Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Norway's Mediocre Grand Prix
It seems a lot of people are a bit surprised Lene Alexandra didn't go through from the Siste Sjanse round in Oslo tonight.Why?!I don't mind Lene actually,but Sillycone Valley was awful in every way.Zuma however,I can understand.Always Always is fabulous!I love the guy's voice,the lyrics are hilarious,and it's soooo catchy.It would have done so well in Belgrade.
But alas,it seems Saturday's final will be pretty boring.I've had a listen to all the songs in it now,and can't say I'm that excited by any of them.There's not really any bad ones,they're all good in their own right I suppose,but there's nothing that I think will really stand out amongst the other 20 or so entries that Norway will be up against in the semi final on May 20th.
I heard Eastern Wind by Torstein Sødal about a week ago,and quite liked it.This may or may not be influenced by the fact that Christian Ingebrigtsen wrote it :) But yes, Torstein has a wonderful voice,and I'm sure he'd perform really well at Eurovision.But now I've heard Zuma,I can't get too excited about it anymore.
I'm liking Ann-Mari Andersen's Ándagassii too.Normally I find the ethnic-type songs boring and repetitive,but this is really good- more like a calmed down version of Neiokõsõ's Tii type ethnic than Lane Moje type ethnic.And it's nice to hear something sung in Sami for a change.It's not your typical Norwegian ESC song though,so I doubt she'll get through.
Then there's Crash! Complete with Jetzt Anders! style exclamation mark :) Get Up is Ok,a bit of pop rock never hurt anyone...
Not too excited about Veronica Akselsen (which is a shame,because I thought Like A Wind from 2006 was really good),or Maria Haukaas Storeng.
There's a place for people like Ole Ivars,but unfortunately I don't think that place is Eurovision.I don't mind Som i Himmelen,there's nothing wrong with a bit of old Norsk Dansband...but like a lot of people,I can't believe he got through to the final.Instead of Zuma.Someone commented on the youtube video saying "noe av det dårligste som har vært i mgp's historie" which made me laugh.Norway have been competing in Eurovision for years,I'm sure there's been a lot worse at some point.
Such as this This also got through instead of Zuma.Seriously Norway,what's happened?!First you choose boring Glenn Lyse to win Idol,and now this?!
Anyway,continuing with MGP,King of Trolls seems to be getting a lot of negative comments.But I think Far Away probably has the best chance of winning on Saturday.
All in all though,I'm really not bothered who wins,I don't think any of these songs would do very much in Belgrade.I think I'll stick with supporting Belarus for another year.Go Ruslan!
Saturday, 18 August 2007
10 things to love about Oslo

1- Oslo Sentralstasjon
Yes, it may be one of the favourite hangouts of Oslo’s junkies (so I’ve been told),but I’ve never noticed any there. Anyway, as far as train stations go, I like this one. There’s 2 shopping centres attached to it, what’s not to like?!

2- Karl Johan’s Gate
Bit of a common touristy option, but Oslo’s main street is wonderful. Lots of fabulous shops like Bikbok, a nice big H&M and several Platekompaniets, it’s a great place to fritter away your hard earned krone! Not that frittering away your hard earned krone is that difficult to do anywhere else in the country… Karl Johan’s Gate is also home to such buildings as Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament, which is a much prettier building than ours), the National Theatre and det Kongelige Slottet (the Palace).
3- Norwegian generosity!
From what I’ve experienced, Norwegian people are lovely and friendly. And they’re also generous when it comes to students. I saved lots of money at various places like Holmenkollen, the Nobel Museum and the opera, just for looking young :) No one even bothered checking my international student card, which is a bit of a difference to here in Britain, where they analyse everything in detail trying to catch you out and stop you getting your precious 10% off. So that was nice, particularly seeing as Oslo is the most expensive city in the world and everything.

