First of all I always knew that Norway was a country full of pride and nordic super fans, but until World Championships started I don’t think I realized just how into skiing they are. With crowds between 50,000 and 70,000 race days have been nothing short of amazing.
So, yes they love skiing, but what else?
-They love waffles, and brown cheese.
-There are ski trails everywhere- probably partly due to how deeply rooted in nordic culture they are, but around the Oslo area alone there are over 2000km of ski trails.
It’s not uncommon to see sights like this in urban areas...
Or a dude like this getting on a city bus or train...
Or a dude like this plowing his driveway...
-They love wool sweaters- and really anything wool.
And climbing trees I guess...
-Bjorgen and Northug are essentially rock stars, appearing in news papers daily every month of the year, and in the gossip rags that you find at the grocery store checkout.
-A sweet Sunday outing includes packing a backpack full of beer, sausages, reindeer hides, Norwegian flags, and chocolate, strapping on the cross country skis and trudging many kilometers.
Notice the flatscreens, this is out in the bush-waaay out.
-They built a sweet ski jump.
Sweet ski jump floating on the top of the holmenkollen hill.
-They like art that airs on the erotic side of the spectrum.
They are into skiing-all in, and the atmosphere on race day is something that can’t be matched anywhere else in the world of nordic skiing.
Oh, and they have a bit of a rivalry with the swedes.
Sprint-relaying tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to Dad for the photos :)
hi peri! awesome racing. I agree...but you can't forget the buns with the chocolate chips that you can buy at all the metro stations. note on skiing in olso: if you don't know which train to get on follow the older people with ski boots and backpacks from central station! (and then get off when they get off and not when the people with the sleds get off). If you get lost on the trails someone will eventually help you find your way back.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, Perianne.
ReplyDeleteI'm having trouble reading the font on my computer.
A friend of mine (Larry Sinclair of Highlands Nordic) was there this week. Can't wait to hear his stories.
Thanks for the photos and insights into Norwegian culture. Norway is truly the Mecca of Nordic. I hope to travel there one day.
Hello
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kate Frenson and I recently found your post about Norway. Your website looks really impressive and interesting. You give a lot of possibilities learn more about you and your passions. I thought that you could be interested in adding more basic info about culture of Norway. This could be beneficial and make your website more visible among internet, even more popular. You could add more data or just link to other website (like this: www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Norway.html ). Please let me know what do you think about that.
Thank you,
Kate Frenson