Check-in from Oslo...

Easter is upon us! Happy Easter to all readers, and look forward to some wonderful Easter pics from Norway, Sweden, ect... Here are some appitizers from Germany, Denmark, and Sweden...

Click on the thumbnails on the right to view the cities...

I'm going "home..."

This is Murtorpet. My Great-Great Grandfather, Carl August Johansson was born and raised on this farm. At the Age of 24, he packed up his things and Emigrated with his family to America in 1890.

Tomorrow I begin my pilgrimage back to my homeland. This is probably the most exciting trip of my life... I hope I will be able to see the farm, and meet some of my relatives that did not emigrate to America.

Updates over the next two weeks may be sparatic, but look forward to some awesome pictures and a general GREAT time!

US 'no longer technology king'

BBC NEWS | Business | US 'no longer technology king': "US 'no longer technology king'

The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum."
The US is now ranked seventh in the body's league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations.

A deterioration of the political and regulatory environment in the US prompted the fall, the report said.

The top spot went for the first time to Denmark, followed by Sweden.

Countries were judged on the integration of technology in business, the infrastructure available, government policy favourable for fostering a culture of innovation and progress and leadership in promoting the usage of the latest information technology tools.

The Networked Readiness Index, the sixth of its kind published by the World Economic Forum with Insead, the Paris-based business school, scrutinised progress in 122 economies worldwide.

Despite losing its top position, the US still maintained a strong focus on innovation, driven by one of the world's best tertiary education systems and its high degree of co-operation with industry, the report said.

NETWORKED READINESS INDEX RANKINGS 2006 (2005)
1: Denmark (3)
2: Sweden (8)
3: Singapore (2)
4: Finland (5)
5: Switzerland (9)
6: Netherlands (12)
7: US (1)
8: Iceland (4)
9: UK (10)
10: Norway (13)
Source: WEF

The country's efficient market environment, conducive to the availability of venture capital, and the sophistication of financial markets, was also given recognition.

Denmark is now regarded as the world leader in technological advancement, with its Nordic neighbours Sweden, Finland and Norway claiming second, fourth and 10th place respectively.

"Denmark, in particular, has benefited from the very effective government e-leadership, reflected in early liberalization of the telecommunications sector, a first-rate regulatory environment and large availability of e-government services," said Irene Mia, senior economist at World Economic Forum.

European countries to make the top 20 included Switzerland in fifth place, the Netherlands, one of the most improved in sixth, the UK (nine), Germany (16), Austria (17) and Estonia (20).

While countries from Asia and the Pacific continued to progress, the powerhouse economies of China and India both showed a downward trend.

India was four positions down on last year to 44th, suffering from weak infrastructure and a very low level of individual usage of personal computers and the internet.

China was knocked to 59th place, nine positions down, with information technology uptake in Chinese firms lagging.

You win second prize in a beauty contest... collect $10.

I have lived here in Denmark for about two months now, and I have come to appreciate many things. Sure they don't have million dollar houses and Hummers. They don't have attics and sheds full of unused possessions. They don't even have Kellogg's Captain Crunch! What they do have though, is a population of people that are kind, helpful, and most of all, humble. They live one of the highest standards of living in the world, without relying on their possessions. They appreciate what they have, and care a great deal about what they have been given.

My favorite saying of the Danish people is,

"Denmark: Where few have too much, and even fewer too little."

I think we have a lot to learn from this place I now call home.

Innovative Danes

Warning... slightly NSFW (Not Safe for Work)... European style nudity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPoOK7_2tts

Early Morning Theory

In my lawnmower induced awakening too early this morning, I came across this article that clearly describes me (I just signed up for my MU classes, and I don't have any before 12:00 every day):




Being on the B-list will no longer be a sign of being second rate at one Copenhagen secondary school - just a late riser


Starting this autumn semester, students at HF Centret Efterslogten in Copenhagen's North-west district can forget about setting their alarms.

HF Centret, a secondary school preparing people for certain professions falling outside those offered at universities, will offer a test group of type-B students classes starting at 12:30 pm. The school plans to extend the programme to an entire year starting in 2008, offering a complete 10-5 format.

The initiative was started by the B-society, an association that supports type-B people and helps promote their lifestyle. According to society president Camilla Kring the group's school's initiative is the start of a 'revolution'.

'It's fantastic and we expect the trend to catch on elsewhere. We want to have B-grade schools, B-high schools and B-nursery schools. This is only the first step on the path.'

The B-movement has exploded since Jyllands-Posten newspaper published an article about the Copenhagen-based association in January, when B-Society had a mere 67 members. It now has 3880 members, including many from Sweden and Norway.

Studies show that up to 25 percent of the population are B-types, who normally prefer staying up later in the evenings and sleeping late in the mornings.

Ole Vadmand, a student counsellor at the school, said the idea of later classes benefits everyone, not just the students.

