Norwegian National Broadcasting (NRK) is now in the second season of broadcasting a series of short travelogue/culture videos called "Norsk Attraskjon (Norwegian Attraction)" — and they're now putting the videos on YouTube to share with the rest of the world. The program must be really popular in Norway because they already have more than 17,000 fans on their Facebook Fan page alone!
The clips are about Norwegian sights and sounds and experiences, but they always have a twist to them — and I have been learning from and laughing at them for the last few days.
Here we see a play on words demonstrated and taken to the next level. Linda Eide, the host of the series, first tells about "Vossarull" which they translate loosely and literally as a "Voss roll (down the hill)".
Vossarull is actually a couples turning dance from Voss in Hordaland that has a bit of a rolling motion. The dance itself — which has several variants on Norway's west coast — is more than 200 years old. However, NRK's show demonstrates Vossarull as a woman in a folk-like outfit (including bunad shoes!) rolling down a hill, supposedly in Voss.
Eide then demonstrates the new "sport" of "Operarull (Opera roll)", which is rolling down the angled plaza at the beautiful new Norwegian Opera House (Den Norske Opera) in Oslo — right into the Oslofjord. A slow motion repeat is done that clearly demonstrates the painful differences between rolling down a grassy hill and a stone surface. Eide asks if anyone wants to join her and gets the expected response.
For those who understand Norwegian, this series is a really fun way to learn new things about Norway and its culture. I'm hooked! Unfortunately, NRK isn't providing any English translation at this time but I understand that they may be working on getting translations done.
