Author: Henrik Smith

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The Twisted Gallery

Walking Through Art

This is The Twist, an art gallery located in Kistefos sculpture park, one of Europe’s largest sculpture parks of contemporary art. Walking through the Twist you are surrounded by the gallery’s ever-changing exhibitions while walking through a sculpture of itself, a quite outstanding experience on its own. The 15.000 square feet park features sculptures and art installations by some of the worlds largest artists like Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson and Yayoi Kusama, among many others. With such a rich fauna of art pieces, there is no wonder why the small-town museum has become so internationally recognizable as it has today. A walk through the park is a journey through one of the world’s most unique art collections. 

International Recognition

In its short lifetime, The Twist has gotten a lot of international attention for its groundbreaking design. People from all over the world have come to visit the architectural masterpiece, and worldwide media has sure coved the museum once or twice. British news website, The Telegraph listed the museum as one of 2019’s most beautiful buildings. While across the pond, the New York Times ranked it number 21 on the list of the world’s best places to visit. And this year, The Twist won the most prestigious award in the architectural world. Awarded  Leading Culture Destination Awards 2020, the Twist won what is said to be the Academy Awards of Architecture, the best of the best around the globe.

A Constructional Challange

As you may imagine, constructing a unique building like this is easier said than done. Being a combination of a fully functional gallery building, a 60-metre long bridge, and a sculpture in itself, the construction has to check off many constructional boxes.  Because it works as a bridge, the building has to be able to adapt to the river’s constantly changing water levels, and contracting and expanding soil depending on temperature. The construction of the gallery-bridge-sculpture hybrid met a lot of obstacles on the way and experienced a few minor setbacks. But with some help of exceptional engineering and architectural skills, the gallery stands safely on the ground.

Interesting read? Then we suggest reading another post about astonishing Norwegian architecture; The story about Viewpoint Snøhetta, a viewpoint in the Dovre mountains featuring a panoramic view of Norwegian alpine landscape. Read more in our post, The Box in the Mountains. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at Nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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Bringing Modern Norwegian Design to the World

Finding a Market

Throughout history, Norwegians have been good at design and good at making quality products that last. Sadly, the problem has always been that carpenters and businesses have lacked interest in international marketing, thus making many products almost exclusive to the Norwegian market. Before and during the 20th century, what was designed in Norway, stayed in Norway. This is still the case for some businesses today; they have an unexplored market where their products may be of high demand. This is where Fram Oslo want to make a change. Founded by the two sisters Annette and Sunniva Hoff and Christoffer Kverneland in 2016, the Oslo-based interior brand’s mission is to show what Norwegian designers have to offer, and the potential of Norwegian design and products.

“We Norwegians have always been good at beautiful and high-quality designs and products, but not as good at marketing them. And that’s where we saw the potential for a change.”

Annette Hoff
The two sisters from Oslo work with a bunch of Norwegian designers to show Norwegian design to the world.
Photo: Fram Oslo (left) / Andreas Engesvik (right)

Diverse Inspiration

Norway is known for its rich and beautiful nature. Grand forests, long fjords and majestic mountains are the trademarks of Norway. So there is no suprise these elements are key inspirations for Fram Oslo’s designers’ work. One of their latest collections is called Norwegian Forest, a name clearly describing its inspiration. Norwegian Forest a collection of table cloths and tea towels encapsulating the Norwegian pine forests and the memories and experiences created within. With stylish, minimalistic patterns resembling pine needles and pine bark, the collection captures the essence of forests in a single piece of cloth. The products are made to bring a little nature to your everyday life, whether it is in the Norwegian countryside or in an American metropolis.
As well as the stunning nature, the designers also gather inspiration from Norwegian culture and history. Patterns, colours and shapes are based on both everyday items and extraordinary events special to Norwegian culture. One of their most sold designs is the bunad blankets and pillows, an interpretation of the bunad, a Norwegian traditional clothing used for festive gatherings, like weddings and The Constitution Day. Annette loves the blankets and says that they bring a little part of festive moments to everyday life, a small part of celebration to the couch or the bed.

