I am delighted to meet you again this week with… A FOOD-ARTICLE!

We speak highly of French food…

…That is why today, I wish to put in the honour: THE NORWEGIAN GASTRONOMY!

First of all, let me present you the context of my amazing cooking experience. In the dormitory where I am living in, we are lucky to share our kitchen with other exchange or Norwegian students. In my case, we are ten exchange students and only one Norwegian. Since the beginning of this semester we have organized a “Kitchen Dinner” every week. Thus, a duo cooks one of their culinary speciality every week.

Last week, we discovered one of the most famous traditional meals in Norway : The “Rømmegraut” or “Rømmegrøt“.

http://petterskinstad.blogg.no/1323380386_rmmegrt_og_styrketren.html

          This kind of porridge is a mixture of sour cream, milk and a little bit of flour. The yellow liquid on it, as you can see on the picture, is the fat of the cream and the milk which is released by itself during the preparation. The Norwegians have the habit of adding some raisins, cinnamon and sugar to it and as a drink they serve raspberry juice.
The side dish was some meat. Most common used is “spekeflesk” but this Saturday we had “morrpølse” (salted and dry sausage). And with it, we had some bread: “flatbrød” directly translated to “flat bread”.
This dish is so filling that we only ate a tiny portion of it. For me, this was definitely enough… I think that this meat is too creamy and fat. However, I appreciated having this surprising experience. Although I am enamour with this country for many reasons, I still need some more time to accustom my palate…
The Norwegian student, as for him, is in love with this porridge. He controlled himself not to take another serving of it…

If I wheted your appetite, I am waiting for you in Norway because you will probably only find it here!

Laurene PUILLANDRE

Hi!

I publish this article by advance because next week I will be in Oslo with some friends. I will present you briefly a big Norwegian company founded by Bjorn Kjos, an airplane pilot. Currently he is the CEO of this low-cost company. I choose to make this article because, today, one friend of mine is coming from France thank to this company. Secondly, I know well this company because at school, we made 3 group works on it.

Norwegian is the third largest low cost carrier in Europe with 28 million customers annually and around 110 aircrafts in operation with an average age of less than four years. They have the youngest fleet in the world. Norwegian is less dependent of oil price because his fleet consummation is very low and they buy oil at a good price, thanks to a good hedging strategy.

Nevertheless, like a low-cost company, they make you pay if you want earphones or a blanket during long haul for example. It is the price to pay for a cheap ticket if you don’t take any options.

Norweigian route map

The route portfolio stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East, as well as long-haul routes to the US and Southeast Asia. The company has around 450 routes to more than 140 destinations on sale and employs approximately 5.500 people. Norwegian is very powerful and the company is still developing his fleet, nearly 300 planes are already orders to Airbus and Boeing.

Norwegian’s publicity after Brad Pitt’s divorce

Norwegian work hard to develop his long haul offer. It is a very long process. During two years Norwegian Air Shuttle, based in Norway fought against US state and some unions to have the right to fly to and from the US. After many twists, the company obtains the Air Operator’s certificate, AOC, from the national aviation authority of the USA. To develop his offer, Norwegian need to deal with unions and governments but those negotiations take time.

Have a nice week-end!

pcottier

A well-known stereotype about Norwegians is that they are cold and reserved. When I need to go to NHH, my school, I have to take 2 buses. The path is approximately 30 minutes. First point in public transportation: it’s very impolite to talk to an unknown guy in a bus, as reported by a Norwegian friend. But don’t worry if you need to ask for information in the street or if you are searching for a shop people will help you. Furthermore, according to my personal experience, most of citizens speak a good English.

Above you can see typical example of a Norwegian bus stop! Each morning when I take my first bus there are maximum 2 persons in the bus stop and others people waiting outside even when it’s raining. It’s quite funny!

There is another different between Norway and France. When the bus is nearly full, Norwegians going beside of you instead of going in front of you. It’s to avoid eye contact like Dan, a Norwegian explain me. Erasmus experience allowed you to discover this kind of cultural differences. Several masters in international business have courses about managing international diversity and difference. It’s important to respect and understand the culture of your partner. For example, something I learn here is Asian people are not use to say no when you ask something. It’s can be necessary to know it before a group work for instance. I find really interesting to meet people who have another way of thinking and other cultural habits. That’s why, I really want to travel to Asia soon in order to discover new countries and cultures.

Have a nice week 🙂

Pierre

pcottier

Last week, we participate to the World Dinner, an event organized by the International Committee of NHH. It’s an association which organized all the event for the exchange students, like the welcome week, or some party or this dinner. For this event, all the exchange students could make a team for representing their country and had to cook a meal for 200 peaple. Finaly, we were 22 team to participate from all arround the world. The IC sell ticket to all the NHH student, and they can eat meal from different contries for discover other food culture.

Our team was one of the three french team. We decided to call ourself “Les Nantaises” and we cooked some “crêpes” and some “croque-monsieur”.

There were arround 200 participant who come tasting our meals.

At the end, all the participants could vote for their favorite team, in putting their ticket in the team ballot box.

