Only in Norway

You can imagine my delight when I was given a giant (seriously – its as big as my head) gingerbread heart today by a lovely and generous colleague, with God Jul written on it with icing. Fantastic, it was about time for afternoon tea and I admit I was feeling a little peckish. After all, what is gingerbread for if not to eat…?

Well, as I was modestly claiming “oh I couldn’t possibly eat all that” but secretly thinking “…but I’d give it a good nudge”, I was informed that no, it is not for eating, it is to hang as decoration during Christmas time (!!!!).

So I now have this lovely tantalising gingerbread heart dangling just out of biting range above my desk, where the delicious wafting smell is making my tummy rumble. And here it will remain for the next 3 weeks until it Christmas, when it will be so hard and covered in dust it will be inedible. Only in Norway!

Emma.

"Gløgg gløgg gløgg" ... the sound gløgg makes when you pour it down your throat!

Gday,

Regina and Ulf put on a lovely gløgg session yesterday. Gløgg sessions are scandinavian traditions in the weeks leading up to Christmas where they essentially serve gingerbread biscuits and gather around with friends drinking gløgg. Gløgg is a lovely form of mulled alcohol with lots of spices in it. It has cinamon, cardamon, cloves, ginger etc. It can be based on a non-alcoholic but quite sickly sweet Norwegian (bloody anti-alcoholic government) variety, or the more alcoholic varieties (usually from Sweden I am told) where they can be based on wine, cognac, rum etc etc.

What is gløgg? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine

Recipe for gløgg - make it back in oz: http://www.norway.org.uk/culture/food/gloeggoppskrift.htm

Anyway we walked over there Saturday arvo and had a lovely gathering of people. Here are some pics or the day.
















Here is a pic of the gløgg keeping hot on the stove. My favourite was the cognac based variety (nearest to camera).






















A pic of the lovely hosts Regina and Ulf. They had to fly out to New York for a week of fun and shopping Sunday morn.


















A pic of Elisabeth and her twin babies Julia og Helene. You would hardly guess she gave birth to twins 13 weeks ago.

















Simon (the other part of the twin borth operation - an aussie also - Elisabeth is a noggie), Kristian (who I went cycling with over Norway), Mari and Kev (who you should know by now if you read the blog) and Aud Trude (who you should also know by now).
















Aud Trude, Mari and Em.

















Kev, me (looking like I've had far too much Gløgg) and Kristian.

Anyway today is a relaxing day doing housework. Hope everyone is well back in oz.

God Jul.

Bring on the white stuff!

The front of our house, about 8.30am

It snowed last night properly, and there was about 1 cm of beautiful white snow covering the ground at our house. It is definitely still a novelty seeing snow outside our window and in our back yard. Coobs of course had a ball this morning playing frisbee, so much fun that he couldn't wait to get amongst it. As I was leaving to go to work I spotted him sneaking out of the garden over the back fence. He received a good telling off and is safely installed inside while Joel and I work out what to do about our Houdini dog.

Our street

From Joel: Also, here is a pic from a webcam looking over the hill towards my work over the other side of the fjord that I have to cycle over on the way to work.


It was very cool (pardon the pun) cycling to work today. I bought some "piggdekk" which are spiked tyres for my bike on the weekend and got to test them out this morning. It was really good fun. Cycling through an inch or 2 deep snow and ice on the way to work - lots of fun. No fear of sliding out as I ride full pelt across the snow. Awesome.

Emma (and a little bit from Joel).

Coolest Advertisement Ever!

Just before the weekend comes, I stumbled across this cool advert for bicycles on the equally coolest website ever.




www.copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com

Many cool pics on that page.

Don't forget the aerogard and avagoodweekend!

London, Ghent and Dusseldorf

Hi all,

It has been ages since I have written a blog, and Joel is forever on my back about it, so, finally, here is an update! I have had a busy few weeks with travel. The first week of Nov I spent 5 days in London with work. London is always an amazing city and I was lucky to be staying at Charing Cross, right in the middle of it all. We had some beautiful meals - one was at the first Indian restaurant in London. The decor was amazing, not to mention the food. The highlight of the week was the chance to catch up with my good friend of mine, Pooja, who moved to London a month after Joel and I moved here. We had always said we must have a catch up over this side of the world (she was in London while I was living over here last time), so it was fantastic to actually finally do it!

I have just returned from another trip, this time 3 days away in Ghent (Belgium) and Dusseldorf (Germany). We were on an intelligence gathering mission in advance of a major meeting being held in Ghent next year. So part of our 'brief' was to try out some local restaurants and pubs to find some suitable locations for social activities for the conference. Tough job but someone's got to do it.

