The diary of David, a just-turned-30 Brit living in Norway
We are quite Oslo-centric on this blog. Take last month, when we proclaimed the arrival of spring after a beautiful weekend in the capital. Gerry, our resident blogger from Trondheim, has a different view... It might very well have been an April Fools prank. After a Saturday above 7º C, in which I walked with my jacket open and just a t-shirt beneath, it came the mother of all snowfalls. Five days (and counting) of continuous snow. … [Read more...]
I have a confession to make. I've not really enjoyed the winter. Before all the Norwegians start piling in, I'm well aware it's been the mildest winter for many a year. But that doesn't change the fact that for me, it's been the coldest, darkest, iciest winter I've experienced. The knowledge that next winter will surely be colder, darker, icier, does not put a smile on my face. It's not so much the cold that's bothered me (although if … [Read more...]
Back in August I wrote about preparing for my first Scandinavian winter. Little did I know that come the 3rd of December, I would be sat in my Oslo apartment with the radiators off, gazing out of the window still waiting for the first snowfall. November 2011 has gone down in the records book as Norway's warmest ever, or at least since records began 111 years ago. This despite Hurricane Berit battering much of the country last week, doing … [Read more...]
Yes I know, it rains a lot in Norway. Up until now I've been blessed with fairly dry weather. But for the last seven days, there's been a lot of the wet stuff. One of my favourite walks in Oslo is along the stretch of the Aker River near Grünerløkka, near my apartment. This weekend though, it had a different feel to it. … [Read more...]
Since arriving in Norway in May I've been stunned at how nice the weather has been. Yes there's been some rainy days, but overall it's been an impressive summer, with many days touching 30C and the warm weather lasting long into the evenings. But now August is drawing to a close, things are changing. It's starting to get dark at 8.30, not 11.30. Cool crisp mornings are replacing bright sunny ones. I'm seeing ski jackets and warm sweaters in shop … [Read more...]
So it's been a few days since my last blog post and I thought I'd answer some of the questions people have been asking me on the blog and on Facebook. Why are you in Norway? I am working in Oslo on a government IT/telecoms project. I am here for at least six months, probably a lot longer. What is work like? It's a different culture from the UK. People dress casually, start early, take lunch between 11 and 12 and start to leave from about … [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 …]
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