The three finalist team was, the Mexicain Team, the Japan team, the Iran team and the winner was the Nepal team.

kmoreau

      As promised in my last article, today I’m going to present you the «Oslo-Bergen train” but also some other alternatives.
If you decide to cross from West to East of the country, the essential question is « By train or by plane?”. Crossing the country at least once by this railway line is the custom in Norway. Yes…Norwegians are proud of this line, considered it is one of the most beautiful in Europe. And it’s not very surprising! You can admire a variety of landscapes which are spectacular.

However, you would have to be willing to stay 7 hours in a train… (Between exhausted  and exhausting children!)
For the risk-takers, of course, the car is also a possibility. But don’t be rushed… It’s difficult to go for a drive in a country like this one, between winding roads and fjords (not to mention the changeable weather which necessitates to reduce speed…). By the bye, the road authorities have selected some recommended national tourist roads for their landscape and their accessibilities. Tunnels and car ferries are also an integral part of the road system. Indeed, there are now around 100 ferries crossings connecting public roads in Norway.
Still, you are assured to share the road with drivers pretty quiet and disciplined.
Despite being wonderful, some small villages in Norway don’t have any gas station and the next gas station might be more than 100 km away. So don’t forget your full jerry can…

I will finish by a very short story to illustrate the difficulties to get around in Norway:

At the beginning of the September, we went hiking three hours away. At the time to return (No time to lose, as we had to return the rented car!), a man explained us that the road was blocked for the next two hours. He specified that there was no other alternative and asked us to park the car. Oh yes, it was probably indicated…in Norwegian! Trying to understand how it was possible to close a road without making a diversion, the guy answered us in cracking a smile: “Welcome in Norway!”.

Finally, after having an argument with the rental cars company managers, they did not take into account our delay and understood that we weren’t used to have this kind of surprise…

Laurene PUILLANDRE

Bryggen is a Bergen district. It’s one of the most popular area in Bergen and in Norway. Bryggen was built after the big fire in 1702 and it is register in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The first building in Bergen took place in Bryggen, it was a very dynamics and important city’s area during many century.

Bryggen is a historical area of the Bergen’s port, which is one of the oldest port city in North Europe. Bergen take place in the Norway West coast. The city was created as the commercial center on the 12e century. In 1390, the German Hanseatic League set up one of its import and export offices at Bryggen, dominating trade for almost 400 years. The German Hanseatic League was the collaboration between North European merchant cities around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. They got gradually Bryggen’s property and controlled the stockfish’s trade on the North of Norway.

Bryggen was devastated by many fires, particularly by the 1702 big fire. It burnt the entire city to the grown. The area was rebuilt on the foundation which are there since the 12 century, that means that Bryggen is almost unmodified

Bryggen is a living part of the cultural legacy, which is still very active in the city’s historical district. Today, Bryggen is home to a lot of tourist attractions like the fish market, and there are many coffees, restaurants, and shops.

Fun Fact : The german or hanseatic dominance in Bergen lasted for several hundred years, from the black plague until 1754 when the hanseatic station was formally abolished. For this reason the Bryggen (the Dock) was called Tyskebryggen (German Dock) or Hansabryggen. In May 1945 (two weeks after the end of the war) the city council decided that the name should be “Bryggen.” Mariakirken (St Mary’s church) was also called Tyskekirken (German church) or church of the German merchants. Church services were held in German until about 1870.

kmoreau

After these presentations of Bergen, it’s the moment for you to discover the Norwegian Capital: OSLO! This green city counts a number of inhabitants of a little bit less than 650 000 on an area of 454 km². One of the important features of this city is that the business center is located in a beautiful area at the seaside. And if you walk further away, you can discover some charming residences.

Now, I would like to introduce you some of the very famous places of this city.

>  First, the Royal Palace !

In this palace from the 19^th century lives the current Norwegian monarch: Harald V. He has been named king in 1991. In Norway, the king is the symbol of the unity of this country and he is also the head of the “Den norske kirke” (Church of Noway).

Every day, at 1:30 PM, you can see the Changing of the Guard. In appearance very strict, you can get a smile out of this militaries if you dare to approach them…

>   The Storting, the Parliament                >  The Operahuset I Oslo

>  The Vigeland Park

With more than 200 sculptures designed by the same artist, Gustav Vigeland, this park is one of the most popular tourist attractions. The common point of all this sculptures of life-size humans is nudity.

And if it’s raining, don’t worry!  The peninsula Bigdoy is something for you then! Indeed, you can visit lots of museums as for example the Norwegian Folk Museum, The Kon-tiki Museum or again the Viking Ship Museum. Thus Oslo is a very cultural capital.

Concerning the population, the most striking characteristic is probably… their calm nature! It is not a capital like all the others. The people take time to help you to find your way or to wait the green light to cross on the zebra crossing.

   And if they want to get away from the city center after just ten minutes of boat ride in the fjord, they can unwind on one of the island of Oslo.

To finish, my source of pride in visiting this city was to see “French meals”on the front window of some restaurant…Would the French cook be well seen in Olso ?

In another article, I will continue with the Oslo to Bergen railway, considering it is seen as Europe’s best train journey. So STAY CONNECTED!

Laurene PUILLANDRE