| 2013 summer/fall

news of norway

hail to the chief

new ambassador in dc

hail to the chef

the personal touch of norwegian celebrity chef andreas viestad

Getting to Know You dear readers,

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y predecessor as Ambassador of Norway to the United States, Wegger Chr. Strommen, is beloved by Americans from coast to coast — and the feeling is clearly mutual. Wegger’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of the United States are legendary. As his successor, I’ll do my best to further strengthen relations between Norway and the U.S. Building on the vast knowledge of the people who work at the Embassy, I want to get to know this great country, meet its people, and learn what makes America tick. Having served as ambassador to Afghanistan from 2008–10, I learned a lot about the value of communication among groups with a variety of disparate needs and interests.

reaching out Keeping in touch, sharing ideas, reaching out: we — people, communities, nations — need to keep talking to each other if we are going to be able to work together to reach our common goals. Solving problems and building stable and prosperous societies requires dialogue, understanding and mutual trust. News of Norway is an important tool in our outreach to the community. It has served its purpose since 1941, and the Embassy will continue to look for ways to improve it. We will continue to make extensive use of our (recently redesigned) website, norway.org, the Embassy and Consulate Facebook pages, and of course print publications such as the Norway Today brochure and the one you’re reading right now, News of Norway. These are not one-way media. We don’t just want to talk to you; we want to hear from you, too. What are your thoughts and concerns regarding U.S.–Norwegian relations? What would you like to know about

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Royal Norwegian Embassy 2720 34th Street, Northwest Washington, D.C. 20008 202.333.6000 norway.org Ambassador to the United States Kåre R. Aas Norway? Are you sick of the video for Ylvis’ “The Fox” (p. 10) yet? Let us know.

much work to be done On the international front, the Embassy is heavily involved in a broad set of political, economic and social issues — for example, those related to Norway’s presence in the Arctic. The Arctic is an integral part of Norway’s identity, and we are eager to remain a recognizable and active partner to the U.S. in the region. We will have to work to strike the proper balance between economic development and preservation. There are many challenges and opportunities. The countries with interests in the Arctic must collaborate to manage the region’s resources in a responsible and sustainable way. One thing is sure: the United States will always be a highly valued strategic partner for Norway. The U.S. remains our closest international friend and ally. There’s a good reason why so many Norwegians have moved to America over the years. There’s a good reason why the Norwegian American population is so vibrant and strong. I am so looking forward to meeting as much of that population as I can, and I hope you will all keep in touch. —Ambassador Kåre R. Aas

Head of Culture and Communications Linken Nymann Berryman Editor Kenneth Krattenmaker

150 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1300 Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1P1 613.238.6571 emb-norway.ca Ambassador to Canada Mona Elisabeth Brøther

SUBSCRIPTIONS News of Norway (ISSN: 0028-9272) is published by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1941 and reaches 37,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada. For a free subscription, write or call with your name and address, or send an email with “NON subscription” in the subject line to emb.washingon @mfa.no

New Ambassador of Norway to the United States: Kåre R. Aas

Courtesy the White House

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mbassador Kåre R. Aas presented his credentials to President Obama at the White House on Sept. 17, 2013. Amb. Aas’s distinguished career with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs began in 1983, where he has held several high-profile positions. Before being named Ambassador to the U.S., he served as Political Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo. Prior to his assignment as Political Director, Amb. Aas served as the Norwegian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2008-10. From 2003 to 2008, Amb. Aas served as Director General, Department for Security Policy and the High North. In that capacity he had the bilateral relationships between Norway and the U.S., the Russian Federation and the Central Asian Republics in his portfolio, and chaired or was a member of several international groups working on nuclear disarmament and international peacekeeping operations.

President Obama and Amb. Aas at the White House on Sept. 17, 2013.

From 2005–07 he served as Norwegian Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) Board of Governors.

Amb. Aas was born on May 25, 1955 in Oslo, Norway. He has three daughters and one son. The Ambassador is active on Twitter as @kareraas. n

Embassy Adds Officer for International Education

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tudent mobility is a priority for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington. As of August 1, the Culture & Communications Department has a new officer for international education, Anne Charlotte Lindblom, whose main focus will be to promote student exchange between the U.S., Canada and Norway as well as to facilitate cooperation between Norwegian and North American universities. This will be the first time the embassy has had a position solely focusing on higher education. It is part of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research’s North America Strategy for Higher Education Cooperation 2012-2015, which has set forth very clear goals for 1) collaboration at the government level,

2) institutional partnerships and stronger correlation between higher education and research collaboration and 3) mobility of students and staff. The new strategy builds on the positive experiences made with the existing strategy. However, the Ministry of Education and Research still sees the need for targeted measures, especially towards increasing the mobility of students at the Master and Ph.D. levels, increasing the mobility of North American students to Norway, and increasing the cooperation with Canada. The Ministry of Education and Research will allocate 10 million NOK ($1.7 million) per year to the follow-up of the strategy. To contact the officer for International Education: [email protected] n

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photos by christi turner

observe and report by christi turner When journalist Christi Turner spent the summer as an intern with the online Norwegian news site The Barents Observer, she learnt a little bit about the Norwegian workplace, a bit about issues relating to the Arctic, and a lot about sleep deprivation

