Sunbathing In The Norwegian Riviera
Well blow me if we haven't arrived to find that after a few heavy showers and some thunder, the city of Oslo, cradled securely in green forested slopes, is baking like a northern potato in an Indian summer. Mr Roy Everson, whose nice Bed and Breakfast we graced this week, told us that normally the temperature would be around 12 C this time of year, but according to the dial here, it's still 18 C as the evening sets in. Everyone is happy at this late summer sunburst and making the most of it in the many bars and cafes which seem to line every sunny street, radiating out from the city centre on this bustling Friday night.
Last night we saw the most fabulous performance at Black Box Theatre by Sons of Liberty called God Hates Scandinavia, which I will review when I next get a chance.
Earlier on we visited the Munch Museum which was celebrating the return of The Scream and Madonna, two of Edvard's best works. I had a chat with the security guys - presumably the very same crew who watched two years ago as armed and shooting men ran out of the gallery with the paintings, firing shots. The atmosphere was charged, and the media arrived. I shot some images of them hanging around outside the main entrance like guilty schoolboys and girls.
Later we visited the Horticultural Gardens and went for a stroll down to funky Grønland, which has been pedestrianised for the weekend and has cheap entertainment, tacky fair rides manned by evil looking men, and nice stalls out selling exotic food, though I'm not sure my stomach can handle much more of it right now.. I am self-propelled, if you get my gaseous drift, and I sincerely hope you don't.
Now I'm drinking a constitutional cup of Orange Pekoe, about to shower and change for the evening. We've a dance performance and a music gig lined up for tonight, and an art event to see tomorrow in Moss which is being opened by the Queen. Huzzah!
posted by Deek Deekster @ 5:37 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Careful with that lutefiske, Eugene.
Lutefisk humor
Lutefisk eaters thrive on quotes and jokes from skeptics of lutefisk comparing it to everything from rat poison (which has a hint of truth to it, because of the traces of unnatural amino acid lysinoalanine found in lutefisk due to the reaction with lye) to weapons of mass destruction. A few examples are:
* Quote from Garrison Keillor's book Lake Wobegon Days:
"Every Advent we entered the purgatory of lutefisk, a repulsive gelatinous fishlike dish that tasted of soap and gave off an odor that would gag a goat. We did this in honor of Norwegian ancestors, much as if survivors of a famine might celebrate their deliverance by feasting on elm bark. I always felt the cold creeps as Advent approached, knowing that this dread delicacy would be put before me and I’d be told, "Just have a little." Eating a little was like vomiting a little, just as bad as a lot."
* Interview with Jeffrey Steingarten, author of The Man Who Ate Everything (translated quote from a 1999 article in Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet:)
"Lutefisk is not food, it is a weapon of mass destruction. It is currently the only exception for the man who ate everything. Otherwise, I am fairly liberal, I gladly eat worms and insects, but I draw the line on lutefisk."
"What is special with lutefisk?"
"Lutefisk is the Norwegians' attempt at conquering the world. When they discovered that Viking raids didn't give world supremacy, they invented a meal so terrifying, so cruel, that they could scare people to become one's subordinates. And if I'm not terribly wrong, you will be able to do it as well."
I lived for awhile amonsgt a predominance of Norweigans. I wish I'd known this then:
A folk tale about the origin of lutefisk says when the Vikings were pillaging Ireland, St. Patrick sent men to pour lye on the store of dried fish on the longships with the hope of poisoning the Vikings and thereby ridding Ireland of these intruders. However, rather than dying of poisoning or starvation, the Vikings declared lutefisk a delicacy. Some Scandanavian descendants claim their strength and longevity are derived from eating lutefisk at least once a year.
Thanks for the memories.
I forgot you were on holiday...
bastard :p
You'd think, after being around them so long, I'd know how to spell Norwegian.
I'll call it a typo...should've called them berserkers.
Hurry back, Deek. I'm just rattling around here waiting for your return.
I fear you're secretly undergoing some nefarious Nordic medical treatment. Tell me I wrong, or that it was successful. Hopefully, the latter.
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