hiking from frognerseteren
Last weekend we did something very Norwegian: the Sunday hike. We took the T-bane all the way to the end stop of Frognerseteren, with the aim of hiking to Sognsvann (about 15 km). On the way there we stopped for coffee at the cabin at Skjennungstua, where–amongst the sea of Norwegians in their fancy hiking boots and colourful goretex jackets–we saw … Read More
bún chay (with tofu) at Lille Saigon 1
the wonderful bún at Lille Saigon 1 (not to be confused with their competitor Saigon Lille Cafe up the street–a splitting of ways apparently caused by some nasty divorce). but really, what could go wrong when you combine rice vermicelli, pickled carrots & daikon, fresh cucumber, fried onions, bean sprouts, peanuts, tofu fried with lemongrass, and sweet/spicy fish sauce? nothing. … Read More
pastéis de belém
One of the highlights of my trip to Portugal was a visit to Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, considered the mecca of portuguese egg tarts. Normally you can get custard tarts in any Portuguese snack bar by asking for “pastéis de nata”, but the best ones are to be found at this bakery, served warm out of the oven, and specially … Read More
NaOH = food product
Only in Norway could caustic soda be advertised as something to cook your fish with (“luting” being the verb for making “lutefisk”–a dish commonly served at Christmas, no less). An apt description by a Norwegian-American named Dave Fox: Norwegians didn’t invent lutefisk because they thought it was tasty. A long time ago, in the pre-refrigeration epoch, salting and drying fish … Read More
transit
the nobel peace center is currently showing an exhibit called transit, a photo display of refugees in different countries. the most interesting facts presented in the exhibit were the numbers of refugees in various countries (in 2010): Refugees from Columbia: 454 088 Refugees in Columbia from other countries: 300 Refugees from Afghanistan: 2 917 535 Refugees in Afghanistan from other … Read More
operaen
I’ve visited the Oslo opera house many times but have never been tempted enough by any of its concerts to actually see the main music hall inside. So when they held an open house this weekend, I jumped at the chance to go visit. It’s beautiful inside, lots of smooth lines and dark wood, and I really liked the “centerpiece” … Read More
beer prices in oslo
yes, oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and people often complain about measure it using the price of beer. the alternative newspaper natt&dag has a weekly “beer barometer” (ølbarometer) which lists oslo’s cheapest beer places, but unfortunately not online. fear not, I can share with you oslopuls’ recent survey of 55 bars around the city, with prices … Read More
ingvild & thomas
this is my street. on the blue building there’s this inscription: Here Ingvild and Thomas met on March 21, 1998. Now they are married. … “In 2004 they divorced, but they are happy nonetheless.”