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packed all wrong for my month above the Arctic Circle. Right off the plane, it was clear that I would not be needing my down jacket, knit hat or fleece gloves. Kirkenes, Norway, my base for the month of June, was experiencing a season of record high temperatures, fitting given the nature of my stay: a one-month journalism fellowship, reporting on environmental issues in the Arctic. With 24 hours of sunlight seeping around the edges of the bedroom’s “blackout” curtains, I spent the month fighting various degrees of sleep deprivation. I would write many of my articles in the dead of night, which was still bright as day. I was writing for the Barents Observer as one of the first two American reporters to participate in the Arctic Journalism Internship, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Norway and the Norwegian Embassy in Washington DC. The Observer is an online news source dedicated to issues affecting the Barents Region of the Arctic, which comprises the lands bordering the Barents Sea, including parts of Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden. 4 | news of norway | summer/fall 2013

independent dependence With a staff of three reporters, the Observer is fully funded by the Norwegian government yet maintains independence as a news organization. Many of Norway’s news outlets receive government financing through the “press support” subsidy, born of the country’s dedication to maintaining a robust media environment. Our internships got off to a fast start. As soon as I mentioned my first story idea, my colleagues began to pass me the phone numbers and email addresses of sources. By that afternoon I was on the phone doing my first interview, and by Friday I had published my first story, covering the Arctic cod fishery in its paradox of sustainable management and depressed global market prices. During the first day of our internships, Rune Rafaelsen, director of the Barents Secretariat, greeted us and announced that we would be departing with him on a Barents road trip in just a few days. Our guest in the car? Thorvald Stoltenberg, father of the Prime Minister and founder of the Barents Region itself. During that trip

we would meet Santa Claus in Finland and Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, in his homeland of Sweden. On another reporting trip, I spent one lovely Saturday winding the company car through the fjords to meet Arne Pedersen, President of the Coastal Fishermen’s Association, to interview him for a story on the effects of salmon farming on local fish populations. Pedersen’s charisma and generosity helped me write one of my favorite stories of the month. After the two road trips, I was ready to venture farther afield. I pitched my story ideas, interview schedule and travel plans to Thomas Nilsen, my editor at the Observer, and before day’s end I was booked on a six-day trip to visit the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromso (the “Arctic Capital” of Norway, several hundred kilometers down the coast), and the Department of Environment Conservation and the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS), in Longyearbyen (the coal town-turned-research hub on the island of Svalbard, Norway’s northernmost territory, halfway between Kirkenes and the North Pole). By the end of my first day in Tromso I had interviewed five scientists, been driven around the circumference of the island-town, and visited a handful of local

pubs until a deceptively sunny midnight. I was exhilarated, but still didn’t feel tired. By the second night, however, a squeezing headache and a worrisome eye twitch finally prompted me to force myself to sleep. I discovered that a few glasses of wine work magic against the sunlight, and began to wonder whether other folks above the Arctic Circle have developed a similar strategy.

a global model Then I journeyed to Longyearbyen, which, at 78° latitude, has the brightest midnight sun and the coolest Arctic summer. The town has the skeletons of coal mine entryways on its mountainsides and a prestigious environmental research institute at its center, featuring a groundbreaking carbon capture and storage (CSS) project — its old identity informing the new. CSS is a process by which CO2 emissions are trapped, stored, and prevented from adding to atmospheric greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. At the Longyearbyen lab, the CO2 will be pumped into a rock bed of sandstone and trapped by a “ceiling” of shale. The lab hopes to make Longyearbyen a global model of a carbon-neutral community, where all CO2 emissions are captured and stored. I visited the UNIS at the CO2 Lab just as President Obama announced his Climate Action Plan in the U.S., and another article was born. Ole Arve Misund, the director of UNIS, was my tour guide at the CO2 Lab. He shared his latest scientific paper, a policy recommendation urging the Norwegian government to refrain from allowing oil exploration in Lofoten, a region vital to A coal bin wishes visitors “Merry Christmas” in Norwegian

the survival of Arctic cod. In an article based on our discussion, I wrote that the pressure to exploit a large undersea oil field in the short term could have devastating effects on a major fishery in the long term. Biologically speaking, this would be disastrous. But from a purely financial standpoint, it could be far more lucrative than the fishery it would destroy. The story felt like a culmination of how much I had already learned about the Arctic. When I returned to my desk in Kirkenes the temperature and humidity had ratcheted up so high that my colleagues left the office in collective protest. Once again I reminded myself what an interesting time it is to be in the Arctic. One of my final articles for the Observer involved phone calls to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute to see if all of the local weather strife were a sign of climate change. Apparently, on a local level, the answer is “not necessarily,” although the regional climate record seems to show an upward trend.

links to climate change My final and perhaps most fulfilling article tackled the issue of disappearing summer sea ice in the Arctic, an unprecedented phenomenon with irrefutable links to climate change. Drawing on expert sources from my reporting trip, I did my best to expose the data-skewing from climate change deniers and clearly explain the nature of summer sea ice and how it is changing. One of the most common ways to skew the sea ice picture is to look at changes in very short-term increments; for example, by comparing the 2013 summer sea ice cover to that of 2012 (it is slightly bigger now, area-wise) without mentioning that 2012 was the lowest year on record for summer sea ice cover. Some say that the winter “regrowth” of sea ice is actually getting better, without explaining that the recovery only appears stronger because the summer melt is getting worse at a more rapid pace than the winter melt. Thankfully, there should still be winter sea ice for many years to come, although scientists say that the summer sea ice cover could disappear within as little as

Nature and technology meet as large satellite dishes dot the Arctic landscape

10 years. Another major overlooked or skewed piece of the sea ice puzzle: not only is the total area getting smaller, but the majority of the ice that remains is younger and thinner. This has profound effects on the ecosystem and speeds up the melting process. The article felt like a fitting final contribution to the Barents Observer, as I reminded myself why I am an environmental journalist, and how lucky I am for this chance to gain a firsthand understanding of critical Arctic issues that will continue to inform my reporting for years to come. And just as I learned to sleep through the sunlit night, it was time to return to lower latitudes. I’m already plotting my return to the Arctic next winter, and wondering what strategies I may develop to keep awake during the 24 hours of darkness. n Ms. Turner’s original articles can be found at barentsobserver.com A sign that we’re not in Kansas anymore: watch out for snowmobiles

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little

norwegian church on the prairie by dorie mattson

How did a very traditional Norwegian-style church find itself in the middle of the Minnesota prairie?

