Tag Archives: Norge

What's it like

What’s it Like: Eating Out

Leave a comment
Eating out was a frequent part of everyday life when we lived in the states. It was typically inexpensive, and was the most common way to meet up with friends.But not so much in Norway. Going out to eat was a pretty big part of our culture in the states, but not really a norm here. While we do have restaurants, you don’t normally find yourself having to wait for a table due to large crowds. Most of the time if we want to meet up with friends, we do so in one of our homes, or maybe at a park or out for a walk.

We do go out occasionally. I kind of like that it isn’t so common: that makes it more of a treat! Here are some shots from various restaurants we’ve visited since moving here.

Enjoying fish & chips in Sweden
Excited over Swedish pancakes
A special dinner out with friends
at a traditional Norwegian restaurant
One more perk of a visit from grandparents:
a trip to Oslo and a meal at TGI Fridays
Our anniversary last year:
Chinese food!
Our favorite burger place: Star Grill

 

A national favorite (and a family favorite!):
the kebab tallerken
The boys enjoying kebab
A rare trip to McDonalds (not our fave
cross-cultural living, friends

Norwegian Hospitality

Leave a comment
Over the past fourteen months, we’ve been blessed by so many incredible people. They’ve invited us into their homes, as well as on outings around Norway. We are so thankful for the way they’ve included us and taught us so much through their kindness.Here are a few pictures of just some of the events we’ve been included in and/or hospitality that has been extended to us since arriving here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cross-cultural living, Norway

Architectural Digest: follow up (where we live)

Leave a comment

I probably should have included it in the original architecture post (HERE). But for those who might be curious about what our house looks like, here’s a picture of it taken last year.As I mentioned before, we have been told that it was built around 1897.

The house is divided into two separate homes/apartment, and we live in the second floor apartment.
Just today I ran across a website with a few photos of our city (here). The fourth picture down was taken on our street, just a little south of our house.
And for those of you who are history buffs, we’ve also discovered something on YouTube. It is a chronological slideshow of Sandefjord, dating from 1870 – 2012. It is about 15 minutes long, so if you aren’t familiar with our city, it might be a little boring. But I found it quite interesting to see the city grow and change over the years!

cross-cultural living, What's it like

Architectural Digest: Sandefjord Edition

2 Comments
We’ve had a number of people ask us what houses look like here in Norway. So on Sunday, we went for a walking tour of our neighborhood to show you a little of what we see around us.Architectural style can vary from fylke (county) to fylke. And of course, styles and methods change with time as well.

We live in Vestfold fylke, and while most of the homes around us have a similar style (more akin to the home where we live, a 2-story built around 1897), it is not hard to find some variety as well. And it doesn’t take more than a stroll to the next street north of us to see what we’re talking about. Go up the hill and take a left, and you just might feel like you’re walking through a very random issue of an architecture magazine.

This is the first we come to as we begin to turn off our street. An interesting house – very large – and a mix of stone and mortar. It looks impressive at night!

This style of home is fairly ordinary here: particularly the white with black roof combo. It must be nice to have that garage in the back!

When my mom and step-dad visited last year, they couldn’t get over the fact that much of Norway is rock. And what do you do when you want to build and there are rocks in the way? Just work around them, as was the case with this home.

Here is another angle of the house built on the rock. Reminds me of a parable in the Bible (you can read it HERE),

While most areas remain consistent in architectural style, this particular street really does exhibit a wide range of eras and materials. This structure appears to be at least two apartments (not at all uncommon: many homes here are multi-family homes), and was obviously built more recently than many of their neighbors.

Every time Zack and I walk past this house, it reminds us of Doc Brown’s house in Back to the Future. Great Scott!

It’s hard to see here, but I really like this modern home built on the hill.

Here, you can see how the houses are built regardless of elevation. They keep going up!

In another month or two, you won’t be able to see this one for all of the trees.

Zack and I like this one a lot. It has a bit of a German/alpine feel to me.

And the green roof here is fun.

You can occasionally spots a house with a grass roof. We don’t see them often in our area, but did see a little playhouse with one.

Finally, this one is on a different street. But we think the dragons are interesting – definitely has an Asian feel to it!

Do you see anything similar to homes where you live? Which one is your favorite?

cross-cultural living, Norway

Cost of Living

Leave a comment
A report was recently released, ranking the world’s most expensive cities to live in. And Oslo – our country’s capital (just north of where we live) – comes in at number four.