What they see as modern Norwegian design is an interpretation of what defines this country and the people within it. An interpretation of our nature, history and culture.

On the left, you clearly see what the Norwegian Forest collection resembles. The blanket on the right is inspired by the Trøndelag bunad.
Photos: Inger Marie Grini / Fram Oslo (both)

Made to Last

In a society characterized by consumerism, a society where an item is used and thrown away in an instance, Fram Oslo’s vision is to break this habit and make products that last. With a focus on an environmentally friendly production done exclusively in Norway, made with Norwegian materials by skilled people passionate about their craft, they assure that their products are made to last. For some, these products may seem a little expensive, but they are made to last, a long term investment in your home. You would rather have a blanket outliving you than twenty different blankets in your lifetime, right?

“We want people to rather buy just one item that lasts, than ten items that break and are thrown away in an instant.”

Anette Hoff
Photos: Bjørn Johan Stenersen (left) and Inger Marie Grini (right) / Fram Oslo

A Welcome Addition

In their four years of business, Fram Oslo has grown substantially and has gained a lot of attention on the international design stage. They have experienced that their high-quality Norwegian products are a welcome addition to the market. Some may even call them a little exotic, a taste of a partly unknown design culture. Their mission of showing off Norwegian culture to the world is going well and they are gaining lots of attention from consumers around the globe. With steady growth and more interest in the craft, they hope to one day make Norwegian design a leading player in the international interior design game.

Interesting read? Then we highly suggest reading our story, Contemporary Scandinavian Design with a classic look, a story about the interior of Restaurant Edda in Oslo, an interior heavily inspired by traditional Scandinavian design elements. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more on nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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The Raw Seafood Experience

A New Concept

Last year, Cornelius Seafood Restaurant just outside of Bergen on the Norwegian west coast launched a totally new concept in the local restaurant fauna. It is the concept of storing living shellfish and clams in a saltwater pool in the restaurant facilities to later serve to hungry dinner guests. They call it Råbar, literally meaning raw bar, an experience where you are served fresh, raw seafood straight from the pool. Although it is a little unusual in the area, the concept has gained a lot of positive attention and people are excited about the experience.

Local Harvesting

Although it is the dream scenario, the clams and shellfish are not bred in the restaurant pool, but rather sourced from the local seas and fjords of Western Norway and stored in a large saltwater facility not far from the restaurant. From there, the clams are sent alive in special containers to Cornelius where they are stored in their own pool. In the pool, the clams can be safely stored for up to three weeks.

Bringing New Tastes to the Table

Head chef at Cornelius, Håkon Pansuna Vesetvik is one of the lead initiators behind the idea, and his goal is to introduce more uncommon seafood to people. The Råbar is meant to be a full experience with samples of every clam the area has to offer. In addition to the more common clams like oysters, scallops and blue mussels, the head chef also serves ocean quahogs, pullet carpet shell and sea urchins, all served raw from the pool. As well as a tasting party, the Råbar is a full experience where you are in good company, with a drink and where a chef tells you all there is to know about the clams, their taste and history. Here, the goal is to let people taste the raw sea around them as well as giving them a crash course in what they just ate.

“The RÅbar is a full experience. You get a good drink, a story about the food and the taste of new and unusual flavours.”

Håkon Pansuna Vesetvik

Beating the Scepticism

The head chef experiences that people often are sceptical of the clams at first, especially the uncommon ones that some may never even heard of. A minority of people are used to shell food in the first place, so it is no surprise that there is scepticism around new and unusual clams. The head chef says that some guests often take a step back when they are introduced to the clams, but when they are told more about the food, the story and the taste they are more open to the experience.

