The Scandinavian Festival

Viking stand!

This weekend I had an absolutely amazing Sunday, surrounded by fellow Vikings! :) It was the yearly Scandinavian Festival in Brisbane, with over 50 stalls of Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic food and products. It's the first time I've been there - as I only became aware of it this year, and it's something I had been looking forward to for quite some time. It was wonderful! And oh so extremely crowded!

It was one of those perfect sunny days with no clouds in sight - and boy does it get hot when you're bumping into and trying to find your way through hundreds of fellow Scandinavians, all searching for those longed for Scandinavian delicacies (I had a hot dog and waffles!) and lots of other stuff we normally can't get hold of as easily on this side of the planet. It's an excellent way of discovering little businesses dealing with Scandinavian products that you otherwise would never know about!

Delish hot-dog!

Obviously a lot of people were eager to stock up on some Scandinavian food, because the line for Swedish Goodies was one of the longest I've seen in a while - and when I say line I'm not talking about some polite British-style shit where everyone respectfully form an ACTUAL line and await patiently in turn... oh no. I'm talking about a typical Scandinavian line i.e. a big pile of people pushing and trying to get in front of each other, utter chaos and absolutely no regard for anything but themselves. Of course, I was in front. But who could blame anyone for pushing a bit when brown cheese, Norvegia, crisp-bread, kantarell-stock and salty licorice is at stake! Just look at all my loots! <3 My super man even got me a very fitting apron! ;)

Chocolate, cheese and traditional hand-painted plates! :)

There was also some solid Scandinavian entertainment, of course, with singing and dancing and traditional instruments.

Some traditional music and dance

The Scandinavian Festival is a joint effort held by the local clubs of all the Scandinavian countries, including the Norwegian Club of Queensland. I have been considering getting in touch with some other Norwegian expats here in Brisbane, but haven't really gotten that far yet. It was good to se them all gathered in a sea of blond hair and blue eyes at the festival though! ;) hehe.

The five-hearted Iron Lady

Every Friday and Saturday morning something absolutely amazing happens in Brisbane. I could hardly believe it when I first heard that this Norwegian guy, Christian, had started the most wonderful business on the other side of the planet: Waffles! Five delicious hearts of perfect, lightly brown goodness covered in sweet brown cheese and raspberry jam. Can you even think of a better way to start the weekend?

The location does change a bit, but usually you'll find The Iron Ladies, as they've named their business, operating out of Two Trees in West End. They do the most delicious coffee that goes oh so well with these yummy waffles! Friendly staff, good atmosphere and just enough quirkiness.

Personally, I stay true to my Norwegian heritage and refuse to have my waffle with anything but brown cheese, jam or sour cream, but they do also serve up some pretty interesting and adventurous toppings. How about spicy pinapple, mango chutney, mint and cucumber raita? Or a waffle dog? Or maybe some peanut butter, banana and chocolate sauce? The menu changes every week and I even heard rumors of anchovies finding their way on top of one of the waffles once - although not with any great success. 

Most importantly though, this wonderful human being - Christian - also made me aware that the Swiss Gourmet in West End actually takes in, and sells, Norwegian brown cheese! :D Hooray!!! :D It cost a small fortune, but is worth every single cent!

If you haven't tried it yourself, I seriously suggest you change that situation asap. Just do it. I know you want to! Simply knowing that there is brown cheese available when and if I get a craving has brought great calmness into my life.

What is your favourite waffle topping?

"Ja Vi Elsker" 17th of May!

Hurra hurra hurra!

What better way to return to Australia, than to celebrate Norway's National Day with about 1000 other Norwegians and friends from all over QLD and beyond? :)

I was a bit sad that I wouldn't be in Norway for the 17th of May, even though I couldn't wait to get back to Australia. Luckily, the biggest Norwegian celebration in the Southern hemisphere actually takes place in Brisbane! :D

My boyfriend was happy to join in and shout "Hurra!!!" with me as we paraded through the streets of Brisbane by police escort this morning - following a marching band playing Norway's National Anthem and other traditional songs celebrating our country and it's people. I was a bit surprised by the range of feelings that rushed through me and almost brought me to tears as I chimed in on "Ja Vi Elsker" with hundreds of other Norwegian expats. It has been an emotional week returning to Brisbane and it felt surprisingly nice to celebrate our National Day with so many other Norwegians :)

We continued by listening to a long and tiresome speech about Norway, our traditions and the history of our National Day (which in itself is a tradition), followed by feasting on hot-dogs and waffles with brown cheese! :D <3 To absolutely no surprise most of the Norwegians were busy standing in line for beer and wine... hehe. I suspect there will be a LOT of drunk Norwegians roaming the streets of Brisbane tonight!

17th of May in Brisbane

It has been a very nice day! :D And I even got to buy some O'Boy from the store Swedish Goodies that I wrote about in another post - and that had taken the trip to Brisbane for the occation! :) Yay!

Oh, and speaking of nice things - did you know that I've gotten a kitten!?! :D This amazing little furball is named Tigerpus and she has melted my heart completely! It was love at first meow!