4- Narvesen shops
I know you can find them all over Norway, and I know they’re just newsagents, but still, Narvesen shops are cool! And they do good offers like hot dogs for 19 krone and pizza for 22 krone and stuff. If only we had them here…
5- Public transport
What’s so special about a few underground trains and tram lines? Well, nothing really I suppose, it’s just that in Oslo I can use them without getting confused like I would in London. For a start, there’s only 6 underground lines, which can only be a good thing. And the stations and trains never seem to be ridiculously packed like they are in London. Of course, Oslo is small enough for you to walk to most places, but just in case you’re lazy, it’s nice to know there’s a good public transport system :)
6- Dronningparken
Dronningparken is part of the Palace grounds, and it’s my favourite part of the city. It’s a nice place to sit and relax, (apart from if you get accosted by the local ducks like we did :) ),and it has very pretty little lakes.
7- Fit men
Oslo (as I assume is also the case for the rest of Scandinavia) is full of ridiculously attractive men. Which is nice. Unfortunately I have no photographic evidence of this, but just as a guideline, Oslo is where the lovely Bjørn Einar Romøren comes from, and a good percentage of the population of the city are just as sexy as him. If not sexier.
8- Anker Hotel
It’s not a particularly attractive place from the outside, and it’s certainly not in the most attractive part of Oslo either, but it’s where I’ve stayed on both occasions now, and I couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else. Fabulous service (ooh I sound old), fabulous views (now I sound even older), and the biggest breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen at a hotel!

9- Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge is where I want to live one day, it’s lovely. Very lively when the weather’s nice, but still kind of romantic on the not so nice days. There’s loads of shops and restaurants (I recommend the Albertine Bar, it’s super), and if you go round the other side and go to the top of the Akershus Fortress, there’s fabulous views of the Oslofjord.
10- Holmenkollen
Going to the top of the Holmenkollen ski jump is without a doubt, the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But it was completely worth it, the view from the top is pretty spectacular (although it would have been even better if it hadn’t have been so bloody cloudy). There’s also a ski jump simulator at the bottom, which I would have liked to try, but seeing how scared I was going to the top of the tower, simulating going down a high slope at 90mph probably would have been even worse!
Monday, 25 June 2007
How super!
By the way...if anyone knows of any Russian music channels that I can watch online,I'd most appreciate it if you told me :) I was looking for some earlier,and somehow ended up listening to Radio Belarus for about half an hour while some man with a hypnotic voice talked about importing tractors from Moldova...
Friday, 22 June 2007
I love the Norwegians!
*UPDATE* -They appear to like their chav pop in Norway.I think this is the 3rd consecutive girl I've seen wearing dodgy sports gear and lots of gold :S
- Oh my God.Norwegian technopop is officially FABULOUS
-There's more chavs on now so I'll tell you about Kurt Nilsen's new song.It's amazing.Sounds a bit Andreas Johnson-esque,which can only be a good thing.It's called Push Push and apparantly he released it in Norway this month.Mmm,did I mention I didn't think my trip through properly?There's no video on youtube unfortunately,hopefully NRK will keep this on their site so I can sneakily record it with my camera and convert it into a dodgy mp3...
- Ooh, a gratuitous shot of Aker Brygge.How I miss Oslo!
It's not fair!
Tonight in Oslo,there's this big festival thing going on at Rådhusplassen. It's sponsored by VG,which is the greatest newspaper in the world,and I'd like to work for them one day.Anyway,not only are Venke Knutson,Lene Marlin and Kurt Nilsen going to be there,but The Ark are as well!How did I not hear about this before?Kurt Nilsen is a legend,Venke Knutson duetted with him therefore she's cool,Lene Marlin is fabulous coz she's Morten Gamst Pedersen's cousin,and I love The Ark.Ola Salo is a fabulous lyricist,and The Worrying Kind was nothing short of a Europop anthem in our kitchen in Guildford last month!This happened in January as well when I somehow managed to miss the Russian festival in London.Next year,I shall so be better prepared!