“What’s good is that in larger groups there is almost always one that has tried sushi, similar clams or other raw seafood. Those people push others to try it out. People are mostly positive to the experience.”

Håkon Pansuna Vesetvik

Hoping for a Trend

Håkon is a seafood enthusiast and loves to spread the interest of his trade to more people.. The goal is to introduce people that do not necessarily eat seafood frequently to a new world of tastes. He hopes that people will seek more information about clams and hopefully experiment with the amazing flavours of the sea on their own. But not that much that they stop coming to the restaurant, he adds. 

Interesting read? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian cuisine, culture and more. Read more at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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The Scent of Norway

Doing Something New

In the early 2000s, a woman from Bergen grew tired of her everyday job and moved to Fitjar, a beautiful archipelago in Western Norway. She started a small project of making different natural soaps, selling it to local handicraft stores and venues. In just a few years, the business had grown substantially and the founder was not interested in doing such a large scale production as it had become. This is where Colombian Monica Piedad Sanchez Parrado came in. A mutual friend of Monica and the founder pitched the idea of buying and running the brand, then called Fitjar Soap. At first, she was not convinced of the idea. Work with soap? Where was the fun in that? But after some convincing, she hopped aboard and joined in on what was going to be an adventure.

“The two first times he asked me I denied it right away, but the third time I had to look into it, and for three months I did research on the product and the industry. After a lot of thought, I finally gave in and joined, and I have not regretted it once.”

Monica Piedad Sanchez Parrado

Peeling off the Layers

The three women currently working at the soap factory are from Colombia, Ukraine and Poland. And with a Russian on her way, the company has a wide variety of nationalities and cultures with different perspectives on Norwegian culture. Monica believes that the composition of these nationalities working at Fitjar Islands is perfect to understand the essence of Norwegian culture, extract it and make a brand without the typical Norwegian national romance Norwegians tend to have. Their mission is to take care of the real story of Norwegian culture, with a modern twist to break the international market.

“The Norwegian view on Norwegian culture is so romantic that many tend not to see the essence of it. Therefore I believe that we foreigners in some ways have a better understanding of what is Norwegian culture is. We are able to see it without all the history and national romance, we are able to peel off the “unnecessary” layers and focus on the essentials.”

Memorable Scents

Their interpretation of Norwegian culture focuses on the beautiful nature Norway has to offer. Therefore, Fitjar Islands’ make their products with pure Norwegian smells in mind, the smell of nature. The soaps’ fragrances are based on Norwegian outdoors experiences; hikes in grand woods, boating in long fjords, and life on the Fitjar archipelago. The soap is a bottled interpretation of the surrounding Norwegian nature. The scents are made to evoke memories of the Norwegian outdoors, made to bring you back to a walk through wild spruce forests or a hike over majestic mountains.

“We get a lot of great feedback from customers around the world praising how our scents brought them back to past outdoor experiences”

The Production Boom

Late 2016, the then small soap factory got a contract with a group of independent restaurants and hotels in Bergen. The group was looking for local, classy and high-quality soap and personal care products to compliment their facilities. They said yes to the contract almost right away, before understanding the scope of such a deal. And almost overnight, the production mass doubled. It was an intense task, but with some restructuring and some good old hard work, they made it through it and came out of it even stronger. Today, as much as a third of Fitjar Island’s income is from deals with the local service industry.
Following the deal, the production’s extent has grown massively and in 2019, they produced and sold over 15.000 products in the relatively small factory in Fitjar, and they estimate to hit the 20k mark before the end of 2020. Many of the thousands of bottles are sent all around the world, indicating the success of their mission to share a little bit of Norway to the world.

The women at Fitjar Islands are some of the many people interpreting Scandinavian culture in their own way, and that is what’s beautiful about the Scandinavian culture; the many ways to interpret it and make it your own. Here at Nuet, we focus on every aspect of Scandi culture and we publish weekly blogposts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new blog posts straight to your feed.

