Clustered
around the head of the 68-mile-long Oslofjord, Oslo is probably the most
spacious city in the world. Its 175-square-mile metropolitan area
consists of over 75 percent forests and five percent water. Its fine
deep harbor, Pipervika, stretches into the heart of the city and from it
leave ferries to Denmark and Germany.
There's no doubt that
Denmark's open sandwiches called Smørrebrød are the most famous
feature of the Danish kitchen. They're also a staple of the Norwegian
diet, stemming from when Denmark ruled Norway in the 19th Century. The
sandwiches have hundreds of variations, with chefs coming up with new
versions all the time.
The simple,
"flat", four sandwiches that office workers take for lunch are
usually made on thin slices of white bread, which they often eat at
their desks with a small container of milk. Deluxe, gourmet versions
feature brightly colored compositions, so generous
that three are enough for a meal. These are usually found at restaurants
like the Grand Cafe in Oslo, Norway. Patrons accompany these with cold
Danish or Norwegian beer.
While there's an endless
variety of good breads used to make these open-faced sandwiches, the
Danes usually make them with dark rye bread. Chefs prefer wholegrain
breads for their firmness so that they can cut the slices as thin as
possible. When they use white bread, they usually toast it.
Smørrebrød eaters
start with those made with fish and proceed to those made with meat
and salad. Unlike the Norwegians, the Danes wind up a smørrebrød meal
with a piece of buttered white bread on which
they place a thick slice of a good cheese.
Every year about 95 000 people die in
Sweden and, according to the law, everyone must be buried. There must be
room for everyone in the cemeteries, therefore the future needs of space
have to be predicted. Because of this funerals must be part of the
planning process.
In
the early Middle Ages, driven by famine at home and the promise of
wealth to be had in other lands, the Vikings set out from Scandinavia to
conquer parts of England, Ireland, France, Russia, and even Turkey.
Bolstered by their successes, the Vikings pushed westward, eventually
crossing the North Atlantic and founding settlements in Iceland,
Greenland, and Newfoundland in Canada. Read
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