Love Those Norwegians: Making Shithouses Great Again
Just as this explodes into one of the worlds worst elections ever, Norway comes up with a Visit Norway theme that gives us all an opportunity to laugh. And to admire their excellence in design. Not a sign of gilt.
Huge thanks to the Guardian for this timely story.
‘We make shit houses great again’: Visit Norway cleans up after Trump’s insult
Tourist board responds with toilet humour after US president expresses ire over failure to win Nobel peace prize, labelling it a ‘shithouse country’
Jon Henley Europe correspondentThu 29 Oct 2026 13.22 EDTShare
Some might find it decidedly incommodious to be dumped on by Donald Trump as a “shithouse country”. Not the Norwegian tourist board, which chose instead to lift the lid on some of the nation’s loveliest lavatories.
“Are these the world’s best shit houses?” asked Visit Norway on its website, days after the US president vented his fury once more over failing to win the Nobel peace prize by describing Norway as a “shithouse country” at a rally on Sunday.
“Norway makes shit houses great again!” the agency continued above pictures of some of the country’s most striking public conveniences, adding: “These toilets are worth a visit, both when you really have to go – and when you don’t.”
Trump delivered his tirade at a rally in Michigan days before the US midterm elections. “Frankly, Norway sucks. Norway has become a shithouse country, actually,” he declared, using a term he has previously applied to Haiti, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
He added that he would welcome migrants from some countries but not Norway, “because I didn’t get the Nobel Prize”. Earlier this month, Trump denounced the decision to award the prize to Navi Pillay, a former international criminal court judge.
“This is an indelible stain on the country of Norway and those people that made such a disgraceful and embarrassing decision,” he said. “I never heard of this person. The Nobel peace prize has been forever discredited … And we will not forget, Norway.”
Along 18 designated scenic routes around Norway, Visit Norway said, leading architects had been tasked with transforming the humble wayside privy into an attraction in its own right. Several have since won international architecture awards.
The agency pictured a series of designer public conveniences, many of them architecturally striking and all offering breathtaking vistas overlooking fjords, beside rushing rivers and foaming waterfalls, and at stunning scenic viewpoints.
They “invite you to take your time and enjoy the scenery, even if you don’t have any business to take care of”, Visit Norway said, highlighting – among others – the restrooms at the Stegastein viewpoint in the Sognefjord region of western Norway.
This particular comfort station, the tourist board noted with uninhibited pride, had been ranked among the 10 best public toilets in the world by DesignCurial, the online architecture, design and interiors magazine.
Combining clean, minimalist lines with the fjord’s rugged and brooding landscape, the loos are famous for their large, black-tinted glass windows, which allow visitors a sweeping view from the throne while remaining invisible from the outside.
It also highlighted the unique, wave-shaped Ureddplassen loo on the wild coast of Helgeland, the southernmost district of northern Norway, hailed by several international publications as the most scenic restroom in the world.
Also featured are the solar-powered modernist bog at the Utsikten viewpoint, the “Instagram-worthy” Tungeneset loo (“looks pretty good underneath the northern lights”), and the world-famous triangular “golden toilet” on Senja island.
Jens Kjeldsen, a rhetoric professor at the University of Bergen, said that under the circumstances, Visit Norway’s response was well judged. “It’s like the bully in kindergarten,” he told NRK public television. “If you get too serious, the bully wins.”
Evgenia Egorova, a senior consultant at Visit Norway, told the broadcaster the response to its social media fightback had been immense. “The world needs a little laugh,” she said. “We thought: let’s meet them with kindness, and a little humour.”
Visit Norway said it had more stylish loos in the pipeline, including a forest-inspired latrine using dried wood from more than 60 trees. “Get ready for the pit stop of your life,” it urged, before signing off with a cheery: “Toodeloo!”
The Nobel peace prize is famously not awarded by the nation or even the government of Norway, but by the Nobel prize committee, which operates independently – something Trump “knows very well”, the foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said. “We have reminded him of that, in case anyone is wondering.”
Authors note – it wasn’t that long ago that the toddler in charge was talking about getting more nice (white) Norwegians to come to America. LOL.