This is in Brussels. Amazing - it was built in the 50's, its made of stainless steel. Its used as a restaurant upstairs and there are galleries in the spheres.

Ghent is a beautiful medievil town and has an old castle in the centre, as well as waterways/canals much like Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

Pics of Ghent

I was in Dusseldorf for a meeting with one of our business partners and it took place at Medica, the biggest medical convention/exhibition in the world. There are about 15 massive halls filled with exhibitors. There are tens of thousands of visitors. Amazing. The money that gets spent by the companies on their booths is incredible - two story extravaganzas with catering and meeting rooms, lets just say you could buy a house in Toorak for the price they pay for these displays.

But having said that, I'm really glad to be home. I don't have any more travel planned until Christmas so I'm looking forward to getting ready for Christmas and Sally's visit. She arrives 14th december.

We are all going together with Ryan to Paris for 3 nights starting on boxing day, and then we'll have a week at a ski resort in the French Alps. We will be there over new years eve. We can't wait!! We are also planning a weekend visit to a Laerdal cabin in the mountains with Sal and whichever friends can join us. A really authentic Norwegian experience for Sal.

Hope everyone is well. Today and tomorrow our thoughts are especially with our lovely friends Jules and Matt who are getting married tomorrow. We really miss you guys and would love nothing more than to be there for this amazing occasion. I know that it will be a beautiful day with lots of thought and planning having gone into it, you guys are truly the most wonderful and generous hosts, and this will be an event like no other. Good luck, we send you all our love from Norway.

Cheers,
Emma.

Snowing again!

Well it seems that the big storm has brought some happiness at last. It started snowing in Stavanger for the first time this winter season a short while ago! Considering the first snow last winter wasn't until about early Feb this year, we are off to a pretty good start with the ski season! Who knows I may even one day be able to ski to work. That would be cool!

Back on land

Hi all,

I have now been back on land for just over a week. Surprisingly I didn't have hardly any wobbles being back on terra firma. I did think the bed was tipping over once but apart from that nothing. Last time after only 1 week offshore I felt like the whole world was moving. Maybe it was something to do with the Bouncing Bergen we were on that made it a bit different. Anyway, office life is the same as it was although new projects and new challenges.

Emma and I went to her company's (Laerdal Medical) cabin on an island called Randøy last weekend. It was very relaxing. Went for some walks through the forest, drives around the island, speeding around in the motor boat with coobs on an amazing clear and still day (for this time of year), and did a lot of fine food and drink tasting! I will post some pics soon.

For now however I thought it is worthwhile showing you what sort of weather we have at the moment. All the oil companies evacuated all of the platforms (except for essential personnel) in the southern part of the North Sea. There have been storm warnings of Force 10 winds (10 is maximum!). We had all our bins knocked over by the wind this morning (and they are in a reasonably protected spot) and I found a kiddies pool in our hedge this morning! Would be interesting to be out there. The current forecast for Stavanger looks like this (click on it to get it in big and clear text).



Emma comes back from a business trip to London tonight. The weather doesn't look too promising for the weekend so not too sure what we will do - the beach perhaps! Then she is off again next week to Belgium (bring on the imported beer!) and Germany.

I promise to post some pics of Randøy soon.

Cheers

Joel

Snowing at sea

Hi again,

Well we had our first snow this morning. When I went out on deck first thing this morning there was ice all over the deck. I then noticed the white flakes in the sky and was quite amazed that it was snowing out on deck. Pretty crazy stuff.

Not too much other news though. Am due to be heading back onshore on the 17th so hopefully have a couple of days R&R in Laerdal's cabin with Emma and Coobs before heading back to the office for the daily grind.

Anyway - just thought i'd report on the snow.

Ha det bra. Joel

While the cat is away.... the mouse will holiday in Croatia

Well what else was I to do? Joel is offshore for 4 weeks and mum and dad were visiting - I took the opportunity to go to Croatia and meet mum and dad for a week's holiday. Joel had originally booked to come too, but the offshore schedule unfortunately didn't allow it. Aah well, Joel's earning the money while I'm spending it, just the way it should be, yes?!
I flew into Dubrovnik (direct flight from stavanger - under 3 hrs, love it!) and made my way into the old town. You get a spectacular view of the city as you drive along the coast from the airport. Dubrovnik is an ancient walled city, with civilsation dating back to the 6th century. It is rich with history. We had a night in Dubrovnik and took a walking tour, our tour guide's family has always lived in Dubrovnik could trace the lineage back to the 1400's!








