Norway

Why am I talking about Norway?

• I married Andy’s father, Trond Gjendem, who grew up in Norway.

We lived in Norway for two years

We travel to Norway often

Jendemfjellet

• That means Gjendem Mountain.

• Fjell = mountain.• Trond grew up on a

dairy farm at the base of the mountain.

On top of Jendemfjellet

• Trond, Andy, Beth & Katie hiked to the top of Gjendem Mountain this summer.

• Varden = stone marker. That’s the tower behind them. You can find a “varden” on every mountaintop, along with a book to sign your name and the date you made it to the top.

More pictures from Norway

• Strand = beach.• Fjord = inlet of sea.• This is the beach on the

fjord near Jendem, where Andy’s grandparents live.

Seilbåt

• Seil = sail.• Båt = boat.• Seilbåt = sailboat.• This is from Bjørnsund,

a group of islands across the fjord from Jendem.

Bjørnsund

• Bjørn = bear.• Sund = channel or

strait.• This is the statue of a

polar bear on Bjørnsund.

Jendemfjellet

• You can see Jendemfjellet from Bjørnsund.

Norge = Norway

Svalbard and Jan Mayen Island

• Svalbard is a group of islands midway between Norway and the North Pole. They are home to polar bears, reindeer and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which stores more than 400,000 seed samples from around the world.

• Jan Mayen Island is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean. It is used by personnel of the Norwegian military and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

Norway is part of Scandinavia

• Scandinavia is made up of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Often included are Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands.

Scandinavia is part of Europe

Norway’s flag

• Norway’s flag is red, white and blue like the United States, but Norway’s is based on the Scandinavian cross, which is used throughout Scandinavia.

Norway’s national anthem

Ja, vi elsker dette landetJa, vi elsker dette landet,som det stiger frem,furet, værbitt over vannet,med de tusen hjem, —elsker, elsker det og tenkerpå vår far og morog den saganatt som senkerdrømmer på vår jord.Og den saganatt som senker,senker drømmer på vår jord.

Yes, we love this countryYes, we love this countryas it rises forth,rugged, weathered, above the sea,with the thousands of homes.Love, love it and thinkof our father and motherand the saga night that sendsdreams to our earth.And the saga night that sendsdreams to our earth.

Constitutional monarchy

• Norway is a constitutional monarchy with King Harald V as its head of state.

• (The United States is a constitutional republic.)

• Kong = king.

Norway’s royal family

King and Queen visit Iowa

• Last October, we got to see Queen Sonja and King Harald in Decorah when they were on their USA visit.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra

• Second in line to the throne is Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is 8. Her father is Crown Prince Haakon, and her mother is Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

• Prinsesse = princess.

Royal palace in Oslo

• Slott = castle.

Parliamentary democracy

• Norway is a parliamentary democracy with Jens Stoltenberg as its prime minister.

• (The United States is a representative democracy.)

Parliament building in Oslo

• Storting = parliament• This is where Norway’s

parliament meets, much like our Congress meets in Washington, D.C.

Midnight sun

• The midnight sun happens in the summer when the sun never sets behind the horizon. At North Cape in Norway the midnight sun can be seen from about May 14 to July 29. It’s even longer on Svalbard – it goes from April 20 to Aug. 22.

• On the other hand, you almost never see the sun in the winter.

Midnight sun this summer

• I took this photo when we were in Norway this summer. It was about 11 p.m.

Money

• Penger = money.• Krone = crown.• Norway’s currency is the

krone. The exchange rate changes a lot, but right now 100 NOK (Norwegian kroner) = $17.60 U.S. Norway is not in the European Union so does not use the euro.

50 NOK bill

• Norwegian money features Norway’s famous artists and scientists.

• Peter Christen Asbjørnsen is on the 50 NOK bill. He was a writer and scholar. With Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, he collected Norwegian folklore, and they’re known for their books of Norwegian fairytales.

100 NOK bill

• Kirsten Flagstad was a famous opera singer. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California.

200 NOK bill

• Kristian Birkeland was a famous scientist who figured out the aurora borealis. He also had several inventions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times.

Nordlys

• Nordlys = Northern lights or aurora borealis.

500 NOK bill

• Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928 for Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy about life in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages.

1000 NOK bill

• Edvard Munch was painter. His most famous painting is called The Scream.

• Skrik = scream.

Resources

• Norway’s natural resources include petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests and minerals.

• Norway is the fifth largest oil exporter and the second largest exporter of fish.

Language• Norway has two official written

languages: Bokmål and Nynorsk. The Norwegian Sami population speak a Sami language.

• Most Norwegians also speak dialects, which are regional (similar to the various accents in the United States but often with different words).

• The Norwegian alphabet has three more letters than the English alphabet: Æ (æ), Ø (ø) and Å (å). They are all vowels.

• The main foreign language taught in Norwegian elementary school is English.

Æ æØ øÅ å

Bunad

• Bunad = folk costume• Søskenbarn = cousin• Tante = aunt• This is Andy’s cousin

Kamilla and aunt Rigmor in their bunader on Kamilla’s confirmation day in May this year.

Bunad

• Here is Kamilla in her bunad when she was younger. Her brother Martin is also wearing a bunad.

Let’s learn some Norwegian!

Norsk• Hallo!• Flink• En, to, tre …• Skole• Lærer• Elev• Bok• Blyant

English• Hello!• Clever or smart• One, two, three …• School• Teacher• Student• Book• Pencil

Kaketine

• Cake container

Ost

• Cheese

Ostehøvel

• Cheese slicer

Juletre

• Christmas tree

Adventskalendar

• Advent calendar

God Jul!

• Merry Christmas!

Godt Nytt År!

• Happy New Year!

Tusen takk!

• Thank you! (Directly translated = a thousand thanks.)

Ha det bra!

• Good-bye! (Directly translated = have it well.)