This was my immediate reaction to the bombing in Oslo, penned just a few hours after the attack. I’ve always loved the fact that Oslo was such a safe city. You can walk right up to the royal palace. You can drive past the building with the prime minister’s office. It’s happy. It’s neutral. Things [...]
I am not an accordion hater. To me there is nothing inherently wrong with accordion music in itself, but like so many things, an accordion can be used improperly and for nefarious purposes. I’ve been a sappy sentimental tourist in Europe before, and I vaguely (but fondly) remember the first time I heard someone playing [...]
Last month, I had to make a two-week trip to Houston for work. Since we’re usually just back for a short visit around a class, conference, or friend/family visit, this was the closest I’ve come to living a normal everyday American life since we left in 2005. Every time I go back, I experience little [...]
As proud as we were of Alexander Rybak when Norway shattered the Eurovision record last year, the thing I was most excited about was that it meant Norway would be hosting the contest this year! Since Henrik and Cassie first introduced me to Eurovision our first year here, I’ve loved the whole phenomenon. I even [...]
One of the things I like about living close to Frogner Park is that it’s like having a huge backyard (with none of the maintenance). We’ve often commented about how great it is that the people of the city actually use the park, whether it’s to relax in the sun, enjoy a picnic, etc. I’ve [...]
At the beginning of the month, I spent a few weeks in Houston for work, and when I got back to Oslo, I found that I had a very difficult time sleeping. At first I assumed it was just jet lag (especially since I didn’t sleep so well on the flight back). I don’t typically [...]
Last weekend Lucas and I went to the annual Elektrofil electronics fair, and I made a major new purchase: A hair dryer. I’m not sure if it says more about my frugal nature or my disinterest in fashion and beauty, but since moving overseas nearly five years ago, I’ve been using a little dual-voltage travel [...]
We’ve been working on final preparations for our upcoming trip to South Africa and Mozambique, and one of the issues we’re facing is a sorely limiting luggage restriction on our KLM flight to Johannesburg. Each of us gets a single 20kg bag for the two-week trip. And while normally this wouldn’t be a problem (especially [...]
Over the past year, the iconic Holmenkollen ski jump has undergone renovation in order to prepare for the 2011 FIS World Championship. As our office windows have a great view of the jump, we’ve tracked its progress along the way. The day the huge cranes put the last piece of the jump in place was [...]
Well, technically he’s just certified! Lucas has spent the last two weekends getting his PADI scuba certification in preparation for our trip to Mozambique. Back in Austin, this would be no big deal, but we’re in Norway. And this is “open-water” diving! Yes, that means that his certification dives were in the Oslofjord. Swimming in [...]