NORWEGIAN TRADEOFF

We haven't had much sun or warmth this summer in Kristiansund. Yet Norway throws some magic into the skies.......

Giving us rainbows during the gray days......

And during the sunny nights.

 

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LOOKING UP AND DOWN,SER OPP OG NED

 

Took our relatives out for dinner in Kristiansund at Sjøstjerner for some local fare. I looked up and spotted this dried fish cover. Very appropriate scenery as I was eating Bacalao,the Portuguese dried fish stew.

On the street outside I spotted this manhole cover featuring our local heroine the clipfish woman. Because of her hard work in years gone by I get to enjoy Bacalao today.

 

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SUNDBÅTEN,OLD AND NEWER

 

This is the view from UNCLES CAFE in downtown Kristiansund. The harbor ferry (or Sundbåten in Norwegian) on the left is the FRAMNÆS and is older and has gorgeous woodwork. I couldn't see the name of the one on the right but it has a cute face with its' round life preserver nose.

 

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KRISTIANSUND OLD AND NEW

 

I love this older house with it's tiny windows and the details around the front entrance.

 

Looks like Kristiansund grew up and surrounded the house.

 

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OTHER THINGS I'LL MISS

 

I'm going to miss the norwegian tradition of gathering around huge bonfires on the beach on Midsummer Night. Families gather and have picnics. I'd never been to a picnic at night before I moved here. Only it didn't seem like night because Norway is truly the land of the midnight sun.

 

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NORWEGIAN FIGURE EIGHT ROLLS AND MY STOMACH

 

These are the tasty Norwegian homemade rolls my neighbor baked and shared with me. Actually she gave me over a dozen but these are the last three so I thought I better take a pic quick, because she gave them to me yesterday. I believe they call them Kringler. They are soft and mildly sweet with a hint of cardamon. Steve likes them slathered with Nutella and I like mine with butter. They are usually eaten with a cup of coffee. There are hundreds of recipes for them already on the net so I'm not going to bother repeating one here. Just search Kringler or norwegian figure eight rolls.

Now, about my stomach. You could say the rolls are like my stomach these days, ( no, not soft and slathered with butter!) tied in knots. I haven't been blogging because it's too painful to write the following words. We are being relocated to the Netherlands. Of course I'm excited about our newest adventure but I'm leaving all the great new friends we have made here. And all of this stunning natural beauty. And our beloved rekkehus(rowhouse). So I will try to post every few days of our remaining few months here. We have relatives coming next week and will be doing little trips off the island to see more of Norway.

 

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THE SPIDER THAT ATE KRISTIANSUND,EDDERKOPPEN SOM SPISTE KRISTIANSUND

 

I took this terrible and weird photo on one of our rare sunny days. It looks like our peaceful little island community is about to be visited by a very large Arthropod.

Jeg tok dette forferdelig og rare bildet på en våre sjeldne solfylte dager. Det ser ut som vår fredelige lille øysamfunnet er om å bli besøkt av en stor leddyr.

 

But thankfully it is just another platform rig cruising by.

Men heldigvis er det bare en annen plattform riggen reiser med.

 

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UMBRELLAS FOR FISH/ PARASOLLER FOR FISK

 

I spotted this manhole cover in the Myra neighborhood and haven't found another one like it anywhere in town. At first I thought the umbrella looking shapes were meant to symbolize all the rain that Kristiansund gets. But that can't be right as it is usually far too windy on our island city to even think about opening an umbrella. Then I took a closer look at the shapes and thought they resembled the clipfish that Kristiansund is famous for. I asked some locals at the wonderful Easter dinner we attended and I think I have a better answer. I'm going to say "I think" because my norwegian is not so great even after five years of living in this beautiful country. I think the shapes are there to represent the wooden umbrellas they lay over the drying clipfish to protect them from the rain. I hope in the very near future to get a picture of one of these "fish umbrellas" for you. I seem to remember seeing some in Karihola.

 

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GOD PÅSKE,HAPPY EASTER

 

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PÅSKEKRIM,EASTER MYSTERIES

Påskekrim is an entertaining Norwegian Easter tradition that even to Norwegians is a bit of a "mystery". Along with the daffodils and chocolate,the grocery stores put up their Påskekrim displays. Påskekrim is the term to describe "crime and mystery books published for the Easter holidays". I asked several Norwegians why mystery books are so popular here at Eastertime and they all said they weren't sure but that maybe it was started as an advertising gimmick back in the 1920's. I'm a big fan of mystery books so this tradition is very popular with me. Also, since the books are in Norwegian it helps me with learning the language. This year,instead of buying mystery books written by English speaking writers translated into Norwegian, I am trying something different. I bought a book of short mysteries written by Norwegian authors. In doing this I get to see how Norwegian is written by native speakers. I also get to sample a lot of different Norwegian authors. Now I just need to buy some more chocolate to munch while I'm reading.

