To Beer or Not to Beer in Norway

The Nearby Norwegians have never been accused of "living in the past."  But, like all good historians, we surely do to some degree.  It is in our nature to be curious about the past.  We are also very curious about the places our ancestors came from.  That is why I found it refreshing when I came across this website:  Life in Norway.  Offering regular e-mail postings from Norway Weekly, podcasts and more, the site asserts that "whether you're living in Norway, planning a trip, or just fascinated by Scandinavian culture, this is [...] for you.  Well, count me in, at least on the third point.

Moskenes, Norway

The website contains information on moving to Norway, as well as addressing various concerns once you get there:  work, jobs, learning Norwegian, personal finance, housing, education, and driving.  Are you interested in getting a credit card after your move to Norway?  This site has helpful facts and even comparisons between various cards.  What about life there in general?  Sources listed include ideas on food and drink, businesses, daily life, expat blogs, and how to satisfy your daily news cravings once in Norway. 

Perhaps you're all set to travel through the country, train ticket in hand.  You can click on the "Explore Norway" link, which will take you to various options, including the fjords to the cities of Stavanger, Tronhdeim, Lofoten, and more.  And, let's not forget culture.  Most people's common knowledge of Norway from around the world stems from the country's old mythology (trolls, Viking tales, and more Norse gods than Thor can shake a stick at!)  You can read all about these topics and also consult the website for ideas on Norwegian books, music, sports, television, and even the history and people of Norway.

Although I will never live in Norway, I can still dream.  I find it fascinating how the culture of my Norwegian-American ancestors meshes with today's tendencies.  One of the articles entitled "The Cost of Living in Norway" expounds on just how expensive it might be to live or travel in modern Norway ("Does a beer really cost $12"?)  Many foods and amenities that current day Scandinavians have become accustomed to must be imported, leading to increased cost.  The price of fresh fish and salmon is less than in many other countries, however.  I doubt that my ancestors worried about the price of a beer, since they did not drink it.  They also caught salmon and fish straight from the river that flowed alongside their farms, while vegetables and fruits were either gathered or grown, then preserved.  Today's prices do not equate to the lives of Norwegians in past centuries, even though they do result in some pretty pronounced sticker shock for current visitors and new immigrants.

According to Life in Norway, the country does an excellent job of handling the transition to an aging population.  By 2020, experts predict that 20% of Earth's population (about two billion), will be elderly.  Norway places at the top of the Ageing Society Index.  If you are a senior, Norway probably seems like a pretty friendly place.  How does the United States fare in this category?  (Hint:  not nearly as well.)  But, perhaps the Ageing Society Index does not take into account the effect of those cold and dark Nordic winters, which take their toll even on young people.  In particular, icy walking paths and elderly bones do not mix!

Instead of thinking about packing up my suitcase and heading to Norway for a rewarding retirement, even if I could, I will continue to take pleasure in studying the culture, albeit from afar.  It is no different from what I have been doing for many years as a family historian.  I love Norway... even more so, I love the idea of Norway.  But, I will stick with my familiar gray, soggy but safe Pacific Northwest winters, and enjoy researching Norway from the comfort of my own home, while enjoying my (what feels like) $12 Starbucks.

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Chery Kinnick

Norwegians: Hard, Soft, or Both?

Columnist Davd Brooks recently wrote an article discussing "hard and soft" tendencies in people of Norwegian culture. Athletes from Norway have won more gold medals in Winter Olympic games than people from any other nation. Brooks indicates that there must be many reasons for Norway's excellence in winter sports, and some of them are embedded in the story of Jan Baalsrud.

As described in the book, We Die Alone, by David Howarth, Baalsrud was a young instrument maker who was asked to sneak back into Norway to help the anti-Nazi resistance. His mission was betrayed, and the boat he was on was shelled by German troops as it reached the Norwegian coast. Baalsrud swam through icy water to reach an island, and began to climb the mountain there in harsh winter conditions. Shot at and hunted by dozens of Germans, Baalsrud left a bloody trail in the deep snow. In a feat of almost unbelievable determination, he scrambled across the island and down to the beach again, where he swam across the water to two other islands. When he lay dying on the last island, two Norwegian girls found him and took him home, saving his life in spite of the risk involved.

