Surprise news report on poverty in Bergen.

Norway is the richest country in western Europe. It was not always so. Until the discovery of oil and gas off Norway's coast, the country was actually quite poor. Now, however, the average Norwegian enjoys a high standard of living - well you would think so. Actually, though it would appear that there are many whose standard of living is far below that which many Norwegians would find only just acceptable. According to a survey carried out by Bergen Kommune published today, in certain areas of Greater Bergen every fourth child is living below the poverty line (defined by the OECD as earning under 50% of the average salary in Bergen). That means their families are earning less than NOK164,000 per year - about £16,500. Considering the average shopping basket here costs 2.5 times as much here as it does in the UK, it means the poorer families here really are poor. It is quite shocking to see those kind of figures. Strictly speaking, no-one here should be living on or beneath the poverty line at all. The average shelf stacker and kindergarden assistant earn around £29,000 a year, so I wonder why there is this difference in living standards? Maybe it is families where the parents are unable to work and are dependent upon state support. If so, there shoukd be a better system, which ensures that children do not suffer because of their parents problems. Hopefully, the results of the survey will be used to improve how resources are distributed, and break the cycle of poverty that exists even here.

The old curiosity shop!

It hides away behind Bryggen in the centre of town. Opening hours are flexible, i.e. do not reckon on it being open much before midday, and it is certainly closed by 5 pm. This shop is an absolute treasure trove for those who did not realise they had not mised what they had never had!

It is crammed full with an eclectic collection of items from goodness knows where. There are four rooms absolutely crammed full of stuff. This is the shop whose owner really does not know how to say 'No!' Do you need a stuffed boar's head to hang on the wall - there is one there with your name on it! There are plates, cups (none matching of course!), old photos, picture frames, brass kettles, warming pans, army boots, pewter mugs, books, fox furs, lamp fittings, spoons, boxes, turkish holiday mementos - you name it I bet you could find it there. But - is it anything you really need!?

Summer soltice and Sankt Hans

Well, technically Wednesday the 20th June was the longest day of the year this year. Apparently it hovers around the 20th/21st depending on the calendar. That means we are in for a celebratory weekend up here in Norway - that's if the weather holds! Sankt Hans is traditionally a time for bonfires, barbecues, letting off fireworks and having fun. Last year, it rained so much even the Bergenese couldn't get the fireworks to work. This year the weather looks a tad better! Some rain is forecast but not much, and temperatures will ne hovering around 10 degrees celcius come the evening! Half-way tropical! Like most festivals, Sankt Hans is rooted deep in pre-Christian traditions, and is celebrated throughout Scandinavia in different ways. The Swedes for example like to dance around a maypole, and weave flower garlands, the Danes burn an effigy of a witch, and the Norwegians just seem to make huge bomfires. Oh and there is often quite alot of alcohol consumed, and also alot of the Norwegian national dish, hotdogs in potato pancakes (pølse i lompe)! A culinary delicacy that challenges me on so many levels (visually, nutritionally and digestively!) Anyway, why burn a witch on the bonfire? Well, according to ancient Scandinavian tradition, at mid-summer, all the witches fly off either to Hekla in Iceland or Bloksbjerg (Brocken mountain) in Harzen, Germany to renew their pact with the devil. In Germany, they say that the witches gather there on Valpurgis night, which is actually the 1st of May - I guess the socialist parties up here must be happy that they have a different date! First of May here is a public holiday and big union day - it would be a bit strange if it was also associated with witches! By burning a witch on the bonfire you are apparently helping them on their way, and presumeably hoping they will not come back! At the moment here in Bergen, the evenings are so light that you can still easily read a book at midnight. It is really difficult going to bed! You are tired, but it is still broad daylight out there at 11pm! I feel like I'm a little kid again! It is far too light outside! I half expect to hear someone mowing the lawn, which I know is daft as here most people do not need a lawn mower. Few houses have any garden to speak of as they are built up steep mountainsides, and gardens are either compact areas of rhododendron and scrub or just plain rock. Lawns are a rarity! Happy Sankt Hans to everyone! If I see a witch, I'll try and get a photo!

Graffiti or art and the Bergen Kommune juncton box challenge!

Quite often, walking around Bergen, you see graffiti  The tags and cyphers showing that one particular person 'woz 'ere', are rarely nice or even artistic. The only positive maybe is that it does tend to crop up on the sides of really ugly buildings, site hoardings or derilict looking industrial areas!  Makes you think really 'what do I hate most, the architecture or the graffiti'!

I have yet to see graffiti on one of the lovely white painted 'fisherman's houses' in Sandviken - but it is obviously open house on the 60's apartment blocks and run down industrial units that stick out like sore thumbs!

