Summer house

Norway - The most peaceful country of the world?

Norway is the most peaceful country of the world, according to the Global Peace Index, developed by The Vision of Humanity in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, in conjunction with an international team of academics and peace experts, has compiled an innovative new Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 120 nations according to their relative peacefulness. The Global Peace Index is composed of 24 indicators, ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights.
Next to Norway on the ranking are New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Portugal and Austria.
I don't believe this, there most be another country who is better than Norway.

Fly, fly up to the sky

Photo from the troll road (Trollstien)

Trollstigen, in the heart of Romsdal, is one of the best visited attractions in Norway. The mountains which encircle the Trollstigen road are enormous. Names like Kongen (the King), Dronningen (the Queen) and Bispen (the Bishop) confirm their majesty in this mountain world.

Norwegians understand Nordic languages best

Norwegians understand Danish and Swedish better than the Danes and Swedes understand Norwegian and each other. This assertion is now a proven fact, according to a study by the Nordic Language Council of the comprehension by matriculation students.

Norwegians understand Danish and Swedish better than the Danes and Swedes understand Norwegian and each other. This contention has been often discussed in modern times usually resulting in one side agreeing to disagree with the opposite opinion. However, the above assertion is now a proven fact.

Zwart to direct Pink Panther

The Norwegian director Harald Zwart has been asked to produce the next film in the Pink Panther series, about the legendary, French police inspector Jacques Clousaeu.

Steve Martin will again be playing the lead as the clumsy detective, first played by Peter Sellers.
It is the first time that a Norwegian director has been asked to make a film as expensive as this.

Wild landscape

Norwegian Fjords rated highest

The Norwegian Fjords Geirangerfjord and Naeroeyfjord have been rated highest on the National Geographic Traveller's Index of Destination Stewardship, covering 115 World Heritage destinations around the world.

The magazine wanted to find out which national heritage destinations have been able to protect themselves against the pressures of development, environmental problems, civil strife, cultural erosion, and, yes, mass tourism.

It's no surprise that Norway's fjords, rated at 82, lead the top-scoring destinations, thanks to a combination of luck and wise stewardship. Geography dealt the Norwegian coastline a good hand when it comes to remaining unspoiled. Rugged terrain, cool, wet climate, difficult access, and a short tourist season keep development pressures comparatively low.

Rare moose spotted

Kurt Are Boine Nikkinen was on a fishing trip, but made his biggest catch with his camera.

Around Wednesday midnight, the albino moose was out in a field, just about 100 meters from the road.

The Finnmark man had heard rumors of the white moose before and there have been sightings of the animal in the area. Nikkinen believes the moose is a youngster, about a year and a half old. A hunter himself, he said he could never shoot the white moose.

Police commissioner robbed

Oslo police commissioner fell victim to a band of pickpockets on the Gardermoen airport express train.

On Monday morning thieves managed to lift the police commissioner's wallet.
Very funny!

How common is your name in Norway?

Would you like to know how common your name is in Norway? Use this link to search the National database on names

• go to the searchmachine

How Norwegians use their time

We are visiting each other less now than before, and we are an hour more alone now than we were in 1990. We are also less at home than in 1980, and instead we spend more time travelling and in public places. This is shown by a survey made by Statistics Norway.

We are more alone when we are on travel than when we are in other places. We are more together with others when we are doing leisure activities than other activities. We are alone half of the time we are at work. Men are more alone at work than women are.

There has been a gradual tendency that we go to sleep later at night from 1980 to 2005. Television viewing has at the same time become more spread over the day and evening. There have been only minor shifts in what period of the day we have our meals, and when we travel to and from our place of work.
The use of the internet at home has dramatically increased.

Old shoe- even older

An old leather shoe discovered in the Jotunheimen Mountains, and first estimated to be around 1000 years old, turns out to be more than 3,000 years old. The shoe was found in an old snowdrift in August last year.

This means that not only is it Norway's oldest shoe, but also the oldest piece of Norwegian "clothing" discovered so far.

Log cabin by the lake

Hurtigruten (Coastal Express)

Hurtigruten or Hurtigruta (English: Coastal Express) is a Norwegian passenger and freight line with daily sailings along Norway's spectacular west coast. Ships sail almost the entire length of the country, completing the roundtrip journey in 11 days. The trip has been described as the "World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage.

