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.
st-siméon ferry
Mixed it up this time on this trip to NB and drove north of the Saint-Laurent instead of the highway south, crossing over to Rivière-du-Loup using the ferry at St-Siméon. and what a fancy ferry it was! first there were the binoculars and the elevator… then there was the diner and bar: and hmm, what else? how about an enclosed … Read More
the dalai lama in town
the dalai lama came to two churches in my neighbourhood this weekend! on saturday he appeared at riverside cathedral for an audience with the tibetan community, and on sunday it was with the general public (at least from what I could tell from the people waiting outside) at st. john the divine. it was the first time I had seen … Read More
the artist is present
Addition: A NY Times article about sitting with Marina MoMA is posting portraits of those who sit across the artist on their Flickr feed, here: MoMA’s current exhibit, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, created quite a stir recently–resulting in the museum having to revoke one man’s 30-year membership. I read the New Yorker’s backgrounder on Abramovic a couple of … Read More
the highline
The High Line is a new park that opened in 2009, built from an old elevated railway track running from Chelsea to the Meatpacking district. It’s still not completed, but so far it consists of pretty landscaping with bits of public art–making for a cool little walk in lower west Manhattan. And because it’s elevated, you get some nice views … Read More