Sunday, 10 June 2007
Norway (Part 4)
It was still raining when we got there, and we had to decide whether to go and climb up Akershus fortress or go to the Nobel Peace Museum. Of course when I was there last year, the weather was lovely (I actually got a bit sunburnt), and there was a big festival going on, and a funfair that played lots of old Eurovision songs. So I didn’t do much other than sit on a bench at the top of a hill trying to be inconspicuous with my red and yellow disposable camera, while trying to dodge the wasps. I’d actually read an article on VG last summer about the sudden wasp plague of Oslo, so I should have been prepared. Anyway, we went to the Nobel Museum and cunningly got money off the entrance fee. They’re a trusting lot in Norway, you can just say you’re a student and they believe you and give you money off of things. We looked around the funky exhibition rooms (looking for anything Mother Teresa related really), which included a particularly funky room of little presentations about all the past winners on little screens on stalks, among all these pretty fibre optic stick things that changed colour. For a museum it was pretty radical. I liked it. There wasn’t that much to look at there, which was just as well, as we had to go and find the boat by 1 o clock. Which we did after having a quick look at the Aker Brygge shopping centre, which actually consists of several buildings that all look the same, and quite possibly have the same shops in. It looks like the German conspiracy has reached Norwegian shores- ANOTHER fire alarm had gone off in one of the buildings. Mmm…
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Norway (Part 3)
I had about an hour’s sleep that night. So on Tuesday, I was fucked. However, I did still enjoy the fabulous breakfast of salami and cheese rolls with ridiculously sugary tropical fruit juice and gorgeous Biola blueberry yogurt drink. I’ve been looking everywhere for yogurt drink over here since I’ve been back (well, Tesco, Sainsburys and Chatham’s Eastern European supermarket) but I can’t find anything except Yop. And that’s not the same. Tuesday was shopping day. However we were rather early in leaving, and the shops didn’t open for an hour and a half. So we went back to Dronningparken, where we were accosted by Retard Duck. Retard Duck was sweet, but she did quack funny. And she was a bit of a stalker. I’ve never had a duck that close to me before, and I was a bit unnerved. But I didn’t show it. When she realised we didn’t have any food, she waddled off back to the lake with her friend Limpy (he walked funny). She did however, come back to say goodbye to us when we left. Which was nice. We’d already discovered that Norwegians are friendly people, we didn’t realise the ducks were too.
I was slightly disappointed with the shopping in Oslo this time round. Researching before I went, I decided I wanted an ethnic-y type scarf from Bik Bok and some zebra print shoes from KappAhl. Could I find either of these things? No. I couldn’t. I was disappointed. I went to Byporten shopping centre in the fabulous aforementioned Oslo S, to look for Margaret Berger and Aleksander With’s albums. I didn’t find them, so I carried on walking around. I realised I was walking through rather a thick cloud of smoke at one point, but again, just thought that was probably something to do with tiredness, so I didn’t take much notice. It wasn’t though, it was an actual real fire and we all had to evacuate the building. That was a bit odd. Feeling the distinct lack of purchases, I hurriedly bought a nice but small top from Vero Moda and 2 CDs. Both of which are rather fabulous. We then went to the National Gallery (we had to attempt to do that twice actually, for reasons that I won’t go into), but to be honest, I was too tired to take much notice. I do remember seeing The Scream though. But I’ve never liked that picture anyway so I wasn’t too excited.
We got the T-Bane to Frognerparken after that. I asked a nice Norwegian lady with a pram which tram you have to take to get there. Obviously my Norwegian was shit, because she immediately detected that I was British and told me in English to get the underground to Majorstuen. Majorstuen is the posh part of Oslo. In the world’s most expensive city, it’s the most expensive bit. Apartments there cost anything like £800,000 but they are very lovely so it’s probably worth it. I’d never used Norwegian public transport before, and I conclude that it’s fun. It’s better than ours anyway.After a quick visit to Ordning&Reda on Bogstadveien (well it would have been rude not to) and after asking another Norwegian in Norwegian how to get to Frognerparken, we got to Frognerparken. I think it would have been much nicer in the sun, but seeing as the sky was grey, and it was quite windy, that’ll just have to be a theory that I test out some other time. I don’t like Vigeland’s statues. Particularly the Monolith. I find that one a bit creepy, and the others I just find a bit boring. But the park itself was rather impressive, it’s huge, and the fountain and bridge are rather attractive. We got the tram back to Hausmann’s Gate, which was another new experience. I like the trams, but there seemed to be a stop every half a metre, which was a bit annoying. However, it was a nice tram line (tram 12 to Kjelsås) as it went all through town and Aker Brygge and everything. Which was nice.
