Successful and sunny days

This blog is meant to discuss some of the trials and tribulations of living in Norway, and perhaps what one can expect.  I really don't know if I've talked a lot about that though, but this post will deliver. (Forewarned - I talk a lot...I've put in random photos to keep you entertained.  You're welcome.)

First though, holy shit balls, it's like proper summer in Bergen right now.  We're talking 25C and sun sun sun til your heart's content!  And, unlike most awesome weather, this awesome weather will remain throughout the weekend! So providing I finish up the edits to my thesis, that means I can frolick in the grass very very soon.  Hip hip hurra!  In the meantime though, my evening tonight will consist of me parking my ass on my west-ish facing balcony, with a fresh fruit salad, and just enjoying this fabulous weather.  And maybe a beer.

Bergen style parking lots (this was a few days before 17. mai)

In the meantime though, I had two pretty freaking successful endeavors today.  The first was that I got my work permit in my passport, and the second was that I got my driver's license!  It's like I'm 16 again! 

In all honesty though, I was really lucky with the permit since my company hires a company to do all of this stuff for me.  I just got an email yesterday afternoon saying that the permit was approved and ready, and I went down to the police station to get the sticker in my passport this morning (and unlike Trondheim, they actually do it on the spot as opposed to taking your passport for a week and then you having to come back).  They just introduced a new system this week though where instead of getting stickers in your passport, you get a residency card.  Unfortunately (and expectedly), this system wasn't working properly, so I just got the sticker.  But it's great that they offer this now, as it doesn't take up a whole page in your passport (they are so few, afterall), and it's also consistent with European regulations.  Find out more info here.

I think the new residency cards will look something like this, but don't take my word for it.  via

On to the driver's license.  As of 2010 (I think) if you move to Norway from a certain list of countries, your can use your license for 3 months before you have to switch it to a Norwegian one.  You have up to 1 year to do this (but remember you can't drive after the 3 months).  To switch to a Norwegian one before the 1 year period is relatively simple...you just need to take a driving test (back to this later).  However, if you're like me and really don't need a driver's license because you're a) lazy and/or b) too money conscious to spend a tonne of money on something you won't use while you're a student, then you have a few more hoops to jump through if you try to switch your license after this one year period.

After Easter I decided that since I'm staying in Norway, I should switch my license so that I can rent a car or eventually buy one if I stumble across the million dollars it costs to afford one in this country.  I discovered that since it had been over a year since I moved here, I couldn't simply just take a road test to switch.  There is a clause where a person with a valid driver's license can still transfer it after the one year period, but before they've been here for two years, and they are then assigned courses to take.  After the two year period, you're considered a brand new driver and have to start from the beginning again.  At that point in April, I had only 3 months to my 2 year anniversary.  Ahhh why was I so lazy??

Oh look!  Evening light from my balcony! 

Luckily the woman at vegvesen (Norwegian driving authority) that I spoke to was super helpful, she got my application for the transfer approved in 1 week (usually takes 3) and I got in contact with a driving school.  The list of courses I needed were:

- theory test
- first aid course
- skid pan course
- night driving (cannot be done until darkness returns in the fall)
- practical road test

So I bought a driving book (400,- kr in English), took the theori test (500,- kr), took the first aid course (600,- kr), the skid pan course (4 800,- kr), plus 8 lessons (4 720,- kr), the road test (890,- kr), the license itself (290,- kr), and the night driving scheduled for October (1650,- kr) and then renting of the car to use for the test (1900,-).  That's a grand total of 15 750,- kr - or $2695 (or approximately 3x what it cost me to get my Canadian driver's license).

The driving lessons were not required to switch over, but Norway has some...errm....funny road laws that take some time getting used to, and so I think the lessons are needed to get used to the roads and signs, etc.  I actually think that the courses were fantastic - the skid pan course was a lot of fun and really practical if you've never driven in icy conditions before, or even just to remind yourself of what kind of control you have when you skid.  The first aid course wasn't so much a first aid course (as in learning CPR or whatever), but really what you should do when you get to the scene of an accident.  All good stuff to know.  My beef with all of this, is that I had to sell my soul to pay for this.  It is simply way too expensive.  Yes, driving is a privilege and not a right, but really?  Really??  And to think that I got the cheap version of this all because I didn't start from the beginning!  I've heard from students that it now costs on average 30 000 ,-kr from start to finish.  At this point, it's really just snotty little rich kids that can afford it, and that sucks (and believe me, you can tell these are rich kids...16 year olds with iPhones?  I was 27 when I got my iPhone, and I paid for it all myself!).  But I digress. 