Photos of Dubrovnik

We wanted to see some islands and found a boat tour that we could join for 3 nights up the coast. We stopped at the island of Mijet, which features a beautiful national park with two lakes and an old monastery. We stayed a night in the port of Vela Luka (not terribly interesting) and faced some less than perfect weather for our trip to Hvar. There were a few pale faces and queasy stomachs, mine included! But Hvar was worth the trip. We were meant to stay the night at Hvar but due to the rough seas and an unsheltered harbour at Hvar, we had to make our way back to Vela Luka, but we managed to fit in some express shopping as the rain stopped.

our boat the monastery at Miljet



miljet vela luka is an olive producing region

boats in the harbour at Hvar



We left the boat and took a ferry to Split. We stayed a night there and were again amazed by this ancient city, formerly a Roman Emperor's palace which is now the living, breathing heart of the city. People live throughout the palace, including in the city walls, and it was fascinating to see how it has changed and evolved over the centuries.



We rented a car in Split and drove along the coast heading north to Zadar. The coastline is absolutely beautiful and reminded me a lot of the French and Italian rivieras. Beautiful blue water, a curving road following the coastline with little towns nestled in the inlets and points. We stopped off a few times to explore and found a gorgeous cathedral which sat atop a hill in the middle of a tiny town with the most amazing views. Generations of families had been buried in the grounds and we all felt that it would be quite a place to be laid to rest.

a church yard with a view



In Zadar we met up with my mum's colleague's sister (!) and her two children. They were so warm and hospitable, and they showed us around Zadar, including the roman ruins and the sea organ. An artist created pipes along the sea wall which when the sea laps against the wall it forces air in and out of the pipes, and creates a sounds. You can hear examples on you tube (type in sea organ zadar). In Zadar we also went to a concert featuring traditional croatian music, it was predominantly men, about 10 of them, singing love songs, it was really special, a fantastic sound, and a great way to really get a feel for the 'real' croatia - a little away from the tourist traps.




We then drove down the coast and stopped in at Krka national park where we saw some beautiful scenery and waterfalls, and then along the freeway at 130km per hour to get back to Dubrovnik where I flew out on Sunday and Mum and Dad the following wednesday.


waterfalls at Krka national park




We had a great time, we ate and drank a LOT, the seafood particularly was sensational and it felt so good to be back in a country where drinking a bottle of wine with dinner doesn't set you back $80, so we really lived it up and enjoyed every minute.



Highlights? Walking tours of Dubrovnik and Split, shopping in Hvar, eating, drinking, our evening with Jasminka, Anamarija and Bojan, the massive slab of parmesan cheese I brought back to Stavanger with me! Spending time with Mum and Dad, and feeling the sun on my face after a very lackluster norwegian summer.

So now its back to work again! And of course after an hour in the office you forget you ever had a holiday :). Thanks especially to Alistair, our wonderful friend who did a sensational job of dog and house sitting.

Missing you all and hope you're enjoying some lovely spring weather. The leaves are changing here and its quite beautiful. Keep in touch!

Time for an update

Firstly apologies to those who log on for an update - as there has been precious nothings lately in the way of this blog. Time to remedy all of that! I'll try and let the pics do the talking and leave the rest to a few words.



This is from the Utstein Kloster monastry on a beautiful island called Rennesøy only a short drive (through a tunnel) from Stavanger. We went there with Ann and Nigel (Emma's parents) when they were here. As you can see it was a lovely day. This was the graveyard beside the monastry. Not a bad spot to spend time rotting in the ground.


This is Em obviously on a ferry to a lovely island called Hidle. This is where this amazing place called Flor & Fjære is located. An amazing place where they have all sorts of tropical and lush plants and flowers. We went there with Emma's parents and it was a lovely dinner. You can see Stavanger in the background in the pic here.


This is me on the back of the ferry. Ann is coming up the steps in the background.


Here is Emma with her parents with Gamle (Old) Stavanger in the background.


This is Flor & Fjære. Amazing lush gardens. Certainly not expected of Norway. Emma and I went there in 2004 with Tatti and her mum. A lovely spot definitely worth a visit for any vistors for a good feed.


This is a little furry chipmunk (or whatever sort of funny creature he is - squirrel?) in Hyde Park in London. Emma and I went for a nice walk towards B-Pal (our rapping nickname for Buckingham Palace) and I saw this dude walking around with a nut in his mouth. So I did the old Steve Irwin trick and chased him about hoping to get a good pic of him.


We made it to B-Pal at 11:30am and coincidentally that is the time of the changing of the guard. So we saw these black furry hats marching about with some pretty hefty guns. Queeny was home apparently as the flag was up and flying but she didnæ't come out to say gday. Probably slacking it and watching Days of Our Lives or Oprah on TV.


