Life in Norway Show

Life in Norway Show Episode 27: Mike Emery, CEO of Oslo sports broadcasting company Joymo, joins us to talk about Norwegian sports club culture and how he's working to get more kids playing sport not just in Norway, but all around the world. Mike moved from Wales to Norway via London to start a family with his Norwegian wife. His day-to-day work is with Joymo, a technology startup in Oslo that enables grassroots sports teams to broadcast their games live. But his interest in grassroots sports goes way beyond his day job. On today's episode of the show we chat about sports club culture in Norway, how Mike is working to get more children into sports wherever in the world they live, and how he's teamed up with one of Norway's leading sportsmen to start and run a charity. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode27  

Life in Norway Show Episode 26: Originally from the UK, Paule Miller talks about gardening culture in Norway and shares some tips for getting started year-round. I live in an apartment so gardening hasn't been on my radar since moving to Norway back in 2011. After my chat with Paule Miller, perhaps that could change! Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode26 Originally from Essex in England, Paule moved to Norway in 1994. Three years ago he set up a gardening business to further pursue his lifelong hobby, and it's gone from strength to strength. We talk about gardening culture in Norway, what grows well here, and how people can get started even if they live in an apartment. Gardening culture in Norway Paule believes there is a culture of gardening here but it's more with the older generation. “The younger generation seem to like to build the biggest possible house on the available land, which leaves very modest surroundings that doesn't have the potential for a nice garden.” “There are some very nice gardens here, and even local growers. It was a very big shock to me when I found out that someone locally had the knowledge and was breeding rhododendrons together.” Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode26

Life in Norway Episode 25: American chef Ben Vidmar is so passionate about food that he's trying to grow his own in the world's northernmost community. Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/growing-food-on-svalbard/ On my recent trip to Svalbard I met so many fascinating people from all over the world. Everyone has their story to tell, but without doubt one of the most interesting is that of American entrepreneur Ben Vidmar. He works in Svalbard as a chef and has his own business, Polar Permaculture. He aims to solve one of the biggest headaches of life at 78 degrees north: obtaining fresh food while reducing waste. Read more: Living on Svalbard In this week's episode, I sit down in Ben's office to chat about what brought him to such a remote place. We talk about his business, and what he believes is possible when it comes to growing food sustainably on Svalbard. Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/growing-food-on-svalbard/

Life in Norway Show Episode 24: We go behind the scenes on the MS Vesterålen to meet some of the people who work for Hurtigruten. Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode24/ Norway's Hurtigruten famously offers guests a memorable 12-day cruise up and down the Norwegian coastline, but the company's ships also serve dual purpose as a local passenger and cargo service. In this week's episode, I go behind the scenes on the MS Vesterålen to meet some of the dedicated people who keep the vessel running. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check out the ship review and video tour first. You'll get a feel for the ship and meet Kathia, another employee from the MS Vesterålen. We meet the Chief Officer on the bridge, the person in charge of managing the supplies on board, the hotel manager in charge of the guest experience, plus two people who work with Hurtigruten on the cargo management and tour guide side of things.   Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode24/

Life in Norway Show Episode 23: Long-term Longyearbyen resident and tour guide Anna Lena Ekeblad talks adventure tourism in Svalbard on a scenic drive around the settlement. Full show notes including photos: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode23/ After more than seven years in Norway, I finally ticked off a major item on my bucket list this March by visiting Svalbard. The Arctic archipelago is the farthest north you can get on a scheduled flight – anywhere in the world. Adventure tourism in Svalbard Although coal mining still takes place on Svalbard, scientific research and adventure tourism are of growing importance. Because you can't leave Longyearbyen, the main settlement, without a gun and without knowing how to use it, the role of tour guides is an important one. Swedish citizen Anna Lena Ekeblad has lived in Longyearbyen for a remarkable 24 years. She has worked in tourism for all of that time and today runs her own tour company Barents Expeditions. Her company takes interested visitors on a dream tour of the fjords of Svalbard on multi-day expeditions by boat. When she invited me for a tour of the landscape immediately surrounding Longyearbyen, I didn't hesitate, and took my recording equipment along for the ride! Enjoy the show, and don't forget to refer to the show notes page for the photos. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode23/