Johanneskirken this morning. I was already wearing shorts at 8:45am, it was pure bliss.

And you'll recall that you just take a road test if you're switching the license over within your first year....but there's a BUT.  You have to rent a car from a driving school, and I've heard that you have to do 2 lessons on top of that, so even then, it's still going to cost you 4260,- kr.  Ouch.  (and sorry, I'm never going to get used to these prices and will complain as often as I want:P). 

So, my advice to people just moving here and want to switch their license:  Do it as soon as possible, but if you're not used to the driving laws here, it's really a good idea to have some lessons.  And if you've never driven in snowy conditions before, taking the skid pan course is a costly, but worthwhile investment.  Norway takes road safety seriously, and that's really not a bad thing.   

The most expensive piece of plastic ever!  This isn't me. via

Just drooling to work, don't mind me.

First off, I do have to apologize for my lack of postings - I'm handing in my thesis in 19 days, and that is taking up a lot of my time right now.  Since I know you're all so keen to know how that's going, I can tell you, it's going well.  But yes, after May 30 I will be one happy camper. 

I'm going to hand in something that will look like this.  And it will be pure glory.

Source

So the title of this post has to do with a language goof I did last week, and the worst part is that this is one of the first things I was taught not to do.  I literally learned this in my second Norwegian class in the summer of 2010.  The goof is regarding a little slip up in pronounciation that is frankly quite easy to do, but completely changes the meaning of the word.  I was talking to some Norwegian friends last week and one of them was cycling home from the city centre.  I remember having to take the entire length of the bybanen and a bus to get to her place before, so naturally, I asked her how long it took her to cycle home.  Heeeeerrre comes the slip up.  In my head I said:

Hvor lang tid tar det å sykle hjem herfra? (How long does it take to bike home from here).

but it came out:

Hvor lang tid tar det å sikle hjem herfra? (How long does it take to drool home from here).

(please note, I can still never remember when to use lang tid or lenge in Norwegian, so I could have said this entirely wrong.  Just a regular part of my day)

The 'y' and 'i' sound in Norwegian are quite different, but when you get lazy, they turn into one sound.  I didn't realize the slip up until one of the other girls there started to pretend like she was drooling and biking.  Oh that was a good laugh.  Today at lunch we were talking about cycling, and had to pay so much attention to not make this mistake again.  This might be a lifelong thing for me to try and remember. 

Although this was an embarrassing incident, I still think my day was pretty successful.  This happened on May 1, and like a good student, still went to work to work on my thesis despite it being a holiday, which was pretty painful considering it was also 16C and sunny that day.  At noon I got a phone call from a friend and said that I should get my ass downtown again and go for a run up Stoltzen - a trail of stairs that starts in the Sandviken neighbourhood and goes up to the top of Fløyen (or near-ish to the famous viewing spot).  I hadn't been yet, so it was a perfect day to give it a go.  It was a good but quick workout - managed it in 16:34.  After that, I grabbed a shower at home, and as I walked through Torgallmenningen it was full of people listening to speeches for May Day.  But this voice I heard, I recognized it.  My god it was Jens Stoltenberg!  The Jens Stoltenberg!  I was star struck.  He was like 50 m away on stage, but he was still there and I was still looking at him with my own eyes.  I told everyone I knew about this as if it was the biggest event that ever happened, and everyone just looked at me like 'meh'.  Whaa??  Come on people!  To celebrate this, I went for some beer on a patio with some friends, and at the end of this was the drooling/cycling incident.  Overall, a successful day, with a few laughs thrown in. 

The route up Stoltzen (full name: Stolzekleiven)

Source 

Haugesund!!

After my return at midnight to Norway on Monday from Brazil (topic of another post), I left for Haugesund via bus to visit a friend for a few days during this evil everything-is-closed time happening right now (aka Easter).  The bus system in Norway is pretty awesome, and quite reasonably priced (return was 380kr for a student, or about $65).

My friend grew up on Karmøy, which is just across the water from Haugesund, and that's where we stayed the whole time.  Haugesund itself is not a very big town (35k according to wikipedia), but there quite a few more people that live in the area (40k on Karmøy), and a few sights to see.  Luckily, the sun was out and shining on the Wednesday, and we wandered through downtown, being sure to hit up the vinmonopolet to add to my collection from Duty Free - I'm not an alcoholic, I swear.  