Read the report HERE

When we moved to Vancouver, we experienced sticker shock. Everything seemed so expensive. Vancouver is North America’s most expensive city. But after a month or so, we learned where to shop, which brands were the most affordable, and how to join customer reward programs.

And then we arrived in Norway. Sticker shock all over again.

But there are a few things to keep in mind..

  1. Our cost of living was low in the states.
  2. I was a coupon queen. I spent a couple of hours each week with my binder of coupons, scissors, sale ads, and a couple of really good websites. I’ve found some discount programs here, but not the same.
  3. A different currency can throw your brain for a loop! Currently, the exchange rate is about 5.95 Norwegian kroner (nok) to 1 US dollar (USD). So just looking at the prices initially was a bit shocking. Imagine a pack of pasta that might cost the equivalent of $1.80 – but you see 10.90.
  4. Import products are strictly regulated in Norway, and heavily taxed. Most things in the stores are local products, and most are also a very high quality.
  5. Restaurants seem especially expensive. But this is not an eat-out/restaurant culture like our home culture was.
  6. Prices are all-inclusive: the price you see already includes tax.
  7. Prices are higher, but wages are higher as well.
And again, after a while you learn where to shop, what the locals buy, and how to find discounts. You stop converting every price to US dollars, and begin recognizing a good deal when you see one.

EXTREME EXAMPLES

Of course we get funny and interesting reactions every time someone comes to visit us. Here are some extreme examples, things we like to show visitors just for shock value.
  • 79 nok ($13 usd) for a small box of pop-tarts [And no, we don’t buy those!]
  • $4 – 5 usd for a loaf of bread [But it is good, fresh bread, without junk in it] [And this is one reason why I make my own bread!]
  • 4000 nok ($725 usd) for a KitchenA!d stand mixer [Wish I could have brought mine with me]
  • $27 for a large cheese pizza [Yes, we buy these sometimes – and they are so good!]
  • Is that basic bicycle almost $500?” [You learn to take care of your things like these and make them last a long time.]

And just for fun, here is an interesting table from that report, showing some commonly purchased items, and what they cost in US dollars. How do prices in your city stack up to these?

Source: Worldwide Cost of Living 2013
What's it like

What’s it Like: Grocery Shopping

1 Comment
Grocery shopping here is not all that different here. Not greatly, different, anyway. Here’s a rundown on similarities and differences…
What’s the same as what we were used to in the states?
  • The food is pretty much the same. We can get most anything at grocery stores here. Imports will cost you. For instance, a small box of PopTarts is around $6-7 USD.
  • Several big chains hold the majority of the market. Our choices include Kiwi, Rimi, Rema 1000, ICA and Meny. We can also drive a little further to Coop, EuroSpar or Joker. (There are other chains in the country as well.)
  • Lots of choices when you’re shopping for coffee, cheese, meat or fish.

 

What’s different from our former ‘normal’?
  • At many stores, you need a coin to get a grocery cart. You get it back when you return the cart. Baskets are no charge.
  • Bring your own bags. Or pay for plastic bags, usually around 1 krone (@17 cents USD).
  • Almost everything is a local (local meaning from Norway) product. Produce is probably the biggest exception (you can only grow so many things in this climate).
  • Most juice comes in a paper carton, not a plastic or glass bottle.
  • Same for veggies: many are packed in boxes instead of cans.
  • In most cases, stores are small. Typically, there are only a few choices for each item. For example. the picture below shows Daniel on the vegetable aisle. Actually, only the right side is canned vegetables, and what you’re seeing is pretty much the entire aisle. And the last part is the Mexican food section.
  • Few grocery stores are open on Sunday. Like most stores and shops. Most cities have one or two small shops that you can visit on a Sunday. But be ready for narrow aisles, VERY limited selection, and standing in line a while.

 

Daniel loves the stores that have kid-sized carts!

 

Kiwi is one of the grocery store chains in our city. It tends to
have the lowest prices, but not as much variety.
cross-cultural living, What's it like

What happens when you squeeze a fish?

Leave a comment
FISH OIL.Part of our morning routine right now includes a dose of Tran. English speakers would probably know it better as cod liver oil. It is especially important to ensure we get an adequate amount of Vitamin D, when we aren’t able to get enough from the sun. Tran is a great source of Vitamin D and Omega-3.

