottle of bubbly and dinner. It seemed appropriate to fête the longest night of the year…and then send it on its way.

2. Walked to the new opera house for sunset on Christmas Eve. Covered in snow, we walked on its sloping roof to take in a wonderful view of Oslofjord and downtown.

 
3. Wandered back from the opera house through downtown enjoying the stunning Christmas lights. Probably because it’s so darn dark here for so many hours of the day, those Norwegians definitely know how to hang Christmas lights. 

 

4. Marveled at the serious lack of people on the streets midday on Christmas Eve. Downtown was deserted and most restaurants and shops had long since closed for the day (see the above photos; I took them around 4:00 in the afternoon). What a difference! We are so used to the crazy last-minute shoppers and late-night shopping hours; it was a welcome change from our normal experience. Nothing is open here, grocery stores and restaurants included, from about mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve through annen juledag (second Christmas Day - 26 December), and most stores have limited hours until after New Years Day. No focus on after-Christmas bargain-hunting here. 

5. G surprised me while I was cooking most of Christmas day by unpacking the remainder of our household, recycling all the boxes, rearranging the living/dining room, and hanging some of our art. We actually had Christmas dinner at our dining room table. It finally feels like home.

6. Enjoyed three days of wonderful food, Skype calls with family, and simply lazing around on the couch watching Elf, eating Christmas cookies, doing laundry, and planning our upcoming Spain trip.

I think I’ll go make myself a hot toddy and munch on some more biscotti, and savor the remainder of the holiday weekend.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend of your own.

Julemarked i Oslo

G and I had a busy weekend: we finally ordered this and this and this (with doors and a couple of pullout shelves) from IKEA on Saturday, and they are arriving today. I am so excited to actually have somewhere to put most everything that's still in boxes! We might also get this or this for the living room in the hopes of building our wine and spirits collection up again, and making more room for pantry items in the kitchen cabinets rather than wine glasses and barware. Time will tell. 


Other things we/I did this weekend included discovering the Norwegian Film Institute (more on that later) and going to the Christmas market (Julemarked) in Oslo. I made my way down to the market Friday afternoon for a second visit after G and I walked through it briefly earlier in the week. Rick Steves talks about the market in his European Christmas DVD and book (I have not seen or read either, but I am told they are well done). So, it was nice to experience something firsthand that I'd heard good things about.


The market is located in downtown Oslo, between city hall and the harbor (incidentally, city hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held later that evening). There are 80 or so vendors selling everything from candles to woolen mittens. There are also plenty of food booths selling gifts items (anyone want a whole dried cod for Christmas?), and fun things to nosh on while you peruse the market, like vafels, lefser, pølser, and elgburger. Julenisse is even there for the little kids to visit and tell him their Christmas wishes. Oh, and one of the coolest things? A ski simulator you could try out, promoting the Nordic World Ski Championships that are in Oslo in February/March 2011. Lighted trees and a decorated entry gate surround the market, making it a little Christmas oasis on the waterfront.  It was beautiful and peaceful at dusk with all the snow on the ground, Christmas music playing in the background, and little fires burning in grates for warmth. 


I bought a few Christmas ornaments to mark our first Christmas in Norway, then settled in and enjoyed a cup of gløgg, a hot mulled wine served with nuts and dried fruit floating in it. Mmmm. I can say after having a cup of gløgg I was not as productive for the rest of the day, but I was definitely happy and relaxed. (I will leave the aqvavit for G to enjoy.)


Some julemarked photos below. Oh, and remember how I said in an earlier post that were was a bizarre number of people with luggage around at any one time? Proof below. Luggage-laden guy wheeling his carry-on through the Julemarked. Over the snow. 


God jul fra Oslo!


Julemarked; that's City Hall in the background.

The front gate of Julemarked. I love Christmas lights.

Elgburger anyone?

Simulator, baby. Get your wax on.

Mmm...gløgg (hic!).

Luggage. Will someone please provide some insight on the propensity for luggage in downtown Oslo. In the dead of winter.

A day of hemming and hawing. And art.

We are spending a quiet evening at home after a long afternoon of hemming and hawing over this and this and this at IKEA (if you’re keeping a tally, that’s five IKEA visits in four weeks, a new record).

G appears to be coming down with the cold I am just getting over, so we’ll probably lay low for the rest of the weekend. I thought I’d share with you some photos I took a couple of weeks ago at Vigelandsparken (also called Frognerparken) in Oslo. This sculpture park is only a block from our apartment and was the creation of Gustav Vigeland, a Norwegian artist.  The park has over 200 bronze and granite sculptures, most of which are part of certain installations. Wikipedia has a decent write-up about the park.  It was constructed between the late 1920s and 1944, part of which was done while the Nazis occupied Oslo. I love the expression and movement of the sculptures. This was one of the first places G and I visited when we came here in May to check out Oslo. I’ve included some of those photos as well (guess which photos were taken when?). Enjoy.

Bronze sculptures line the bridge leading to the monolith plateau (it was very icy). 

One of the bridge bronzes; this is one of my favorites.

The fountain with bronze sculptures is very...interesting. Babies fill some of the trees.

Ornate metal gates guard the entrances to the monolith.

Dozens of figures lead up the stairs to the base of the monolith.

The wheel of life overlooks the far end of the park.

 

Another awesome thing about the park: during the summer, it is the perfect place to have a picnic lunch or dinner. Put this park on your must-see list if and/or when your travels ever take you to Oslo.