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| Oslo’s new Opera House is a huge hit. And it has a rooftop that seats 8,000. Enlarge photo |
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| We were allowed to film the mayor introducing the band, and then they escorted us out. Tusen Takk! Enlarge photo |
About my “convalescence”: It’s impressive what a couple of quiet days on the Mosel River can do for your spirit and batteries. Thanks for the encouragement. (Perhaps that’s why this blog entry is overdue.) Being in Europe, it can be very hard to just say, “Enough.” As if channel-surfing on a great TV with an infinite number of channels, there’s always something enticing beyond what you can comfortably experience.
My time on the Mosel reminded me of a critical day I spent last year in Athens. We had just produced two exciting shows on Greece. My brain was fried. I was concerned I’d get a cold. I felt like you do when you know getting sick is God’s way of telling you to slow down — and you’re snowballing out of control with an exhilarating project. It was the day before we flew to Iran for our 12-day shoot there, and it would be the most demanding TV production work I think I’d ever done. I needed to be fresh and healthy. I checked out of the last day of shooting in Athens and spent the entire day poolside on the rooftop of our hotel… recharging. And, thankfully, it worked.
We just finished a six-day shoot in Oslo. My plane landed here among flooded lakes. They’d had nothing but rain for a month. When it comes to producing a TV show, Oslo in the rain is just seven kinds of bad. But we had glorious sunshine, and all of Oslo was in bloom for us.
I love Norway — probably because I’m Norwegian. Three of my grandparents grew up in Norway. (Two homesteaded in Edmonton. One was a relatively famous and often-drunk ski jumper in Leavenworth, Washington.) Yesterday I told my producer, Simon, “Everyone looks like my brother.” He was shocked (having traveled with me for 12 years of TV production) and said, “I didn’t know you had a brother.” I don’t. But if I did, they’d look like the guys around us. But it’s more than how they look. It’s how they are. A fun part of travel is to feel a kinship with people from the land of your forefathers.
Norway seems so mellow and content and comfortable and successful. You have to wonder why. And you have to consider that since it’s sparsely populated, it seems nearly everyone’s cut from the same ethnic mold (nearly 20 percent of the population are immigrants, but they seem to live in a parallel world), and there’s plenty of money. Whenever you’re assessing a society (whether Norway, Iran, Alaska, Venezuela, or Texas), if its affluence is based on oil, its policies don’t apply to the rest of the world.
Of course, Norway has a lavish social support system (everyone gets a home, food, money, health care, education, security). While Americans paranoid about these things might call them “socialists,” Norwegians are quite enthusiastically capitalistic. There’s a huge participation in the stock market among Norwegians (they say more, per capita, than Americans). While it’s hard to be poor here, you can be quite wealthy. While ostentatious Norwegians are looked down upon, the wealthy elite who don’t show off are admired.
I’ve long wondered if the incentive to work hard in order not to be poor — which is the active ingredient of capitalism — only works if there are losers. In other words, does capitalism require poverty? But Norway seems to be a land where there are essentially no losers, yet people work hard and the country thrives.
I don’t think we’ve ever filmed in a more laid-back big city than Oslo. At every museum and important place we took our big camera, the attendants just said, “Welcome. Let us know if we can help you.”
Then we went to a concert on the Opera rooftop. (Oslo has a very exciting new Opera House that doubles as a public plaza, with a rooftop that people just have to walk on.) To kick off Oslo’s jazz festival, a hot English group named Antony and the Johnsons (with a lead singer who looks like a cross between Meatloaf and Marilyn Manson) was performing on a stage raft anchored just off the slanting marble slopes of the opera house, and 8,000 people packed the rooftop for the show.
At first we had permission to film. We got there, were escorted to the media stand, and suddenly someone said our permission had been revoked. The security guards turned quite surly, trying to physically escort us out. I suddenly felt like we were dealing with the lackeys of some Batman villain. We tried to discuss the issue, and they treated us like a serious threat to Antony. We told the publicist from the opera house how un-Norwegian the security force seemed. She said, “They were imported by Antony from Britain for this gig.”
Much as I love Norway, goat cheese, and my blond cousins, it seemed I needed to inject some color into my days. Almost every night, we found ourselves walking down a street called Grønland into the immigrant district for food that was both spicy and affordable. Dining streetside, seeing a rainbow of people and a few rough edges, made the world a little less Wonder Bready.
After a week in expensive Norway, I’m comfortable with the notion that up here, beer is wine ($8 a glass). And for coffee, we’d drop by any convenience store and buy an iced latte in a box for $3. It could be some solace to think that the high prices we’re incurring are just helping pay for all that lavish social support everyone here enjoys…but it’s not.