The Spruce: All the 2027 Colors of the Year
I love 1440.com, a news compilation service that is a great connector to lesser-known news. Today they mention an article in Spruce.com in their Etcetera column, my favorite part of 1440.com on the 2027 Colors of the Year.
From my point of view, most of the colors are very dreary, very grey, in a time I believe we need more light and hope, but this too shall pass.
Benjamin Moore: Webster Green
Little-Green: Marle
California Paint: Quiet Peace
C2: Pueblo
Behr: Grounded
Glidden: Artifact
Graham and Brown: Rose Earth
Dutch Boy: Deep Rooted
And finally, some offering more hope:
Sherwin Williams: Celery
Clark And Kensington: Vantage Point
Valspar: Cottage Door
Even the lighter choices have darker undertones! There is no right or wrong here; we all have our own responses to color. You may find these cozy and comforting. It;s probably the Alaska girl in me, I want LIGHT in my house!
Full Suitcase a WOW
I’m researching an upcoming trip and wanted an address for the Unter den Linden Museum in Colmar, a city we visited a few times as a young family. I found a rabbit hole. I found a blog called Full Suitcase.com, and I have been there for a couple of hours, learning all the things I need to see (in a few short hours) in Colmar.
The article I looked up is called 15 BEST THINGS TO DO IN COLMAR, FRANCE (+MAP & TIPS FOR YOUR VISIT); you can visit it for yourself by clicking on the link. I skip around a lot, but this article kept me riveted. She takes or uses the most lush, gorgeous photos I have ever seen. It appears she and her family always visit her destinations on the perfect day.
The article on Colmar covers all the things I want to do, and it rings true to me, based on our own prior visits as a family.
But the section that impelled me to write this article was her section on Alsatian foods. Her food photos are also gorgeous. You feel like you could reach right into the photo and eat the food.
This is a photo of a dish I don’t even like! Choucroute Alsacienne, full of fatty meats and sauerkraut, but I swear, I’d give it a try if it really arrived at my table looking this good:
And here is what gave me a smile. Look at this “Alsatian Crepe”. The translation is “Galette Sarasin.” When I look at it, I see something that looks very much like my favorite street food in Tunis, Tunisia, North Africa, called Brik. It is mad with a very thin batter, not poured, but popped from a hand over and over on a skillet shaped like an overturned wok. Each pop leaves a thin, delicate skim of dough, and enough pops create a thin fragile skin in which a mostly cooked egg, or tuna, or egg and tuna are placed and then quickly wrapped.
So this crepe is some kind of hybrid. Crepes are made with a thin batter, but poured and swirled, not popped by hand by a skillful granny. And it makes me wonder how this thin, fragile pancake-like meal travelled; I’ve eaten it from the Middle East through North Africa to France. But look at the texture – it looks very thin, very fragile!
This is from her About section: “Full Suitcase was founded in 2015 by travel writer Jurga Rubinovaite and is independently run. The site publishes original, first-hand travel guides and is regularly referenced by international media. Our travel advice has been featured by CNN, BBC, and BBC News World Service, and published online and in print by Lonely Planet and Lonely Planet Kids. We also collaborate with selected travel brands and destinations worldwide.”
I love her work. She is really good at what she does. Go visit her!
Shampoo Ginger
When we had a bathroom renovated, our contract manager became our friend. Hugo was a great gardener and loved the variety we had planted in our backyard. We shared cuttings and rootings, and he introduced us to Shampoo Ginger, also known as Zingiber zerumbet, pine cone ginger, and pine cone lily.
Our first winter, we thought we had lost the plant entirely to the cold, even though we had wrapped and sheltered it. Late in summer, we began to see signs of life, and by winter, it was fully growing again. By last Spring, we had so many sprouts that we divided the bulbs and shared them with numerous friends. This year, I can see that we will again have plenty to share next Spring. This is a lush, productive plant! We keep ours in big pots because it is a bamboo like plant, will spread out of control if not contained. It loves reproducing!
A bee came by as I was grabbing the photo!
