syltetøy… and banos
so far my favourite foodstuff in Norway has been… jam! it’s more fruity and has less of that artificial gelatin consistency than what I’m used to, which means it’s easier to use a spoon with this stuff than a knife. our cupboard is currently stocked with apricot, strawberry, raspberry, and (deliciously chunky) apple jam–and with a higher turnover rate than … Read More
trains in china
Trains are a great way to travel within China. There are several different categories of train, as identified through the route number. Routes consisting only of digits (no letters) are the regular, cheapest (and slowest) trains. Train numbers starting with ‘K’ are fast trains (kuai literally means fast), T trains are te-kuai (especially fast), and Z trains are zui kuai … Read More
view of north korea
There is a section of the Great Wall just outside of Dandong called 虎山长城 (Tiger Mountain Great Wall), again along the border with North Korea. The wall itself is not all that remarkable if you’ve been to other sections: it looks way too new & reconstructed, with the site obviously renovated to herd tourists. But I must admit the view … Read More
Dandong 丹东
This is my second time facing North Korea–the first time being a tour of the DMZ organized by the USO–but this time it’s from China. I’m now in Dandong, a very industrial looking city with 600,000 inhabitants. 查看大图 As you can see, the Yalu (“duck green”) river separates China from North Korea–the Chinese side looks rather raucous and full of … Read More
stavanger’s oil museum
Stavanger is Norway’s oil city, and so naturally I had to visit the oil museum. Norway was apparently a poor country less than two generations ago, but in 1969 oil was discovered in the North Sea. Since then, the government has been careful about limiting foreign rights to the oil. In 1972, Statoil was founded (though it was later partially … Read More
tourist oslo
Photos from the city tour organized by the Oslo International Summer School during my first weekend in town: Vigeland’s Park (filled with statues created by a single artist), the Viking Museum, City Hall (where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each year), and the wonderful Oslo Opera House (designed to look like an iceberg from the outside).
my first fjord!
While Oslo is technically in a fjord (as defined by wikipedia), the Oslofjord is not all that impressive. But after this weekend, I can finally say that I have been to a real movie-worthy Norwegian fjord! A couple of hours away from Stavanger (on the southwest coast of Norway) is Lysefjord: View Larger Map To get to the start-off point … Read More
squeezable food
I am currently taking a Norwegian course at the University of Oslo, and each day during our mid-class break I look for a treat at the cafeteria. Amongst the chocolate, waffles, and buns, you can also find conveniently-sized-but-overpackaged nugatti (nutella) in a tube: though this doesn’t look half as exciting as the “mini kaviar”! oooooooooh (unfortunately I discovered later that … Read More
midsummer night
Last Wednesday was the longest day of the year, and a traditional day to have a big bonfire party in Norway. I was at my in-laws’ new cabin by the sea (well, in a fjord), and that night they had a big barbecue: It was a nice summer party, but a couple of funny things: some of the guests arrived … Read More
obama cookies
a hit at the Market in Ottawa, ever since the first Presidential visit: maple-leaf shaped cookies with “Canada” emblazoned on them.