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Thanks, Rick, for that “Wonder Bready” post — I’m always enlightened or entertained (or both!) by your blog.
Rick – Norway has a tiny population but quite a significant income from North Sea oil. This allows the nation to indulge itself with a very comfortable social support system, and also to maintain a large rural farming population that allows the country to live out its pastoral fantasies (farms which aren’t really cost effective given Norway’s climate). I do agree with you that they’ve got a lot of good things going on there (and I personally love Norway) – but without oil things wouldn’t be nearly as easy, and they wouldn’t be able to maintain the social balance they currently have.
The security guards turned quite surly, trying to physically escort us out. Sorry to hear about this. Well the rest of the trip seemed very nice.
Such a pity that being Norwegian is Boring and one needs to find something less Norwegian to have a good time in Norway. Had I the opportunity to travel to Norway, I’d certainly not go get food from whatever their un-integrated immigrant population of choice happens to be.. I would after all be there to explore Norway. I’d not eat Turkish in Germany, or Pakistani in England or Algerian in France either. I try not to let them spoil my visit.. but I can’t say I wouldn’t be happier if they weren’t there. I sure hope that Norway and Norwegians stick around for a while longer in their own country.. 20% is just way to much. My spam-guard word was Phosphoric, meaning to contain something Flammable. I hope my post does.
(they say more, per capita, than Americans) – is that a typo? is it supposed to be save? I know I’ll never change your mind Rick, but some of us that are opposed to the national health care are opposed because we have lived in socialist countries and have gotten very very poor health care. Just because something is “free” doesn’t mean you don’t pay for it.
I know I’ll never change your mind Rick, but some of us that are opposed to the national health care are opposed because we have lived in socialist countries and have gotten very very poor health care. Just because something is “free” doesn’t mean you don’t pay for it. And some of us who have lived in socialist countries have had exactly the opposite experience – good health care AND no worries about a financially-crippling bill at the end of it. I’ve heard more blatantly untrue propaganda about socialised health care since I moved to the USA than I would have believed possible, and many of the comments about the British NHS is know to be untrue. You already have socialised health care, America. It’s called Medicare, Medicaid and the VA system. Brian (40 years in the UK, 12 years in the USA)
Hmm. The ‘blockquote’ didn’t seem to work there (or it doesn’t show with Firefox and Linux). Anyway, the first two sentences were the quote, as should be obvious.
I am sure the Norwegians would be shocked to learn that they are not a Democratic country but are instead a socialist country. Folks need to get over the propaganda that is running rampant in the US about the health care systems that are prevalent in Europe. Why do people label them as “free”? If you have a job, you contribute as does your employer. Some countries, it is by taxation, others by the shared contribution. BUT, no one has to go without. That is the huge difference. As to American having socialized health care already? Really? So, if I, as an American who has lived overseas for 20 years and with MS, decide to go home tomorrow, do your really think I will get medical insurance coverage? Do you think if I need an MRI next week I could get one? What about my $1000 a month meds? No, America does not have health care available for all at a reasonable cost. Take a look at our infant mortality rate. We should be ashamed and be trying to fix this as quickly as possible instead of fighting tooth and nail against medical insurance for our weakest and poorest. This is addressed to the person who thinks 20% foreign population in Norway is too high. What does he think America used to be? This is normal for many countries today. It vitalizes a country, it doesn’t bring it down. Ok, rant is finished. Remember, every day above ground is a good day.:-)
Rick…… just curious if you’d support more oil production (on & off shore) in the U.S. if it meant paying for more ‘social’ programs? It’s obvious that’s how ‘your peeps’ are apparently doing it so well!
Rick, I loved your comment about everyone looking like your brother. That is the way I feel when I go to Wales. When I was last there with my sister she and I felt we blended right in: pale skin, blue or hazel eyes and white hair-yes another example of an aging population.
Having lived in England and with family in Canada I can say “socialized medicine” works fine. The care I received was of high quality. The doctors did not have the latest bells and whistles but techniques were solid. Emphasis was on nutrition and fitness not pills. The latest and greatest snake oil being sold by pharmaceuticals was non existent. A nation is only as strong as its weakest people.
