Plenty of Nothing

Grunnlovsdag

Today is Grunnlovsdag (Constitution Day). Norwegians go around in bunad, or traditional costume, and celebrate their independence. The image above depicts The Battle of the Square, May 17, 1829, in which the authorities of the United Kingdon of Sweden and Norway tried to suppress the holiday. Source.

Sigrid and Olaf

King Olaf's proposal to Queen Sigrid does not go over well in this illustration from the Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald the Tyrant (1911). Source.

Lego Stave Church

Source.

Nordlandsbanen Minutt for Minutt

Take a trip on the Nordlandsbanen from Trondheim to Bodø. It's just ten hours. The train passes through Hell around minute 34.

Gustav Vigeland

Gustav Vigeland. Vigeland Museum.

Karlamagnús Saga

Constance B. Hieatt (tr.), Karlamagnús Saga: The Saga of Charlemagne and His Heroes, volumes 1 and 2 (Toronto: The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1975). The third volume came out in 1980. If the Canadian Lord of the Rings had any influence, it'll be blue.

[It is.]

Maidens and Polar Bears

Daughters of the Northern Lights, or the Suitors by Gerhardt Munthe, made for a world's fair. Source.

Ginger Bread Stave Church

Ginger bread house? The Norskfolkemuseum is constructing a ginger bread stave church! They brought in an architect!

About the Norwegian GET-ligaen

The GET-ligaen is the top pro hockey league in Norway. The GET part of the name refers to the league's chief sponsor, a cable TV company. Before the name-change the league was called the Eliteserien.

There are ten clubs in the GET-ligaen. Each team plays a 45-game schedule from September till March. A playoff involving the top eight teams follows, with best-of-seven quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The playoff winner is Norwegian Champion. The ninth- and tenth-place teams play a double-round-robin tournament with the top two teams from 1. divisjon (the second tier) excluding reserve teams and clubs that don't want to be promoted, and the best two finishers qualify for next season's GET-ligaen.

The current GET-ligaen clubs are:

Frisk Asker Ishockey. The Tigers. The sports club IF Frisk Asker was founded in 1922 and began playing hockey in 1935. They merged with IK Tigrene in 1969. Tigrene had been Norwegian champions twice, and the combined club has been three times more. They wear orange, black and white, of course. Their rink is the Askerhallen, which seats 2,400. Asker is a western suburb of Oslo.

Lillehammer IK. This club was founded in 1957, and played on an outdoor rink until the construction of 3,194-seat Kristins Hall as part of a successful campaign to get the 1994 Winter Olympics. Lillehammer won their only Norwegian championship to date in that year of 1994. Red, blue and white.

Lørenskog IK. Founded in 1963. Colours: red, blue and white. Rink: Lørenskog Ishall (capacity 2,400). Lørenskog is an eastern suburb of Oslo. [Mike Weber of the Buffalo Sabres has signed with Lørenskog.]

Rosenborg Ishockeyklubb Elite. (RIHK for short.) Rosenborg come from Trondheim and are thus the northernmost GET-ligaen club. This is their third season in the top tier. They play in the 3,000-seat Leangen Ishall. Black, white and silver. In the Middle Ages Trondheim had the Tolkienesque name Nidaros. [Jack Skille of the Florida Panthers and Deryk Engelland of the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed with Rosenborg.]

Sparta Warriors. The crest says 1928, but the club did not begin playing hockey until 1958 and had to restart in 1995 after a bankruptcy. They play at the Sparta Amfi (with seating for 3,450) in Sarpsborg outside of Fredrikstad. They won their first Norwegian championship two years ago. Blue, white and red.

Stavanger Oilers. Current Norwegian champions. Stavenger is a North Sea oil city opposite Aberdeen, Scotland. Founded in 2000, the Oilers play at the DNB Arena (capacity 4,500). Colours are black, white and yellow. They have quite the cool logo. [Eric Nystrom of the Dallas Stars has signed with Stavanger.]

Stjernen. Founded in 1960, they play at the 2,473-seat Stjernehallen in Fredrikstad. Red and white. Two-time Norwegian champions. Check out the Sternen brand bread at their website.

Storhamar Dragons. Three-time Norwegian champions. They were founded in 1957 and play at the comparatively large (6,091-seat) OL-Amfi in Hamar, which is in the same neck of the woods as Lillehammer. Yellow and blue.

Tønsberg Vikings. Founded in 1963. Rink: Tønsberg Ishall (capacity 710). Colours: red and white. This is their first season in the top league. Tønsberg is to the south of Oslo near where Oslofjord widens into the Skagerrak.

Vålerenga Ishockey. 26-time Norwegian champions. This Oslo sport club began in 1913, but did not take up hockey till after the 1952 Olympics and the construction of the 4,450-seat Jordal Amfi. Colours: blue and red.

2012 Men's Hockey Playoff Champions

The smallest hockey championship trophy in the world.

Russian: Dynamo Moscow.

Finnish: JYP.

Swedish: Brynäs.

Czech: Pardubice.

Slovak: Slovan Bratislava.

Swiss: ZSC Lions.

German: Eisbären Berlin.

Asian: Oji Eagles.

Austrian: Black Wings Linz.

Belarusian: Keramin Minsk.

British: Nottingham Panthers.

Dutch: Ruijters Eaters Geleen.

Danish: Blue Fox Herning.

French: Les Dragons de Rouen.

Italian: HC Bolzano-Bozen Foxes.

Norwegian: Stavanger Oilers.

Canadian: South East Prairie Thunder.