Occasionally though you do come across graffiti masquerading as art.  Any comments welcome!

Soldier running out onto a hopscotch chalked on the ground - obviously we haven't had any rain recently otherwise he wold be jumping onto plain black asphalt. He doesn't have a gun though and no face either - wierd.



Rodin's thinker?

Just why these ducks are painted on the side of an old factory building I have no idea - maybe they made duvets here at one time?  Now it is a boarding house for those coming to Bergen with very little money.  Sometmes you can see in the windows and see small rooms containing bunk beds and little else.

I just love this one!

Are you a closet artist (direct translation of 'skapkunstner'), which would work if the english translation for elskap was electric closet!! One of those few occasions when a lack of varied vocabulary actually means the Norwegians can make a play on words that does not translate!!

Well Bergen Kommune is obviously very aware of the fact that there are several talented or artistically challenged (depends on your point of view) people hiding away locally!  So, they have asked for artists to come up with good designs to decorate one of the more ugly pices of street furniture that appears all over the Bergen town landscape - the junction box. 

A junction box is a cross between a fuse box and a transformer and they crop up in the most absurd places - usually on street corners.  Being grey, you tend not to notice them, but they are not particularly pretty. No Scandinavian designer or architect has taken on that challenge, yet!  

So, in the interests of brightening Bergen's streets the word is out that (as long as your design is approved by the city concil) you can be commissioned to transform one of these ugly protuberances into street art.  There are 31 scattered around Bergen, so it will be interesting to see the variety of designs that appear - I sincerely hope people rise to the challenge! Anything has got to be nicer than this!

  

Actually, it has been done before - in Sweden (see photo below). That's quite sweet really - if rather bland. I wonder what Bergensers will come up with?



If anyone wants to put in a design proposal go to www.bergen.kommune.no/elskap . All details are there - including complete measurements for the boxes!  Oh by the way, you have to understand Norwegian, and preferably have an address here, but guess something could be arranged for a small fee .... !!

Famous visitors!

Well, Bergen may only be the second largest city in Norway, but it still features on many itineraries!  We get rock musicians, opera singers, politicians and royalty (HRH Prnce Charles and Camilla visited a month or so ago!).

Yesterday, it was the turn of Aung San Suu Kyi to grace Bergen with her amazing presence.  She was here to accept the Rafto award, which was given to her in 1990, a year before the Nobel prize, but which she could not accept in person, because at the time she thought she would not be allowed to return to Burma (or is it Myanmar now?).

We stood with thousands of others on Torgallmenningen - it was an amazing and emotional gathering. 

A fishy craft?

I was down in central Bergen yesterday and discovered that a large marquee had been put up on Festplassen, by the lake. Inside were several local artists and crafts people displaying their wares. There were potters, jewellery makers, weavers and knitters and leather workers, all standing at little market tables. I am always wary of these places as there is rarely a price tag in sight, and I hate that embarrassed feeling of finding out the price and thinking it's just not affordable even though I really like it! The leather stall though really caught my attention. As you may know, before the discovery of oil, fish was the main export from the west coast of Norway. Much was dried and salted, and exported to catholic countries as stockfish. The Italians, Spanish, French and Portuguese have many variations on the most well-known stockfish recipe Baccalāo. Anyway, the leather being used was fish leather! Artist Maren Sofie Strømme (www.marensophie1.net - sorry it is all in Norwegian!)uses cured fish leather to make belts, bracelets and bags. Fish skin is surprisingly tough - we eat quite alot of fresh fish here, and you definitely need a sharp knife to cut through it! The fish leather she uses can come from Africa, or Norway, and can be cod, catfish or other large fish. The skins are cured and coloured in Iceland, at the inly fish skin curing factory in Europe! I'm not sure if it is the fashion look for me, but plenty of people like the texture of snake skin, and to be honest, I thought this was fairly similar! Looking on the web I found another website, which is run by the same family and is less art orientated. Again it is all in Norwegian, but if you click on the 'produkt' link on the left hand side of the website, you can see some of the bags they have for sale (www.bjorgstrømme.no). Well, since I mentioned salted cod, I thought I should include a Baccalåo recipe. Ingredients: 1 lb salted cod 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 6 or less large onions, chopped 1/4 cup (or less) olive oil 3 tablespoons dry sherry 4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped (canned whole tomatoes work great) 4 tablespoons green olives, sliced 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 fresh or dried jalapeno pepperminced (for those who like it real hot) 4-ounces pimientos 1/2 cup pitted black olives 1/2 teaspoon oregano (optional) Freshly ground pepper. Salt to taste Preparation: Soak salted cod for 12 hours Change water every 4 hours. Drain and shred fish. Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add oregano, parsley, olives, pimentos, jalapenos, wine and simmer. Layer sauteed vegetables, potatoes, shredded fish, salt and pepper. Drizzle remainder of oil. Bake at 350°F. for 35-40 minutes and you have Bacalao.