The Troll's road (Trollstien)

Trollstigen, in the heart of Romsdal, is one of the best visited attractions in Norway. The mountains which encircle the Trollstigen road are enormous. Names like Kongen (the King), Dronningen (the Queen) and Bispen (the Bishop) confirm their majesty in this mountain world.

Ligthouse of Landegode, Nordland county

A beautiful place - or not

This seems to be a beautiful place, but if you enlarge the picture, you can see the windmills in the background..

Windmills pollute the views of the area.

Young men believe rape myths

A new study of young men in central Norway reveals disturbing attitudes towards rape.

The study found that one in three believed that a woman can enjoy a rape.

It's extremely alarming, I can't believe that this study is real.
The study of young attitudes to sexual harassment also showed that one boy in four agreed or strongly agreed that women have a tendency to exaggerate how harmful a rape is, and that one of three believe it is important to assess the victim's past in a rape trial.

Vigrid leader acquitted

Tore Tvedt to the left

Tore Tvedt, leader of the neo-Nazi organization Vigrid, has been acquitted of insulting Norwegian Jews in a newspaper interview.

Tvedt's remarks included comments such as "the Jews are the main enemy", they "have killed our people" and that "they are evil murderers". Tvedt also said: "They are not human, they are parasites that shall be rooted out..."
What an idiot this man is, send him to The North Pole...

Whipped for two beers

Norwegian-Iranian Mamand Mamandy had a brutal meeting with police after drinking two beers while on holiday in Iran.

"I received 130 lashes on the back of my body. Police whipped me," Mamandy said. He came to Norway as an asylum seeker in 1999. He lives in Drammen with his wife and they are awaiting Norwegian citizenship.

Mamandy traveled home to Norway shortly after his punishment and has been since treated by his family doctor here.

A cold and cloudy day

Finnchurch, an odd cliff

Finnkjerka which is said to be the most graceful sea cliff in Norway. Finn-Church is a ancient Saami sacrificial site.

Summer in Norway

A very small place in Vesterålen, Nordland county, Norway

Artic polar circle

The Arctic Circle, incidentally, is an imaginary line located at 66º, 30'N latitude, and as a guide defines the southernmost part of the Arctic. The climate within the Circle is very cold and much of the area is always covered with ice.

The Svartisen glacier

In winter it can fall more than 10 meters of snow in the Arctic Circle area of Norway, and we have several glaciers. The most famous is Okstindan and Svartisen.

The Svartisen glacier is the second largest glacier in Norway. The Svartisen glacier is a park of Saltfjellet/ Svartisen national park, wich is Norway's most various national park. The Svartisen glacier is 375 square kilometer, an thereby covers quite a bit of land.

Pelé questioned in Natal project

The world's most famous soccer player will be questioned by police in Brazil about his links to a property development in Natal, part of the international hunt for Norwegian criminal gang members.

The apartment complex King's Flat in Natal was one of the spots raided in Brazil and Pelé is one of the partners in this project and will be questioned about his role.

A Norwegian is behind the King's Flat development but Pelé is the public face of the project. The Norwegian was arrested on Wednesday.

The Geiranger Fjord (Geirangerfjorden)

The Geiranger Fjord is considered one of the most scenic spots in the world.

Foreign visitors are discovering the scenic fjord of western Norway in record numbers.

Tourists to Norway's western fjord counties continue to increase. In the first quarter of 2007 985,000 overnight stays were recorded at hotels, camping sites and rental cabins in the area.

Mountains of Nordland, Norway,Torghatten

Torghatten is a mountain in the Brønnøy municipality in Norway. It is known for its characteristic hole through its center

According to legend, the hole was made by the troll Hestmannen while he was chasing the beautiful girl Lekamøya. As the troll realised he would not get the girl, he released an arrow to kill her, but the troll-king of Sømna threw his hat into the arrow's path to save her. The hat turned into the mountain with a hole in the middle.
The hole, with a length 160 m, width of 35 m, and height of 20 m, was formed during the Scandinavian ice age. Ice and water eroded the looser rocks, while the harder ones in the mountain top resisting erosion.
It is possible to walk up to the hole on a well-prepared path, and through it on a natural path.

