To state
the obvious I am now in Norway. The country my ancestors left in a huff over
something or the other. Our languages, Icelandic and Norwegian, are so related
that if the two coupled had a baby language together it would be incest. Having
never learned Norwegian I can still read most things in print here and understand
them. I also thought I understood everything spoken but soon found out this was
a misconception. Something I believed to be a joke about tax credits turned out
to be something completely unrelated. Wishful thinking I guess.
The faces
on the street are familiar, something I do not experience in the other Nordic
countries. Weird how DNA does not change much in hundreds upon hundreds of
years. To make me feel even more at home, the fish here is just as good as in Iceland.
Personally, if Iceland shuts up shop I could easily live here.
The winter
that has passed the south of Iceland this time around is in Norway. White snow,
crisp air – makes even a vertigo sufferer like myself want to strap on skis and
hurdle down a hill.
The only thong is that it is pretty expensive here - when I pack for a trip to Norway I double check to see if I forgot anything. Should one forget toothpaste I have a sinking feeling that it would be cheaper to have a cavity fixed when back home than buying toothpaste in Oslo. Well, almost.
Til next
time
Yrsa - Wednesday
Posts
When I was in Ireland, it seemed as if every third person I saw looked exactly like someone I knew at home.
ReplyDeleteBeth
Norway's looking very beautiful in the snow! If Winter's moved south of Iceland I'm guessing it's arrived here in England this last week.
ReplyDeleteYou made me feel downright warm and cozy here outside of NYC, where it's not nearly as snowy, only -14C, and toothpaste is cheap!
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ReplyDeleteGreetings from the land of cheap toothpaste.
ReplyDeleteIf Norwegians ever look down on Iceland as a mere suburb where ambitious Vikings fled when things got too crowded at home, just remind them where the best sagas came from. I have just read the one that begins this way:
"Úlfur hét maður, sonur Bjálfa og Hallberu, dóttur Úlfs hins óarga. Hún var systir Hallbjarnar hálftrölls í Hrafnistu, föður Ketils hængs. Úlfur var maður svo mikill og sterkur, að eigi voru hans jafningjar, en er hann var á unga aldri, lá hann í víkingu og herjaði. Með honum var í félagsskap sá maður, er kallaður var Berðlu-Kári, göfugur maður og hinn mesti afreksmaður að afli og áræði; hann var berserkur. Þeir Úlfur áttu einn sjóð báðir, og var með þeim hin kærsta vinátta."
though I admit I read it English translation. And the translator was--Bernard Scudder. The nicknames in that saga are even better than Italian mob nicknames.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
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