This is B-Pal. Not a bad little house.


We also did the touristy thing and went for a visit to the London Eye (Millenium Wheel I think it might also be called). It was pretty good viewing and this is the houses of Parliament and Big Ben alongside the River Thames. London is a pretty flat area (good for cycling) so this is pretty much the only vantage point in the whole of london. Its amazing to see how sprawling London is. They are lucky they have such an efficient tube system otherwise I think it would be even more chaos than it actually is.


This is Emma in the London Eye. You can see how flat it is in the background.


Me and Emma in the bubble.


Another pic of the River Thames from the top of the london eye. You can just see another bubble/capsule to the bottom left.


Emma with the London Eye in the background. You can also see the Millenium Footbridges over her right shoulder.


Ok a bit out of order but when Ann and Nigel were in Stavanger we made a visit to the Stavanger Museum. This is the skeleton of a whale (I can't remember what sort - blue?) but it is pretty big. Here I am doing my bogan stance!


We also went to the football (Soccer for Australians) to see the Stavanger Vikings vs Lillestrøm (from an area nearby Jan's cabin we went to durin Easter) . This is coming off the train on the way to the game and the smoke is from flares being set off by the Lillestrøm bogans! Great atmosphere.


This is of the crowd in our section. It is a pretty neat stadium with heaters above you and all undercover. Perfectly suited to Norwegian weather.


Here we are with Ann and Nigel at the game. As you can see we have Stavanger Viking scarves. Subsea7 (my work) sponsors the team and we had a big function on beforehand. This involved two massive marquees, enormous amount of food and drink (soft drinks only - they don't serve grog at the game and not really fitting in with the family day theme if everyone was getting on the gas) and then free tickets to the game. Subsea7 gave us these scarves also and it was a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday evening. It was telecast live nationally as it was 2nd (lillestrøm) vs 3rd (Vikings).


Here is the game. Vikings are with the blue (Subsea7) tops and Lillestrøm with the yellow. It was a 1-1 draw. The crowd went wild when we scored (unfortunately it was at the other end).


Emma and I at Piccadilly Circus - not an actual circus which has me fooled but was a major intersection/square in the middle of London.


Me doing my best impersonation of being Miserable. This is in the Soho area (I think) where there is an amazing amount of shows going on. Any show you could think of was being shown there at the moment. Its amazing they have enough actors to star in them all. I guess thats what a city of 7 million can provide.


The River Thames at night. You can see the London Eye, along with the millenium bridges, and Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the background. I think this area looks so much nicer at night. The colours of the houses of parliament and Big Benny are quite amazing when lit up at night.


Big Joel next to Big Ben. Quite an amazing site at night - very beautifully lit up.


Little Emma and Big Ben.


Me getting out of one of the many iconic taxis in London. By jolly they are cheap compared to the Stavanger Taxis.


Me in the iconic red telephone boxes. Smashing!


Emma and I down Brick Lane. They had this curry festival on during the weekend we were in London. We went along with Emma's Third Cousin Laura. It was sooo busy and I have never seen so many cops in my life. At one stage, within about a 50m section of the street there was 10 cops all walking in pairs. Good curry and good atmosphere. This isn't far from the East End which is where a huge population of immigrants live. It was an interesting mix of people where there was obvoiously a large Anglo-Saxon young community mixing with the immigrant community. It felt like quite an interesting dynamic especially considering the aftermath and the way London has changed since the terrorism attacks in London.


While in London I also was wrapped to be able to catch up with some mates from St Kevins. I caught up with Goldsa (Johnny Goldsworthy), Dozza (Ross Doherty) and Crowey (Michael Crowe). We went down to this cool bar near Marylebone (yes one of the train stations from Monopoly) which was beside this cool little canal. We had a few good wines and beers and enjoyed a lovely meal with some great company. It was great to see the boys again and it never ceases to amaze me of how even though you might not see the boys for years and years that whenever we catch up it is always so relaxed and nice. I think our group of mates from school are really fortunate to have this bond.

Speaking of Monoply, I actually felt like I was in monopoly most of the time - going to Leicester Square, walking down Oxford, Regent, The Strand and Fleet Street - it could only have been better if I was driving a car like this:



This is a pic of me, Goldsa, and Crowey. I am hopefully going to be able to catch up with Crowey in France next June/July for a spot of cycling the pyrennees or the Alps. Would be great to do that for a week or so and catch up with some of the tour as it rolls by.




This is a pic from this cool traditional English pub. Apparently in the olden days they had these sections in pubs which would segregate the different classes. This is a pic of me and Dozza in the upper class section - where we belonged!