Life in Norway Show Episode 22: Meet Mexican YouTuber Pame who has lived in Norway for seven years and runs a popular YouTube channel all about her experiences in the land of the Vikings. There are quite a lot of people making YouTube videos about Norway these days, but not so many in Spanish. I've been watching Pame's YouTube videos for years as they have helped me get better at Spanish! I'm delighted to welcome her onto the Life in Norway Show. We chat about her experiences moving to Norway as a student, learning the language, and adapting to Norwegian culture. I also ask her about the most popular videos on her channel, and what exactly goes in to making a video. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode22/ Pame says that a lot of people back home believe most Norwegians are very cold. "It's because we as Latin Americans are very loud and laugh a lot! One thing a lot of people tell me is that they think Norway is cold the whole year." The Vikings are also a famous icon of the Nordic countries throughout Latin America. "I love the history, and to learn about their beliefs and their mythology. People don't so much that they were merchants and negotiators", says Pame. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode22/ Pame's YouTube channel: 

Life in Norway Show Episode 21: Entrepreneur Torill Wilhelmsen joins us to discuss Norwegian entrepreneurship and the advantages of starting a business in rural Norway. After many years of lagging behind its Nordic neighbours Sweden and Finland, Norway is finally catching up supporting new business and entrepreneurship. Today’s guest Torill Wilhelmsen talks about the challenges and benefits of working for yourself in rural Norway. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode21/ Making a living outside the cities One issue is that support programs and startup ecosystems tend to be concentrated in and around the cities. So what does a budding entrepreneur who just happens to live in rural Norway do? Torill believes ordinary people can achieve remarkable things. She started her business Fjellflyt to make it easier to make a living from your passion no matter where in the country you live. In addition to her work as a business strategist, she founded the BETA coworking space, pictured above, in the centre of Vågå in the Gudbrandsdal region.   Doing 'slow business' in Norway Once Torill also began to feel the burnout of juggling her career with travelling, being a new mum and other commitments, the idea for Fjellflyt was born. "The mission I am on now is to create community for both rural and urban entrepreneurs who are like-minded in there way they approach their business", says Torill. She calls this philosophy where the best of work and best of the outdoors meet, slow business. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode21/

Life in Norway Show Episode 20: Norwegian Social entrepreneur Munib Mushtaq from Gi en hånd Norwegian social entrepreneur Munib Mushtaq talks about working with immigrants and the unwritten social rules of Norwegian society. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode20/ New to Norway There are many organisations that help people moving to Norway, but few courses look beyond the practicalities of setting someone up in the system, learning the language and finding employment. While all those things are important, becoming truly settled in Norway with Norwegian friends and a full active social life is perhaps the biggest challenge of all. Institutions don’t teach the Norwegian social code and new refugees and immigrants often have to learn the hard way. Today we meet Munib Mushtaq, a Norwegian social entrepreneur and founder of Gi en Hånd, who is on a mission to change that! He was born in Norway to immigrant parents, so has personal experience in adapting to different cultures. A helping hand for new arrivals Gi en Hånd is a voluntary organisation with the main goal of building bridges and integrating minority groups to create a stronger generation to strengthen Norway as a nation. Their specialisation is providing intensive Norwegian courses that take just one month per level, which is much faster than standard courses.

Life in Norway Show Episode 19: What's Coming in 2019 Happy New Year everyone! For episode 19, I've decided to record a solo show to let you all know about the exciting plans I have for Life in Norway over the coming year. If you prefer to read, there's a transcript in the show notes. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode19/ A new year is a time for reflection, and whichever way I look at it, 2018 was an outstanding year for Life in Norway. I managed to get the podcast going again after a much longer break than I’d intended, and published more articles than ever before. So much so, that almost 1.5 million different people from all around the world read at least one article on Life in Norway during the year, and tens of thousands of people downloaded a podcast episode. With such a successful year behind us, I'm pushing the boat out in 2019 to deliver more, better content to you than ever before. Listen in to find out what's in store!

Life in Norway Show Episode 18: Referee Bobby Madley from Premier League to Norway A look at the first few weeks in Oslo for Bobby Madley, who has hung up his referee's whistle in England's Premier League to give life in the Norwegian capital a go. Full show notes: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/episode18/ He moved to join his Norwegian girlfriend in Oslo and has already met with the Norwegian Football Federation to discuss his hopes for officiating in the Norwegian football system. Brand New in Oslo While we do talk about football on the show, we also talk about his first impressions of life in Oslo. As I first moved to Oslo back in 2011 it's really difficult for me to advise newcomers because things have changed so much, so I was really keen to hear of Bobby's own experiences in 2018. Some of the topics we cover on the show include: Why Bobby chose to move to Norway His first impressions of Oslo as a place to live The biggest differences between British life and Norwegian life The differences between football in England and Norway His hopes to referee in Norway and how he plans to deal with the language barrier Bobby's plans for the winter off-season in Norway The surprising reason why Bobby can't ski yet despite being a sports fan