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500 Years of Scandinavian Moments

The Medicine

All the way back in 1531 we have the first dated mention of the aquavit spirit, although back then it was not regarded as a spirit at all. The mention was found in a letter from the Danish Lord of Bergenhus castle in Bergen to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Norway. The letter came with a package, offering the archbishop an unusual liquid. The liquid was said to be “some water which is called Aqua Vite and is a help for all sorts of illnesses which a man can have both internally and externally”. The name descends from the Latin word aqua vitae, meaning “water of life”. For many years aquavit was regarded as a medicine, mainly for coughs, fevers, impure skin, and other smaller illnesses. In contrast to the aquavit the archbishop was served, today’s aquavit is not regarded as a medicine, but some believe it eases the digestion of richer foods.

Years of Tradition

While aquavit slowly lost its reputation as a medical drink, it gained more and more popularity as a festive drink. Aquavit is often seen accompanying feasts and banquets, celebrating Christmas, Easter, the Norwegian constitution day and other large celebrations. The spirit is traditionally almost exclusive to large meals, and drinking it without food is not very common. Aquavit is here to accompany people through great and small moments, as we say in Scandinavia, the moments we live in the now. This is a drink made to enhance the events you experience right there in the moment, whether it is New Year’s Eve or Easter Sunday.

We recently published a blog post about living the moments, and how the Scandinavians enjoy smaller and greater events in life. Read more in our blog post, Living in the Now.

Aquavit has always been a key component social gatherings, like the Norwegian constitution day, the 17th of May.

Production

In the late 1500s, the distillation of grain- and potato-based spirits grew in popularity. Manufactures started flavouring the spirits with different spices and herbs. The use of caraway, dill and coriander was in particular very popular, and the use of those ingredients became the mainstream aquavit ingredients for many years to come. In later years manufacturers have started using other, not so mainstream additives like fruits and berries. Just like any other product, recipes and flavours differ from brand to brand. Some use cumin, fennel or dill, while some, like Nuet Dry Aquavit, use blackcurrant and grapefruit peel.
The spirit is rarely produced outside of the Scandic countries, and in the few areas it is produced, it is often because of a large population with Scandinavian heritage. Although the production is quite similar, it is not as authentic as the real deal, with ingredients fresh from Scandic fields and forests.

Refreshing Aquavit

Aquavit has always been regarded as a strong and bitter spirit, often used for what Scandinavians call snaps, small shots of alcohol consumed during the course of a meal. It has also been enjoyed slowly, as a pure spirit, and never really in cocktails. This is where Nuet Dry Aquavit arrives on the arena, as a smooth and refreshing take on the traditional aquavit. Nuet Dry Aquavit is created just like other aquavits, to enhance the moments you enjoy, but in a far more versatile way. Fitting perfectly in cocktails, or with tonic water, the fruity and citrusy aquavit is a perfect substitute to gin. You can buy your own Scandinavian moments in a bottle in our shop, and read more about the many use-cases in our drink-section.

Here at Nuet, we strive to share the moments and the stories from the great Scandinavian region. We publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian cuisine, culture, and people. Read our stories at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit for instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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Living in the Now

The Moments

We Scandinavians have always lived by the saying “å leve i nuet”, meaning “to live in the now”. The philosophy of living for the moment is the backbone of our culture. It is what makes the Scandinavian countries among the happiest in the world. Although it is important to be forward-thinking and make plans, just living the moment is just as important from time to time. Take your time to enjoy the events of your life, enjoy every taste of food, have take walk in beautiful nature, or nurture your hobbies. Do like the Scandinavians, enjoy the moments that make you happy.

The Outdoors

We Scandis are known for our closeness to nature and the extensive hiking culture. Scandinavian nature might be the best place to enjoy small and great moments in life. Whether it is on a fishing boat along the arctic coast, on top of the highest Norwegian mountain peaks, on a checkered blanket on a Danish field, or a trail through the mighty Swedish forests, the Scandinavian nature is where memories are created. With fresh winds flowing through your hair, cold spring water in your bottle and cheeks red as fire, the outdoors creates a calmness you can not experience anywhere else.