Banksy in Bergen?

Bergen is a well-established university town, with a particular focus on media and the arts.  So it shouldn't really surprise you when you suddenly come across inspired graffitti!This picture is painted on a wall beside our local Bunnpris supermarket - kinda like it eally!

Children's names

Having just returned from a weekend in the UK to visit our newborn grandson, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the names Norwegian parents are choosing for their children at the moment.

Gone it appears are the old-fashioned names of Asgar, Oddbjørn (pronounced od-b-yurn) and Gulbrand for boys and Hildebjørn, Oddrun or Ingeborg for girls! Now people want more international sounding names. 

Apparently, there is a definite east/west divide in the type of name parents choose for their children.  Parents around Oslo and the south eastern side of Norway tend to choose more 'modern' or international names than those living on the west coast or in the north.  If eastern Norwegian parents choose a traditional name it wil be spelt in the tradtional way, whereas those on the west coast will use a simpler spelling, for example Ola, instead of Olav. 

The type of name you choose may also reflect your expectations and aspirations for your child, apparently.  A common name such as Anya or Kristian shows that you want your child to fit in and be less obvious in a crowd, whereas an unusual name makes them instantly memorable (no getting away with school pranks then!). 

If that is true, then the mere existence of such strange names as Joppeline (girls name) or August (boys name) means that the Scandinavian idea of Jante Loven (the law of Jante) whereby individuality and success is seen generally as a negative thingy, is gradually fading.  Traditionally Scandinavian society has been extremely egalitarian, with a large and comfortable middle class, and very few ultra-rich or ultra-poor people.  To bear a name that no-one else has really heard of certainly makes you stand out fom the crowd and may give you a psychological and commercially measurable advantage over bog standard names such as John Smith or Jane Brown.

Shopping

I am not going to bore you all with the cost of things here - everyone knows that Norway is one of te most expensive countries in the world.  How people can afford to live here is anyone's guess, but they manage! I am sure it helps to be Norwegian - although I must admit at dinner last night when we had fresh fish instead of frozen (pushed the boat out there and bought salmon down on Fisketorget - not a bargain but soooo nice!) we began to think a bit like Norwegians i.e. cheap food such as mince or sausages most of the time a d then something delicious as a treat!

So, anyway - I was also downtown trying to find a Norwegian made present for our newly born grandson (aaah - yes I'm a granny now!).  Easier said than done.  It appears most of the stuff for sale in the tourist shops, which is suitable for a child is made in Poland or China.  You can get soft moose or elk toys (made in China), T-shirts (China),  wooden toys (Poland or Germany),  or Norwegian patterned sweaters, hats, etc (various countries with a few from Norway).  The only thing I could find which was intrinsically Norwegian was woollen underwear (needed here but not really in the UK) and a rocking sheep!

Sorry about the picture quality but it was taken on my phone through a shop window. He or she is absolutely lovely and is for sale in the Craft shop (Husflid) in central Bergen, along with Swdish wooden toys, embroidered national costume outfits (will make another post on that some day!) and cheese slicers. AT NOK4,800 (around £500) he is a little above our budget sorry guys) and looks like he needs some l'Oréal to smooth the slit ends! Do you think he is worth it?

The strike is over ... and they know where you live!

The strike is over and we didn't have to wait until we saw the newspapers this morning to find out! How come? Well at 20 minutes to midnight yesterday we both got texts on our phones from BIR, our friendly binmen, to advise us that the strike was over and we should put our bins and any black sacks of extra rubbish out on the usual collection day. I wonder how many sleepy Norwegians had to get up and put their bins out in their pyjamas last night!?

How did they know our mobile numbers you may ask? I've never leaned out the window and tossed them a post-it with my number on - honest! No, they have the number from when we have registered to receive a 'Mini-ID'.

Here in Norway, the State has bought into an on-line identity verification system. Every time you want to check personal data on-line, such as a tax return, you ask for a one time verification code which is texted to your phone. Once you have entered the code on the website, you can access your records. It is supposed to ne 100% fullproof. Having now received a text from the rubbish collecting company, I suddenly realise how many Government departments, local and national, must have 'secure' access to my/our details! Disturbing images of George Orwell's 1984 come to mind!

After 13 days of strike action they basically got a 4.07% raise across the board, although some unions have decided to award the increase according to qualifications, so that generally staff will receive a minimum of 2.7% (no less than NOK12,000 per year) rise, with the rest apportioned accordingly. Complicated!

