Greetings from Norway! As I write this it’s 29 degrees, a light snow is falling and at high noon the sun is barely above the horizon. I’ve just come in from a brisk walk where I got wear my scarf for the first time in years…

OK, OK. You caught me. I’m really back home in Orange County where it is sunny, 70 and I’m sitting in my underwear drinking a cup of coffee. But I was in Norway and Sweden the week before Thanksgiving and I will regail you with tales of fabulous sights, decadent pleasures and exotic food.

I’m lying again. I mostly saw the insides of conference rooms for 7 to 9 hours a day and then went back to my hotel to collapse in an exhausted heap.

The one thing I wasn’t lying about was the exotic food. In Norway I sampled lutefisk and akvavit, both very traditional Norwegian food and drink. Lutefisk is infamous around the globe for having among the most disgusting preparations known to man.

I’ll leave it to another to describe the preparation of lutefisk. My humble words won’t do it justice.

To make lutefisk, catch yourself a cod. Take out the bones, skin it, salt it, and hang it out to dry for several weeks until it hardens and smells like a dumpster. Then, bring it inside and soak it in lye for several days.

Sounds great! Our friends from Funcom took us to one of the best lutefisk joints in Oslo, Lofoten. Spiff has an excellent write-up of the adventure.

After two days in Oslo, Norway we were off to Stockholm, Sweden to visit DICE. This was my third trip to see them, each time in a different location. As their fortunes have grown so, too, have their offices. The new ones are spectacular. Again, I’ll defer to Spiff for a description.

Unlike my previous two trips I didn’t even set foot outside of their offices for any sightseeing. It was cold , rainy (no snow!) and dark. (This picture from Oslo shows the position of the sun in the sky at “high noon.”) You’ll have to refer to earlier posts to see Swedish pictures.

My exotic treat in Stockholm was moose meatballs. Having sample reindeer on my last visit, I felt obliged to give the moose a try. (You always play second fiddle to the reindeer and it just isn’t fair, is it, Mr. Moose?) The meatballs were excellent. No, they didn’t taste like chicken, but rather a slighty “gamey” beef.

I returned home a week later, totally jet-lagged but ready for Thanksgiving vacation.

Or at least I was supposed to return home… More on that later.