If you are interested in Scandinavian outdoors, we suggest reading our blog post Exploring the Oslo wilderness, a story about Nordmarka, a massive wilderness area half an hour from the Norwegian capital.

Go Offline

Today, in 2020, most of us spend an enormous amount of time on digital platforms, in front of a rectangular screen, keeping us updated on everything happening around the world at all times. Multiple studies have shown that all this time in the digital worlds leads to more everyday stress. Therefore, to live in the moment, without any worldwide distractions has never been as important as it is today. Leave your phone and the digital world behind for a trip in the outdoors. Go offline, and go outside. 

Drinks for the Moment

There are countless ways to enhance the moments that matter for you. When gathering around a fireplace or a dinner table with your loved ones, good music, tasty food, and fresh drinks are great to boost the in-moment experiences. For five centuries, Norwegians have enjoyed their greatest times with good food on the table and a glass of aquavit in their hand. The aquavit spirit has always been an important part of Scandinavian drinking culture, and a must for festive gatherings. But the spirit has not been that large of a part of smaller events, and that is where Nuet Dry Aquavit comes in. Nuet Dry Aquavit a fresher and smoother version of the traditional aquavit, created to enhance both smaller and greater moments. Fitting perfectly in cocktails, or with tonic water, the aquavit can be enjoyed both in large festive and in warm summer evenings on the beach. You can buy your own Scandinavian moments in a bottle at our shop, and read more about the many cases in our drink-section.

Here at Nuet, we strive to share the moments and the stories from the great Scandinavian region. We publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian cuisine, culture and people. Read our stories at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit for instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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Rethinking Local Produce

Unusual Dish

The cold room door in the kitchen slams on his way out. The black-clad man approaches the kitchen counter with the special ingredients in his arms. He places a small plastic container on the counter and pulls out a pink fillet, an espresso marinated salmon fillet. The thought of this might be weird for many, but for head chef of Restaurant Solvind, Alessandro Albertini, this is a masterpiece. He gently places the filet on top of a premade salad, before reaching for a strawberry jam jar. Out of the jar, he scoops a tablespoon of a black caviar-looking substance. The substance is homemade espresso gelatine, mimicking the shape of salmon caviar. He gently places the gelatine on top of the salmon. It wobbles around a little but calms down quickly. The gelatine is developed to boost the dish’s coffee taste and to complement the visual expression of the dish, making it rather unique.

A Well Travelled Chef

Having travelled the world and cooked in restaurants of every cuisine imaginable, the chef has gathered lots of inspiration towards the menu he has created at Solvind. From Italy to the United States, from Australia to Norway, Alessandro has experienced it all. Combining 15 years of world-wide experience with local produce, Alessandro has created a culinary experience like no other. Three years ago he came to Norway for a job and quickly fell in love with the Nordic country. He settled down in Tromsø where he worked for a couple of years. In the fall of 2019, he got the offer to develop the menu and be head chef at Restaurant Solvind, where he now excels in culinary art.

The marine dishes on the menu are the espresso marinated salmon and the Lyngen shrimp coctail with shrimps retrieved from the adjecent Lyngenfjord.

Let’s Experiment

As a culinary artist, Alessandro tries to experiment with new tastes he can bring to the table. If a chef truly wants to make a perfect meal, he has to experience the whole process of acquiring and preparing his produce. Therefore, Alessandro spends hours upon hours on the sea, fishing and experiencing the nature around him. A while ago he spent an evening frying and salting cod skin with the goal of making cod chips. After some trial and error, he concluded that there was a reason this was not a trend already. It was not bad, but it was not really good either. Although the result did not live up to his expectations, the experience might be the foundation for a new dish in the future.