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he Great Migration of Norwegians to the United States began in the 1860s and continued for decades. Emigrants brought with them whatever they could to remind themselves of home — cuisine, customs, stories and more. My great-grandfather, Ed J. Trom (1870– 1949), brought Norwegian architecture. This inspiring story unfolds in the historic Westfield Lutheran Church, which is found in the rural farm community of Blooming Prairie, Minn., and was built just a few years after Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. My family’s personal history with the church begins in 1917 when its architect, my great-grandfather, gathered with a group of farm families to build this small house of worship. He modeled the architecture after the charming white wooden church he attended as a child in his native homeland of Hemsedal, Norway, a place of spectacular scenic beauty situated in the village of Trøym.

and cultural environments “as part of our cultural heritage and identity.”

norway’s architectural heritage Norway is the only nation in Northern Europe where wooden churches from the Middle Ages remain intact. During the Middle Ages, when immense cathedrals were built in Europe out of stone, a similar

what’s in a name? Christianity was adopted in Norway in 1030. From the 11th to the 13th century, as the religion flourished, a distinctly Norwegian church architecture called the stave church was developed. The name “stave church” is derived from the way its walls were constructed of upright planks or staves. Though as many as 900 such churches once dotted the beautiful Norwegian countryside, today only 29 remain. They are considered prime national heritage objects, maintained through governmental and volunteer efforts in accordance with Norway’s Cultural Heritage Act, which says that it is a national responsibility to safeguard archaeological and architectural monuments and sites 6 | news of norway | summer/fall 2013

Westfield Lutheran in Blooming Prairie, Minn.

technique had developed in Norway for building out of wood. Ship construction and home building in the Viking times had developed the technique and tradition of combining art with woodworking. Drawing on their expertise as shipbuilders, Norwegians used a special building technique for the stave churches that included nail-less construction using interlocking notches and grooves. The high-domed ceiling in the chancel area of the stave church is believed to represent a

Viking ship turned upside down. The roof frames are lined with boards, and the roof is covered with shingles in accordance with construction techniques that were once prevalent in Scandinavian countries. While not an exact replica, the Westfield Lutheran Church shares many of the characteristics of a traditional Norwegian stave church, including a vertical symmetry that is meant to draw churchgoers’ eyes to heaven, and the integrate design of colorful stained glass windows that illuminate a statue of Jesus Christ, which adorns a place at the center of the altar. The shingled roof resembling a pinecone is yet another architectural trait reminiscent of stave churches in Norway. The Hemsedal and Westfield Lutheran churches’ architectural similarities extend to their white wooden façades, both of which blend with their natural surroundings. Both churches are entered through a covered portico and their roofs are crowned with steeples of a type common in Christian architecture. Their altars both have semicircular communion rails, and communion cushions. As Eva Valebrokk and Thomas Thiis-Evensen note in Norway’s Stave Churches; Architecture, History and Legends, “A stave church could not be built just anywhere. ... Churches were to be placed on locations bearing the special imprint of God the Creator, on a peninsula, overlooking a fjord, at the turn of a river.” My great-grandfather’s childhood church, built in 1882 by Johannes Henrik Nissen, is in such a location, in the town center of Hemsedal, which means “river valley.” Historically the countryside of Hemsedal consisted of farms that dotted the valley floor. Today the town, which is surrounded by high mountains, is home to Norway’s second largest ski resort.

son Dale Underwood, and many others, the church continues to play an active role in the life of the Blooming Prairie farm community and beyond, as it has for generations. At its heart, the Westfield Lutheran Church is held together not by upright planks or staves, but by the unyielding love and devotion of those who brought together a community with their efforts to save it from destruction. In the early 1950s, the church shut its doors as families began traveling to larger churches nearby. With the belief that small country churches are the backbone of our nation, a restoration committee was formed to prepare for the future of Westfield Lutheran Church. Though its heritage spans two distinct countries and cultures, the community still cares enough to preserve this historic church. n

the church in Hemsedal, Norway.