'None of our students or teachers have to go out and milk the cows anymore, so there's no reason to continue to living in a society modelled after agrarian routines.'

Vadmand said that when he first mentioned the idea of later classes to his students, the clear response was that nearly all of them wanted them - not just the B-types.

Kring said she is looking into starting another association for A-types, which make up some 15 percent of the population.

Is the grass greener on the other side?

I've been hearing how warm it is back home, but how long and green is your grass? Every Tuesday morning since I have been here, Søren has fired up the græs gennemskæring (lawnmower) at 8:00AM to cut the long, thick, green grass here. Winter never really happened here, and the grass never stopped growing. So I ask you, readers... is the grass really greener on the other side?

American English

I came across this little worksheet stuck in a bush in front of the elementary school right outside my flat. I guess this explains why all the Danes speak English so well... they learn it starting right in elementary school from this handy little "American English" work book. With only 5.5 million Danes, they are forced to be bilingual, which would be an understatement considering most of them also speak Swedish and/or German (which are not as similar as I was lent to believe.) In high school, they choose another language to take another four years of (mainly French or Spanish.) Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Swedish, German... I don't know how they keep them all straight, but then again, I am a student of the American education system.

Hike to Horuphav

So I woke up in an ambitious mood this morning... It helped that the sun was shining in my window for the first time in awhile. I strapped my backpack full of sandwiches, water, and reading material for a hike to an unknown destination. There is a trail-head not far from home, so I hopped on the trail and was off. I won't try to explain it, just take a look at the photos.

Smart Danes

It seems as if the Danes have made a wise decision as to not invest billions into the US's Federal Debt fund. As a matter of fact, the Danes have no national debt of their own to worry about, thanks to the robust economy and the efficient Danish economic model!

American?: Passport Discrimination

EU passports are maroon, US passports are blue. There are probably a million bureaucratic reasons why, but it is also an efficient way to instantly spot a US citizen. I have noticed throughout my travels that in airports, people wait around in queues with their passports in hand. As if there weren't 589 other ways to identify Americans, this makes us easy to spot (stay tuned for the other 588 ways!)

The Copenhagen Post

The Copenhagen Post: "A call to build a 44 km bridge connecting the Danish mainland with the island of Zealand is being labelled as 'visionary' by politicians. But the proposal, according to the traffic minister, Flemming Hansen, is way ahead of its time and will have to wait until a bridge between Denmark and Germany is completed."

Traffic engineers called on politicians Monday to scrap proposed plans for a 19 km link over the Femharn Belt and instead focus on a link that would drastically reduce travel time between the country's two largest cities, Copenhagen and Århus.

Denmark and Germany are in the midst of negotiations over a Fehmarn link and Hansen said that while he couldn't rule out the new proposal, the bridge to Germany took priority.

'The Fehmarn Bridge will connect Scandinavia with the rest of Europe,' he said, noting that a bridge would cut 155 km off a trip to Hamburg.

Hansen added that this was not the first time a bridge across the Kattegat waterway had been proposed, but that he would nevertheless ask the Infrastructure Commission, which is to look at Denmark's traffic infrastructure needs for the next three decades, to consider the plan.

Other MPs agreed that the time to build a Kattegat bridge was not now.

'It's very visionary,' said Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, traffic spokesperson for the PM's Liberal Party. 'But it is also a gigantic proposal that we're not ready to take up just yet.'

The opposition Social Democrats felt the proposal was worth looking into, but agreed that a Fehmarn bridge was still most important.

Traffic engineer Uffe Jacobsen said on Monday that up to five times as many cars would pass over a Kattegat link between Jutland and Zealand than a southern link. The distance between the two regions would also be reduced by about 150 km.

Currently, both stretches are directly linked by ferry service.

Taxes: Have you filed?

We're getting close to that April 15th deadline, so I hope you have all done your taxes. As a diversion to your W4's and 1040's, I offer this bit of insight. In Denmark, every item purchased is charged a 25% value added tax (VAT). Regardless of what the item is: food, cars, medicine, clothes. Imagine the price of that new Ford Focus you have been eying if you add a 25% tax to the sticker price (not to mention the 25% duty paid to purchase a new car). The sticker price on a VW Golf in Denmark after VAT & duty, 234.000 DKK ($41,844USD). You could get a Mid-level BMW for that in the US!

Now stop complaining about how much the government is taking from you in taxes and file already!

Danish Whisperer

It is very hard to whisper in Danish. Be it the gutteral tones or the clearing of the throat, it isn't a language to be spoken lightly or quietly. Please use your 12 inch voices to gossip during classes...

St. Patrick Who?

Apparently, St. Patrick didn't do much for Danes, because they had no idea what St. Patrick's Day was. One Danish guy commented, "is that the day people dye their beer green and drink the whole day?" Despite this being "Swede in America," I am also a little Irish, so it was a shame not to be able to celebrate this day. We did however make a bathtub full of glogg, so I learned a new tradition, be it related to St. Patrick or not.