May 13, 2013 - back in Alaska?

The sail down Oslo Fjord reminded us of last summer in Alaska. Cool temperature, low hanging heavy clouds. Close examination of the buildings showed a different architectural style; picturesque homes dotted the green hillsides. If there was a flat spot, someone had built a home there. We were also left with the impression that every Norwegian must own a boat. Oslo is a wonderful city to visit by cruise ship. The dock is right down town; many stores and museums are within walking distance. However, this is definitely a window shopping sort...

Sep 9, 2012 - Bergen

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Bergen was Norway’s capital during the 12th and 13th centuries, sitting snuggly surrounded by seven hills amidst seven fjords. Today the buildings along the old harbour make up the Unesco World Heritage-listed Bryggen and the hundreds of old wooden houses rising up the sides of the hills make the city picture-postcard perfect. When the city-states of Germany allied themselves into trading blocks, one of the most powerful was the Hanseatic League with its centre at Lübeck. The League eventually grew to encompass 150...

Sep 8, 2012 - Norway In A Nutshell

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND We first heard about the ‘Norway In A Nutshell’ tour when we noted that it was highly recommended in the Lonely Planet Norway. It’s not really a tour in the usual sense of the word, but the company Fjordtours organizes tickets on several different modes of transportation so that visitors can take in some of the most beautiful scenery the country has to offer in a short period of time. It’s possible for travellers to book all the separate tickets on-line, but each ticket has to be booked without knowing availability on...

Sep 4, 2012 - Oslo

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND The city was founded in 1049 by King Harald Hardråke (Harald Hardruler). The name was derived from Old Norse word for God Ås and lo (meaning pasture). For that reason, Oslo could mean ‘field of the gods’. In the late 13th century King Håkon V built the Akerhus Fortress in order to establish a military presence and hopefully deter the Swedes threatening from the east. The bubonic plague wiped out half the population of Norway in the middle of the 14th century, and as a consequence the country united with Denmark. From 1397...

Sep 3, 2012 - On To Scandinavia

@@@@@@@ We really had a day and a half in Iceland because we arrived early the first morning, but booked our flight to Oslo in the late afternoon thinking we would be able to see even more of the area surrounding the airport. However, after a gloriously warm sunny day, we awoke to driving rain and high winds. What a difference a day makes. We sat looking out the windows in the sitting room at our guesthouse and noticed some poor tourists dragging their suitcases behind them as they walked around the tiny harbour and into the little town of...

Aug 1, 2012 - Downtown Oslo

Today is our first day at grandma and grandpa's house in Oslo. It was a beautiful day but I was a little shocked to see the sun shining since the forecast had predicted rain. After a nice breakfast we decided to go into town. We have some fun things planned for these 6 days we are going to be here. Today Eric wanted to go into town and we all thought that was a good idea, even Milo, the dog =) We walked around a few stores, had lunch and walked by the parliament building that got blown up last year right before the massacre out on utoya...

Jul 16, 2012 - Norway's Islands and Fjords

The Lofoten islands are off the coast of northern Norway. They are made up of picturesque fishing villages, steep volcanic mountains, glacial fjords, bridges, tunnels and windswept beaches.They are a chain of islands with sharp pointed peaks which look like a closed wall from the sea. We stayed in a converted fishermens' cottage and hired a car as that is the only way to really get around. We were a bit disappointed in our accommodation - we did expect rustic, but for the price, it was very No Frills! We felt we were in some school camp...

Jul 12, 2012 - The Inlandsbanan and Beyond

Sweden's Inland railway extends 1313 kms north of Stockholm, starting in Kristinehamn and ending in Gallivare, inside the Arctic Circle. It is a freight route as well as a tourist one, and locals can just use it as a means of getting around. We caught the regular train from Stockholm to Mora, and joined it there after a night's stopover. The train is so cute, brightly coloured and usually only one carriage. There is a conductor ( I suspect students doing tourism?) who tells you what to look for along the way, where we will be stopping for...

Jun 27, 2012 - Bilen er pakket !

I morgen tidlig klokken 07:00 setter vi oss i bilen for å kjøre til Norderstedt rett nord for Hamburg. Avstanden er ca 845 km, så det er greit å starte tidlig. Hilde og Rune kjører egen bil ned til Skee utenfor Strømstad. Der skal A3`n få en etterlengtet service mens eierne er på ferie.

May 21, 2012 - Oslo, Norway - Day 13

On the last day in Oslo, the team visited University of Oslo. During the visit, we discussed the curriculum of Norway for student pharmacists with Professor Espen Molden and Professor Sverre Sande, head of the pharmacy school. Both Professors were able to educate the team on many aspects of academia relating to pharmacy. Some of the interesting facts learned by the team include: • Norway, since it is a relatively new independent country, is able to make dramatic changes to the practice of pharmacy • The masters of pharmacy is an integrated...

May 20, 2012 - Oslo, Norway - Day 12

Sunday, May 20th is a leisure day for the PharmScan team. I enjoyed breakfast at the Anker Hotel (right next to the Anker Hostel). From the Buffet, I selected the pickled herring. Delicious. I had American-like items too, like scrambled eggs, sausage, jelly on toast, juice, and coffee. Although I haven't seen any of the students today (2:00 pm) local time, I know that they are enjoying today's beautiful weather. Some are hiking, sight-seeing, shopping (yikes-very expensive), some are doing laundry or just relaxing. We have a group Academic...

May 18, 2012 - Oslo, Norway - Day 10

The team’s second day in Oslo, Norway was spent with various leaders in community and administrative pharmacy. The first visit was to Apotek1, which is the third biggest pharmacy in the largest of 3 national chains that have the majority share of community pharmacy. While visiting the pharmacy, the team learned of the unique situation community pharmacies are in. In Norway, the push for community pharmacy has been to increase the sales of OTC and beauty products. This is primarily due to a structured decrease in margin for generic...