Karmsundbridge that links Karmøy and Haugesund

Downtown Haugesund.

My friend's friend has a sailboat and we went for some freshbaked cinammon buns and coffee and sat in the afternoon sun for a couple of hours.  We didn't actually leave the harbour (the friends were about to leave for a 5 day tour and they were able to squeeze in some time for us).  I don't think I realize how much I like boats and water until I get on one and smell the fresh sea breeze.  I really need to do a tour one of these days. 

Where we parked our asses in the afternoon.  Check out that blue sky! 

We weren't so fortunate the next day with regards to the weather, but we made the most of it anyways.  We visited 3 famous (!!) places in the pouring rain and driving wind.  The first was St. Olav's church in Avaldsnes (completed in 1320), which is a landmark in the area, and is also apparently one of the few churches whose steeple wasn't removed by the Germans in WWII.  It was thought that the large steeple was a landmark for Allied planes, so the Germans covered the entire church in a wooden camouflage cage sort of thing.  Not sure if that worked out for them, but at least the church itself wasn't destroyed.  On one side of the church there is a large standing stone (Mary's needle, or Jomfru Marias synål på norsk) and it is believed that when this stone touches the wall, that doomsday is coming.  You can see large notches on the top of the stone where it has been chipped away...I gather that people didn't want the world to end so soon?  Note from the picture below, I didn't actually touch the stone, I don't want to play with fire folks! 

The Avaldsnes area is rich in Viking history, with lots of burial mounds and other interesting stuff.  I didn't see much of this really, but I would like to come back and check out any museums on the history of the area.  

St. Olav's Church

Karmøy on the left, Haugesund on the right.

Jomfru Marias synål!

We also visited the Visnes Mining Museum where they used to mine copper, some of which was used for the Statue of Liberty.  Bet you didn't know that eh?  They erected a replica there in 2004.

I am pretty excited to be here.  Also, it was not at all cold or windy.  No no.

Our last stop was to Haraldshaugen, a statue erected in 1872 to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord, which is though to represent the battle where western Norway was united under one monarch (King Harald I, hence the name).  The name Haraldshaugen literally translates to "Harald's hill" and is thought to be where King Harald I was buried (see, I told you there was a lot of Viking history in this area).  This monument is located in the northern end of Haugesund.

Haraldshaugen.

 And there you have it!  A little Haugesund tour for ya;) 

A 'lil Stavanger

I had the pleasure of being in Stavanger a few weeks ago for 3 days for training, and since it's been 3 years since my last visit to the city, it was nice to get back and see what I remembered about the place.

My impressions of the city in 2009 were generally good ones, but I also found the city to be a little bit sleepy, and a little bit too much like an oil town (money, money, money).  Having lived in Calgary for 3 years, oil towns are not my favourite places to be (but let's be real, the people make the city, and I have wonderful friends that live in both Calgary and Stavanger).  I only stayed downtown during my last visit, but this time I was able to venture out and see more of the area, and it turns out there are lots of things that I like about the area!  I didn't take any pictures this time, so you'll have to do with a mixture of internet images and some from my visit in 2009.

I did have to giggle a bit when we landed at the airport "Velkommen til Sola lufthavn, Stavanger": Welcome to the Sun airport, Stavanger.  Welcome to the sun!  HAHAHA.  Kind of ironic considering the rainy weather all of Vestlandet is known for, but I guess it's good to have some optimism, non?

Leaving the airport going directly to work, I was able to get a look of the countryside, which was just so different from the rest of Norway.  Flat! Farms! Beaches!  I actually felt like I was back in Belgium (minus good, cheap beer), it was really quite cool.

Kind of makes you want to go swimming eh?...(visitnorway.com)

Some of the views on the way to downtown on the bus were fantastic - lots of small neighbourhoods with random views of the water bodies that surround the city and area.  I can definitely see why expat families that I know really loved living in Stavanger.  It's just too bad the the housing prices are outrageously expensive.  And I do mean outrageous, one of the downfalls of being an oil town in Norway is that everything is way more expensive than it should be (and yes, the salaries are good here, but for reference, I'll be making less money here than I did in Canada). 

The city has a pretty darn cute shopping area right downtown, with plenty of places to spend your hard-earned money.  This street was one of my faves, the colours are wonderful!