Over the next few months, many Norwegians participated in getting Baalsrud to safety in Sweden. Whole villages risked everything to help a fellow Norwegian in his time of need, providing him with food and clothes. One 72 year old man rowed Baalsrud across the water to the mainland, and gave him skis. Jan Baalsrud continued on, skiing through severe winter weather, minus one toe from the gunshot wound he had sustained. Along his journey, he also suffered being buried by an avalanche, concussion, snow-blindness, frostbite, and even gangrene. When Baalsrud could no longer walk, someone built a sled and carried him and the sled up a mountain in the middle of a winter storm to meet another party who would help from there.

There is much more to this incredible story of survival, but the main point, according to Brooks, is that it could only take place in a country where "people are skilled on skis and in winter conditions," but where an interesting form of "social capital" is on display. Brooks calls it a mixture of hardness and softness:

Baalsrud was kept alive thanks to a serial outpouring of love and nurturing. At the same time, he and his rescuers displayed an unbelievable level of hardheaded toughness and resilience. That's a cultural cocktail bound to produce achievement in many spheres.

Many of us who have studied our Norwegian ancestry have tried to come up with just the right description of the resislience that becomes so prevalent in their personal stories, time after time. Not every Norwegian has suffered the catastropic experiences of Jan Baalsrud on his route to freedom during WWII. But, perhaps there is a common tendency in Norwegians based on necessities derived from living in this particular corner of the world, from learning to deal with extreme winter conditions, unpredictable food supplies, and a lack of arable land. Through the centuries, hospitality and team work, combined with just the right amount of hard headedness, and faith, were all required to get the job done and ensure survival.

Ja, we always knew our Norwegians ancestors were a hardy bunch!



Source: "The Hard and the Soft," New York Times, March 2, 2010, p.A21
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Chery Kinnick

"Don't Think That You Are Special"

We all have varying hobbies, interests and "things we search for on the internet." I'm always looking for relevant information to allow me to expand on my knowledge of all things Norwegian. One way I do this is to follow various blogs, like the Norwegian Blog. To be truthfully honest, I don't know the origin of this blog, or much about the author(s), or the accuracy of the information. BUT I do find the postings interesting, and thus it peaks my curiosity to go on to look for more information

On the Norwegian Blog, Kari writes about the concept of Janteloven, which gives insight into the Norwegian psyche.

Janteloven

"Don’t think you are better than us or that you are special. This statement is the basis of an old Scandinavian concept that has been engrained in Scandinavian societies since before WWII. The author Aksel Sandemose, a Danish/Norwegian novelist created the concept of Janteloven in his book En flygtning krydser sit spor (A Refugee Crosses his Tracks), in which Sandemose portrays a fictional town called Jante, a small town much like his hometown where everyone knows everyone. For those of you that live a small town or perhaps come from a small town, you know how fast gossip spreads. Although hearing gossip can be interesting and spreading it can be all too easy, I think individuals who live in small towns would prefer that there wasn’t so much gossip. Life in a small town is much more comfortable when social stability is intact. Most of Norway up until the last couple of decades consisted of many small towns and villages. Even today most Norwegians live in relatively small communities where it’s difficult to remain anonymous. Aksel Sandemose’s Janteloven have long been believed to assist small communities in remaining stable."

• Don’t think that you are special.
• Don’t think that you are of the same standing as us.
• Don’t think that you are smarter than us.
• Don’t fancy yourself as being better than us.
• Don’t think that you know more than us.
• Don’t think that you are more important than us.
• Don’t think that you are good at anything.
• Don’t laugh at us.
• Don’t think that anyone cares about you.
• Don’t think that you can teach us anything.

Read what else Kari has to say about Janteloven on her Norwegian Blog entry of February 9, 2009.

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Luci Baker Johnson

FEB

Norwegian Cultural & Heritage Day

This coming Saturday, March 28, there is a very special happening at the Leif Erikson Lodge 2-001, Sons of Norway, at 2245 NW 57th Street in the Ballard district of Seattle. The lodge is hosting its annual Norwegian Cultural and Heritage Day from 10:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m. Admission is free and events are open to the public. There will be demonstrations of traditional Norwegian handicrafts, music, dance, song, food preparation, and presentations throughout the day.

Events include tours of the Nordic Spirit boat at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.!