While Westfield Lutheran Church is not surrounded by high mountains, it is situated in rich farmland among tall Norway pines, so named by Minnesota explorers who thought the tree was a pine they had seen back home in Norway.

history of westfield lutheran The Articles of Incorporation of the Westfield Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation were filed for record on Jan. 8, 1898. Its place of public worship was the School House District No. 62 site, where religious services were held for nearly 20 years before Westfield Lutheran Church was built. Some of the church’s first record books are written in Norwegian and include statistics on the congregation’s baptisms, marriages and funerals. In accordance with a Norwegian custom of an earlier time, the men in the congregation sat in the pews on one side, while the women sat on the other. While that custom is no longer observed, to this day portable bathrooms are brought in for church functions as the church has no indoor plumbing. In his introductory remarks for The Scandinavian American Family Album, Hubert H. Humphrey III writes of visiting his family’s native homeland of Norway. “I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the land, the history of the place, and the depth of commitment it must have taken for my great-grandparents to leave behind a life, family, friends, and a language they knew, for a new country.” Such was the commitment of my greatgrandfather as he departed Oslo, Norway on March 31, 1892 to immigrate to America. The lasting imprint of my immigrant great-grandfather is evident as the Westfield Lutheran Church has retained its cultural Norwegian charm. Church gatherings in this farm community are filled with traditional Scandinavian foods such as wild rice hot dish, lemon bars and a Norwegian favorite, lefse (flat bread made from potatoes). And it is common to hear the Norwegian exclamation “Uff-da!” at a lively church gathering. My greatgrandfather would be touched by how important it is for my family to keep our Norwegian American cultural traditions alive. Through the efforts of Evelyn Gross Trom, Ed J. Trom’s grand-

More Norway in the U.S. Westfield Lutheran Church isn’t the only example of Norwegian-inspired architecture in the U.S. In Plymouth, Minn., Sandra Fjelstad Gilbert has constructed in her back yard a replica of the old town bridge in Trondheim, Norway. This summer, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum at the University of Minnesota conducted nine tours of the bridge over the course of three days. “All of my ancestors came from Norway from 1844 to 1870,” says Gilbert, who has visited Norway twice and has plans to go there twice in the next two years. A graduate of St. Olaf College who has taught at Augsburg College, Gilbert has entertained professors from the University of Trondheim at her home and took their photo under the bridge. “I consider it a bridge to the people of Norway,” she says. And on a small island off the coast of Maine sits a genuine Norwegian hytte (cabin), built in Norway and allowed to settle for a year before it was disassembled, shipped to the U.S., and reassembled by two Norwegian carpenters, piece by piece. The roof is the familiar sod and grass of ancient Norwegian dwellings, and the owners mow it once or twice a year. The brainchild of former U.S. Ambassador to Norway L. Corrin Strong, the hytte was brought to the U.S. more than 50 years ago to serve as a summer home. —K.K.

Finn Strong

The inspiration for Westfield Lutheran Church:

This hytte was moved from Norway and reassembled, piece by piece, on an island off the coast of Maine.

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Wanted: A Job in Norway by mona anita k. olsen, ph.d. American Mona Anita K. Olsen learned the hard way that without a network or a strong understanding of the Norwegian job market, finding a job in Norway can be tough. She offers tips to make the search easier.

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moved to Norway in July 2012 as a U.S. Fulbright Grantee in Education to complete both a project on entrepreneurship education and my Ph.D. from George Mason University. In my fellowship position, I was based out of the University of Stavanger (UiS) at The Norwegian School of Hotel Management, the second oldest hotel school in the world. I had been at the hotel school 10 years earlier, studying abroad in a summer adventure tourism program. In the 10 years I had been away from Stavanger, the college had grown tremendously and became a university, and the city of Stavanger had also changed. Once I adjusted to my new surroundings, I was eager to continue building my professional career and to bring in extra income.

at a serious disadvantage I started my job search in September 2012, thinking it would be quite simple to find a part-time position. I quickly learned how wrong I was: I discovered that, without a network or a solid understanding of the Norwegian market, I was at a serious disadvantage. So I started the learning process. I created a profile and applied for jobs online via Finn (www.finn.no), which is similar to Craigslist and is used for job listings in Norway. On LinkedIn, an online professional-networking site, I joined Stavanger-area groups and learned about local networking events. I contacted alumni from my alma maters for advice on how to approach my search. Even with my background, education, Norwegian name, experience in entrepreneurship and business, and a valid part-time work permit from UDI (required for an American to work in Norway), I struggled to get a job, both 8 | news of norway | summer/fall 2013

William Taliaferro from the U.S. Embassy at Startup Weekend, April 2013

because of my poor Norwegian language skills and my lack of familiarity with the Norwegian system. So I made a strategic choice to gather as much information as I could on how a Norwegian would approach a job hunt. I signed up to go to NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, whose mission is to help encourage an active job market. NAV provides counseling services and resources to help people find employment in the Norwegian system. I signed up to get feedback from a counselor on my CV and ideas on where to distribute my resume. I learned how to register on the site for job listings and about additional resources such as listings of private headhunters and recruitment firms available in the Stavanger community to help my search process. As a result of the meeting, I updated my CV to be more aligned with what a Norwegian recruiter was likely to be looking for in a team member. Since the oil industry is the major player in the Stavanger market, the oil companies have some of the most expansive recruitment systems. Using their online systems to help me format my resume ensured that I included all of the information a Norwe-

gian recruiter was likely to be looking for. I also signed up to take Norwegian classes at The University of Stavanger. The classes were crucial to being able to adapt more quickly to Norwegian society and be able to talk about events in the region. It took me six months before I felt comfortable reading signs and almost nine months before I willingly conversed in Norwegian with friends. While most Norwegians speak and understand English, it was a benefit to be able to attempt to speak in Norwegian when approaching store owners with questions while shopping or with new friends.

building a network There are many chambers of commerce across Norway that focus on regional networking and economic development. In Stavanger, I attended informative events on how to adapt to Norwegian society and culture and also attended the career fairs sponsored by the local chamber of commerce. Not only did I build a great network by attending these events but I also met two people who have since become very close friends. You never know when you will meet kindred spirits, especially ones who are in the same place and strug-

