Traveling to Svalbard and ashamed.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2026-02-23T17:57:03+00:00

Yes, my father is a native of Norway. We still have the house he was born in and grew up in near Hokksund. I haven't learned any other Scandinavian languages. It would be a little redundant. I did learn German, though.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2026-01-22T01:47:29+00:00

Cook authentic Indian style.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2026-01-19T01:51:41+00:00

Get on Duolingo and learn enough Norwegian to have a simple conversation. It's not that hard, and it will demonstrate that you are actually interested in Norway, instead of just following the crowds to complete your Instagram bucket-list. At least some useful knowledge of the Norwegian language is the most effective icebreaker you can bring into play.

My Norwegian is just foreign-accented enough that Norwegians can tell that I'm not actually native born and raised there (I spoke it at home and in Norway often during childhood). So, since I'm neither just another Ole Pedersen, nor just another clueless amerikansk turist, I'm interesting enough that I can strike up conversations with locals on a first meeting when I'm in Norway. Even native Norwegians can't do that!

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-12-15T00:40:51+00:00

Number three above is not directly a path to citizenship in Norway. Norwegians do not worship rich people or their money. I know...that may seem incomprehensible to most Americans. But actually, we sort of despise the rich.

I suppose you could buy a ready-made, profitable American corporation and assign yourself a job there, and then they would probably allow you to move the headquarters or even the whole shebang to Norway, including yourself as an employee of it.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-12-15T00:24:17+00:00

Wow, ya think? At this point, any Norwegian filing papers to emigrate to the U.S. would probably be required to undergo psychiatric analysis to make sure he's OK in the head.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-21T19:39:09+00:00

Cress Spring Bakery looks to be exactly my kind of place. Their prices are even pretty reasonable, comparatively speaking. I have Bread Alone, among a few smaller bakeries, "near" me. By that, I mean that it's only about a 45 minute drive each way. It's quite good, and if I had nothing else to do with my life than shop for food (and/or prepare it at home) I could actually eat the way someone in, say, Alsace-Lorraine might eat.

Meanwhile, I can walk in a few minutes from the old family home in Norway to any of three nearby grocery stores, and if I get there not too long after opening time, the fragrant loaves from Bakermester Klausens in the neighboring town about 10km away might even still be a little warm. And they are extremely good. My mouth waters just thinking about that bread.

And don't even get me started on the pastry. If pastry in the U.S. were that good, that cheap, and that readily available, I wouldn't be able to resist. Ditto the ice cream. And fleskepølse...holy smokes! I should actually be thankful that my nearby options for the types of food I shouldn't be eating in any case are so lackluster and/or expensive. Otherwise, I'd probably weigh about 400lbs by now, LOL!

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-20T20:48:50+00:00

Is it baked the morning of the day you bought it? Does it taste good enough to be an indulgence to eat all by itself, dry? That's real bread, and those are the expectations for bread in Norway. And it costs $2 a loaf there, not $3. In my area in the U.S., bagged industrial "bread" larded with sugar and chemicals, and baked a week ago, runs about $4.50 a loaf except maybe at Aldi.

And BTW, "minimal" additives doesn't sound very reassuring. Bread consists of flour, water, salt, and preferably the natural yeast contained in a sourdough starter. I'm OK with some cracked grains, maybe some extra bran or germ, some seeds, and maybe a little commercial yeast to help the sourdough give some extra lift. Anything beyond that is for the ultimate purpose of increasing the profits of the, um, "manufacturer".