Trip on the Finnmark plateau

Finnmarksvidda (the Finnmark plateau) is Norway's largest mountain plateau, with an area greater than 22,000 km². It lies at 300-500 meters above sea level. Approximately 36% of Finnmark county lies in the Finnmarksvidda. From Alta in the west to Varangerhalvøya in the east is over 400 km, and from north to south it is at least that long, and the plateau extends into Finland.
The plateau includes extensive birch woods, pine barrens, bogs and glacially formed lakes. Finnmarksvidda is situated north of the Arctic Circle and is best known as the land of the Sami people and their reindeer herds. The Sami used to live as nomads and in the middle of the tundra you will find their shelters which are still in use in winter time when the herder is looking after the reindeer herds.

Half of Barents ice is gone

A new report on the state of the Barents Sea is setting off new alarms within Norway’s government and the institute that tracks developments in the Arctic.

The report, shows that half of the summer ice in the Barents has disappeared over the past 10 years.

Troll in the mountain

Mirrors cut moose fatalities

Small mirrors hung alongside a major highway are proving highly effective at keeping wildlife off the road and preventing accidents. Moose aren't the only animals being spared.

The use of mirrors has been so successful at eliminating collisions between animals and cars, that the national railroad agency is interested in adopting the practice to keep wildlife off train tracks.
Not a single collision involving vehicles and wildlife has been recorded in the area since the mirrors were hung.

The Midnigth Sun

Trollfjorden

Photos from Trollfjorden in Nordland county,Norway

Although called the Trollfjord, you can't see any trolls, but you can hear they when there is a mist over the water, the elves and trolls are dancing.

Memorial held for murdered child

Students and teachers gathered for a memorial service on Wednesday for the little girl who was murdered along with her aunt in a brutal attack near Namsos earlier this week. Their suspected assailant is in police custody.

Her aunt, was also found murdered in her home Monday morning. She had been pregnant with twins, fathered by the murder suspect from whom she had been granted a legal separation in March.
Her 10-year-old daughter from an earlier relationship was also in the house but survived the murderous rampage. Police found her bound and assaulted, after she'd managed to call for help.
A massive manhunt for the suspected assailant, 26-year-old Bahadir Mirzaolimov, resulted in his arrest on Tuesday.

Tranöy Ligthouse

Tranøy Lighthouse is situated in a spectacular scenic environment in the middle of the famous Norwegian novelists Knut Hamsun’s universe.

The lighthouse is in the northern part of Hamarøy municipality, where Hamsun found a large number of his characters and locations.
From the lighthouse there is a spectacular panoramic view of the Lofoten Islands, and what is known as the ”Lofoten Wall” consisting of high mountain peaks ascending almost nine hundred meters right out of the sea.
The small rocky island on which the lighthouse is built is connected to the mainland by a sturdy walking bridge.
Tranøy Lighthouse can offer a wide range of adventures and experiences in what is probably the most scenic part of Norway.
Hamarøy is the land of Knut Hamsun, the famous Norwegian novelist and Nobel Prize winner.
Visitors can walk ”On Overgrown Paths”, like in the title of the author’s last written novel.
It can take you to his childhood home at ”Skogheim” where he also lived as a grown up.
Tranøy also has the ”Hamsun Gallery”, a former shop that Hamsun worked in during his youth.
Every second year the ”Hamsundays” takes place at Hamarøy, next time is in 2008.

Man killed to, and two unborn children(twins)

Police in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway found two murder victims in a house.
One of the victims was a seven-year-old girl.

The other victim was a 35-year-old woman whom neighbours said was pregnant with twins. A 10-year-old girl was also found in the house, bound but alive.
Information she gave police led them to launch a search for a 26-year-old man originally from Uzbekistan, Bahadir Mirzaolimov.

What a world we live in.

From the river near my house

'Kon-Tiki' turns 60

Saturday marked exactly 60 years since the famed raft Kon-Tiki, skippered by one of the world's most famous Norwegians, set off on its expedition from Peru. The Oslo museum that displays the raft didn't let the day go by unnoticed.

Even though explorer and adventurer Thor Heyerdal's theories from the Kon-Tiki expedition have largely been proved wrong, his son and museum staff remain proud of the legendary Norwegian and his research.

He, four other Norwegians and a Swede sailed more than 8,000 kilometers for 101 days to prove that South American Indians could have reached islands in the South Pacific, using rafts that followed the winds and currents.