From a trip with Stavanger Chamber of Commerce to see a glass blowing artist

gling with the same life challenges — in our case, trying to find a job in Norway. It was at these events that I got feedback on my CV and ideas on whom to connect with in Stavanger in search for a job. In following up with contacts from these events, I was introduced to a group of entrepreneurs in the community who tremendously influenced my life: they got me involved in volunteer activities that not only intellectually stimulated me but also kept me meeting new people each week, picking up new business and cultural skills, and discovering more about myself as a learner.

volunteering Volunteering for community activities and events helped me meet others, practice my Norwegian, and gain a better understanding of Norwegian society. I took a role as an organizer of Startup Weekend Stavanger, an event that provides networking, resources, and incentives for individuals and teams to go from idea to launch over a 54-hour period. I also signed up to be a coordinator for venue and logistics for TEDx Stavanger, is a program designed for communities to create TED-like experiences at the local level. (TED is an organization that provides a platform for talks distributed online.) I made friends during this process and was able to meet mentors who not only opened doors for me to connect with others but provided advice and support as I planned my goals. I attended the career day at the ONS conference, a conference for the global energy industry, and I took courses at Skape, a center that assists entrepreneurs in the Rogaland area, to learn about how to start a business in Norway. Social media proved to be a good way to connect with others and to engage with the university community and with other Americans in Norway. I joined Facebook groups such as Americans in Norway and LinkedIn groups related to the Stavanger area. I sought out faculty members and colleagues who had knowledge of the Norwegian job market and took their advice about steps to take in order to secure a position. For example, I set up informational interviews with companies I was consid-

Startup Weekend Stavanger Participants at the Launch Party, March 2013

ering applying to in order to learn more about available positions and the corporate environments. Luckily, I made two contacts in particular at the university who opened the door to several interviews via their own network, where I again used an informational interview approach, asking questions about the culture and priorities of an organization, to solicit advice from

Volunteering for community activities and events helped me meet others, practice my Norwegian, and gain a better understanding of Norwegian society. recruiters and others that I connected with in my growing network. After one month of searching, hearing the word no almost daily and learning ways to channel my frustration into a lesson on persistence, I finally got the one yes that changed everything. I accepted a part-time position in research in entrepreneurship education that opened the door to learning about the entrepreneurial environment in Norway and helped me build my quantitative research skills. When that project was completed, I moved on to another position working on qualitative research on health and aging. Both positions were rewarding and taught me a lot about Norwegian human resources practices.

Looking back on the year, I suspect it probably was not much harder trying to find a job in Norway than it would have been if I had moved to any new location where I did not have a network. I had worked hard to build my network in the Washington, D.C. area, and removing myself from that network hurt more than I thought it would. At the same time, in any foreign country, there are different social norms and business customs that need to be adapted to in order to survive and then thrive, which can add a layer of complexity to the process. I ultimately found my first part-time job via a cold-call LinkedIn message to a person I found by searching for people involved in entrepreneurship in Stavanger. That message led to a follow-up coffee and then a job offer. Serving in that position I had to use my Norwegian writing skills, which set me up to get my second position. There, I worked in English but was hired because I had enough of an understanding of Norway to be able to work effectively on the projects. As I finish my Fulbright experience in Norway, I am preparing to take on my new role as a faculty member at Cornell University. I think about how I will incorporate into my teaching the lessons I learned about finding work in Norway. The concrete steps I took are the easy part. The question is, how do you teach persistence, resourcefulness, and strategy? How do you teach others to create opportunities for themselves? n norway.org | 9

Hans Fredrik Asbjõrnsen

’bak to the future

Alexander Rybak

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here are multitalented artists and then there are multi-multitalented artists. Alexander Igaravich Rybak certainly falls into the latter category. The Norwegian entertainer is a multilingual (fluent in English, Norwegian and Russian) singer/composer/violinist/pianist/ actor/writer — and that may be just the beginning of his list of talents.

Born in 1986 in Belarus, Rybak moved with his family to Norway when he was just four. By the age of five, he was already playing two instruments, violin and piano, inspired, no doubt, by his father, a classical violinist, and his mother, a classical pianist. Success came early to the performer. He won Norway’s Anders Jahre Culture Prize in 2004, and the following year he was a semifinalist in Norway’s version of American Idol, a televised singing competition. He followed that up by winning the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s talent competition, The Great Opportunity, by performing his own song, “Foolin’.” It was in 2009, however, that he experienced his first international success, winning the Eurovision Song Contest with his original song, “Fairytale.” The song, an uptempo, fiddle-driven tale of love and loss, contains many nods to traditional Norwegian folk music, and is undeniably catchy.

David Balls of Digital Spy rated the song three stars out of five, writing that it has “the sort of melody that will stick in your head for days and there’s little doubt that this will prove a resounding success across Europe. Whether it can withstand turning your stomach after the umpteenth listen remains to be seen, but either way Rybak’s fairytale should last a while longer yet.” “Fairytale” broke into the UK Top 10 for a week — a rarity for a song by a Norwegian. And Fairytales, his debut album, reached the top 20 in nine European countries. It was No. 1 in both Norway and Russia. He has released three other studio albums, No Boundaries, Visa vid vindens ängar and Christmas Tales, though none has experienced the across-the-board European success of his debut. Rybak made his big screen acting debut in 2010’s family adventure movie Yohan, the Child Wanderer. Set in 1890s Norway, the movie tells the tale of a 10-year-old boy whose brother signs him away to work as a farm laborer. Rybak plays a supporting role. The film won the Bronze Horse award at the 2010 Stockholm Film Festival in the Children’s Film category. In honor of outgoing Ambassador of Norway to the U.S. Wegger Chr. Strommen, Rybak performed at the ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 2013. n

“The Fox” Runs Wild on YouTube The Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis, consisting of brothers Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker of Bergen, Norway, took America by surprise after launching the video to their novelty song “The Fox.” The catchy song was among the ten most played songs on American iTunes in September, and as of press time was approaching 100 million views on YouTube. A great surge came after the talented brothers performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on NBC as well at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. The Norwegian record producers Stargate is behind the song and video. They have produced music for artists such as Rihanna, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and Beyoncé. The FOX network has also been using the song in their own promotion.

