Quick & Easy Lemon Poppyseed Banana Muffins
categories: Food
Why You Need Trip Insurance (and how to figure out what type you need!)
categories: Travel
When taking a plane ride to visit family within the country or a last-minute trip, trip insurance tends to be unnecessary, because of low cost and/or the fact that the likelihood of you having to cancel for a last-minute trip is not very high. Also, you tend to only be able to book within 2 weeks of your trip date at most companies.
So why, then, during other times, is trip insurance such a wonderful thing?
Read more to find out!
Norwegian Language Resources, Part 1
categories: Language
I’m planning on making a multi-post series about this, but today I’m going to talk about the program currently going on at University of Oslo for free introduction to Norwegian classes!
They are working through a program online called FutureLearn, which offers free online educational courses. I’ve just begun the University of Oslo course and completed week 1, and I can say it’s an exceptionally unique and interesting way to begin. At the end of the courses, you are allowed to purchase certificates of your qualifications and achievements through FutureLearn.
The course, so far, has been a lot of fun. It is divided up into 4 weeks, where you have 2 days of study per week (but really, you can do it all at once.) The main format of learning is videos, where you are introduced to foreign students in Oslo meeting each other for the first time. It progresses like a story from there, where you learn more about each “character” and begin to learn the language through their interactions. There are then videos where they introduce pronunciation, repetition, and other things that are a little bit more difficult to introduce through exciting videos, like the alphabet and counting. However, all of it is really well done. The videos have subtitles available both in English and Norwegian, so once you begin to understand, you can switch to Norwegian to get a good feel for how the words are pronounced. Additionally, they offer downloadable PDF transcripts of the videos in Norwegian, and word list downloads for the relevant words.
So far, it’s been a great class, and I’m looking forward to next week. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning Norwegian, and the FutureLearn platform seems pretty great as well!
categories: Uncategorized
I’m finally back from Norway! Sadly, I came back at the absolute worst time, right after it had snowed. The airport was a mess, and I was there for over 5 hours after landing. Yuck. And it barely snowed in the areas I was in inside of Norway, so basically I missed all of the snow (with the exception of a couple light flurries and preexisting snow in Røros and Tynset.)
I had a really amazing time. I was treated like family by my boyfriend’s family’s Jul, and got to try all sorts of new Norwegian Christmas foods! Reindeer, Jul sausage, pork patties, pork cutlets, and more… Served, of course, with potatoes and some lingonberry jam. And I got so many gifts– and I had the joy of shopping for gifts for others as well! It was fantastic.
I’ll post more later, of course, but I’m back home. 🙂
Norwegian Cuisine: PĂĄlegg
PĂĄlegg is an important part of Norwegian cuisine, being a staple for breakfast, lunch, and even snacks. But what is it? The easy answer is that pĂĄlegg is most closely translatable to the English word “spread,” but not entirely just in the sense of something that is spreadable (i.e. butter,) but more along the lines of anything you may choose to put on top of a sandwich.
Undeniably Useful Resources: Travels’ Checklist
categories: Travel
I’m a preparer. A list-maker, a worrier, a “let me send myself 12 emails and 2 text message drafts just to make sure I remember these things.” When it comes to travel, I really like to be prepared. While I may save the actual packing itself for the day before, I have to have everything in place so I know I’m ready to go.
One website, Travel’s Checklist, has proven undeniably useful in recent trips. Instead of writing a list and worrying if I’ve managed to include everything I could possibly need on it, Travels’ Checklist asks a few simple questions about where you’re going, how long you’ll be staying, and the type of trip it is, in order to determine a basic list of things that you’ll need to bring. From there, you can modify the list, adding your own unique options and removing unnecessary ones. It even gives extra suggestions in many categories.
Travels’ Checklist usefully includes things like travel preparations, from remembering to renew or check your passport to checking in online, getting trip insurance, and checking baggage weights. It can remind you to clean certain parts of your home and turn off your air conditioner, and even warn you of any vaccines you may need. It provides a list of documents you could need, tickets, money, flying and packing tips, and then anything you could ever want or need to pack.
I can’t recommend this resource enough, whether you’re going on an extended vacation or just away for the weekend. It’s helped me stress out much less about travelling and remember the important things!
5 Tips for Finding the Most Affordable Flights to Norway
Going back and forth from Norway can be pricey, especially if done frequently. Whether you’re interested in going for a one-time trip or travelling back and forth, there are ways of finding more affordable pricing– even including direct flights!– if that’s what you’re looking for. Here are some of my tricks for finding the most affordable airfares. Read on to see my 5 top tips for finding affordable flights to Norway!
Embarrassing Language Mistakes, Part I
categories: Language
Today I have a little blurb update about embarrassing little mistakes in Norwegian. I’ve made two ones that have amused me enough to not traumatize me into suppressing the memory of them, so here’s part one…
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Preparing for My First Jul, Part III
It’s time!
After a very hectic and stressful airport check-in– the line was an hour and a half simply to check baggage, and then about twenty minutes through security–Â I was happy to make it to my flight just as they were about to begin boarding on a Dreamliner plane. Those new Norwegian planes are so cool! They have digitally tinted windows, lighting that helps you be less jetlagged, and a console with an Android tablet built in. (Also, as far as airplane food goes, Norwegian isn’t the worst.)
Norwegian Cities: Ă…lesund
The first destination on my first trip to Norway wasn’t the capital, Oslo, and it wasn’t the second largest city, Bergen. It was, in fact, to a small town called Ă…lesund, along the western coast of Norway, in the district known as Sunnmøre. With a population of only about about 45,000 people, it’s the 9th largest urban district in Norway.
The town has a distinctive architectural style, as most other locations in Norway. These differences mostly developed because before the invention of the trains, due to the divisions created by the vast mountains, it was difficult to get around, leading to the differences in dialect, culture, and cuisine. The city has a small airport, and is built over a series of small islands. It’s a major harbor that does lots of business in fishery. I recently saw an episode of New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad that featured the Spanish, dried fish of Bacalao that was being made in Ă…lesund. The city center is small, and I mean small– I walked through the entirety of it thoroughly in less than a few hours on the rainy night I arrived. It has a beautiful, old architecture and bright, colorful wooden buildings. The streets in the majority of the center are paved still with beautiful old stones. (more…)