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Published: June 18th 2006
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Aboard the Crown of Scandinavia arriving in Oslo. Hello everyone,
Even though it didn´t stop raining in Oslo and Stockholm, we managed to crowd in lots of sightseeing. We arrived in Oslo after an overnight cruise on board the Crown of Scandinavia. It is a ship that used to cruise the Carribean, but now works as a hotel ship. Board at five in the afternoon and arrive the next morning around nine. The cabins are small and basic. Buffet style dinner and breakfast. Not sure of the cost--Elderhostel covered it. We travelled from Stockholm to Helsinki the same way. I liked it--didn't lose time sitting in a bus.
Oslo is a wilderness. People are into hiking, skiing and wildlife. Norwegians have more cottages and boats than any other country. 80% live within 30 minutes of the North Sea. It is not hard to imagine when you look at their map. It stretches 2,000 km. from north to south. If they flipped Norway upside down, it would reach Rome. They are also proud of their Viking heritage--entire museums devoted to that period in their history.
Sweden refers to itself as "the peoples' home" and use the motto, "nobody should be left behind". They face the same challenges that
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View from the top of ski jump in Oslo. we do in Canada--people are used to a system that takes care of the people, but it is getting harder to sustain. Part of the problem is that people have higher expectations than they used to have 30 years ago and those expectations cost more money.
At birth everyone is issued a number. It is made up of your birthdate plus four numbers. You cannot do anything without this number. Other countries have considered a similar system with the usual complaints regarding privacy and so on. Swedes see it as part of a centralized government system that seems to work for them. We toured their parliament buildings and learned that they favour a minority coalition government. It supports their concept of cooperation. They have an election the last Sunday in September every four years. Politicians do not campaign and have no need for campaign contributions. Newspapers run articles, they have debates, but that is about it. One of the Americans asked how could people know who to vote for if there was no campaigning and the guide replied, "we know." They had 82% voter turnout last time and are studying the reasons why it was down from the usual
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City Hall in Oslo. Artist was upset that they installed door in middle of his mural, so painted a naked boy pointing and sticking his tongue out. 90%. In other words, people take their politics seriously. They have a consitutional monarchy--so does Norway and Denmark. People really like their royals. The Swedish queen and king can be seen walking around in the small town where they spend their summers.
Almost everyone in Scandinavia speaks English and they speak it well. They study it in school as a compulsory subject from the early grades, but it starts even earlier. Movies and television in Scandinavia are never dubbed--only subtitled. It serves two important functions. People have to learn to read their language in order to enjoy American and British imports. Secondly, children hear English spoken from the time they are born and absorb the sounds long before they start school. Our guide pointed out that teenagers in Scandinavia speak better English than German teenagers because Germany tends to dub more programming.
The City Halls in both Oslo and Stockholm serve a function outside of city politics. Keep in mind that both cities are associated with the Nobel Prize. The Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo and the other awards are awarded in Stockholm. The Nobel banquet for 1300 people is held at the city hall in Stockholm.
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Oslo City Hall. Auditorium where Nobel Peace Prize handed out every Dec. 10--the only day their police are armed. Both buildings are huge and richly decorated. For example, one room in the Stockhom City Hall is decorated with 19 million glass and gold tiles, each tile measuring one quarter inch square.
I'm not sure that I could get used to living here. The climate is similar to home--cold winters, mild summers with occassional blasts of heat. Right now it is still daylight at 10:30 at night and sunrise is around three in the morning. Of course, it is just the opposite in winter. One guide told us about a Christmas custom at a residential high school where he taught. On the day the kids go home for Christmas break, they have their Christmas party at seven in the morning. That way it is over at ten when it starts to get light and the kids can get home before sunset at two in the afternoon.
I enjoyed Scandinavia, but getting a little tired of smoked salmon ane pickled herring at every meal.
Bye for now,
Donna
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Selma
non-member comment
Good to see you in a couple of photos
Your looking well travelling lady which is great. So are your photos except some are a little dark. I'll look forward to seeing the hard copies on your return. Still busy here. Was surprised to meet up with an old friend - Tony DeMotto the other day who is reading my mail - aren't you Tony? He and I were on the Parkdale Community Centre Board way back. It was nice to catch up with him and that was all because of you. Take care - Selma