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A still from the video for Ylvis’ novelty song “The Fox.”

oh little town of

by dave langemo

festivals

The Norwegian coastal town of Risør might seem small, but it’s big on summer festivals

A view from on high: Risør, Norway

Photos: Marita Thomseth

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isør is a coastal town in the southeast of Norway in the county of Aust-Agder, closer to Krisiansand than Oslo. It sits on the coast of the Skagerrak Strait, which borders the North Sea. One can look out from its coast to see a beautiful collection of islands and then turn around to see a hilly landscape dotted with white houses. One of the oldest cities in southern Norway, Risør was founded in 1723. Although coastal, it never solidified as a fishing village; rather, timber was its largest trade. Now, most people in the town of 7,000 work in various industries in the area or travel to nearby larger towns for work. More than half of the population of Risør works in the fields of service, health/social, manufacturing and oil. In 1861, most of the town was destroyed by a fire. After rebuilding, the inhabitants at that time wanted the new city to look prosperous. White was the most expensive color, so it was determined that all of the buildings would be painted “a gleaming white,” at least on the visible sides. Not only the houses but most of the businesses are also painted white. All of this makes the police station, a bright yellow building on the harbor, stand out. My cousin, Lena Sigurdsdatter Tobaksbråten Godtlund, from Lillestrøm, says that Risør is a “very beautiful city and one of the most popular places to go in the summer.” Various festivals bring in thousands of people throughout the season. Starting off the festivals is the Kammermusikkfestival (chamber music festival) occurring in June. Established in 1991, this event focuses on music from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. www.kammermusikkfest.no/risor/ lists the artists, times and ticket prices. The Bluegrass Music Festival (www.risorbluegrassfestival.no/)

From the wooden boat festival.

follows in July. It features workshops and a healthy mix of Norwegian and international bands. The Villvin Market (www.villvin.no/) is held in the middle of July. Full of Norwegian artwork and crafts made by 100 different artists, it was visited this year by a record 20,000 people. As the 34th year of the market, this year’s theme was “Jewelry.” The summer culminates in the Trebåtfestival (Wooden Boat Festival), the oldest wooden boat festival in Europe, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this summer (Aug. 1-4). Beside an “armada of old and new wooden boats, with or without motors,” there are parades, live music and activities for kids. It is the busiest weekend of the summer. According to Marita Thomseth of the Risør Tourist Office, more than 100 wooden boats participated in the event this year. The website (trebatfestivalen.no/) features photos of and information about all the boats. All of these festivals also have pages on Facebook, complete with photos. Two favorite restaurants in Risør are Bakgården Restaurant, a casual restaurant with fun outdoor seating, and Stangholmen Kro & Havrestaurant, housed within the Stangholmen Fyr, an 1850s lighthouse located on Stangholmen Island just off the coast. Various musical concerts are held here on the island throughout the year, also. So many of us have visited Norway, often more than once. I’m thrilled to have seen the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Akershus Fortress in Oslo and the wharf in Bergen. However, I am looking forward to visiting Risør the next time I am in Norway. It is a short 2-hour drive from Oslo, bringing you through even more quaint towns such as Stokke and Larvik. Thus, it may take you longer than two hours to arrive; there is too much to see along the way. n norway.org | 11

slow boat to valhalla

by debra harmon

Norway’s Hurtigruten cruise ship is all about the journey, not the destination.

humble beginnings The founder, Richard With, a Norwegian sea captain, started with a steam ship that provided service to the northern and southern parts of Norway. In 1893, the first voyage departed

courtesy hurtigruten

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hat are you looking for in your next cruise? Are you looking for an all-night bingo game? Or maybe you’re more of a high-roller, and blackjack is your thing? If so, you’re on the wrong ship. But if you’re looking for unspoiled nature, camaraderie with other passengers, no formal wear, a relaxed atmosphere, unique excursions, and one of nature’s most breathtaking wonders—the beautiful fjords of Norway—as a backdrop, then Hurtigruten could be your floating Valhalla. While other cruise ships keep getting bigger and more crowded, and feature lists of activities that keep getting longer, Hurtigruten keeps things simple by making nature’s scenery and the Norwegian coastal towns their main attractions. Boasting a fleet of 13 ships that visit more than 30 ports along Norway’s west coast from Bergen to Kirkenes, Hurtigruten is a unique blend of cruise ship, passenger ferry and cargo ship. People use it for pleasure cruises and as a way to travel between towns. Hurtigruten’s boats are smaller than the floating behemoths Americans may be used to seeing, which allows them greater maneuverability in the fjords. And the fjords are the main attraction: this is a cruise that allows passengers to soak in the natural beauty of Norway’s coast; there are no rock-climbing walls or wave pools to get in the way. But the ships aren’t entirely without things to do, boasting good food, bars, and light entertainment.

