The Norway Experience

I was tempted to title this "pining for the fjords", but I thought that was a bit obvious. And we haven't actually seen any fjords just yet. We will in a few days when we go to a smaller town. But now we are in Bergen, a city of about a quarter million, still with a large fishing industry, but having lost it's ship-building to more "efficient" places.

The trip here, through Copenhagen, was short, and aside from almost missing my flight out of Dusseldorf, uneventful. The entry into the area was through rain clouds, and it has rained almost daily until today. I am told that the Bergen folk start to complain if there is more than four days of sun in a row, and think it is getting too dry. I have also heard that you only call it "rain" when the you can see the fish swimming in the air (the rest is just mist). It's a moist climate.

We were placed in a modern, new hotel; in fact, it had opened a few days before we got here. Apparently, Bergen is so popular with tourists in the summer that hotels are booked a year in advance. The city's hope was that building a hotel with another 350 rooms would solve this. But we learned that, by the time we left there yesterday, it was booked solid for the next year. And we learned why, in part: there are over 300 scheduled visits by cruise ships this summer. As you can see from the photos, it is a spectacular city for scenery.








the last picture is of the park near us, a park dedicated to the arts. Nearby are the Grieg Hall (Edvard Grieg was born here), two art galleries, the opera house, and a row of public gardens to join them all together.

and further along is the Bryggen and the Fish Market. these pictures are of streets along the way, and give you an idea of the slope of the streets and the wide spaces available for people to walk. It is hard to imagine that anyone ever gets obese in this geography.





But of course we are here to do some work on Nursing Homes. The one we are in belongs to the Red Cross, and is among the largest in Norway at 174 beds (this is medium-sized for Canada). But look at the view from the windows of this place: it's enough to make you want to move here.





One of the interesting things here is that Norway still allow for the hunting of whales. I was in a restaurant last night, and there was whale steak on the menu (they didn't have any at this time, but it's available when they have a hunt). I would be interested in tasting whale, but would prefer a ban on the hunting of whales. So my reaction was, to say the least, mixed.

We will have had two Norwegian holidays during our stay here: on May 9, they celebrate the liberation towards the end of WW2; and on May 17th there is the celebration of (this year) the 200th anniversary of independence from Denmark. So there have been marching bands going by the hotel, as well as people in silly costumes riding on bikes, tooting their horns and ringing their bells.

And, speaking of costumes, people here still wear the traditional costumes, and it is not a show for tourists. They come, with children in their traditional dress, to restaurants, and walk along the streets. It is fascinating to see these kids, in olden-days dress, walking along looking at their iPhones.

Bergen is bike-friendly, with separate bike trails going to many parts of the city. And walking is done all over, even in the rain. Our host says that he rides his bike all year to the university - he has snow tires for the bike, and it doesn't get that cold here, apparently. I've also noticed more electric cars here than I have seen anywhere else, including several Tesla sedans. Many parking areas have charging stations for cars. (And, to remind you all, this is in a country that gets much of its revenue from oil!)

An impressive place overall. We were told last night that the current government, just elected about six months ago, is pretty conservative. Why they got in when the economy is doing so well (3% unemployment, books balanced, and so on), but there they are, for another three years. Hopefully they are not as destructive as Harper has been.

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Location:Kong Oscars gate,Bergen,Norway

P.S.: Differences, German style

When I was in Germany, there were some things which I found interesting cultural differences. So I thought I would do a little posting about those.

You can't get tap water at a restaurant as far as we could tell. If you ask for it, you get mineral water. If you insist, they will give you non-bubbly mineral water. If you insist you want just tap water, they look at you as if you said something very crazy, and bring you mineral water. Amazing that they don't all have hypertension with all that salt.

Cash is king. Many places don't accept credit cards, because of the charges the companies put onto the merchants. So we needed more cash than we thought we would. And, when they did accept cards, they preferred MasterCard over VISA, again the opposite of what we would expect.

I forgot that European countries don't have washcloths. So there was none to be found....do they not wash their faces? if so, how?

The rooms have no irons or ironing boards in them (standard equipment in Canada). I was counting on this for keeping my shirts looking good. But, oh well.

Windows in hotels actually open. Any modern hotel in Canada worth it's salt has hermetically sealed windows with overactive heating or air conditioning. Here you get to hear the birds sing. Remarkable!

Breakfast seems to be a big meal. In Germany, you got the usual cereals and eggs, bacon, etc. But also cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, breads (four different varieties), salads, cucumbers. You could fill up for the day, just at breakfast.

When the sun is out, you are out. On the sunny days, there were lots of people out in cafés. Even though the temperature was cool, they were there, with blankets provided by the café.

Asparagus is always white. You can't get (I was told) the kind we have in Canada. And it's an important crop, at least in Germany.


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Location:Vestre Strømkaien,Bergen,Norway

Kultur Klash

As I write this, I am almost at the end of my time in Germany. This trip actually began in the UK, hosted by my son and his girlfriend, Katy, at their flat in London. They got to see me at my worst: tired from the flight, time-shifted, and anxious about my time to come in Germany.

Nonetheless, they were very good to me. After what seemed like a very long taxi ride from Heathrow (itself following a 45-minute stand in line to get through immigration, England not seeming to be very welcoming to visitors!), Katy, Dan and I said brief greetings, Katy fed me well, and I tumbled onto my fancy air bed for a sound sleep.






