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Blogs from Norway, Europe
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April 30th 2013
Szczescie do pogody to malo powiedziane. 3 dni tutaj byly pod tym wzgledem jak darowane. Gdy przylecielismy, dowiedzielismy sie, ze do dnia przed przyjazdem, na zachodzie Norwegii szalal wiatr, grad i snieg z deszczem. Jednak w czasie weekendu Alesund bylo jak odmienione. Temeperatura oscylowala w okolicach 10 stopni (Celsjusza :)) niebo bylo lekko zachmurzone a drobny deszczyk spadal sporadycznie. Dzis, gdy siedzimy na lotnisku i czekamy na samolot pada deszcz ze sniegiem, jest kolo 0 stopni i mowimy sobie, ze gdyby bylo tak przez caly czas nasz pobyt tutaj wspominalibysmy zupelnie inaczej. Tutaj pierwsza rada dla kogos kto chcialby odwiedzic Alesund w przyszlosci - nie leciec w kwietniu lub wczesniej. Pogoda tu w tym okresie to loteria nam udalo sie trafic przynajmniej 'piatke' :). Alesund jest piekne i niepowtarzalne. Jak wiekszosc miast zapewne jednak najwiekszym pietnem ... read more
April 29th 2013
Nie jestesmy z tych, ktorzy latwo dadza sie zlamac pokusie podjechania gdzies miejskim transportem lub innym wechikulem. Zawsze fajniej jest, jesli jest taka mozliwosc, przejsc dystans do celu na wlasnych nogach i przy okazji zobaczyc rozne bardziej lub mniej reprezentacyjne rejony miasta. To lubie w backpackingu. Pani Kinga z hostelu bardzo sie zdziwila, ze do Akwarium i na pobliski punkt widokowy zamierzamy dojsc pieszo. Jednak w zapewnieniach, ze zawsze tak robimy , bylismy tak przekonujacy,ze skapitulowala. Wiec wyruszylismy z zamiarem obiegniecia dalszej okolicy ''z buta'' o 9 rano. Pogoda znow nam dopisala, co jest w Alesund ponoc niczym dar niebios. Wyposazeni w bardzo prymitywny plan okolicy, ktorego z pewnoscia nie mozna nazwac mapa, szlismy, szlismy i szlismy. Do podnoza gory, ktora byla jednym z naszych dzisiejszych c... read more
April 28th 2013
Dlugo zastanawialismy sie, czy cokolwiek jest w stanie wynagrodzic wydatek 900 zlotych za 8 godzinny rejs statkiem. Chocby mial to byc rejs wsrod samych norweskich fiordow z punktem kulminacyjnym w slynnym Geirangerfjord, wpisanym na liste UNESCO jako jedno z najpiekniejszych miejsc na Ziemi. Pierwsze zaskoczenie to rozmiar promu. Spodziewalismy sie malego statku, wielkosci trojmiejskiego katamarana. Jednak sylwetka jednostki, ktora mielismy plynac, dosc wyraznie gorowala nad innymi obiektami w okolicy. Gdy podeszlismy blizej, okazalo sie, ze wiezieni bedziemy przez 130 metrowej dlugosci potwora, ktory wysokoscia dorownuje 10 pietrowemu budynkowi a sam ma 9 pokladow. W tym ogolnodostepne, zewnetrzne jacuzzi, mnostwo pokladow widokowych i, dla dlugodystansowych pasazerow, amfiteatr, sale konferencyjne i inne wodotryski. Nie ma sie co rozwodzic, nalezy stwierdzic... read more
April 27th 2013
Dzis da sie poleciec za grosze w kazde miejsce w Europie. Jesli sie da to dlaczego z tej mozliwosci nie skorzystac? Jednak w jakiej kolejnosci? Uzylismy najprostszego schemtu. Zaczelismy od litery A, jak Alesund. Wegierskie linie lotnicze, z uslug ktorych korzystamy najczesciej, wprowadzily dosc powazne ograniczenia jesli chodzi o wymiary bagazu, jaki mozna wniesc na poklad samolotu bez dodatkowych oplat. Spakowalismy sie wiec dzis rano w male, 20 litrowe, plecaki. W nich 3 pary gaci, 2 zupki chinskie , po malej parasolce oraz ksiazka gdyby mialo padac, po 2 kanapki no i oczywiscie notebook. Zarzucajac to na plecy poczulem sie jakbym wychodzil do szkoly. Poza tym gdzies w glowie kolatala sie mysl, ze przeciez z tak mala iloscia bagazu nie mozna pojechac na pare dni, pare tysiecy kilometrow od domu, do nieznanego nam zupelnie kraju. Pol ... read more
April 7th 2013
Our Norwegian business partner had invited me to speak at their client event in Oslo on the 5th of April. The event took place in the Grand Hotel in the city centre. I arrived there the night before, stayed the night in the beautiful art nouveau hotel and was thrilled to be part of this event. My 45 minute talk was on “Fair Testing in Web 2.0”, and I was happy to present some of the ideas we have been working with for years already. But what was really exciting was that the other invited speaker was Michal Kosinski from Cambridge University. He is well-known for his studies with facebook data: he found that it is possible to predict the Big Five personality traits, but also other aspects like sexual orientation, ethnicity, or political views from ... read more