The information below is from our local Extension Office, a part of the University of Florida:
Shampoo Ginger
Shampoo ginger (aka pine cone lily or pine cone ginger) adds a tropical flair to the landscape and can be used in the shower. Its foliage looks comparable to other gingers, but the inflorescence is where it gets interesting. In the fall, the flowers appear within bracts that resemble red pine cones. As the name implies, squeezing these cones causes them to release a clear liquid that can be bottled and used as shampoo!
Characteristics
Shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) is semi-evergreen and grows in large clumps that are up to seven feet tall and six feet wide. It thrives in zones 9 through 11 and will die back in the winter. The leaves are 8 to 12 inches long and lanceolate in shape. Foliage appears in the spring, and it can be either solid green or variegated depending on the variety. ‘Darceyi’ is particularly showy with green and white foliage.
In the fall, three- to five-inch-long inflorescences resembling pinecones appear on stalks that are just under a foot tall. They start out green with white flowers, then ripen to scarlet and fill with liquid. The cones have a sweet fragrance and are highly favored for floral arrangements. They will persist for weeks if left on the plant.
Planting and Care
Photo courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr.
Shampoo ginger can be planted year-round. It works as a specimen plant, border, or accent plant. You can also plant it in containers indoors or outdoors.
The ideal planting site is in partial shade to partial sun, with moist, fertile soil. Shampoo ginger is moderately salt and drought tolerant. Pests and diseases are rarely an issue, but you may encounter mites. Shampoo ginger makes an excellent passalong plant since it is propagated by division.
Once your cones have turned red, they’re ready to harvest! To collect the “shampoo” liquid from the cones, gently squeeze them over a container. They will refill by the next day if they aren’t squeezed too hard. You can also harvest the cones and then firmly squeeze them over a container to harvest all the liquid. Just keep in mind that the cones will be spent after this method. If you’re harvesting in advance, you can freeze the shampoo liquid for later.
Alaska 2026: A Bonus Day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center
This was an odd day, as we packed out of the Alaskan Jade B&B. Our flight wasn’t leaving Anchorage until 8 that night, so we had time to visit the Alaskan Native Heritage Museum.
As we arrived, a demonstration of traditional games had just begun, and following that, a dance demonstration, with descriptions of the costumes, how they were made and how they were used.
All this was done by a group of young people who were having great fun as they shared their culture and heritage.
We spent an hour watching the games and dances, then toured the museum, and did the walk among the tribal dwellings. I’d forgotten, it was raining lightly. We don’t remember rain on this trip. The photos remind us.
Leaving the Alaskan Native Heritage Museum we headed downtown, looking for the historical museum and for a place to eat lunch.
We walked to the Snow City Cafe, which we had spotted earlier, and were in for one last very Alaskan experience. The place was packed, and we sat at the bar.
Almost all the customers were young people eating breakfast foods (at noon) so we did, too. There was this great party vibe, great coffee, good food in generous portions, and a lot of energy. We were out in our allotted hour, picked up our car and headed south, to find a filling station and head to the airport.
Alaska 2026: Turnagain, Again
More about what True Love looks like. For fourteen years, I have talked about a blueberry pancake I ate in Homer, and how I wanted to eat there again. I couldn’t find it. AdventureMan didn’t give up, he followed all the clues, and he found it. We packed up and as we were leaving, he suggested we stop at this place, Duncan House, for breakfast.
It was in the right location. It had the right feel. AdventureMan found the exact place, and I was able to order the exact pancake, an order known as Bear 1-1-1 because it has one piece of bacon, one egg and one bear pancake with blueberries or chocolate chips. Again, I chose blueberries.
In the Duncan House lot, a new customer drives up . . .
The four-hour trip to Anchorage was all on roads we’ve traveled before, but it didn’t lessen their impact – Alaska is full of stunning beauty. A new perspective, different weather, we see different things.
We had leftover pizza from last night’s dinner at Fat Olive’s, so we stopped along Turnagain Sound for a small picnic en route to Anchorage.
