Don't know much about history...

Most Norwegian high school students (65 percent) don’t know who Pol Pot was or what the Gulag means (64 percent). A new survey shows Norwegian 15-20-year-olds are sorely lacking in their knowledge of 20th-century history.

Over a quarter of the students polled couldn’t even identify Mao Zedong, while 75 percent had never heard of "The Great Leap Forward".

Almost all of the Norwegian students knew what Auschwitz was, as well as the Berlin Wall.

A 2007 poll in Sweden showed that 90 percent of the students had no idea what the Gulag was and practically none had heard of "The Great Leap Forward" or "Bolshevik".

'The worst US president'

A Norwegian professor who's considered one of the country's leading experts on US politics has ranked George W Bush as the worst US president in history. The best: Abraham Lincoln.

Two members of the Republican party landed as both the worst and the best presidents. Bush, is the worst.

Railroad takes steps to reduce moose crashes

After around 200 collisions with moose just since New Year, the Norwegian railroad is planning some expensive anti-crash measures.
The 200 moose collisions have occurred just in the county of Hedmark. An estimated 13,000 moose have been killed by trains since 2000.

Norway's most popular names

My grandchilds name is Sara

Norway's state statistics bureau SSB has studied names given to babies born in the country last year, and singled out the most popular ones for boys and girls.

The most popular name for Norwegian girls last year was "Sara," while parents made "Mathias" the most popular name for boys.

Small bridge

A calm lake

Blue tit (Parus caeruleus)

Semla - nam,nam,nam

A semla is a traditional pastry in Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Norway, associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday. The name derives from the Latin semilia, which was the name used for the finest quality wheat flour. In the southernmost part of Sweden, Skåne and by the Swedish speaking population in Finland, they are known as fastlagsbulle (fastlagen being the equivalent of shrovetide), and in the rest of Finland as laskiaispulla. In Estonia it is known as vastlakukkel.

Red houses

85-year-old diva releases new album

Beloved Norwegian actress and singer Nora Brockstedt, 85, has become one of the oldest in the world to release a music album.

Brockstedt hasn’t exactly been taking it easy the past few years, though. After a long career as an entertainer, with pop radio hits and international performances, she released her first jazz album in 2004, followed by a Christmas Songs album in 2005.

Sunset

Little princess turns 4

Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who stands to inherit the Norwegian throne someday as the country's first reigning queen, celebrated her fourth birthday at home with her family and friends today.

Happy Birthday to the Princess!

Moose accidents abound

There's been an unusual jump in the number of collisions involving moose and other wild animals during the past week. No less than 14 were reported on Friday alone, with three more by Saturday morning.

Wildlife officials blame snow on the ground, which sends the animals off looking for food, followed by the recent spate of mild temperatures, which makes the animals more mobile. Some researchers also have claimed that the animals are more likely to roam when the moon is full, which it was over the

Windmill (Denmark)

Winter Landscape

Old Stavanger - Norway

Old Stavanger (Gamle Stavanger) is located right next to the city centre. This collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth century wooden structures is one of the finest in Northern Europe.

Europe’s Capital of Culture 2008

Stavanger is this year’s European Capital of Culture. The Norwegian oil city kicked off the cultural festival in an opening ceremony with local and international artists alike on January 12.

The project is initiated by the Council of the European Union. The overall goal is to bring the European citizens closer together in an attempt to promote greater mutual acquaintance among the Europeans. The idea is to strengthen the European identity through cultural sharing.

Drammen Theatre - Buskerud county, Norway

The attractive Drammens Theatre was inaugurated on 8 February 1870 after the great fire of 1866 that destroyed a major part of the city. The theatre was designed by Swedish architect Emil Victor Langlet who had also designed the National Assembly in Oslo and Drammens Børs. Georg Herman Muller, a well-known theatre painter, created the curtain and sets for the opening performance.

Vardoehus (Vardøhus) fortress

Vardøhus fortress is located in Vardø municipality in the county of Finnmark on the Barents Sea on the mouth of the Varangerfjord in northeastern Norway near the Russian border.
The first fortification was erected by Haakon V Magnusson in 1306.

Snow hell - from March 2006

Narvik - Nordland county, Norway

Mandal- Norway

Mandal is a town and municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.

Teen fined after killing gull

A 17-year-old boy in the northern district has been fined after cutting the head off a live seagull chick.

Officials have classified the case as cruelty to animals, and fined the teenager NOK 8,000 (about USD 1,400).
The incident took place last August, when the boy captured a young seagull and broke its neck. He then cut the gull's head off, taping the decapitation with a video camera.

Mountain cabins - Saltfjellet

Saltfjellet (lit. The Salt Mountain) is a mountain area in Nordland, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. This is one of the largest mountain ranges in Norway, and is also where the Arctic Circle cuts through the country.

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

The reindeer, known as caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer.

Domesticated reindeer are mostly found in northern Scandinavia and Russia, and wild reindeer are mostly found in Norway, North America, Greenland and Iceland (where they were introduced by humans in the 18th century). The last wild reindeer in Europe are found in portions of southern Norway. The southern boundary of the species' natural range is approximately at 62° north latitude.

Look-A-like: Poodle

Arendal, Aust-Agder county, Norway

Fireworks