Norway

For our next country (that we did FOREVER ago), we're headed to Europe to Norway, the supermodel of the Scandinavian countries. Artists, photographers and outdoor enthusiasts rave over the fjords, glaciers and and mountains of Norway. 

Basic Norway info for you: 

They've been a country in some form since 872 AD, making it one of older countries in the world. 

The government is a Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The current king is Harald V, and he's been king since 1991. 

Seventy-four percent of Norwegians belong to the Church of Norway (which is Christian/Lutheran-like). 

Of course, with much of Norway lying above the Arctic Circle, the northern lights are a true 'landmark' of Norway, but I had something else in mind. 

In the capital city of Oslo, there is the Viking Ship Museum, with an impressive Viking Age display. It includes beds, word carvings, tent components, buckets, and even a horse cart. But the real draw is the whole Oseberg ship, which was excavated from the largest known ship burial site in the world. 

The display takes you through the Viking Age, explaining that while they may have been pirates who came to plunder and kill, they were also skilled traders, craftsman, and storytellers. The Norse sagas continue to fascinate modern audiences. 

There's plenty to do in Norway, if you enjoy outdoorsy activities, from dog sledding (you can find the best dog sledding in Finnimark) to snow-shoeing, to skiing. 

Norway even claims to have invented the sport of skiing. 'Ski' itself is a Norwegian word, and old rock carvings depict hunters traveling on skis. 

If skiing isn't your thing, you could always take a dip in one of Norways famous fjords. Fjords are long, narrow, deep inlets, typically formed when glaciers retreat. Norway has the largest concentration of fjords in the world. Geirangerfjord is actually Norway's most visited landmark! 

If taking a dip in the chilly waters is not up your alley, you can try walking across a glacier. Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in Europe, can be found in Norway. Better walk on it, before it disappears. 

Now, I would LOVE to visit Norway, and while in theory  lots of these cold weather activities sound awesome, this Floridian is not cold-weather tolerant. I did go dog sledding once, though... sort of. (I should have posted more pictures in my blogs back then!) 

Oh, and one more totally random but fun fact- did anyone else known about the Global Seed Vault?  We were fascinated. On a remote island somewhere in Norway, about 800 miles from the North Pole, scientists are keeping 2.25 billion seeds, from various flowers, vegetables and grains. The seeds are stored at such a low temperature they should be good for thousands of years. So, if anything apocalyptic ever happens and we need to grow sunflowers again, Norway has us covered! 

The boys made their Norway postcards. 

Calib's featured the Norway flag. 

Peyton's featured a Viking ship and the Global Seed Vault. 

Hayden's featured a viking statue, and a glacier. 

We had our Norway meal awhile ago, when we visited Epcot the day before Thanksgiving. Though we had a two week hiatus of countries, back then I was trying to cram them in, so I wanted to get one checked off my list while we were visiting with my mom, Cort, Holly, Gwen and Garrett. Norway has a good counter service place, the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, so we headed over there for dinner. 

We really just split a bunch of stuff (and then continued around the world to split some more stuff). But, we had the Norwegian Club: Ham, Turkey, Bacon, Jarlsberg and Muenster Cheese with fresh Tomatoes, Sliced Red Onion and Lingonberry Mayonnaise on Toasted Multigrain Bread. Peyton tried it, despite the mayo (he didn't know), and hated it. But the rest of us really enjoyed this one. The lingonberry mayo was a total hit. It gave it a sweet flavor without going over board. It wasn't anything too terribly different, but it's a great counter service Epcot option. 

For the holidays, they are served Rice Cream, a special rice pudding with strawberry sauce. We were mixed on this one, but we got Garrett to try it, and he loved it. Holly claims her kids are usually picky eaters, so we took this as a win. 

We also ordered school bread, and full disclosure, we already knew we loved this one. It's like if a roll and a donut had a baby, and even with the coconut on top, Asa likes this one. It's officially listed as Sweet Cardamom Bun filled with Vanilla Crème Custard and topped with Glazed and Toasted Coconut. At something like $3.50 a piece, they're totally shareable, and almost requested as much as dole whips when we're at Disney. 

We also got Traditional Kjøttkake, Norwegian meatballs with mashed potatoes and a Lingonberry sauce. It's basically what you can get at Ikea (although that's Swedish), but this is a bit higher quality. 

We also got the Norwegian Charcuterie. Nothing too outside of the box, with salami, prosciutto, olives, tomatoes, cheese and toast. The brown cheese (I have no official name for you), was pretty gross. Asa doesn't mind it, and Cort loved it. (Although, to be fair, I don't think Cort has ever met a cheese he didn't like). 

We also ate this meal when I had my old phone, with the broken camera, so my pictures are not ideal. But here Peyton is holding the Lefse, a Potato Flatbread rolled with a Sweet Cinnamon Butter. Some of us thought it tasted like peanut butter- it at least had that consistency. Everyone enjoyed it though, including Garrett. 

So overall, I think Norway earns something like 9 spoons up (Gwen didn't try any of it- she held out for pizza in Italy). 

If you're looking for something to make though, you could always order cloudberry jam off of Amazon and serve it over ice cream. They're also big fans of frozen pizza. (That was going to be my plan)

We colored Norway in a light teal color on the table, to the west of dark blue Sweden and bright pink Finland. 

That's 156 countries down, only 40 to go! (I cannot even believe we're about to be in the 30s!) 

Next Up: Senegal