Apparently the councils have saved NOK975 million as they haven't had to pay salaries, etc. to the strikers! Some will have to be returned to end users who had paid for day-care and other services which were not provided during the strike, but generally the council made a profit!

The strike continues...

Well, elsewhere in Europe, and the rest of the world, everyone is happy at the moment if they have a job and can afford the rent or mortgage. Here in Norway, however, the public sector feels aggrieved enough - and secure enough - go on strike.

The strike has been going for about 12 days now and bins are not being emptied, some kindergardens and schools are closed, the captains of the pilot boats which take the pilots out to cruise ships and other commercial vessels are striking, back-room police staff are striking, even some of the weather men are on strike! As usual the strike is over pay.

Apparently, salaries have become so equal throughout the public sector (and taxation so high that a pay imcrease goes nowhere) that employees in middle management roles are refusing to train or apply for leadership roles as the increase in salary does not make it worth their while. The same goes for those at the lower end of the scale rising into middle management. Part of the problem with this strike is that the various union organisations which have members in the piblic sector are not in agreement about how to tackle this problem - so the State is sitting back offering a pay increase of just under 4% across the board, and leaving it to the unions to agree on how to spread the cash.

Everyone wants to make it more attractive to be in a responsible job, but the culture just isn't there for giving people high salaries. This is a society where consensus and equality are highly valued, and quality of life is not measured so much in the kind of car you drive or house you own, but more in life style, leisure time and a decent pension. So, until the unions can agree between themselves on what they really want to achieve from this strike it will continue - maybe it is just as well the cruise ships are not coming to town at the moment and adding to the rubbish mountain on the streets.

More mountains!!

Yesterday was the annual 4 or 7 peaks walk - the choice is yours and depends on how fit you are - organised by Bergens Turlag (walkers association) http://www.bergen-turlag.no/7-fjellsturen/. The fine weather held, so walking was dry, which makes such a difference because otherwise you are scrabbling over mossy granite and across boggy areas which can be extremely slippery!

Did we take part - well not exactly!  The map below shows the route taken for the 7-peaks route. If you only do the 4-peaks you start at Ulriken and finish at Sandviksfjellet.  The 7-peaks route is 35km long and takes around 7 hours and the 4-peaks route is about 20km and takes 4 hours or so.



The 7 peaks to climb up (and down!) are Lyderhorn, Damsgårdsfjellet. Løvstakken, Ulriken, Rundemannen, Fløyfjellet and Sandviksfjellet. The idea of 7 peaks is inspired by Rome, which is built over 7 mountains. Unfortunately, the peaks around Bergen are not particularly obvious, as they are all part of the same mountain area, and Lyderhorn is difficult to see from the centre of Bergen as it is hidden by Damsgårdsfjellet!! The walk was first organised in 1948.

Why did we not take part - well it isn't that much fun when you are in a line of 8,000 or so people walking up and down mountains. They either go too fast or too slow!

So instead, since the weather was good, we walked from home, up to Tarlebø rservoir, which is behind the reservoir on the right hand side of the above map, and around the top from Rundemannen to Ulriken. Guess it was around 10 miles - took us 6 hours door to door, including breaks and taking the cable car down Ulriken!!

It was lovely, but quite cold, with a northerly wind catching you off guard when out in the open.  Snow is still lying in some places too. The view here is across to Folgefonna glacier, which rises above Hardanger Fjord. Our walk was a great deal quieter than the 7-peaks one, and we could really enjoy the scenery and not feel pressured by lots of people walking up behind (and probably past) us.

The terrain is quite tough - you certainly need ecent hiking boots or shoes. Also, thank goodness for the cairns, which show the route! It is easy to get lost up there as the paths run over rock and bog, and tend to move with the weather! The cairns are from the 1930's - before then I don't think people had much leisure time for fjell walking, so there probably weren't many people up here! 



Some people thought it was warm enough for shorts!!!

The trouble with mountains ....

Both the good weather and the strike continue - although with a northerly wind the 'mild' 10 degree temperatures feel like 3 degrees (that's official from the storm.no website!). Pickets will have to dress up warm today!

On the local news front a large rock has dropped off a mountain and blocked a road on Osterøy (an island north of Bergen). This is a common hazard in western Norway, and not one you want to witness close at hand. This one apparently rolled down the mountain during the middle of the night when no-one was around.  It is described as being the size of a small car!

Unfortunately, you hear of quite alot of stone and rock falls happening, especially if the weather is particularly wet or cold.  Because of the topography, the rocks often take out buildings or roads - another reason why tax is so high here perhaps?

Typical roadside photo in the country - lots of large, mossy rocks ready to roll!

Have to admit though the scenery is awesome!