Hello Rick, I was intrigued to read in today’s blog entry that one of your grandparents was a ski jumper in Leavenworth, Washington. As you may know, in the early 1900’s, Norwegian and Swedish immigrants were largely responsible for introducing recreational skiing to the Pacific Northwest. In 1928, a Swede, Rudolph Jules Verne, was the first person to believe that Hollyburn Mountain might be the site of a future Winter Olympics. The lodge he built with the help of fellow Scandinavians is only a couple of kilometres from Black Mtn. where the snowboarding and freestyle skiing competitions will be be held in 2010. There were six ski jumps built on Hollyburn. Hollyburn ski jumping champions, including Tom Mobraaten, Nortdal Kaldahl, and Henry Sotvedt competed in tournaments on Hollyburn and throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Leavenworth. Stories and photos of these ski jumpers and ski jumps are displayed on the Hollyburn Heritage Society web site Your Scandinavian friends may be interested in learning about the accomplishments of these sports heroes. Don Grant – Archivist/Historian for the Hollyburn Heritage Society
Rick, I love your blog but I think you have a contradictory statement. You say: I’ve long wondered if the incentive to work hard in order not to be poor — which is the active ingredient of capitalism — only works if there are losers. In other words, does capitalism require poverty? But Norway seems to be a land where there are essentially no losers, yet people work hard and the country thrives.” This implies a zero sum game which is not true. Instead of rich and poor why not very wealthy and extremely wealthy? This is exactly what you describe as capitalism in Norway. The “active ingredient of capitalism” is a false construct you disprove yourself. Jo, democratic and socialistic can exist together. The former is a political system while the latter is an economic system.
Guess you are glad you did the Iran show last year even feeling poorly as opposed to the mess going on over there now
Just curious–wherefrom in Norway hail your grandparents? -Laila
What will Norway do when their oil supplies run out? Do they have plans for this?
What will Norway do when their oil supplies run out? Do they have plans for this? Of course not…… they’re socialists! They just pass the buck to future generations. :-)
Sounds like you’re better rested, Rick. Back with more happy travels. Norway sounds great. Wonder bready. :) Take care!
Greg, Do you have a source for your comment that the Norwegians don’t have a plan? Most Norwegians that I meet are rather frugal. Are the broad-sweeping comments you’re making about the Norwegians based on any factual knowledge or are they assumptions? And if they are assumptions, what information are they based on? Sounds like Rick is having a good time in Norway. I know that my parents really enjoyed their trip to Norway a few years ago and it is on my list of places to visit someday.
I am surprised how racist Stockholm is. My wife is Vietnamese and they wouldn’t let us into many of the clubs. Germany and Japan are the only other place where we have run into that. Such a shame.
I agree with your position concerning losers. I sometimes think we are not so much concerned with someone winning as we are with someone losing. Even in sports. We play baseball games for hours to get a “winner”. Now we even play football games into overtimes until some one “wins”. MLS even did that at the beginning – until they got it right. My view is that we cannot bear to have anything – sports, politics, business, life, where we cannot identify the looser.
My family and I enjoy all your shows. I wish some of the comments here could be more constructive, but here in the good ol US we complain about everything, then do absolutley nothing to make things better. I enjoy your blog very much. I appreciate the work that you do and the perspective you’ve adquired throughout your travels.
At an impressionable 18 years of age, I spent a year studying in Sweden. Many years later, what I remember most acutely about those 12 months is that Scandinavians had what they needed: health care, eyeglasses, transportation, housing, education. Like you said, Oslo is a very relaxed city–comfortable and easy-going, even while young and seasoned professionals earn well and enjoy a tremendous quality of life. I think it’s the knowledge that one has access to what he or she needs that makes Scandinavia such a laid-back place.
My grandparents came from Mandal, the southernmost town of Norway. My family continues to cherish our Norwegian heritage, especially on Christmas Eve. My late Aunt Edith spent several years in Mandal in the 1980s. This made it pssible for all of us to reconnect with several cousins and great aunts and uncles. We first visited in 1990 and then visited again in 2006. A Norwegian asked me what changes I saw. I said: about 15 pounds! I have read that Norway is the only oil-rich country which is planning wisely and investing carefully. My encounters have been brief but it seems like the combination of socialism & capitalism is working quite well in Norway and in most of Europe. We Americans are slow to accept socialist programs but usually become fans once implemented. I am sure Universal Health Care would become extremely popular here once implemented.
To continue on the Health Care theme, I find it fascinating that The Bush Administration cut medicare spending with strong Republican congressional support but now compain when the Obama Administration plans to cut Medicare spending (through more controls and efficiencies). Since when can we count on the GOP to be defenders of Medicare?!
The Bush Administration greatly expanded Medicare spending. The addition of prescription drug coverage is probably the most extensive change since its inception. I like the politics, but not changing facts.
Many people believe oil money fund Norways social benefits. They are quite surprised to find that Norway does not, in fact, spend any oil money. Oil money go straight into the sovereign wealth fund. That is why Norways budget runs a 50% surplus every year. (OK, admittedly that was relaxed slightly this year, to deal with the finance crisis. Having enough cash in the bank to run the country for years is a good cushion, as long as we don’t go overboard.) Everything you saw was financed from the non-oil economy of Norway.