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.”
lust & last
there are lots of ads around Stockholm consisting of pixelated 18th-century oil paintings—a marketing ploy by the national museum for their lust & last (“lust & vice”) exhibit. according to the museum: The exhibition Lust & Vice shows examples of how sexuality, virtue and sin have been depicted in art since the 16th century – from an age when the Church … Read More
food lessons from paris
had a nice visit to Paris with my parents, and was surprised to learn a few things about food in France: as expected, the food at most of the random French restaurants we tried was delicious. unexpected: the portions were huge. any dessert that even mentions chocolate is swimming in it. and chocolate shops are everywhere. moules frites: our waitress … Read More
self-service… cash
typical norwegian holidays involve going to a “hytte” (cabin) to get as far away from civilization as possible (unless you’re of retiree age, in which case your holidays consist of living in Spain for several months of the year). from what I’ve gathered, there are two types of hytte: (1) the mountain hytte, where you isolate yourself in the wilderness, … Read More