Sortland nightlife with great friends!

June 12, 2010
Today is our formal introduction to Sortland and who better to meet and greet with than Mayor Svein Roar Jacobsen and Commander Steve Olsen, head of the Kystvakten (Norwegian Coast Guard). Sortland, or “the blue town,” as it is often nicknamed because of the number of blue buildings in the downtown area, is a town of about 5,000 residents. The town is located on the island of Langøya and is the largest town and commercial center in Vesterålen. The municipality is named after the old Sortland farm, since the first church was built there. As one of our hosts, Jan Christensen explained to us, the name of a town can tell you a lot about its history. In this case, “Svorta” is a river name and “land” means land or farm. The river name is derived from the word “svartr” or black, hence the town being named “the black one.”

Commander Steve Olsen is the current head of the Norwegian Coast Guard but will be promoted in August to be an admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy. The Norwegian Coast Guard is technically a branch of the Navy, so he will be moving out of the Coast Guard and into the Navy. The Coast Guard was established on April 1, 1977 and works on several different safety and security issues at sea. It currently consists of 21 vessels, 6 helicopters, 2 aircraft and 800 personnel. There are less than 10 people living on the base at any given time. The ships generally come into dock on Tuesdays or Wednesdays and stay at the base for 24 hours while the new crew takes their orders. Each crew is out to sea for three weeks and then on land for three weeks. The Coast Guard Law gives the authority to enforce all relevant rules and regulations at sea and to assist in emergency or distress situations. The operational area includes territorial waters and the continental shelf and any other international areas where Norway has commitments. It will also carry out military tasks including force protection if needed. The basic philosophy of the Coast Guard is to be present and maintain control.

After the presentations, we decided to have a low key afternoon and evening in Sortland. Three of our Norwegian friends, Ann Lisebeth, Marianne and Karl Erik, are all from Sortland and wanted to show us the everyday life in town. Nicole and I started the afternoon taking in the downtown Sortland area in search of some affordable Norwegian souvenirs. Sadly, the task was impossible. We did however get to walk around the two downtown malls, which have about six stores in each including a grocery store and the equivalent of a dollar store (but more than a dollar!). The one thing I did notice is that Norway as a whole and Sortland in particular does not offer anywhere close to the number of options we have at home. The only area where there are options is in the grocery store selection, because there are at least four chains in each town. Between the two malls, there are only three to four clothing stores, a couple flower stores, two pharmacy chains, nille (the dollar store equivalent), a toy store and an electronic boutique. Marianne said this was typical and enough for them. Between the sheer number of options and the value of the Norwegian kroner versus the U.S. dollar, it’s no wonder the Norwegian team went crazy shopping when they visited us!

After shopping or rather window shopping, we visited Karl Erik’s house to meet his famed hens! After meeting Karl Erik in New Jersey, we were all convinced he lived a rural lifestyle in the middle of nowhere living off the land. Instead, he lives right in the city but still has a chicken hatch in the backyard for his four hens. While we were visiting, his three little girls ran outside to the backyard to pick out some fresh rhubarb which they ate raw, dipping the end into a glass of sugar. Rhubarb and sugar is a Norwegian treat all our friends seem to remember enjoying while growing up but nowadays, if you were to buy rhubarb at the grocery store in the United States, it comes with a warning not to eat it raw!

Our evening started with some homemade pizza! Homemade pizza is definitely different in Norway, the crust is thick and the pie is either entirely topped with meats or veggies. All pizza is served with a garlic pizza sauce which is very similar to tzatziki. The Norwegians typically top their pizza with the sauce and don’t use any other toppings like oregano, crushed red pepper or garlic. The taste in all Norwegian food tends to run towards the bland side but I haven’t tasted the meats which are likely marinated and thus, flavorful. Karl Erik started a mini-barbeque (a foil pan with some charcoal) to make whale and reindeer kebabs. After dinner was our first night out with Norwegian friends, starting with a party at Ann Lisebeth’s house where she invited a lot of her other friends. Here we were introduced to two Norwegian drinking traditions… First, Karsk. You get a mug with a clear bottom and place a coin either inside the mug or underneath. Poor coffee in the mug until you can’t see the coin any longer. Then, you grab the vodka and pour it in until you can see the coin again. (Hint: The coffee is still in there, so you’ll never dilute it enough to be able to see the coin again). Second, a Turkish shot. Not good. A Turkish shot is essentially a homemade shot, combining vodka with a Turkish bean that tastes like black licorice. The liquor mixture is given a couple days to set, which intensifies the taste. Norwegians love this shot or black licorice in particular… on the other hand, Americans do not love the taste of black licorice. Yuck!

Our night continued with a taste of the local nightlife at Stedet. A famous local cover band, Topcoat, was playing in town so we decided to hear their 80s music. The nightlife in Norway is pretty similar to going out in a small town at home. The drinks were expensive, but that has been our experience the entire time. The bar also had a disco attached to the back with a dj and a dance floor. That was a little different only because the music was unfamiliar, mostly Europop with techno beats. But all in all, it was a fun night and we had a great time with our friends in Sortland. On a side note and perhaps of interest, there are no strip clubs in Norway. In fact, Norwegian men don’t understand the concept of paying to see somebody take their clothes off. Ha.

Interesting Observations:
Norwegians are incredibly adept at using their utensils. Sitting at the dinner table with any Norwegian means you will feel inferior in your own eating abilities. The Norwegians eat with both hands, a fork in their left hand and a knife in their right. Without ever touching the food with their hands, they are able to scoop up every last morsel from the plate including gravy, rice and bread. Everything is cut into little bites and eaten including the open faced sandwiches for lunch. On the other hand, and somewhat embarrassingly, us Americans use our right hand to cut with the knife, then place the knife down and switch utensils so the right hand is now picking up the fork to put the bite of food in our mouth. Very inefficient!

Speaking of food, I have yet to get used to the typical Norwegian spread. Breakfast usually consists of a piece of bread, topped with mayonnaise, caviar, cheese or hard-boiled eggs. There is also usually a Wasa bread/cracker and then jams, butter, brown cheese and of course, fish. A typical breakfast starts with a piece of bread with several toppings, eaten with a fork and knife. The lunch spread is very similar to the breakfast spread, with bread and Wasa crackers, a spread of fish, mayonnaise, caviar, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, brown cheese, paprika red peppers and cucumber. Norwegians typically start with two to three slices of bread, with toppings to make an open-faced sandwich, eaten with fork and knife. Dinner varies from fish to meats to more traditional Norwegian meals like fish balls, sheep’s head, reindeer or whale. I haven’t had any problems finding vegetarian food, a salad at least, but the variety has been limited.