NORWAY-Dinner is Ready Plus Fun Facts

Our Norwegian Feast is complete! What a delicious meal it was! The Salmon was fresh, flaky, and beautifully accented by the butter and fresh herbs in traditional Norwegian Cream Sauce. The potatoes equally delightful. I have prepared potatoes similar to these before roasted with butter, paprika and herbs, but never with the addition of Jarlsberg Chees sprinkled on top. So yummy! The creamed vegetables paired beautifully with our fish and potatoes. Here are the recipes we used this week:

 

http://www.salmonfromnorway.com/Recipes/USA/Foil-Baked-Norwegian-Salmon-with-Potatoes,-Apples-and-Shallots

 

http://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/showRecipe.jsp?document=HasselbackPotatoes.html

 

http://www.yummly.com/recipes/norwegian-salmon

Here are some fun and interesting facts about Norway:

• Norway is often described as the "Land of the Midnight Sun", because during the summer months of late May through to late July the sun never completely drops below the horizon in northern Arctic Circle areas of the country and other areas have around 20 hours of sunlight a day. However, it is then the opposite in winter.

                                     

• Norwegian, the spoken language of Norway has two official written forms, Bokmål Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian.

• Norway shares a border with Russia, Finland and Sweden.

                                              

                                                           

• The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.
• Norway has a population of 5.08 million people as of July 2013.

 

• The Sami are an indigenous people of northern Scandinavia who have been living in the northern territories for over 10,000 years. They are known for their colorful clothes and herding of reindeer.
• Norway is home to a number of Arctic animals such as reindeer, wolverines, polar bear, the puffin bird and the Arctic fox.
 

• The national day of Norway is officially called 'Norwegian Constitution Day'. It is celebrated on May 17th to commemorate Norway's constitution of 1814.

                                

• Norway is home to the world's longest road tunnel, with a length of 24.5 km's (15.3 miles) the tunnel has become a tourist attraction in itself.

• The troll plays a significant part in Norwegian and Scandinavian folklore. The troll is an ugly, messy, nasty creature that lives in caves or forests and will turn to stone if sunlight hits them. There are even a few areas in Norway that have been named after the troll.

                                       

• Football (soccer) has the highest participation level of any sport in Norway. The winter sports of biathlon and cross-country skiing are the most eagerly followed.
• Norway is the most successful nation in the world at the Winter Olympics. The country has collected the most medals of any country over the games history.