We arrived a little ahead of schedule, but our room at the Alaska House of Jade, an independent B&B, was ready for us, and our welcome was warm and gracious. It is another beautiful, clean, very quiet, and private place to stay. The hosts, Linda and Greg, keep it spotless and in good repair, and have fresh cookies ready on arrival.
Tonight is a special night. We are invited for dinner at the home of a pair of Alaskan doctors, one of whom I graduated high school with 60 years ago. (How can that be??)
We found their house easily, following their instructions. While my friend poached a fresh salmon, his wife showed us her show-stopper garden, full of a huge variety of edible berries and fruits and beautiful flowers.
with the salmon, we had special coated potatos and a Caesar salad. For dessert, his wife made persimmons in yoghurt with a sprinkle of brown sugar. The dinner was delicious, and the conversation was even better. When the evening ended, we had trouble saying goodbye; there was still too much to learn about one another’s lives. The conversation was as delicious as the dinner.
We left with three jars of Alaskan-made jam, made by our friends; we can’t wait to try them and to share them with our family.
These heroes, Bill and Jane, spent their careers in Bethel, Alaska, running a hospital treating mainly indigenous Alaskans, far from anywhere. These are people who believe in public service and have lived their beliefs, serving others.
This is a perfect photo of Mt. Denali which Bill took during one of the rare days when the mountain was not shrouded in clouds.
Alaska 2026: Homer and Love Languages
There are some books out that talk about Love Languages, and they mention five. I actually read the original book and almost threw it at the wall in frustration. It seems so obvious to me – there are thousands of love languages! We are all wired differently, and a successful pairing requires each person paying attention to the small things that matter to the other person.
No! Don’t bring me candy or expensive jewelry! I have particular – maybe peculiar! – tastes.
Love isn’t perfection, it’s abrasive, it rubs off our sharp spots and helps us become easier to live with. AdventureMan has learned a thing or two about me, things I didn’t even know. Keep me traveling. Keep exposing me to new ideas, new sights, sounds, and tastes. I thrive on exposure to new things.
Allow me to break the rules now and then, and eat those King Crab legs, so extravagantly beyond our normal budget. Unexpected kindness is always a love language.
(Aside, Jewel Kilcher, who sings the song with the refrain “In the end, only kindness matters,” was born in Homer. She is related to the Alaska: The Last Frontier Kilchers.)
And this.
It may not look romantic to you.
I have annoyed AdventureMan for years with my need to document, to stop at every gorgeous, irresistible view and take a photo. Sometimes I shoot through the windshield when stopping isn’t possible.
He cleans the windshield.
I don’t ask him; he thinks of it all by himself. He doesn’t do it for himself; he does it for me.
True Love. If you have the eyes to see. If it matters to you, you can see it. True Love.
You’ll have your own definition. True Love is what matters to YOU.
Alaska 2026: Homer Happy Surprises
We are up and eager for our boat trip into the Katchemak Bay. We have cereal and banana, pack up some snacks, and put on our sunscreen. It is not so brightly sunny as prior days, but sunny enough to burn. We find the meeting point, and another couple joins us, then the crew and we get on the boat. Once again, we are four customers and a captain and deckhand.
Even better, the man in the other couple introduces himself and adds “You will notice I have an accent. I am Jordanian.” AdventureMan, ever quick, asks him in Jordanian Arabic “From what part of Jordan do you come,” and we all laugh at his utter astonishment. Once we started talking, we never stopped.
We watched otter, and learned how they attach themselves to the kelp so that they don’t drift too far from their food source.
We saw countless birds, and one great-grand eagle. We saw puffins galore. And at the same time, we were having these conversations, figuring out who we knew in common as we are near to the same age.
We had so much fun with this couple that when the wildlife tour ended, we decided to eat lunch together at Captain Pattie’s on the Homer Spit, a place AdventureMan and I have eaten at on earlier trips to Homer. The wife and I had the Alaska King Crab Legs, which were hideously expensive, but not so expensive as I have seen them in other places, and these were perfectly prepared. True Love: AdventureMan knows me to be a frugal woman. He did not bat an eye when I ordered the King Crab.