The Northern Lights form a spectacular backdrop to the bow of the ship

from Trondheim for Hammerfest. The ship delivered cargo, mail and passengers. Over the course of the following 90 years, the ship became popular as the most reliable and trusted way of travel before Norway developed extensive auto and air routes. It began as a weekly daylight service but was eventually extended to travel both day and night, winter and summer. It provided unprecedented access to the coastal towns, and remained the primary mode of mail delivery in the region until 1983. In recent years, the ship has become a media sensation in Norway. NRK’s “Hurtigruten: Minutt for Minutt” television program documents the entirety of a 2011 journey from Bergen to Kirkenes. The entire 134-hour voyage can be viewed online at http://nrk.no/hurtigruten/?lang=en n

A view of the fjords from the deck of the Hurtigruten

Debra Harmon

unique excursions and cruises

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Hurtigruten is currently offering 12-Day Classic Round Voyage, 11-Day Classic Norwegian Discovery, 7-Day Classic Voyage North, and 6-Day Classic Voyage South trips. Hurtigruten’s unique excursions include the following: Polar expedition: husky sled ride Snowmobile safari Glacier adventure Snow Hotel: features art made from art and snow, and a hotel bar made from ice ATV/Quad safari to the Russian border Birds of the Arctic Additional information is available at http://www.hurtigruten.us/norway/

by colin irvine

chef

Cookbook author, entrepreneur, TV host — Norwegian superchef Andreas Viestad is a master of many, many trades. And, it turns out, surprisingly accessible, as fan Colin Irvine learned.

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met Elvis at an American Days festival in Vance this summer, and that wasn’t even the most surreal part of my trip to Norway. It wasn’t even the most surreal part of that afternoon. For, just a few hours later, a friend and I found ourselves sitting on a boat next to chef Andreas Viestad, cookbook author, entrepreneur, and host of PBS’s New Scandinavian Cooking. I have 57 episodes of the show on my DVR, and now here was the chef himself, taking us to an island not far from the shores of his summer home, where we would rendezvous with a diving team with whom we would be enjoying a clambake featuring their catch from that morning. Accompanying us was acclaimed photographer Mette Randem, who would be working alongside Viestad to put together materials for an upcoming column in Dagbladet. How did I get there? Simply by asking. I had e-mailed Viestad a few weeks earlier when planning a trip to Norway to ask if he would be open to doing a brief interview regarding his views on Scandinavian food and culture. Though he didn’t know me from Adam, he said he would be happy to meet for a chat. And after he finished judging a cheesecake competition at the festival, he not only chatted with me but also welcomed me into his world. During this afternoon outing — one that would involve crab legs cooked over an open fire, white wine from the farm where

photos by Mette Randem

hail to the Viestad spends his winters near Cape Town, South Africa, freshly cooked scallops served on a spatula, buckets of fist-sized clams, purplish and prickly sea urchins cracked open in front of us, and garnishes foraged from the grasses around the mouth of the cave — I learned a few things about this impressive and approachable figure. For starters, I learned that, in addition to being a chef, he is a scholar, storyteller, entrepreneur, farmer, father, and, I am pleased to report from firsthand experience, a generous ambassador. (And he’s funny.) Born in Oslo in 1973, Viestad is a beloved son of the city but also quick to head for the hills, the fjords, and anywhere else outdoors, as is evident in nearly every episode of New Scandinavian Cooking. He dangled his legs over the edge of Pulpit Rock in one show, tackled a live salmon midstream in another, and even cooked a full meal in his portable kitchen on the tundra not far from Longyearbyen. Yet despite the adventurous side showcased in these episodes, he is first and foremost a scholar and a student of Norwegian cuisine and culture. An alumnus of the University of Oslo, where he earned both a bachelors and a masters, he studied not culinary arts but a range of subjects including media science, history, and political science. He blends these lines of inquiry and numerous others together to produce entertaining shows, popular cookbooks, and newspaper columns, all of which place food in a number of illuminating contexts. In his Washington Post columns, he has written in depth on everything from Eggplant Caviar and Hot and Cold Whisky Chili Granita to Imam Bayildi and Chicken Piri-Piri. norway.org | 13

A number of his recipes also tap into the recent trend of molecular gastronomy. Viestad has written extensively on the topic. In these and other pieces on the topic of contemporary cuisine, he never loses sight of his main motivation for cooking. He focuses in a piece about making yogurt on the “proliferation of bacteria,” adding that “I eat yogurt for one main reason: I like it. I like the smooth texture, the refreshing ever-so-sour taste combined with my homemade raspberry jam, and the fact that it allows me to eat without cooking or resorting to bread.” His is a human, albeit sometimes technical, take on modern cooking, and thus it’s fitting that he notes in this article, “(And I appreciate the fact that my kids will eat it, too, without much fuss, leaving me to meet the new day with a newspaper and relative quiet.)”

a natural storyteller With a penchant for storytelling, Viestad often weaves both traditional and innovative recipes into narratives, each of which gives whatever meal he is making that much more substance. Stories are the staple ingredient in all of his books, including Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking and Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route, winner of the 2008 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Some of his stories showcase the tradition of a dish or the importance of particular places, some offer a personal glimpse into his passion for cooking, and all of them underline Viestad’s desire not only to make great Norwegian food but also to help others learn to appreciate it and enjoy as much as he does. In one episode of New Scandinavian Cooking when he is filming in front of his summer home, he shares a story from his childhood, when he would hang a bottle from a maple tree to gather sap to make his own syrup; it’s a tale folded neatly into the dish he is preparing, one he calls “chanterelle sandwich with rye bread and maple syrup.” The chef appears to be tireless, moving easily during my visit from cheesecake judge to researcher/columnist, to parent, to host, to chef, to husband and son. In addition to writing columns — for Morgenbladet (1995–97), Dagsavisen (1997–98), Dagbladet (1999–present) and the Washington Post (2008-2012) — and contributing to publications such as Gourmet, the Sunday Times, Vanity Fair, Food & Wine and Vogue, he opened St. Lars

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Facing page: Chef Viestad cooks over an open fire. Left: A moment of repose at the mouth of a cave. Below: Enjoying a meal in the chef’s restored barn.