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March 31st 2013
After a lavish breakfast I caught the under ground train on route 1 heading towards Holmenkollen. I say under ground but most of it is actually above ground. The line itself is wonderful as it snakes up the hill over looking Oslo and the harbour. Most of the snow had melted in the city centre but up here it was still thick of it. There were a lot of skiers getting on with all their gear and they looked cool. I got off at Holmenkollen and made a 5 minute walk up the hill to the ski museum and ski jump which perches on the hill ominously and can be seen for miles around. It was built ages ago and has had various bits added on. I wondered around the museum which had a few old ... read more
March 30th 2013
Today started with a fabulous breakfast at the hotel for frees. I have never had salmon for breakfast before but it was a delight, along with the customary European cold meats, bread and cheese (including one I tried about a month back which tastes of caramel - it actually exists in Norway!). I thought I'd eat as much as possible as I have discovered that much like Finland was it is very expensive. (Which got me thinking....do people earn more comparatively as a result? We're talking £8 for a glass of wine, £2 for a chocolate bar and £8 for a sandwich here...I'd be bankrupt!). First on my hit list was somewhere I was really excited to go - Vingeland Park. This is a park 20 minutes away on tram number 12 and contains 212 granite ... read more
March 29th 2013
The day kicked off at some absurd hour that I've never heard of before called '3.45am'. I had stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before and managed to get in some free breakfast before getting the flight to Oslo Rygge. During landing it was nice to see all the small islands well defined by the blue sea, most were covered in snow. I got the airport bus to the bussterminal a short walk away from my hotel. It always amazes me that countries create different first impressions. With a bit of snow still around but the sun shining, clean and clear pavements and roads, fancy new shiny buildings being built..... all it all it seemed quite relaxed. I found my hotel and braved the -5 temperatute in my thermal bottoms, trousers, tshirt, jumper, ... read more
Memories from the Arctic Circle Adventure
Published: March 9th 2013Europe » Norway » Northern Norway » Tromsø
March 4th 2013
Tromso, some 350km north and within the Arctic Circle, was a destination that was decided pretty late on as we were eagerly searching for trips in an attempt to catch the Northern Lights. As one of the most eluded wonders of science, I was pretty insistent that we give it a shot to try and catch it. And even if lady luck doesn’t come our way, at least we tried. So glad that we eventually booked the tickets to Norway, as we not only caught the amazing natural light phenomenon, but also had the trip of our lives, which we now still proclaim every now and then: “Ah, I miss Tromso and I wanna go back!!” The trip up has got to be one of the most memorable of my travels, typically related to exploration of ... read more
January 24th 2013
I will never forget the first time I’ve tasted Frozen Norwegian Shrimps fresh from the sea. I have tasted so many shrimps in different countries but this is by far the best Shrimps I have ever tasted. It was so fresh and so heavenly that you will be wanting for more; even if it was just half cooked. It was my first trip to Bergen, Norway when my Uncle Rune brought us to the city centre where we bought ½ kilos of Shrimp which costs about 300 Norwegian Krone. We ate the shrimps by the bay and threw away the skin of the shrimps at the bay so that the birds will eat it. This is a Norwegian way of recycling things so that it would not turn into garbage. Eating Frozen Norwegian Shrimps is a ... read more
