Shopping Living in northern Norway is an exercise in planning, because it takes over 30 minutes to get to the nearest store of any kind, and an hour to get to a place with even a very modest shopping area. There are two principal grocery chains, REMA 1000, and Co-op. Their offerings are similar. MostContinue reading “Good to know about Northern Norway”
Category Archives: Norway
What happens when you twist your ankle?
Occasionally, people ask how we will deal with illness or injury as we travel, particularly since US insurance rarely applies outside the US. Travel insurance only covers injury during travel. My macular degeneration is considered a chronic condition and therefore not covered (see amdontheroad.wordpress.com). Jonathan sprained his ankle on one of our last days inContinue reading “What happens when you twist your ankle?”
Community in Kjerstad
Tjeldoya Island looks deceptively empty. On the day we drove to Lodingen we were on the opposite side of the fjord and Amanda pointed out that there are many houses on the shore of Tjeldoya that you don’t see from the narrow road where one driver often has to pull over when two vehicles meet.Continue reading “Community in Kjerstad”
Prehistory on Tjeldøya
Walking along the furrows of a plowed field after a rain is the best way to find artifacts, and there have been archaeological finds from Neolithic (Stone Age) farmers along the north side of Tjeldoya. There are photos of stone axes and spear points in the “Tjeldsund” booklet I mentioned in the last post. AContinue reading “Prehistory on Tjeldøya”
Walking through History on Hovsveien
Using the magic of the internet I found, “Tjelsundet: A Channel Through the Ages,” a guide to Hovsveien, an ancient road along the north side of Tjeldoya Island. This 2 km section is open for walking, set up with trail markers and some informational signs. You can see the roadbed pressed into the landscape. AlongContinue reading “Walking through History on Hovsveien”
The High-Noon Birding Society
Jonathan and I like to watch birds. We do not like to get up before dawn, as I believe diehard birders do. We therefore watch birds when we are out, often in the middle of the day. Our High-Noon Birding Society has had darn good luck, and I recommend others to start their own branch.Continue reading “The High-Noon Birding Society”
A Whirl Through Scandinavia: 3 countries in one day
Paula said, “Have you thought about going to Finland? It’s not that far.” (Ha Ha Ha) “Why not?” we replied. We decided to go to Finland on Tuesday as long as Jonathan didn’t stay up all night looking at the summer solstice on Monday. He did take photos at 2 am and 6 am, butContinue reading “A Whirl Through Scandinavia: 3 countries in one day”
The North Norway Music Festival
June 18-25 is the annual music festival in Harstad, held during the week of Midsummer Eve (June 21). We went to Harstad for the opening ceremony, which made a rainy day a lot of fun. We heard from Norway’s Minister of Culture, Linda Cathrine Hofstad Helleland, then the crowd was conducted to a nearby plazaContinue reading “The North Norway Music Festival”
Iron and War
How much we learned in school! How little that was! Like most Americans, I know nothing of the history of Norway other than a general sense of it being politically neutral in general (probably confusing it with Sweden). We’ve discovered that our area was central to the German invasion and occupation of Norway, 1940-1944. ThisContinue reading “Iron and War”
Recycling is a mystery
Norway has a system for recycling food waste, paper, glass, metal, plastic packaging, other plastic and everything else (“residual waste”). Sounds great, doesn’t it? The resulting system is so complex that: a) after two weeks, I still don’t know what goes in the green-topped bin vs. the blue-topped bin, and b) it appears that mostContinue reading “Recycling is a mystery”
Llywindatravels 2022 