I know exactly when I last had Alaska King Crab. It was my birthday, many years ago, and my son and I were staying with my parents in Seattle while my husband attended a military school. As we sat down to dinner, suddenly my husband appeared! He had flown in to surprise me! And my mother served King Crab legs with melted butter, and she made a Baked Alaska for dessert. I must have been 30 years old.
We had such a good meal, and such good conversation. Even the wait staff was part of what felt like a great celebration.
After lunch, we headed out to explore downtown Homer. We ended up at the Homer Farmer’s Market, and oh what fun.
We had thought we wouldn’t buy anything, but I found some Spruce Syrup (like Maple syrup, sort of) and we found some barbecue.
Yes, even though we had just eaten lunch, we knew this BBQ was special, and we ordered up two plates and had them wrapped so we could put them in the little refrigerator and have them for dinner.
They were wonderful! I’d like to say we had them on our deck patio, watching the sun go down, but here’s the problem – the sun doesn’t really go down, or it goes a little bit down but not at dinnertime, more like around two a.m. Even then, as you have seen, it is not DARK dark.
It’s hard to settle down for the evening when it is so light out. We go for a walk in the neighborhood, then come back to catch up – me with my photos and notes on the trip, AdventureMan with his reading.
Alaska 2026: Wonders En Route to Homer, Alaska
We awake to a different day, warm, with fog rising off the water.
We have a sweet farewell breakfast up at Northern Lights B&B (Sarah manages several allied B&Bs in the same area as Front Row B&B) with Sarah, and we pack up for our short drive to Homer.
We have a couple of errands to run as we leave town, and AdventureMan indulges me, I want a photo of the big new cruise ship that has arrived in Seward.
Seward is tourist-friendly, with its train terminal, trolley, good restaurants, and lots and lots to do and see. They recently built a much larger dock, with which to welcome much larger cruise ships. It has caused some controversy, as when a big ships come in, the tourists outnumber Seward residents. Just after we left, the Celebrity Millenium arrived, and sadly, an endangered whale was caught in her propeller, and died, stuck there. Seward loves their whales, visible from most homes and businesses lining the channel. It’s a sad circumstance.
We also need to stop on our way out of town at the Safeway; my lips are dry and I’ve used all my Vaseline. My pens are all leaking on my hands, my purse, ruining anything I write by hand, so I need to pick up some pens I can leave behind. And the local grocery stores are just fun.
Driving past the entrance to Exit Glacier, we get back on Alaska 1S to Homer, spotting elk along the highway and fervent fishermen heading to the salmon-rich rivers and through Cooper Landing and Soldotna.
Heading south from Soldotna, we start to see the far-off beginnings of the volcanic mountains heading down a long chain to form the Aleutian Islands. The day is sunny, and the view is stunning. Every new perfect snow-clad mountain is showing off for us on this gorgeous day.
We keep trying to find a good spot to stop and take a photo – the frustration of trying to capture the wonder of a chain of perfect mountains is a challenge. AdventureMan spots a Russian Chapel and says “Let’s try here!”
We drive down to a church, an onion-domed chapel, and a much larger church overlooking an old village. As I walk out to a vantage point, another group drives up in a van, from one of the cruise ships, to have a picnic on the church grounds. We stroll around, loving the old cemetary surrounding the old Russian church, and the new military veterans cemetary under creation. We’re not that far from Homer, so we head on, gassing up in the roadside version of Ninilchik, at one of the Three Bears (Shell gas) stops we see so often selling gas, groceries, and the variety of items people living in relative isolation might need.
As we come into Homer, still a little early for our hotel, we spot Fat Olive’s. We’ve never eaten at Fat Olives, but we’ve tried, and it has been too full too many times. This time, we are in luck. We are eager for some Tomato Basil Soup. I have something called The Trio, and AdventureMan has the meatball pan, sizzling hot out of the oven. It’s all served with more sourdough bread, so much food that as good as it is, we pack up enough to take with us for dinner.
Welcome to the Ocean House Inn; we can’t get out of the car because there is a moose crossing the parking lot to get to the roses.
The Ocean House Inn is on a bluff, high above the water, looking out at the Homer Spit.