Gaaadd that's cute (my pic).

And this is from my visit in 2009, but one of my favourite parts of Stavanger was the hike to Preikestolen.  From what I remember, it was quite a short hike (maybe 2 hrs?) and not that difficult (I say this because I saw a lot of moronic tourists going up nearly in sandals and other inappropriate footware...seriously people, that's just stupid).  A 604m vertical face awaits you, and it is spectacular!

Well hey there fancypants. 

And this is an obligatory jump shot that I just love to do.

Lysefjord in the background.

There are some other cool hikes to do around Stavanger, but I didn't have time to do them in 2009.  A visit to Kjeragbolten (also on Lysefjord) is one I'd particularly like to make...maybe later this year?

Crazy sheep (vacationideas.me)

Once I'm finally settled here permanently, I'm going to try and make more of an effort to visit more places in Norway and properly document them.  Because if you didn't already know this, Norway is a beautiful country. 

And sorry for the radio silence lately, I will try to update more often! Some visitors might see on my blogroll occasional posts labeled "Project CrossFit: Jeff"  That is MEEEE.  And that is what is occupying a lot of my time.  I don't have the luscious beach bod yet, but the results are astounding, and after a hesitant start with CrossFit in 2010 (ok, there was only one session, and my feelings were far from love), and a decent 2 months training with it last summer, I can now say that I'm thoroughly enjoying it now.  I'm going to debut my results so far to the fabulous people of Brazil when I visit Rio de Janeiro at the end of March (in one week!).  I promise not to post pictures on here though;)

Nanaimo Bar success!

I am happy to report that Nanaimo bars were successfully made using Norwegian ingredients this weekend, and they tasted fantastic (if I do say so myself).  There were two key ingredients that concerned me the most (graham crackers and vanilla custard powder), and I really wasn't sure if we'd find a suitable substitute.  Thankfully the internet search engine gods were happy and provided some useful suggestions as to what we might be able to use as a substitute.  Also, there was some ingenuity in the shop when the powdered vanilla sauce packet came into view "ahh yes, you will do!"

These tasted just as I remembered them, and shockingly, I quite literally could not eat more than one.  Me? Sweeted out?  For those that know me, that is saying a lot.  Eater beware.

This post is nearly entirely useless without pictures, so here you go.  I went a little crazy with the pictures, I apologize.   

The two options for the graham cracker substitute. Both were recommended, but after taste testing, the one on the right won by a long shot.

Step 1, melting the butter and mixing it with sugar and cocoa powder.

Chopping some almonds.

Mixing together all the delicious things to make the base.

All mixed!

Pressed into the pan.  They say not to grease the pan, but we put down some baking paper.  This was a BRILLIANT idea (although I can't take credit for it).

This vanilje saus powder was an excellent subsitute for the vanilla custard powder. We used half that box of icing sugar (melis) for the middle layer.  I think this played a big role in my inability to eat more than one.

This is the middle layer...forgot to take some other pictures, but we just put everything in a mixer and mixed until it was light and fluffy.

This chocolate looks all fancy, and says it's good for baking, but it's not.  Don't buy it (I'm not kidding).

Making the chocolate/butter concoction for the third layer.  This should melt together and be nice and smooth.

Ladies and gentlemen, I made magic happen.  I made two things that normally melt when heated to become a glob of goo.  I think this has to do with the inferior Bunnpris chocolate rather than my apparent inability to melt chocolate and butter together over heat.

However, all was not lost.  This made for a tasty topping on the graham cracker substitute.

Oh look, Freia chocolate melts just fine with butter.  How do you respond to this one Bunnpris?

The correctly melted chocolate and butter mix overtop of the middle layer.  Good tip: after pouring the chocolate on top, instead of trying to spread it with a spoon, just tip the damn tray and let gravity do the work for you.  I wish I could tell you this was my idea, but again, it was not. 

After you let it chill for a couple of hours, stick a knife down the sides of the pan where there was no baking paper, and then the extra baking paper sticking out almost acts like a handle.  Pop!  The whole thing just comes out (I thought it would crack, but it didn't, just do this gently).

Cut up these into reasonably sized squares, and serve.  

You. Are. Welcome. 

