Have you ever dreamed of treating yourself to a luxurious stay on a private island? Imagine this – an overwater bungalow, coconut groves, warm translucent waters filled with corals and tropical fish and no noise except for the singing of birds and the mixing of your Mai Tai. While it … Read more
For many years my husband and I lived in the Stuttgart area of Germany – less than two hours from the French border and Alsace. Whenever we had the chance, we’d hop in the car and head in that direction—for a day, a weekend, or even longer. We loved the … Read more
A Memorial Weekend spent in Oslo, Norway, couldn’t have taken me further away from the shores of the U. S. of A. where backyard barbecues and baseball games are typically the norm. The unpredictable May weather was an ongoing topic of conversation with everyone, even at immigration, and as the … Read more
“Hey Thom,” I said, “We’ve been hiking for two hours already and we haven’t reached the glacier yet. How much longer do you think?” We’d started out from the little village of Briksdalsbre early in the morning and thought we were doing a half-day hike, but since our guide Ruben … Read more
It was like a magic carpet ride. Except that I was riding a rolling blue tapestry of three mighty waterways in Norway – the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. Heading south along the coast from Kirkenes near the Russian border to the old Hanseatic city of … Read more
As I walk the streets of Trondheim, Norway’s third largest city, it doesn’t seem so “large.” Like many places in Norway, there’s an intimacy to the city with pockets of small town charm. And of course, there are those omnipresent tales of Vikings and kings, of battles and bold heroics … Read more
Good news for all you film fans. The annual Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF for short) held in Bergen, Norway is getting ready for its close-up. Showcasing international films, the event gets off the ground at the end of October (23rd) and runs just a little over a week until … Read more
Pure and simple. That’s the essence of Norway from its fjords, as clear and clean as they look, to its people, whose frank gaze and forthright attitude are equally refreshing. Freshness also distinguishes Norwegian food. Blessed with more than 15,000 miles of fjord-indented coastline, bathed by four bodies of … Read more
A black messenger bike parked outside THE THIEF emblazoned with the hotel’s name is a subtle hint. “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” On a dark, dreary and very wet spring morning in Oslo’s Tjuvholmen neighborhood, which is surrounded by water, the wind is gusting outside … Read more
These days, the big word in Norwegian drink circles is actually pretty small. It’s mikrobryggeri. “We’ve had microbreweries in the U.S. since the 1980s,” you scoff. True, and after three decades we’ve got upwards of 2,000. But consider this: The Vikings were among the first to brew hand-crafted beers. And … Read more
When it comes to art, one doesn’t tend to think about cartoons. An overlooked medium, it not only provides humor but a window on society that’s sometimes lost on the average reader. I wondered, for example, how much time the average read for a cartoon is, especially one that pokes … Read more
For everyone making plans to attend one or more festivals around the world, Norway’s in the middle of hosting its much anticipated Nuart Street Art Festival in Stavanger. Nuart began way back in 2001 exhibiting urban art but in 2005 Nuart chose to focus exclusively on street art, essentially art … Read more
I’m far up in the northern reaches of Norway, where my guide says it is the “last wilderness in Europe,” where the surrounding forests, he says, are filled with moose, lynx, bears and wolverines. Fourteen hundred miles, straight as the crow flies, is the North Pole and Russia is a … Read more
September is one of the most important months in the year for everyone in the fashion industry. With summer behind them, designers, models, buyers and PR professionals kick the industry into high gear with the start of fashion weeks all over the globe. Fashion insiders spend hours each day watching … Read more
“The Norwegians sure take their sun seriously, don’t they?” said Pop after he saw that we were fellow Americans touring Norway. We’d just zoomed past a few townspeople sunbathing in their backyards and a guy mowing his lawn shirtless. It was a hot, sunny day in Alesund, a popular fjord … Read more