Category Archives: Norway Food, Travel & Culture

Crossing between Newcastle, UK to Kristiansand, Norge
It took its name from the World of Blue Riband of the Atlantic award given to the passenger ship that made the fastest Atlantic crossing and the record holding ship would fly a blue pennant in its topmast, until a newer and faster ship took over.

The deck of Princess of Scandivavia while crossing the North Sea

DFDS seaway the ferry company was one of the largest steamship company and participated in the busy cargo and passenger transport between Europe and in America. Crossing the Atlantic in the old days gave the passengers a chance to socialize and the steamships enables to give them the element of luxury and leisure. DFDS sailed its final American steamship in 1935 and the steam has long gone… but something good remained from that era.

The sense of real luxury at sea, the excellent food and wine, in which M and I truly experience when we crossed the North Sea.
I chose the KOKMASTAREN REKOMMENDERAR , the Chef’s recommendation.
My first course was Bouillabaisse served with toast and aioli. I expected the French way of bouillabaisse where the soup is almost creamy, but this the Scandinavian way. It has mussels, shrimps, scallops on a light tomato paprika broth. The toast was full of garlic flavour and I had two aioli one is mild and the other with strong garlic flavour. Guess which one I savoured?

Beef Tournedos

It was followed with tournedos (a beef steak cut from the tenderloin). It was served with deep fried onion rings, homemade French fries sprinkled with coarse sea salt and béarnaise sauce.
Béarnaise is a classic French sauce, made with the reduction of vinegar wine, tarragon and shallots and finished with egg yolk and butter. Not for those who count calories!

I finished my meal with Mjolkchoklad mousse, served with mandarin sauce. The base of the mousse was chocolate puffs the breakfast cereals. This must be common here up in the Nordic countries, one restaurant in our area served choc mousse based with corn flakes!

Chocolate Mousse
M went for smoked breast of duck to start with, with a surprising fish of the day to follow. It was salmon and when it came it made us oh and ah. Salmon terrine wrapped with nori, sea weeds with saffron sauce with fish stock based. It was served with potato parisien.

The dinner was accompanied with some jazz music from the piano and a bottle of GEWURTZTRAMINER, Puntay Estate of the Alto Ridge region of Trentino North Italy, which has a deep golden colour with hints of grapefruits and mango. Crisp, fresh and tasty
Gewurtz in german means spicy and the wine produces a pungent perfumy smell and its sweetness varies in degree. This wine can be expensive too that sometimes M jokes to me that I have an expensive taste!

It was indeed a crossing that worth the experience.
The Blue Riband Restaurant aboard the Princess of Scandinavia was truly worth the experience

I couldn’t get up must be tired or was it the wine. M said if I were to shower and have a full stomach I’d better get up. I looked at the port hole, ughh not another grey place. Dashed to the breakfast buffet, must have been dashing because I didn’t carry a camera with me.

Great breakfast buffet honestly, lots of cold meat, selection of cheeses, assorted bread, croissant, danish pastries, hot food – eggs, sausages, mushroom, tomatoes (must be catering for the Brits indeed). I wished I could sit longer, I still have to pack and they already called that we are docking.

Kristiansand port, queue at passpot control.

Passport control was swift or maybe we look so innocent. I can’t even remember if they checked our passport in the computer or not. Then passing the customs ,the guy simply asked if the things we have are personal effects.
How long will you be staying?
I had this silly grin on my face and said to him, WE DON’T KNOW.

As soon we left the port, M need to be reminded we are now driving on the right side. We found the exit for E18 Oslo and left Kristiansand, while the ferry will still continue its journey to Goterburg, Sweden.

We have estimated the trip to be around 3 to 4 hrs, Oslo is 322 km away, this we have calculated on our speed while driving in UK.
In UK we go as fast as 80mph that’s around 120km/h (am bad at conversion but this I base on the speedometer). Oh no, we were crawling speed limit is only 50kmp and I had to remind M to keep an eye on the speed.

Snowy scenery along the way.

We hoped will get to Oslo early and fast, normally I doze on a highway but such slow trip was keeping me awake and M lethargic. I had to keep M company he might as well fall asleep behind the wheels or go beyond the speed limit, you can be nabbed even on 5km/h over the limit.

Such a slow drive that I could even snap photos and still come out clear. We had our picnic lunch from the food I brought with me. I fell asleep eventually . After a short break halfway through and the speed limit changed to 100km/h we arrived in Oslo at 2pm on a bright sunny day on March 18th, 2005.

Food to Norway. Yes and don’t laugh! Inside my bags are the following

1) Organic Earl Grey Tea
2) Organic Coffee
3) Organic Lemon Squash

Couldn’t bring anything from Greece except for my briki – its for my greek coffee, its a metal “pot” with a long handle, for greek coffee.
I wish I could bring feta (well I did from Greece and its all gone!)

Susanna the English girl I “met” through the UK_Norsk forum asked me to buy the following:

1) Heinz Baked Beans
2) Hellmans Mayonaisse
3) Oats

The first two is twice as much in Norway, the oats as she said the English one is better! Wait we bought her Scottish oats!

My snacks, Swiss chocs and will grab some crisps tomorrow!
We are already wondering what will be supper on the ferry!