See the colorful event flyer

Velkommen og vaer saa god!

Welcome to our home and table!

Bring Ethnic Culture Home to the Table

One of the best ways to ensure the continuation of ethnic culture is to EAT IT!

Pictured is the entrance to Olsen's Scandinavian Foods at 2248 NW Market Street in Seattle.


I sometimes attend events at the Sons of Norway Lodge in Ballard, which is an area of Seattle known for its prominent Scandinavian community dating back to the 1880s. During one visit in early February, I remembered that a Scandinavian foods shop sat only a block away, on NW Market Street. I decided there was no better Valentines Day gift for my mother than a taste of her childhood.

Walking in the door of Olsen's Scandinavian Foods, I was immediately taken by the warm, sugary smell of freshly baked krumkake--waffle cookies rolled into a cone and usually served stuffed with whipped cream. Krumkake are made fresh right in the store.

There are also plenty of award-winning selections of pickled herring, fishcakes, meatballs, cold smoked salmon, lutefisk, and other food selections sure to please those palate memories from the Old Country, whether that be Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Finland. In particular, I was drawn to the shelves containing the goat cheeses, chocolates, and jams.

For my mother, who grew up on a Norwegian-American farm in rural Minnesota, I came away with a big box of Mor's flatbread, two packages of lefse, some Gjende cookies, and a jar of lingonberry jam. Okay, so it wasn't all just for Mom... My own favorites are the prettily packaged blocks of sweet and creamy Norwegian goat cheese. When I have some Ekte Geitost around, I can practically live on it. I love it for breakfast or lunch along with a few gluten free crackers, sweet Mango chutney, and a big cup of tea with milk. Oh, yum!

I had previously been buying my goat cheese at a local natural foods market. But, it occurred to me that without adequate support, neighborhood ethnic stores like Olsen's might quickly become a thing of the past, especially as the older generation diminishes. From now on, I plan to buy my goat cheese, lefse, and other traditional foods from Olsen's and other stores like it. I hope my ancestors will forgive me if I pass on the lutefisk, though. It's a taste I (gulp) never quite acquired.

Please support your local ethnic stores and delis--especially now, when a difficult economic climate makes it particularly challenging for small businesses to stay afloat.

Keep your family's ancestral culture on the table!


(This is a reprint of a 11 Feb 2008 entry from my other blog: http://nordicblue.blogspot.com.)
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Chery Kinnick

Love That Lutefisk!

L U T E F I S K (pronounced [lʉːtəfɪsk], an eight letter word that, when uttered aloud in my childhood home in St. Paul, Minnesota, sent my brothers and I running the opposite way with our fingers holding our noses. Lutefisk is literally 'lye fish', as posted in Wikipedia.com , because it is made using caustic lye soda derived from potash minerals. My 87 year old father LOVES lutefisk. He claims to be Norwegian by marriage and has grown to love "the stuff." Each fall he dusts off his lutefisk apron and is one of the many servers at his (Lutheran) church's annual Lutefisk Dinner, serving over 800 people in one evening.

It's a Scandinavian delicacy that has to be seen to believe. I found a video on Youtube.com that does an excellent job of telling the story of lutefisk. To get to the bit on lutefisk, fast forward to 2:00 where the narrator talks with Warren Dahl, the co-owner of Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis.

What really caught my attention was an article that appeared in the Minneapolis - St. Paul StarTribune.com on December 20, 2008. Reporter Curt Brown interviewed my families friends, Dick Sundberg and Dennis Slattengren, at the St. Paul Corner Drug store just three blocks from my childhood home, where my octogenarian parents have lived for nearly 50 years. My folks are regulars for the nickel cup of coffee. "Lutefisk: A Holiday stinker (but a Minnesota keeper)" takes the viewer on a journey in pursuit of LUTEFISK and other Scandinavian delicacies.

For even more information on lutefisk, check out Gary Legwold's book, "Last Word on Lutefisk," a comprehensive collection of facts, fiction and folklore surrounding this simple fish with the unforgettable scent.

And to close this blog entry, which reeks of a tantalizing aroma ...a cheer from Pacific Lutheran University located just south of Seattle near Tacoma:

"Lutefisk, Lutefisk, Lefse, Lefse, We're the mighty Lutherans, Ya sure, you betcha."

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Luci Baker Johnson