“I like to experiment with new tastes. It does not always work, but it is a new experience.”

Restaurant Solvind on Spåkenes offers a great view of the Lyngen Alps.

Great Tastes, Great View

Of course, the food is key for a good restaurant visit. Coming in on a close second place, the view and visual dining experience is quite important as well. Restaurant Solvind is one of few restaurants offering gourmet food served with an amazing alpine view. Being located on the tip of a small peninsula, the restaurant features great views of the surrounding nature. Straight across the fjord, the mighty Lyngen Alps, a 95 kilometres long alpine mountain range encircles the area. Here you are able to experience extraordinary cuisine in extraordinary views. Read more about the view and architecture in our story, Inspired by Surrounding Nature.

Interesting read? Then we highly suggest taking a look at our story A Taste of the Wild in Downtown Oslo, a story about how arctic reindeer is used for new experiences in downtown Oslo. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit for instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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A Fresh Boat Building Passion

It is a relatively warm day in Billefjord. The spring has just begun, and the sun is shining upon the small fjord through a layer of clouds.
33-year-old Ove Stødle, a local Sámi craftsman is in the garage working on a small boat. The dream is to one day have a boat building workshop, but for now the garage works just fine. Chips fly when a sharp plane is led along a plank destined to become the keel of the traditional wooden boat. This is Ove’s second boat in the making. He just finished his first one, the first of a total of four. Last year, Ove received a grant to make four of these traditional boats as a part of a marine culture initiative. He was used to working with crafts but had never made a boat when he got the offer. A breeze blows through the wide-open garage door, but the man in the plaid shirt does not seem to mind. He is way to busy telling everything about the boat’s production process. Smiling from ear to ear, the eager man educates in how his new passion is made.

“How long did it take to make the first boat? Well, way too long.”

The Spisse

Ove works on a traditional Northern Norwegian spisse. The spisse was developed in the late 1800s meant to be a hybrid between a recreational boat and a fishing boat. The practical boat was widely used by Norwegians in the arctic for almost a century. Being sturdy and steady the boat was a key part of the transportation of goods and people on the arctic fjords of Norway. Depending on the size, a group of five to seven people can fit comfortably on a trip over the fjord. The seats are removable so you can fit goods and animals, as well as a yarn when you are fishing. Just like many other wooden boats, the spisse’s fate was to be replaced by cheaper, mass-produced plastic boats. Today, Ove is one of two remaining men in the Finnmark area building the traditional boat.

The Second Maiden Voyage

The sun is still high on the sky on this spring day in Billefjord. The wind is stronger by the shore than at the garage. It is not that cold, but most people definitely would want a windbreaker and some gloves here. The bay we are at is sheltered from the worst winds, so it is good conditions for a little row trip. Ove pushes the boat down the rocky shoreline and onto the narrow bay. This is the first time the boat is on the sea since the maiden voyage just two weeks ago, but this is the first time with a passenger on board. Because this is a transportation boat, in a way, this is the maiden voyage. The spisse lies sturdy on the water while we hop aboard. The boat is designed with two rowers in mind, but someone has to man the camera, documenting the voyage. Captain Ove takes responsibility for steering and propulsion with a smile. After around 20 minutes rowing back and forth in the bay, we go back to shore. The passenger voyage has been a success, and he now knows that the work has paid off. Now he just has to follow the winning recipe for the three remaining boats.

“I should probably use a life jacket, but you know, a captain has to go down with his ship. Right?”

Despite some gusts and a little current, rowing the spisse is a breeze.

A Handicrafts’ man

During the winter, the temperature in the garage is unbearable. So instead of freezing in the garage, Ove spends his time in his workshop, working on duodji, traditional Sámi handicrafts. For five years he has worked as a full-time handicrafter, making belts, jewellery and other Sámi crafts. The demand for these crafts has increased in the past years, so earning a living from the art is possible. The jovial man smiles while engraving small pieces of reindeer antlers. At first glance, it is hard to see what he is making. But it seems to be some kind of token. Maybe it is for a necklace or maybe it is a decoration for the second boat. Who knows? We just have to wait and see.

