Thermos…

“Norwegians are like a Thermos bottle, hard and cold on the outside, but nice an warm once you open them up.”

This is a quote from the 2011 edition of Norway (Insight Guides) – and I think they are correct!

 

 

Photo credit to Thermos!

Motherhood and me

I guess motherhood is quite similar in most cultures – at least in the cultures that I am familiar with – all though there will always be slight differences in how things are done, and the expectations to you as a mother. Here in Norway we get a year in maternity/paternity leave (both parents have to take time off to make it a year – my husband took 4 months)

The “Wine Monopoly”

There are many things that is different in Norway and that an Englishman (my husband) has to get used to living here. And after living in the UK myself for a number of years, I am also trying to understand and remember how it works… The Wine Monopoly…

To give you some background: In the UK you can easily buy a bottle of wine (or any other type of bottles) at any supermarket, cornerstore or bottleshop – and believe it or not – but you can do this at almost any time of day – any day of the year! (To a Norwegian this sounds too good to be true!)

Paternity Leave

Disclaimer: I have not done any research or anything – my comments and opinions are only based on my personal experience and views…

We are very fortunate in Norway as we get quite a lot of maternity and paternity leave. You can choose to have a total of 46 weeks (with 100% pay) or 56 weeks (with 80% pay) – all though I believe they have just upped this to be 47 and 57 weeks. We choose the option of 56 weeks.

My Norwegian Shopping Challenge

Norway is an expensive country. We pay a lot of tax and fees to be able to maintain our quite high standard of living. My husband who is British is constantly shocked whenever he finds out about the price of something. A new charger for his electric toothbrush cost NOK149 ($27), and he started questioning the guy in the shop as to why it was so expensive. I was so embarrassed!