God Jul og Godt Nyttår!

Well it's definitely the festive season in Stavanger. How do I know this? One…because the Coca-Cola truck is in town and two...there are boatloads of Christmas trees in the harbour!

Other signs include multiple Lutefisk/Aquavit dinners for Mr Robertson who is pledging to go on a pre-Christmas diet as we speak. He hasn't got a chance…we're off to Orknøyene and Mother is already planning a mince/clapshot feast for our arrival. Add to that a 20lb turkey on Christmas Day at Largo and I think we all know how it's going to end up! Oh and not forgetting the world-famous 'Christmas Ciabatta' at Trenabies in Kirkwall…I literally cannot wait. And there's more…a weekend in Aberdeen at Chez Cheshire, catching up with friends and family, before we fly up to Kirkwall on 23rd. Which reminds me, can someone please have a word with whoever is in charge of the weather up there and make sure the forecast winds go down a bit? Please??!! One of us isn't a good traveller…

Before we go any further, I notice that a couple of logos/pics I had put in the previous post have disappeared. The first one was a rather menacing logo for the 'Politi'…I think they may be on to me. The other one was a much less menacing picture of 'Julenisse'…I sincerely hope he's not on to me or I'm in big trouble! I'm taking my stocking to Orkney with me just in case...

Final word of the year and a very appropriate one…'hytte' (hewt-ter) meaning cabin/hut/chalet/lodge/cottage. This is where a lot of Norwegians go to spend the festive period with their families, most probably up in the mountains although some also have a hytte by the sea. The hytte is an integral part of Norwegian life, with most people electing to spend the summer and/or winter holidays there. It literally is a home from home.

But the Norwegians aren't the only ones who have hyttes…oh no…the Mulder cat has one too and this is where he will be spending Christmas this year. More commonly known as Randaberg Dyrpensjonat (the cattery to you and me!). We've tried to explain to him how lucky he is to have a hytte, especially one such as Randaberg which has an individual inside and outside space for each 'katt'.  They take such good of care of them, leave the radio on for company…ok so it's Radio Norge but still. Sadly he's not too impressed?! This will be the scene tomorrow morning…

While the weather isn't exactly festive as I write, we had the most amazing fall of snow a couple of weekends ago…woke up to a load of powder on Saturday morning. The landscape was transformed into a wonderland. Fifi le Fiat was almost out of sight!

And with that festive scene, all that remains is wish everyone a very (very) Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2014.

God Jul og Godt Nyttår!

p.s. For those following the lessons, note the different spellings of 'good'…in the same sentence…ARGH!!

POLITI...

Five months in and we've had our first brush with the long arm of the law. Who knew that an innocuous trip to 'the tip' on a Saturday morning would result in (a) a breathaliser test and (b) a car tax check? We pulled up in Forus to join a queue of cars/trailers (not unusual) but it quickly became apparent that something else was afoot…various people in hi-vis jackets talking to every driver.

Mr R was at the wheel and had the pleasure of blowing into the tube. Needless to say he was absolutely fine but it certainly polarises the amount of wine you had with dinner the previous night! Even though >12 hours had gone by since alcohol was consumed, it still makes you wonder.

The law on drinking and driving in Norway is crystal clear i.e. they don't tolerate it…at all. The legal limit is 20 milligrams of alcohol (-v- 80 in the UK) per 100 millilitre of blood, essentially enough to allow for any alcohol in food, as well as certain medications. The penalties are severe, ranging from a fine and 6-month suspension of licence to a very heavy fine, 2-year suspension of licence and imprisonment…depending on how much over the limit you are. In addition, fines are calculated according to your income.

Having had the cultural training before/after we arrived here (thanks to GdF), we were already acutely aware of the various laws around driving. It must be said, the Norwegian stance on drinking and driving makes it very easy for drivers, there's no dubiety whatsoever, no wondering 'will I be ok with one'….you just don't do it.

As Alexander the meerkat would say…seemples!!

Which brings me neatly on to a not-unrelated story. December is upon us and with it the usual festive gatherings. Tonight sees Mr Robertson head off out to his very first 'lutefisk dinner', which tradition demands will be washed down with Aquavit. Lutefisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries made from dried whitefish and lye. So far so good. It's gelatinous in texture and has a somewhat pungent odour. Uh oh. Aquavit is a very strong alcoholic spirit and is distilled from fermented potato or grain mash before being flavoured with savoury herbaceous ingredients. Hmmm. The reason for having it as an accompaniment to the lutefisk is becoming more apparent all the time…SKÅL!

Suffice to say Mrs Robertson will be assuming full taxi duties tomorrow morning lest we have another run-in with the Politi...

The festive season officially begins here on December 1st and folks houses are literally transformed with welcoming lights both outside and in, as is the town centre. It's very similar to the American traditions of New England although as you can see there's always one who goes slightly overboard…to be fair, this is a drinking establishment down by the harbour, so I guess he's trying to attract customers?!

A topical word of the day…'nisse' (nees-eh) or 'Julenisse' (yoo-le-nees-eh) meaning Father Christmas! It seems that the modern-day Julenisse is a combination of the fabled barn elf from Scandinavian folklore and the American Santa Claus. He's dressed much like the fjosnissen of old, with grey woollen clothes, knickerbockers and a red hat, and heralds his arrival on Christmas Eve with the words 'are there any good children here'? Here's hoping he doesn't get Aquavit left out for him at every house or he wont get far…!