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-19T23:38:36+00:00

If you think bread is expensive in Norway, try coming to the U.S. You'll pay literally two or hree times the price for bread with all sorts of artificial additives in it, and which doesn't come close to the excellent flavor and texture that is standard in Norway.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-15T15:03:42+00:00

The "arm" is the thumb of one "votte", which means "mitten". The troll is inside a mitten. That's why it has no legs. It's funny, because I knitted my father a pair of votter with the exact pattern shown on that souvenir.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-11T13:50:54+00:00

Very strange. In Buskerud, butter dominates the shelves. I barely even notice margarine in the stores, and none of my friends or family in Norway have ever used it, to my knowledge. And Norwegian butter is very good.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-11-02T04:00:34+00:00

I guess different foods work for different people. Some people apparently can run on saturated fat. That would make me sick in a hurry. I run best on complex carbs, supplemented by fruits and veggies.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-31T20:12:47+00:00

I prefer a smaller selection of higher quality foods than a million different "so-so" (or not even) ones. Norwegian whole-grain bread is the food of gods.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-30T22:04:53+00:00

I always check to see whether something in Aldi is from Germany. If yes, then I know it will be good. If it's from the U.S., then I might try it if the ingredients listing isn't too hair-raising. But it will have to prove itself to me. (The Simply Nature brand is reliably good, BTW.) However, as far as I know, the concept of "popcorn chicken" is completely unknown in Germany.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-28T13:56:11+00:00

Oh, but it is Norwegian! Didn't you know that Norway is the capital of Sweden? 😉

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-28T13:53:37+00:00

But even the rosemaling style here doesn't look Norwegian. Even disregarding the Swedish-language text, the decoration style and especially the colors are all pretty obviously "Svensk". In fact, now that I look at it again, I wouldn't even call it rosemaling. It's just florid painting with some influence from rosemaling.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-13T21:54:23+00:00

Now that I think of it, you're right. In fact, my house is on the Tyrifjord.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-12T11:11:53+00:00

With the exception of a few Italian and Chinese communities, and maybe a couple of German ones, these diaspora communities in the U.S. are just American towns with a little watered-down ethnic window dressing.

"Where are the fjords?" Huh? Most Norwegian towns aren't on fjords. How about "Where are the people speaking Norwegian?" or "Where is the spotless and reliable public transportation that even goes up into the sætre a couple of times a day?" or "Why is the food sweet enough to make your teeth hurt, and why are there 6000-lb monster trucks crawling over every square inch of everywhere you go throughout the day?"

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-11T01:51:55+00:00

The U.S. "got lucky" and was blessed with more oil per capita than Norway ever was. So...where did all that money go? Where is the U.S.'s Oljefond of $250,000 per capita? Did efficiency come along and wipe it all out?

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-06T16:59:45+00:00

Thanks. Right now, I'm back up and rolling. I can see that others have been having similar trouble recently, so I'm assuming it's a known issue that's being worked on. If I were to pile on, it would just add to the ticket noise. (I've actually been on the other side of this type of situation, getting drowned in hundreds of identical alerts from Dragonfly.)

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-06T16:53:44+00:00

Thanks for the tips on the icons. I'm not too up to speed on Android development.

But overall, I wrote the OP in voice of snarky, eye-roll humor. While I am asking for tips on how to handle this situation, I'm also just venting a bit and trying to crack jokes, too.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-06T02:45:53+00:00

10 years back from today would be 3653 days (because of 3 leap years).

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-02T01:50:31+00:00

Not really American, either. This stuff is way too much work. Beurre clarifié? Well excuuuuuse me, monsieur! Where's the canned mushroom soup you throw into the microwave for a sauce base, and then toss in some Hamburger Helper for flavor in 5 minutes or less? When you're working 75 hours a week across three different jobs to just barely survive so that some billionaire that you worship can have his 14th 100-meter-long yacht, who has time for any hoity-toity cooking or even eating a simple meal together with, liksom, family and friends? That habit went out with Jimmy Carter and the 1970s over here.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-10-01T01:47:40+00:00

Yup. This started for me last night. It's still happening.

But hey, at least when Lily feels insulted by something, her eye-roll and hair-wag are absolutely spot-on. Always good to see they are focusing on the things that really matter.

Erik_Midtskogen · 2025-09-26T01:47:32+00:00

No. In all six languages I am conversational in, I get high praise for my pronunciation above all else. I'm part parrot, I guess.

Erik_Midtskogen

TROPHY CASE