Thyra Dane

Author of Romance. Blogs about Scandinavia, Vikings and books.

Have an "utepils" with me

Spring is here! Don’t be fooled by the snow everywhere. Norwegians have decided that it’s spring now, no matter how deep the snow is. How can you tell it’s spring? Here are five signs of spring in Norway. 1, Everyone talks about the sun We’ve been sun-deprived for months and when it’s finally here–even in …

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Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974

Which Scandinavian winners of the Eurovision Song Contest do you remember? Bobbysocks? Olsen Brothers? Surely, you remember ABBA? Denmark and Norway have chosen the winners of this year’s national Eurovision song contests and Sweden will pick theirs next Saturday. I figured I would celebrate this by looking back at all the Scandinavian winners of the …

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The Norwegian parliament in LEGO

Is Scandinavian politics just about free education, free healthcare, long maternity/paternity leave and high taxes to pay for all of this? Lately many non-Scandinavians have pointed to Scandinavia–either as a political system to copy or something to scare people with … because, you know, socialism. So are the Scandinavian Social Democracies (we do not call them …

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