Friday, 8 June 2007
Norway (Part 2)
The area outside the station is called Jernbanetorget, and being as my life practically revolves around all things Norway related even when I have the misfortune of being in this country, I knew that there was going to be some roadworks there during May. They’re improving the downtown Oslo public transport system or something. Don’t know why, it seems pretty good to me. Anyway, these roadworks confused me somewhat. But it didn’t matter, I still managed to remember where Storgata is. Although the walk along it to get to the hotel seemed a hell of a lot longer than it did last year. Maybe it’s coz it was raining. It made me rather happy to see that the hairdresser’s nextdoor to the hotel and hostel still had the advert in the window with Morten Gamst Pedersen on it. Not sure why, but it did.
Our room wasn’t as good as my one last year, and I’m sure there were some channels missing on the telly, but it was still clearly on the quieter side of the building which was good news. Last year I hardly slept at all thanks to all the trams/police cars/drunk Norwegians that went past at all times of the night. But not only was our room this year quieter, you could also see Holmenkollen from it, which was pretty damn fabulous. Especially at night when it was all lit up. That was pretty.We went out to have a look around Karl Johan’s Gate after we’d dumped our stuff. Karl Johan’s Gate is the main street of Oslo, it’s ideal for lazy tourists, as it’s home to no less than 4 rather important buildings- Oslo university (which is very pretty), the National Theater, Stortinget (the parliament) and my personal favourite- Det Kongelige Slottet (the palace). The National Gallery and town hall are also pretty close to Karl Johan’s Gate, a fact that I somehow managed to miss last year. We went all the way to the top of the street, which I’m sure I read somewhere was a mile long (it so isn’t), because I was rather excited about going back to Dronningparken, one of the royal parks behind the palace. Dronningparken is my favourite part of Oslo. I’m not sure why. It’s pretty, and relaxing, and it has lakes with ducks in. I went there last year after my long-winded walk to Aker Brygge, and I sat there for no less than an hour (in fact it was more than an hour), on a little grassy bank, listening to Kurt Nilsen and watching ducks swim about on the lake. It was lovely, I’d never felt that relaxed and calm before (even if there were multiple motorbikes whizzing past noisily on Parkveien behind). I remember having lots of little philosophical revelations there last year, can’t remember what they were now though. A new feature of Dronningparken this year though, seemed to be Fit Cyclists. I’ve never seen so many attractive men on bikes. Over here the only people who ride bikes are old men in lycra. Not so in Norway. Thankfully. We walked back up the path to the palace. The Norwegian palace obviously being the best palace in the world, because you can get so close to it you can practically touch it. There’s a few guards around- attractive ones obviously- but it doesn’t really feel like somewhere where the most important people in the country live. I’ve read before about the Norwegian royal family being quite in touch with their people, and that it’s not uncommon to see them around the palace gardens and such places. Whether that’s true or not, I’ve always thought it would be quite cool to meet them. They’re obviously so much cooler than our rubbish royal family. What I also find quite cool every time I go to the palace is that there’s always a Volkswagen Passat parked round the side. I like to think maybe that’s what the crown prince or someone drives. Now that would be cool.
We walked back down Karl Johan’s Gate. I read somewhere years ago that all the ugly Norwegians are shipped off to Finland. This may be true. Everyone I saw in Oslo was ridiculously good looking. Even the chavs. And that’s saying something. We found a French restaurant, with French/English/Norwegian speaking waiters. That confused me. But then I think I was quite tired at that point. We stopped off at the local Narvesen before going back to the hotel. I love Narvesen shops, they’re the best. Not only do they sell super Norwegian newspapers and Porøs chocolate, they also sell bits of pizza and stuff. Fabulous! This month they had an offer on pølse. Hot dogs basically. For 19 krone. Which is pretty good. They were nice too. Anyway, I bought my VG there and then I was happy for the rest of the evening. Probably.
