The diary of David, a just-turned-30 Brit living in Norway
The run of public holidays at this time of year continued today with the traditional 1st May celebration - Labour Day. It also coincided with the first anniversary of my move to Oslo. My, how time flies! Today was widely predicted to be a "different" 1st May due to the ongoing terror trial, but the day was embraced and celebrated, no doubt helped by the glorious weather, a welcome change for me after an awful weekend of rain on a trip back to … [Read more...]
The trial of Anders Behring Breivik finally gets underway on Monday. It's hard to believe almost nine months have passed since the Oslo terrorist attacks. Life in the capital has long since returned to normal, although the government quarter which bore the brunt of the explosion is still out of bounds. I live a few hundred yards away and walk past the area most days, but with the impending trial and increased media interest, I decided to take a … [Read more...]
Last month when my friend Colin was here I wrote about the Norwegian local elections. During that weekend, aside from being inundated with colourful election leaflets around the city streets, we decided to visit Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament. It was a fascinating time to visit, just a few weeks after the terrorist attack and two days before the local elections. While we were inside, several election agents with oversized badges and … [Read more...]
This weekend I've had the pleasure of Andy's company here in Oslo. On Friday we wandered past the City Hall and the Nobel Peace Center, which reminded me I'd seen the announcement of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners on the news earlier in the day. Anyway we decided to visit the Peace Center on Saturday when we had more time. Good decision! It turned out to be a celebratory day for the 2011 announcement. First things first, that meant free … [Read more...]
Today and tomorrow Norway votes in local and regional elections. With my political background it's been an interesting experience to be in another country during an election campaign. It is of course the first election here since the July attacks and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's Labour party are expected to do well, they've seen a 5-7% bounce in the polls since the attacks. However, support for the far-right Progress party has only dipped … [Read more...]
He writes here about his new life in Norway: his observations and experiences, the language and culture, the people and places. [Read More …]
Connect with Life in Norway