Restaurant in downtown Oslo, served as consultant chef for the prestigious Emerson Spice Hotel in Zanzibar, and become a parttime farmer not far from the town of Farsund in southern Norway. Additionally, he is involved in an agricultural project named the Garden of Elgin, near Cape Town. During my visit, he was also scouting possible future filming locations for his TV show.

thinking of others Yet what distinguishes Viestad from many other equally driven businesspeople, and perhaps what gives his story a certain Norwegian flavor, is he keeps the interests and needs of others in mind. Possibly the best proof of his commitment to serve the common good can be seen in one of his most recent projects, the Geitmyra Culinary Center for Children, which opened in 2011. Inspired in part by his concern for his own children’s wellbeing, he opened the center so that he and colleagues could, in his words, “teach our kids about the food we eat –— how to prepare it, and appreciate it, and also how to respect nature and the farmers and fishermen that produce the food for us.” (When I ended up at his summer home wishing I had thought to bring a book for him to sign as a gift for my son, he gave me without hesitating his copy from his farmhouse kitchen of Kitchen of Light.) Finally, Viestad is, like so many of his fellow Norwegians, a generous and able ambassador. After we returned from the island, he insisted we stay for dinner. (No arm-twisting was needed.) We then enjoyed a wonderful meal of roast chicken, salad (with a dressing made by his mother, who appears to have taught her famous son a few things along the way), and several delicious cheeses with freshly baked bread toasted on an openfire hearth right there in the restored barn where we ate. With light pouring into kitchen through the open barn doors until 11:00 at night, we talked of cooking, kids, Norwegians, Americans, and American Days festivals; we drank wine; we laughed; and we relaxed. After dinner ended near midnight, my friend and I accepted Viestad’s invitation to stay in his boathouse on the edge of the sea. Although there is no way we can ever repay him in kind, we hope to have a chance to host him in Minnesota, should his series choose to film there. Sharing a meal of fresh walleye and tater-tot hot dish with the Scandinavian Cook would be, in a word, surreal. n

Smoke on the Water The following is reprinted, with permission from, Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad

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his is a great-tasting and surprisingly easy way to give oysters and scallops a smoky, peppery flavor. The technique is very simple yet ingenious: throw a handful of black peppercorns on the grill, cover the scallops and oysters with foil, and cook for a couple of minutes, leaving them a wonderful and aromatic taste. I learned the technique from my friend chef-turned-filmmaker Henrik Henriksen. The same method can be used to flavor beef or duck. When I made this on my television show from the south coast of Norway, my guests were locals who had never tasted oysters before — even though the seabed is full of them. Here the oysters are served with nothing but lemon wedges, the scallops with a simple sweet vinaigrette. Sometimes when I am more adventurous, I season the oysters with a little garlic and chipotle chile. I use only scallops and oysters that are fresh enough to be eaten raw. If you are uncertain about the freshness, I suggest you grill them 2 to 3 more minutes until they are cooked through. I insist on shucking my oysters to ensure freshness. Use any kind of medium to large oysters — freshness matters more than type.

pepper-grilled oysters and scallops Recipe by Andreas Viestad Serves 6 as an appetizer 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard ¼ cup olive oil 12 scallops 12 freshly shucked oysters on the halfshell (with their brine) Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper ½ cup black peppercorns 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges Heat a gas grill to medium-hot, or prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill. Combine the vinegar, honey, mustard, and oil in a warmed bowl and whisk together with a fork (heating the bowl makes the honey mix more easily with

the other ingredients). Pour half the vinaigrette into a small serving bowl. Set aside. Toss the scallops with the remaining vinaigrette, remove them from the bowl, and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Season the oysters with pepper only. The grilling has to be done very quickly. Have a 3-foot-long sheet of aluminum foil ready. Grill the scallops for 30 seconds on one side only. Place the oyster shells on the grill—try to balance them so they don’t lose any of their brine. Turn the scallops, throw the black peppercorns onto the hottest part of the fire, cover the shellfish tightly with foil to trap the smoke, and step back. Let the scallops and oysters cook for about 2 minutes, then remove them and serve immediately—the scallops with the remaining vinaigrette, the oysters with the lemon wedges.

norway.org | 15

news of norway

Royal Norwegian Embassy 2720 34th St., NW Washington DC 20008 202.333.6000 norway.org

Mette Randem

on the cover

Norwegian chef Andreas Viestad is the face of PBS’s New Scandinavian Cooking — and much, much more

news of norway Visit Us Online The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington: norway.org The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa: emb-norway.ca See a full listing of events around the U.S. at norway.org/calendar Follow us on Twitter: @KareRAas | @NorwayUS Facebook: facebook.com/NorwegianEmbassyinWashington

| 2013