“It is nice to have something else to twiddle with inside when it is freezing temperatures outside.”

Interesting read? Then we suggest reading our story on Sweden’s Last Wooden Boat Builders, a story about Mattias Malmros, a boatbuilder working on traditional Swedish racing sailboats. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about Scandinavian crafts, cuisine, travel and more. Check out the blog at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts straight to your feed.

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Inspired by Surrounding Nature

Alpine Inspiration

Straight through the region, the alpine mountain range The Lyngen Alps extends like a massive wall, defining a boundary between east and west. The spectacular mountains have become the region’s pride and attract thousands of visitors every year. When the restaurant was on the drawing board, the architects were mesmerized by the majesty of the surrounding alpine landscape, and there was no doubt that a building in these surroundings should honour the adjacent mountains. Directly motivated by the shapes of cliffs and mountain peaks straight across the fjord, the cutting edges and sharp outlines are symbols of nature’s greatness. 

Promoting Light

Inside of the spectacular building, almost all surfaces are darker-toned or completely black to minimize distraction. In the summertime, the darker inside stands as a contrast to the all-night shining, fiery red midnight sun in the horizon. During the dark times of the winter season, the restaurant’s interior colours emphasise on the colourful northern lights dancing over the restaurant. The design element makes for a spectacular view of the surroundings without any distractions at any time of the year. The adjacent area is completely free for artificial lights. No street lamps or other lights can pollute the clear view of two of the world’s finest weather phenomena.

Interesting read? Then we highly suggest reading our story Contemporary Scandinavian Design with a classic look. A story about Edda, a restaurant in Oslo designed in true Scandinavian fashion.

In soft, cloudy light, covered by the firey red midnight sun, or under roaring northern lights, the view of the Lyngen Alps is always
a spectacular sight from the panorama windows of Solvind.

The Igloos

The story behind Solvind starts way before the restaurant itself was even thought of. Lyngen North, the company behind the restaurant started out building glass igloos to serve as an unusual accommodation experience for tourists in the area. The igloos feature the same panorama view of the surrounding arctic landscape, thus being an attractive place to stay when travelling through the North. Inspired by the arctic people, the people at Lyngen North wanted to modernize the design of a thousand-year-old building technique. After some time of hosting guests in igloos in the middle of nowhere, they saw a need for a dining experience at the same level as the overnight experience. And so, the work on building the restaurant started. Three years later, the restaurant stands on top of the hill in all its splendour, completing the unforgettable experience of sleeping and dining in fantastic nature. 

The hillside beneath the restaurants hosts a total of five glass igloos. Two with a 360° view and three with a 180° like this one.

An Ironic Name

The name Solvind means solar wind, which is the stream of charged particles released from the sun’s upper atmosphere. The stream hits the earth’s atmosphere and creates the beautiful aurora dancing over both of earth’s poles. Quite ironic, the sun’s upper atmosphere, where the solar wind comes from is called The Corona, the name of the virus that shut down Solvind just under a month after the grand opening.

Rethinking Cuisine

Solvind is not just about the architecture, but more importantly great culinary experiences. At Solvind, the chefs focus on combining the quality of local produce with the approach of international cuisine. With a menu featuring among other things, espresso marinated local salmon, the restaurant attracts visitors from all over Norway and all over the world. In a while, we will publish a blog post dedicated to the exceptional food at Solvind. In the meantime, we suggest reading our story, A Taste of the Wild in Downtown Oslo.

Want to read more about Scandinavian culture? Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at Nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new blog posts straight to your feed.

