KARETHE LINAAE
The other day my son sent me a WhatsApp video from Norway. He was out running by the Oslo fjord and had stopped on a bridge to film the view. Far below, I could see the water that I had sailed on so many times with my late father, the Norwegian coastline, the granite cliffs…
Imagine walking into a French palace back in the 16th Century, the golden age of leatherwork, and coming upon a dancehall lined with brightly shining polychrome gilt-leather panels with the most amazing intricate botanical and geometrical designs. The decor appears to be something out of 1001 Arabian Nights or a magical fairy tale, but in…
Now that we might soon be able to talk about the Corona virus in the past tense, it is time to reflect on how this global pandemic affected our love lives. If ‘Love in the time of Cholera’ had its challenges, I can assure you that ‘Love in the time of Corona’ did likewise. While…
Have you ever been struck by an odour which instantly took you back to a place that you had completely forgotten about? This happens to me quite frequently. I can turn a corner and suddenly I am there as a toddler in the land of the fjords, or as a 23-year-old living in Paris. The…
It is no secret that most Norwegians who live in Spain are pensioners who reside on the sunny Spanish coast. Which is why I admit to getting excited when I meet some of my fellow countrymen who are a tad younger, do something a bit different and who have hung their straw hats in somewhat…
One of the greatest pleasures of spring is watching the budding leaves on the trees. If you always have wanted to plant a tree in your garden, spring is also the best time of the year to do so. Planting a tree is surprisingly easy. Just find the right spot and start digging. The only…
“I choose April” my father would always announce in his booming baritone around this time of the year. He was quoting the first part of a Norwegian poem from the 1870s, though he never continued, so I doubt that he ever knew the rest of it. Exactly 26 years ago I was very pregnant. In…
Andalucía is one of Europe’s foremost travel destinations with a rich and diverse cultural past. One can hardly put a spade in the ground without bringing some more ruins to light. Roman, Visigoth or Arab treasures seem to be discovered every time an Andalusian town excavates underground parking, builds a new road, or simply expands…
The almond tree, or el almendro as it is called in Spanish, can be found all over the Mediterranean region. Ever since the Phoenicians brought the fruit to these shores some 3000 years ago, they have been an important food source for the Andalusians. Almonds contain Omega 6, magnesium, potassium, calcium, Vitamin E, thiamine…
A common expression often heard these days is Corona-fatigue. After a year of masks, disinfectants and almost exclusively pandemic-news (except the US election…), is it any wonder that we are starting to get fed up with the entire thing? I can quite understand that people are feeling impatient and wanting to not give a damn….