The ‘norm’ is to take tran in any month whose name has an R in it (Norwegian and English month names are similar enough that it’s the same months in either language).

So every morning, we start our day with a dose of fish oil. Lemon flavored fish oil. And don’t our faces say it all?

(photo taken Oct 2013, when we first started taking tran)

(In actuality, it is not terrible. But I also don’t find myself wanting any extra after I’ve had my dose!)

What's it like

What’s it Like: Driving

1 Comment
It’s always an adventure to drive in a new place. But driving in a new country is something even more interesting!
In Norway, we drive on the right side of the road, just like in the states. But there are many things that are different. Here’s a look at some of what we’ve become accustomed to…
Roundabouts (or rotaries) are quite common here. While they are not terribly confusing, they took some time to learn!
This picture shows the entrance into a large rotary.
The signs above let you know what lies in each direction, and
which lane you should be in.
As you enter the roundabout: signal right if you plan to take the first right
(for example here, the E18 freeway to Oslo)
Don’t signal if you plan to take the roundabout exit that is straight ahead
(for example, Kilen)
Signal left if you plan to go three-quarters around and take the exit that is to the left
(in this case, Sentrum S, or the South side of downtown)
As you are about to exit the roundabout, you should signal right.
This is as you are just about to enter the roundabout.
The blue sign lets you know it’s a roundabout.
And you always have to yield to cars already in the roundabout.

 

The blue arrow lets you know that the road is dividing, and
which direction you should go. This is especially helpful
when there is a lot of snow!
You are entering a No Passing Zone.
This sign lets you know you are leaving the no pass zone.
Anytime you see the sign all in gray with the diagonal lines,
it means you’re leaving that particular zone (could be no passing,
or a speed limit, etc.)

 

Pedestrian Sign – these are important!!
Pedestrians have the right-of-way at all
crosswalks, unless it is controlled by a traffic light.
You must stop, so you always need to be looking to the
sides of the street as you approach a crosswalk.

 

This indicates a 60 kph speed zone. Currently,
Norway’s highest allowed speed is 100 (on some
portions of the freeway/E18).

Our biggest learning curve came with the yellow diamond, seen below. If you see this sign, it means you’re on a main road. You have the right of way and do not have to yield to traffic from other roads. Okay, that isn’t a problem. But when you don’t have the yellow diamond, you must yield to roads on your right. So if a car is coming from the road on the right, you have to stop and let them out. This one was strange for us!

Ah, the yellow diamond. This is the one that
confused us the most as we learned to drive here!

 

Language

Liebe Gruß and Language Formalities/NwotD

Leave a comment
When our friends Jeff & Deanna lived in Germany, they were taught the proper way to end a conversation. It included a greeting to your family, friends, etc. And they quickly learned that it was quite important and could be considered rude when not used.

So Jeff’s question was this: Is there any formal or informal greeting or salutation in Norwegian?

There are things that are appropriate to say, but so far we haven’t learned anything that would be considered rude if we didn’t say.

Here are some helpful greetings and phrases.

For a greeting you might say

  • Hei!
  • Hei hei!
  • Hallo!

Often after this, you will say

  • Takk for sist! It means thanks for the last time – basically acknowledging our last meeting. It could possibly be compared to an English phrase like “good to see you again.”

If you are welcoming a guest into your home, you might say

  • Velkommen til oss! Straight translation: welcome to us.

As you are departing, you can say

  • Ha det bra! Taken word by word, it literally translates have it good. But this is the word we would use like good-bye.
  • You can also say Ha det, a shortened form.

And many times in your departure, you may choose to say one or two of these

  • Takk for oss! (Thanks for us)
  • Takk for i dag! (Thanks for the day)
  • Takk for i kveld! (Thanks for the evening)
  • Hils familien! (Greet your family)
  • Vi ses snart! (similar to See you soon!)
Day-to-Day

Tønsberg Tønne

Leave a comment
The Tønsberg Tønne (translated Tønsberg Barrel) is a an old beacon at the tip of Tønsberg Fjord in Sandefjord. We went there Sunday morning for a hike with friends. The weather was overcast and around 6 C (43 F): good hiking weather! It really is a great hiking spot and the weather cooperated well… until we got to the very top where the beacon (?) is. The wind was whipping so hard! It would almost knock us over. On our way back, we stopped on the beach and grilled our lunch.By the way, do you notice anything in the pictures? Yeah, our snow is almost completely gone and it’s still February!