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The Small-Town Chocolate Factory

The Unique

For the award-winning Norwegian chocolate brand Fjåk all these factors apply. Located in Eidfjord, far into the Hardangerfjord in Western Norway, Fjåk innovates the chocolate industry with a Norwegian take on the worldwide popular product. Founded by Agur Arechanga and Siv Hereid back in 2017, the brand has been growing fast and is steadily gaining more popularity on the market. Agur and Siv aspire to make chocolate of the highest quality possible, adding the finest natural ingredients from the Norwegian nature. Their unique selling point is the combination of a well-known international product and rare local produce, such as lingonberry or reindeer moss.

The Story

Agur had been working as a photographer for years when she in 2015 decided she needed to do something new. She played with the thought of starting both a gin company and an ice cream company, but after some consideration and research, she figured it was not quite the thing she was looking for. After some time she explored the thought of becoming the Norwegian Willy Wonka, a world-class chocolate maker. On a trip to Britain, visiting her in-laws, she had the opportunity to buy a chocolate machine and some cocoa beans. She bought the machine and brought it back home in her carry-on. Investing in the machine turned out to be the first step down the chocolate making path. Back home the experimenting with flavours began, and with the concept of Norwegian produce in mind Agur quickly figured out what was going to make Fjåk so unique.  After some time experimenting and making chocolate on her own, she convinced her good friend Siv to join the adventure, and in April 2017 they launched and committed to the brand, and the rest is history.           

The best thing about this adventure is the great feedback we get from our customers. Watching someone tasting and enjoying real, organic chocolate for the first time is priceless.

Agur Arachanga
In a closed-down kindergarten, Fjåk Chocolate produces thousands of chocolate bars a month.
In an old playroom, three 30-litre chocolate melters go all-day for just under a week, transforming grinded beans to liquid chocolate.

The Garage            

Like many large companies in the world, Fjåk Chocolate started product developing and production in a small garage. In a dimly lit room, between shelves and storage, Norway’s first bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer started their business. Fast forward to the summer of 2019, the hard-working women got a lease on a closed down, local kindergarten, and moved their production out of the garage to larger and better facilities. After the move, the production quality and quantity went up, and at the end of last year, the two industrious women produced over 16.000 chocolate bars, by hand.

After the move to a closed-down kindergarten, founders Siv and Agur doubled production in no-time, and in 2020 they estimate over 20.000 chocolate products sold.

The Concept

The concept is simple, special Norwegian ingredients mixed with high-quality beans, making a truly unique composition of flavours. In today’s market, Fjåk is the only manufacturer in Norway practising the “bean-to-bar” philosophy. Bean-to-bar is a concept meaning that all production steps from raw cocoa beans to finished chocolate bars are done in one single factory – or a closed down kindergarten in this case. Avoiding multiple production steps and facilities gives the women behind more control of the product quality and results in an eco-friendlier production. The bean-to-bar concept has become popular outside of Scandinavia, both east and west, but at home this is a relatively unexplored concept, making Fjåk pioneers in the Scandinavian market.

The Taste

With such a great focus on Norwegian raw materials, there is no surprise that their bestselling bars are the ones with local produce. Their best-selling chocolate bar is the 45% milk & brown cheese, described as a round creamy milk chocolate with a crunch of Norwegian goat cheese. The cheese is locally produced at Undredal Stølsysteri, just a quick trip from Eidfjord. Just like the brown cheese bar, their reindeer moss and lingonberry bar might be the definition of Norwegian chocolate. The taste of the Norwegian wilderness combined with high-quality Tanzanian cocoa beans makes for an extraordinary culinary experience. Being hand-picked and hand-crafted by two committed, hard-working women, the chocolate is made with love and passion in true Norwegian spirit.

Surrounded by the snow mountain tops of Hardanger, Fjåk Chocolate is an unusual appearance in the local, traditional society.
Surrounded by the snow mountain tops of Hardanger, Fjåk is an unusual appearance in the local, traditional society.

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