Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for norway
Dancing With Wolves
By Linda Tancs
Feared, loved and hated, the wolf is an apex predator with pride of place in stories, fables and myths. In fact, wolves figure prominently in the mythology of nearly every Native American tribe. You might naturally want to shy away from an encounter with an animal as powerful as this, but that’s far from the case at Norway’s Polar Park. The world’s northernmost animal park, the arctic wildlife centre offers visitors a close encounter with its wolves in an enclosure called WolfVisit. Those meeting basic requirements for entry will have the opportunity to interact with a group of domesticated wolves under the direction of an animal keeper. And in the middle of one of the larger enclosures is a luxury hotel experience called WolfLodge, where oversized windows give you and your furry friends ample opportunity to size each other up. The ambience is particularly spectacular in the winter because the wolves are most active now due to mating season from February to April.
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The Pride of Norway
By Linda Tancs
One of Norway’s best loved attractions is just an hour’s drive north from Oslo. There you’ll find Skibladner, the world’s oldest paddle steamer, ploughing Lake Mjøsa, Norway’s largest inland lake. The pride of Norway, the oldest preserved paddle steamer in timetabled service is celebrating 160 years of sailing this year. Skibladner sails between the villages and towns around Lake Mjøsa as she has always done: Lillehammer, Moelv, Gjøvik, Hamar and Eidsvoll. Sailings began on June 22 and continue through August 14.
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Celebrating the Sami
By Linda Tancs
The Sami are the indigenous who inhabit northern Scandinavia in a region called Sapmi, stretching across the high plains of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. They celebrate their own National Day on February 6 each year, marking that day in the year 1917 when they gathered for their first meeting in Norway to address common concerns. Nowadays around 40,000 Sami live in Norway, 20,000 in Sweden and some 7,000 in Finland. In addition there are an estimated 2,000 Sami in Russia. In the city of Tromsø, Norway, their culture is celebrated with a weeklong festival known as Sami Week. Taking place this year from January 31 to February 7, the celebration includes reindeer racing, lasso-throwing, food, art and language classes.
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At the World’s Edge
By Linda Tancs
Located just north of the Arctic Circle in Norway, the former fishing village of Myken sits at the world’s edge. You might say the world is its oyster. Soon enough you can toast to that. Once the aging process is complete, the tiny hamlet of six full-time residents will be home to the world’s first Arctic whisky, using desalinated seawater from Vestfjorden. The first bottle should debut in 2017.
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Grieg’s Symphony
By Linda Tancs
Inspired by his country’s folk songs, Edvard Grieg became one of Norway’s most famous composers. On the grounds of his 19th century home in Bergen, Troldhaugen, visitors can enjoy daily lunchtime concerts at the chamber music hall. Each week a featured pianist plays Grieg’s most well-known and prized piano pieces. The annual event takes place from June 1 to September 30. Better hurry!
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The History of Skiing
By Linda Tancs
Did you know that skiing boasts a history over 4,000 years? Or that the world’s oldest ski found in Russia is around 8,000 years old? These and other facts about the sport are on display at Oslo’s Ski Museum. Located at the base of Holmenkollen ski resort’s international ski jump, the museum houses artifacts, ski collections, an action film showcasing Norwegian skiing and an array of information on polar skiing, ski production, disciplines, and ancient history.
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Here Comes the Sun
By Linda Tancs
Sandwiched between high mountains in Telemark, Norway, the town of Rjukan has been enveloped in darkness during the autumn and winter months. But thanks to the ingenuity of local industrialists, the town is now bathed in light from new mirrors set up on the hillside to direct the sun’s rays to worshippers below. Don’t worry, though, the newfound light won’t melt the area’s prized snow and ice. Rjukan is still one of Europe’s best destinations for ice climbing.
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A Birthday Bash in Norway
By Linda Tancs
Norway’s most famous painter, Edvard Munch, was born on 12 December 1863– 150 years ago today. To celebrate this milestone, his homeland has been pulling out all the stops. In October, a viewing spot opened to mark the point on Ekeberg Hill where “The Scream” was painted. And the postal service is offering anniversary stamps of his artworks, including “The Scream,” “Self-Portrait,” and “The Sun and Madonna.” A member of the Munch family unveiled a new bronze and granite sculpture of his mother and his aunt, too. Although the artist’s vast collection of prints and paintings has long been stored at the Munch Museum, Norway’s cultural icon will be honored with a gleaming new glass museum on the waterfront next to the opera house.
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A Festival of Lights in Norway
By Linda Tancs
While the United States celebrates Thanksgiving today (and the start of the holiday season), Bergen, Norway, is gearing up for its own start to holiday cheer with the Festival of Lights. Taking place in the city center at Festplassen and Lille Lungegardsvann on 30 November, the event features fireworks and torchlight processions, one last chance to be bathed in light before the onset of December, the darkest month of the year. While you’re in town, don’t miss Gingerbread Town, the world’s biggest gingerbread city with miniature houses, trains, cars and ships made from real gingerbread.
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Arctic Summer Fest
By Linda Tancs
One of the most anticipated international indigenous festivals in Europe, Riddu Riđđu is held during the arctic summer each year in the Sea Sami village of Olmmáivággi in Norway. Taking place today through 14 July, the festival promotes Sami art and culture through music, film, handiworks, seminars and workshops.
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