Thursday, 7 June 2007
Mmm....questions.I like questions
If you were nominated for a Nobel prize, what would it be for?
Ooh ooh,I've been to the Nobel Peace Museum!I went there last Wednesday.In Oslo :) It was nice.Erm,I dunno,it would obviously be something to do with Europe...I think I'd like to promote British awareness of the Central Asian republics.Dont know why,or how,but it sounds like a nice idea.Central Asia fascinates me,and I think it should fascinate you too!
What American city does not deserve a place on the map? Why?
Tut.I wouldn't know,I've never been there,nor would I like to.
Who is your most admired athlete of all time?
Andreas Thorkildsen.Just because he's hot :) Yeah,I ain't shallow! I do like gymnasts too,I think gymnastics is by far the coolest sport in the Olympics.My gymnastic ability extends no further than forward rolls and the occassional somersault.So I admire anyone who can do better than that!
What is the most common compliment that people give you?
That I'm clever :) Yeah,you know it makes sense!A lot of people think it's impressive that I know 5 languages or whatever it is,but the truth is,I'm shit at everything else,so it's not that impressive!
If you could be an expert in any one subject, what would it be?
Scandinavian languages and culture.I'm still pissed I didn't go to UCL :(
What three words come to your mind when you hear the word 'white'?
Snow,ice,hospital.Don't know where hospital came from.
What is your average bowling score?
Well the last time I went,I think I came 3rd.Not sure what I got though.I'm pretty shit at bowling.And I can still only use the orange ball coz I'm weak.
How much money would you like to be making in ten years?
Hopefully somewhere above £50,000 would be nice.I certainly couldn't imagine doing a job for anything less than 30.Of course,I hope to be working in Norway in 10 years,so £50,000 a year is a big possibility...it's just that the Norwegians get taxed so much that they're left with about 3p a week to live on. *
*possibly a slight exaggeration
So there you go,your life has obviously been enriched by reading that.I'm going to wash my hair now.
Norway? Did someone mention Norway?
Norway. Norge, Norvège, whatever. The ridiculously long country in western Scandinavia with its many islands, lakes and sexy men, is without a doubt the greatest place I’ve ever visited :) I went last year obviously, which was a great experience, mostly coz it was the first time I’d been anywhere on my own, and it was a nice little opportunity to prove to people that I’m not in fact socially inept and can do things on my own. All this, while having the greatest 3 days ever of doing…not very much, but having the pleasure of doing not very much in a very pretty place. This time though, sitting in the departure lounge of Heathrow with James, watching Cash In The Attic, presented by irritating Jennie Bond, I suddenly realised that it was bloody brave of me to go on my own last year. The thought of doing that now rather terrifies me, which isn’t particularly good news for the year abroad next year…but whatever.
I like the Flytoget (the airport train). It’s clean, it’s quiet, it’s comfortable. Even this year’s addition of a group of annoying American tourists didn’t irritate me too much. Although I was quite put out that they’d already been on holiday in Sweden for a month before coming to Norway. How’s that fair? I’m the European, that’s the sort of thing that I should be doing! But anyway, the Flytoget whizzed on through the Buskerud countryside (I think that’s the right county :/) and after 20 minutes of admiring the pretty little traditional red wooden houses (that’s a lot of adjectives), we were at Oslo S. Oslo S is the best train station in the world. Not only because it has 2 shopping centres attached to it, but…well, it just is. I got lost in it last year, although on reflection, that was probably more to do with my stupidity than it had to do with its actual size. Didn’t get lost this year though, no, I got the right exit first time.
That's all I'll say for now.Stay tuned for more additions to My Ridiculously Long Account of What Happened On My Second Trip To Norway :)