Tigerpus! <3

Isn't she just adorable? She has adjusted very quickly to her new home and is such an active, inquisitive little thing. I can't get enough of her! :) <3 (I think it's a her, at least, hehe)

Bye, bye Norway...

Sword in Stone - a monument to
The Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872

I've spent a couple of wonderful days in Norway prior to leaving, and luckily got to experience the very beginning of spring. It's such a magical time, as flowers pop up among the leaves everywhere and all the trees start to turn green <3 The temperature even reached a scorching 20 degrees on Tuesday! :O The sun has been shining until 8pm, champagne has been had and we even got to fire up the BBQ before I left. Bliss!

I still have a lot of mixed emotions about leaving, but I have absolutely no doubt that this is what I want. So now it's time to say goodbye to fjords, trolls and beautiful mountains, to moose, wolves and squirrels and to cold, crisp air, looong summer days and norwegian cheese <3 You will be missed!

BUT I'm also starting to get really, really excited about returning to Brisbane - and tomorrow I'll be on my way!!! :D Wohoo! It'll be a long plane ride, with an 18 hour layover in Bangkok, but soon I'll be back in the Sunshine State soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible! And finally I'll be back in the arms of my man! :D <3 It all feels a bit surreal, but Sssstraya here I come!

My last few days in Norway <3

5 days, 5 hours, and 5 minutes!

That is how long it's left until I arrive back in Brisbane! The wait is finally coming to an end, all my things are packed and I even managed to bring along a treasure or two reminding me of my childhood home and beautiful Norway! <3

Bergen during early spring

Isn't it weird though - I've been in Norway for 3 months and it's only now that I'm about to leave I suddenly get an extreme craving for everything Norwegian! Brown cheese, komler, rømmegrøt, Norwegian rice porridge, waffles and smoked sausage that are all prepared and cooked just a bit different to everywhere else! Not to mention paprika flavoured chips (why does this not exist in Australia?) and delicious milk chocolate that melts on your tongue (with a complimentary fairy tale inside the wrapping!) :) I've been drinking ice cold water from the tap like there was no tomorrow and am suddenly finding trolls and fjords SO much more exciting than before. And the milk. Delicious, cold Norwegian milk that makes you strong and healthy, like our very own Mr. Melk!

It must be the realization that I actually don't know exactly when I'll be back. When I look out through my window onto great mountains, the still fresh water lake marking an end to one of the best salmon rivers in Norway, and the forest where I must have built a gazillion huts when I was a child, I know that I will miss it. I will miss my friends here and I will miss my family. And it's sort of ironic, because all the time I've been back I've been missing Australia, my partner and my friends there - and just counting the days to my return.

I guess I still feel like I have so much left to do, see and experience in Australia, and it might very well be that I'll end up living there permanently. It's just now that I'm about to leave and go do all that, that I'm also filled with sorrow, because I truly love Norway and everyone I will be leaving behind. But then I remind myself that it's not like I'll never be back! And that it's worth it! I would regret it forever if I did not take the leap to see where it takes me. And, of course, being back in the arms of the love of my life, where I know life will always be just a bit brighter! <3

Did you see the album I posted on my Norway page? You should! :)

Scandi-nom-nom-noms!

Even though I love Brisbane to bits, there are a few things I really miss about Norway and that I've been enjoying to it's fullest now that I've been back home.

Norwegian-style waffles with brown cheese
- and bubbles, of course! ;)

Some things you just have to accept will not be possible to find or do in Australia (it is an island on the other side of the planet, after all!), like drinking ice cold, pure water from the tap or making snow angels after the first snow-fall during winter (pause here for a *sigh* at the thought of fond memories). I have, however, discovered that there are quite a few things you can actually get hold of even though you are 14,358 km away - and that makes it just a bit easier being so far away from home! :)

First off - did you know that the Norwegian Church Abroad has their own church store in Sydney selling Norwegian food/products, and that they also ship across Australia? Ok, so they don't ship cheese or meat (understandable), but oh man how I rejoiced when I realized I was just a few clicks away from a delivery of yummy salty licorice, Daim chocolate, Smash, Lingonberry jam, Kvikk lunch and other Norwegian delights! If you're lucky enough to live in, or travel to, Sydney you can also feast on brown cheese and the Norwegian Holy Grail of cheese - Norvegia. 

Living in Brisbane I have been dreaming about something similar opening up a bit more close to home, when I was recently made aware of a store called Swedish Goodies located in Surfers Paradise, just an hour's drive away. Now, there has always been a sort of feud between the Norwegians and the Swedish, resulting in a fair bit of rivalry and even it's own genre of jokes. The fact that Norway was betrayed by it's neighboring country when Sweden invaded us in 1814 might also have had something to do with it. But let's not dwell in the past - because I forgive them! The brown cheese and Norvegia that can't be sent from Sydney is now just a short drive away, in this wonderful gem of a store! Plus a number of other goodies that has your mind instantly teleporting back to fjords, mountains and snow, as you're sitting in the sun with your home-made lunch packet enjoying ballerina cookies and cloudberry jam! Thank you Sweden! :) <3

Do you know of any stores selling Scandinavian products / food in Australia?