It is small, and beautiful. We love our room, which has a small refrigerator, microwave, and a coffee maker, with some cups and utensils – enough that we can work with. Life is sweet.
We settle in, sit outside on our deck, enjoying not-driving. The sun is shining – this is something to celebrate in Alaska. The mountains across Katchemak Bay are gleaming. We have neighbors, but they are all very quiet.
On our way into town, we got a call from the people we are going on a bay Wilderness Game tour the next day, asking if we would like to be moved to an afternoon tour, they have room. Oh no, we respond, we prefer the mornings. “Uh, OK,” they say. I can worry about anything; I am a little worried the boat is overloaded or something.
We take a quick drive to 2 Sisters Bakery, only to find it closed about ten minutes before we got there, and we hit the local Safeway to pick up some milk and granola. The Homer Safeway is a happening place on a Friday afternoon, and lots of fun.
So late Friday night that it is actually two Saturday morning, I get up to check if I can see the aurora borealis; reports say with sun activity, the borealis should be very active. Alas, at two in the morning, it is not dark, just a glimmery grey and no aurora borealis is to be seen.
You can still see the bay and the mountains. No aurora borealis.
Alaska 2026: Saltwater Tours, Kenai Fjords, Glaciers, Wildlife and Fishing!
As I was fixing a quick breakfast in the upstairs common living room and kitchen, AdventureMan said “Look! They’ve even provided wine!” and I laughed and said “I bet that belongs to one of the other guests.”
Mere moments later, we met Brian, a frequent guest at the Front Row B&B, who represents a wine distributorship that includes Alaska. He joined us briefly as we ate breakfast, and we were having so much fun that we had to hurry to meet our ship.
We were meeting at the big anchor by the Harbormaster’s office. We saw one other couple there, and assumed the others were waiting on the boat. The captain, Stan, and deckhand, Emma, met us to escort us to the boat, where we discovered, no, it was just us and the other couple for the whole day. Also, they had snacks and sandwiches(from Primrose Provisions, no less), coffee, water, and soft drinks. We were all set. (Alaska Saltwater Wildlife Tours).
If you search for Alaska Saltwater Tours in the search box on the front page of this blog, it will take you to the first time we traveled with them, in June of 2014. It was so wonderful in 2014 that we sought them out again, especially to make this trip.
The day is bright and sunny, so sunny that although I hate sunscreen, I had applied it generously. Captain Stan gave us a quick introduction to the boat and boat rules, Emma gave us a rundown of things we could expect to see, and off we went – a glorious day at sea.
Forgive me. I can’t get enough photos of mountains. I can’t help it, the different angles of the sun, the sheer magnificence of these mountains as we rock along, and the sea life! Otter! An otter eating a crab! Whale spouts! Whale tails! Whale and baby whale! It’s one thrill after another.
We can see our B&B from the boat!
We’re not even out of the harbor when we start spotting otter, and whale.
As we go along, Stan and Emma fill us in on all kinds of local lore and tell us more about what we are seeing. It’s a great group and a great day altogether.
Sea Lions sunning on the beach!
Yes, the sea lion is blurry. The boat is rocking. I’m doing the best I can!
Shortly after lunch, we get out the rods and reels and bait the hooks and fish.
Later we head for Holgate glacier, a rare glacier as it is increasing rather than declining. As we watched, a large chunk calved with a loud CRACK! into the water.
And then more fishing, and the fish are biting.
Late in the day, we head back. It is 5 as we near the docks, and behind us are all kinds of day excursion boats, returning home. I am covered with salt from the salty water evaporating on my skin, my Levis are stiff with salt, and I can’t wait for a quick shower. As we reach the B&B, our new friend Brian is on the balcony, beckoning us to come up; he has set up a cocktail hour with some very fine wines, several charcuterie boards, some business friends, and all the guests in the B&B!
As they say in the South, “I look a mess.” We clean us as best we can, make a quick change and head upstairs for this pop-up cocktail hour. We had a lot of fun, meeting our fellow guests. The wine was exquisite and the food was beautiful. It was a lovely way to end a very long day.
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