The next day, I'm afraid, was not too coherent. I read, Katy and I watched a cooking show on TV, Dan and I went shopping for some food, and we (or I, at least) generally took it easy. All three of us actually ventured out to the local commercial area and had a tapas lunch in a Spanish cafe: very pleasant. The following day involved the trip to a play downtown: "Handbaggers", a play about the time of Maggie Thatcher with Queen Elizabeth, and their relationship, sort of. I loved its politics, and the audience clearly was having fun. Dan had more trouble, since he did not know the history. And Katy was with me on having a good time with it.

Followed by a pub supper where we all met up with the rest of Katy's family - her parents, and their dog (a Katy replacement, perhaps?). My hearing was difficult, so I didn't follow all the conversation, but in general, I really enjoyed the outing.

On the Sunday, Dan and I went for a longer walk across the Tower Bridge and around that part of London and the South and North Banks of the Thames. Weather actually cooperated. Rain was called for, but didn't arrive. And in the evening, Dan and Katy had organised a get-together of friends at their place, and again were great at making me feel welcome.

Monday was a travel day. My anxiety manifested by denying me a lot of sleep, so I was already doing well when I got up. Katy had left for work (her first time there in a month) and Dan woke me to say good-bye before he left on his bike for work as well. The long trip to the airport was begun, and fortunately uneventful. And the flight was fine. Getting from the airpot to the town was another thing. And so begins the Kultur Klash!

I had to ask for directions to the train station from the airport. Turned out to be pretty easy, made of course more difficult by my bag being the last off the plane, so time was not on my side. I knew which platform I was to leave from, but I couldn't find that platform. So I went down one which seemed okay, heard some people talking a bit of English, and asked them. They didn't know where the platform was either, but they said I could get a ride from this station to the central station, which was what I needed. However, the platform I was on had trains going in the opposite direction, so I hauled the bag up the stairs and down another platform, got on, and tried to slow my breathing on the train, keeping fingers crossed I would get there in time for my connecting train. Of course, the platform I needed in the Hbf (Central Station) was at the other end of the station from where I arrived, so speed became important. I made it to the needed platform....just in time to see my train pull out! Damn!

So ask directions again, this time of a police officer, and was told there was another train in about forty minutes from the same platform. Okay, so I wait.

German trains are generally very exact in their timing: if it is supposed to arrive at 1704, it pulls in, loads, and leaves very close to that time. So when the police officer told me the time, and the time it would arrive in Hückelhoven, I was set, or so I thought. The train did arrive on time, I got on, and I checked my time to be sure I got off in the right place. There was supposed to be a taxi waiting for me at the station. But then, the time the officer gave me came and went, and I was not near any station, much less the one I was needing. I almost got off, then felt I would give it one more station, and it turned out to be Hückelhoven. Phew! Haul my bag down the thirty steps, and the taxi was there. I was in good hands, even though I could not talk to the drive in any words he could understand.

The next four days are a bit of a blur. We were put up in a hotel which has "theme rooms". Mine, for instance, is a Buddhist theme.





But we were not relaxing here. We started our days by leaving the hotel at either 7:30 or 8:30 to travel to the home, usually arriving back at the hotel between 6 and 8 in the evening. A de-briefing session (with snacks and wine) followed, in turn followed by dinner, then bed. Repeat times three.

Fortunately, the home we went to was wonderful.





When we met after the days, we would check to see if anyone had found the major flaw that had to be there. But it didn't show up. Our time at the home was busy: interviews with various workers or administrators; observing the home in action; walking around. We were here over their May Day, a much larger celebration of Spring and workers than it is in Canada. The trees are filled with streamers, all residents were invited to a party where the punch was decidedly alcoholic, and a general good time was had. It-the home-is a wonderful example of what can be done, and a place I would not mind residing in myself (as far as we could tell).

Yesterday was a tourist day. The weather finally cleared, and although it was cool, we were happy. Headed off to Koln (Cologne) for the day, by train. Their Hbf is right beside the Dom (Cathedral), so you come out of the station to see this magnificent structure from the thirteenth century.





Well, in fact it's not all the thirteenth century, since it too until the mid-nineteenth century to finish it. And there are some interesting facts about its finish. The workers who finished it were actually Protestant, working on a Catholic cathedral. Which may explain why the newer part is not as ornate as the older part. And the final part was done by a series of donations from Germans who felt it was their patriotic duty to support the Germanic church architecture - which they did, mistakenly thinking that the style was German in origin, when in fact it was French. So it's kind of interesting that it actually came together, after six hundred years, to make a very impressive place.

The rest of our day in Koln included a boat ride on the Rhine, dinner in a brauhaus, and some walking around. I was terrific, even if we didn't get to visit the Roman-German Museum.

Today, we went into Aachen, the seat of power for Charlemagne back 1200 years ago. We visited the church that was built in his time, saw his throne, and walked the town where he lived. it was magical, in a different, but also wonderful way, from what we had seen in Koln.








This trip has been good for my prejudices: I have seen Germany in its better light, and have a better understanding for what it can be and has been. I am much more sympathetic, and I hope, understanding, of the people who live in this quite unusual and pretty country.

Now let's see what Norway has to offer....

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Location:Brassertstraße,Hückelhoven,Germany