Did you know?

• Henrik Ibsen is the most famous of all Norwegian playwrights - at almost any time of the year, at least one of his plays is performed somewhere in Norway.
• Famous Norwegians include: Edward Munch, Henrik Ibsen, Leiv Eiriksson, and Marilyn Monroe.
• The most useful Norwegian inventions are the cheese slice, the paper clip and the string vest.
• Norway has the longest coastline in Europe – 12.500 miles (with fjords up to 114 miles long).
• As per Encyclopedia Britannica, Norwegians read more than any other population in the world.
• Norway was rated the most peaceful country in the world, in a survey conducted by Global Peace Index in 2007.
• The Christmas tree, which stands in Trafalgar Square in London, has been presented by ‘City of Oslo’ to the UK, for over fifty years.
• In Denmark, English is a required subject in school from the 5^th grade up.
• There is not a single mountain in Denmark. The closest thing is a 560 foot high hill called Møllehøj.
• There is seldom a wooden house, as most wood is imported into Denmark. The houses are mostly brick, as there is plenty of clay.
• Danish pigs get sunburned easily so are not kept outside. They have more meat than other pigs, having smaller heads, two more ribs, and are longer.
• The Danish language has 29 letters. The extra three letters are æ, ø, and å (pronounced eh, er, and o respectively). Double-a is the same as å, which is a Swedish and Norwegian letter added in 1948.
• Danes eat more pasta than any other people.
• Sweden is the homeland of the Germanic ethnicity and culture. The Goths, the Suevirs and the Norses (Vikings) all trace their origin back to Sweden (as well as Norway and Denmark for the latter).
• Sweden has the highest number of McDonald restaurants per capita in Europe (although that is only about half of the US ratio).
• Swedes have been known for a number of inventions, including astronomical lens, zipper, marine propeller, refrigerator, computer mouse and pace-maker.
• Till 2006, Sweden had 27 Nobel prizes, the 5^th highest in the world.
• A popular souvenir in Sweden is the road sign for moose-crossing. Surprisingly, a large number of these signs are stolen from Swedish roads every year.
• The most prominent religion in Sweden is Lutheran, followed by Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Baptism, Jewish, Buddhism and Islam.

Now you know!

For more great fun facts on the countries we will be visiting, look here, here, here, here, and here.

Update

A few important notes today:

1. Professor Koffel and I will be holding a meeting for everyone signed up for the tour. Look for that infomation here.

2. If you don't have a passport get the process started. Professor Koffel has a fantastic post on this blog about the process. If you have problems stop and see either of us.

3. Deposits will be due sooner rather than later so get the financial process started.

Eric

Cost of Living Notes

A few notes today on the cost of traveling in Scandinavia.

Is it expensive? Compared to Jacksonville, yes.
Is it outrageous? Judge for yourself'.

Below I have listed some data from an International Cost of Living Index.
The score of 100 is the mean so use that as a baseline score. New York was the base city for the survey with a score of 100.

City and Score
Moscow 142
Tokyo 127
London 125
Oslo 118
Copenhagen 117
Milan 111
Paris 109
Dublin 103
Athens 99
Warsaw 95

For example: what would cost you roughly $1.00 in Athens would cost $1.18 in Oslo.

Think about your spending money and what you want to take away from Scandinavia.

Source: Mercer – Cost of Living Survey 2008