Canadian desserts

In my time in Norway, I've discovered a few things that I (naïvely) assumed were standard absolutely everywhere...namely, a few desserts.  I'm not sure when this really came to my attention, but it was probably in a situation where I was stuffing my face with some other form of dessert (such as oreo cake...mmm...), and muttered through the crumbs falling through my mouth "mmm, you know, a Nanaimo bar sure would be delicious right now after I finish this 2000 calorie piece of cake".

The response to this was always: what the hell is an aAnnaNanaimerooahi bar?

I probably gave them a look that was somewhere in between "oh you sorry bastard! You've never experienced the deliciousness that is a Nanaimo bar before?" and "We need to make Nanaimo bars, right now!"

Unfortunately, we never did make those Nanaimo bars as sheer laziness is a trait that goes hand-in-hand with my extraordinary ability to eat an entire oreo cake in one sitting.  BUT, I am on cake duty for Friday cake coming in week 13 so I'm thinking that I need to try and make this and introduce my colleagues to a whole new world of dessert.  As an aside, don't ask me when week 13 is, I have to look at the outlook calendar to figure this out every time.  Honestly, who uses weeks?  Give me a date damn it!

I want to eat them all right now.

mmm.  I think these ones are mint.

Here is a link to a brief history of Nanaimo bars from wikipedia.  My favourite ones are with mint filling.  And from the City of Nanaimo website (where these tasty things originated), here is a standard recipe for your pleasure:

Nanaimo Bar Recipe

Bottom Layer
½ cup unsalted butter (European style cultured)
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs
½ c. finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan.

Second Layer
½ cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream
2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder
2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Third Layer
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter overlow heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

(Side note: I do not take credit for any images in this post! All hail google!)

How not to battle jetlag.

Or maybe this post should be entitled "how not to doom yourself when you know you're going to have to battle jetlag".

I flew back across the Atlantic last night, and as per usual, got my two bottles of wine with me meal/après meal (these are mini bottles, 175mL for those who are thinking I'm a raging alcoholic right now).  Now I know that alcohol affects you more in the air and that you shouldn't drink any if you want to get over your jetlag quickly, but it hasn't affected me so far...that is, until I got a third bottle.  emm effer.  Seriously, when someone says 'free' I feel like the seagulls in Finding Nemo: "mine! mine! mine! mine!"  Learning self-control should be something on my list of things to do. Just because it's free, does not mean you have to take it. 

Those who know me know that I cannot sleep if I'm drunk.  Call it faulty wiring or whatnot, but if I'm drunk, the world starts spinning when I close my eyes, and then I'll have to have a conversation with a big white telephone (or I guess a silver one if you're in the air).  After I drank the third bottle, I was beginning to get tired (it was probably 1 am by that time), and when I closed my eyes, I got the spins.  WTF?!  Shiiiitttt!  But I am le tired!  I wanna sleep!  Damn it, why did I drink that third bottle?  Now I have to stay awake until I sober up. 

I drank as much water as I could; it was a good thing I had the aisle seat so I didn't have to hop across some poor soul sleeping beside me.  I don't think I was fully sober until they turned the lights on and started serving some nuclear looking muffins (seriously Air Canada, if those were carrot muffins, where did you find those beet-coloured carrots?).  I didn't eat them.

A 1.5 hr delay in Toronto meant 1.5 hrs less waiting time in Copenhagen - hells yes.  It felt good to be so much closer to bed; alternatively, it did not feel good sitting in Kastrup surrounded by well dressed and well rested Danes while I looked like a got hit by a bus.  Despite my lack of sleep, I did have a success story while in the airport: I ordered food in Norwegian, and understood and responded to all of the Danish questions.  Booya!

I don't really remember much of the flight to Bergen as I was unconscious about 37 seconds after I fastened my seatbelt.  I thought this 1.5 hr nap would serve me well, and as I woke up at 4 am this morning wide awake, I can now tell you that, no, that nap did not serve me well.  Normally when you miss a whole night of sleep, you sleep for 10 hours and wake up in the right time zone.  Not this time!  The silver lining though?  I'm comfortably sitting in my living room, listening to the driving rain against the windows (my favourite sound in the world), drinking a cup of espresso.  Ah Bergen, I've missed you. (ok, this could have probably been experienced at any time of the day, but we'll just call it a special moment that I would have missed should I have been sleeping).

The lesson to take from all of this?  Don't get hammed on the plane folks, unless you're one of those lucky bastards who fall into a deep slumber at the taste of a little alcohol.  Or, if you enjoy 4 am wake ups:)