 

 

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SPRING,VÅREN

My garden is waking up.

Hagen min er å våkne opp.

 

 

 

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QUICK LUNC,KVIKK LUNSJ

Easter is not too far off. How do I know? Well, besides the crazy weather, snowdrop flowers popping up out of the ground everywhere, and daffodils for sale in every store......

Påsken er nesten her. Hvordan kan jeg vite? Vel, været, foruten Snøklokke blomster dukker opp av jorden overalt, og påskeliljer for salg i hver buttik.......

The kvikk lunsj bars go on sale.

Kvikk Lunsj går på salg.

Yes it looks like a Kit Kat Bar. Tastes like one too. But do not try and tell a Norwegian that. They are very loyal to their brand. And I'll show you why.

Ja, det ser ut som en KitKat bar. Smaker som også. Men ikke prøv og fortelle en norsk at. De er svært lojale til deres merkevare. Og jeg vil vise deg hvorfor.

 

That small little rectangle at the bottom with the map of Norway. The red rectangle that points to a certain area of Norway has hiking tips for that area printed on the inside of the wrapper. Different bars have different areas marked so you can find a bar with the area you will be hiking in. I think there are fourteen different versions. They are called Sunday Hiking Tips. Norwegians indulge in the healthy habit of taking the family for a walk or hike on Sundays and during the Easter holidays. When they take a break they like to share a Kvikk Lunsj. This is just another reason why I love and admire Norwegians. They do a lot of things outdoors with the family and they have sweet customs.

 

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ICE BEARS,ISBJØRN

 

Lilly, the polar bear of Kristiansund, meets the polar bear of Sweden.

Lilly, isbjørn i Kristiansund, møter isbjørn i Sverige.

 

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PASSING THROUGH,PASSERER GJENNOM

 

This rig,a semi-submersible,traveled through our channel a few days ago. The blue skies left us too.

Denne riggen,en halvt nedsenkbare, reiste gjennom våre kanaler for noe dager siden. Den blå himmelen igjen oss også.

 

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SAME TREE,DIFFERENT DAY/SAMME TREET,ANNEN DAG

 

I love how the colors went from an icy blue to earthy reds and browns.

Jeg elsker hvordan fargene endres fra an isblått jordnær røde og brune.

 

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TODAY IN KRISTIANSUND,I DAG I KRISTIANSUND

 

 

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FEBRUARY STROLL,FEBRUAR SPASETUR

We took a walk in early February before the next snowstorm.

Vi gikk for en spasetur i begynnelsen av Februar før neste snøstorm.

My husband suffers from tractor envy.

Min mann lider traktor misunnelse.

I am always struck by the beauty of bare trees.

Jeg er alltid slått av skjønnheten av nakne trær.

 

The strangely poetic sight of fish bones in an evergreen tree.

Merkelig poetiske synet av fiske bein i et eviggrønt tre.

 

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ENTICING FOOD NAME,EN FRISTENDE Mat NAVN

 

While the name " corned beef" has never made made much sense to me, the Norwegian nickname "dead man in a box" has me alternately laughing and gagging. Can't wait to tell my husband what he is having for dinner tonight......

Mens navnet "corned biff" aldri har gjort har mye mening for meg, norsk kallenavn "døddmann i en boks" jeg vekselvis ler og kaste opp. Jeg kan ikke vente å fortelle min mann hva han har til middag i kveld....

 

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PIGGY BANKS,GRISEN BANKER

 

I collect piggy banks and thanks to my good friend I have two new acquisitions. This piggy bank is from Norway. She has Nordmøre Bank stamped on her side. Does her face look familiar? A bit like a troll doll? She has the DAM stamp on her belly just like all our troll dolls from the sixties.

Jeg samler grisen banker. Takk til min gode venn har jeg to nye oppkjøp. Dette sparegrisen er fra Norge. Hun har Nordmøre Bank stemplet på hennes side. Ser ansiktet kjent ut? Litt som et troll? Hun har "DAM" stempel på magen akkurat som våre troll dukker fra sekstitallet.

 

And this little piggy comes all the way from West Germany.

Og dette lille grisen kommer helt fra Vest-Tyskland.

 

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