I got absolutely nowhere when I tried to contact the local Kristiansand newspaper Fædrelandsvennen (FVN), Kristiansand Avis (paper) to let them know how I am helping promote toursim in Kristiansand.
I wrote them both a letter and explained that it is a free website and is getting visitors from all over the world - who want to find out information on Kristiansand.
So I have decided to post this letter on this blog. Why not...
Title: The Australian Kangaroo helping the Vikings in Kristiansand
Being an Australian and moving to Norway 3 years ago was a strange experience because I did not know the language nor did I have any local knowledge. I had no idea what to search for on the internet to find basic things in Kristiansand – like a good restaurant, gym or activities. And if I had been a new tourist to the city, how do I get from the airport to the city? There are a few websites that offer information on Kristiansand, but they are in Norwegian. I found out later that there is also the official Southern Norway tourist website but this website is hard to find on the English speaking search engines. The English version of the site was also not too helpful for the Kristiansand region specifically at the time.
What is special about Kristiansand? I wanted to find out for myself rather than going to easy way and asking my Norwegian girlfriend.
But, I gave up. It was too difficult.
I then decided to best thing to do was to source the information myself and then publish it on the internet. That is when I came up with the idea for www.kristiansand-norway.com and launched this 1 year ago.
It is a free website with useful information on Kristiansand in English. You can find anything from visa information, jobs in kristiansand, restaurants and most importantly – the best attractions in Kristiansand.
I started off by asking local people what they thought were the best things about the city and what sorts of information they would need if they moved to a new city. I then asked other foreigners like myself which websites they used to help them find information on Kristiansand.
More often that not, they didn’t know of any websites with useful information on kristiansand. This gave good grounding for a website and after 12 months, I have managed to form my own opinions on what I like about the city. So the website contains information that I think a visitor will need to know with some recommendations on restaurants, places to see etc.
Kristiansand is a beautiful place for most seasons of the year, so I also decided to make some pages dedicated to scenic pictures in the Autumn and Winter. These have proven to be very popular with the visitors to the site.
One thing that is really important is that I don’t receive any money for the website – so what you see is an honest opinion – not just an avenue for advertising. As I try different restaurants and explore new areas, I add them to the site.
But, the world isn’t just an English speaking place, so I am finding a lot of visitors from Germany, eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Unfortunately I don’t speak any of these languages, so I am unable to provide pages in these languages, but people in these countries seem to get by with English (as they are looking at several pages when they visit).
I have no doubt that I have helped many people to learn about Kristiansand and what it has to offer. Have I helped tourism? – well, yes. Who knows, I may have even changed peoples minds when they were considering visiting the city. After they have seen some of the beautiful pictures and noticed some of the attractions, perhaps they thought that it was worth a visit. The fact that the website has had over 2000 hits in January already means that people are curious about Kristiansand.
These days I am able to speak some of the Norwegian language and have persuaded friends in the UK and Australia to come and visit to see what the city has to offer. I have become somewhat of the Australian Kangaroo helping the Kristiansand Vikings with tourism in Kristiansand!
If Kristiansand had surf, Fosters beer and vegemite it would be perfect. But, you cant have it all!
Adam Read
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Not a great start to a Kristiansand winter
Well it started off with snow in November which is pretty much unheard of. So we were expecting a lot of snow and a great ski season. Well, it is now mid January and so far we have had a total of 3 days of snow so far. Unfortunately it is now raining and the snow is turning to slush. Not sure if this is going to change but we hope so!
At the moment Hovden only has a cover of 40cm of snow, so not much point going on the ski trip just yet. March and April are the best ski months in Southern Norway anyway...
At the moment Hovden only has a cover of 40cm of snow, so not much point going on the ski trip just yet. March and April are the best ski months in Southern Norway anyway...
Thursday, 30 October 2008
The winter has arrived
Well, after a (in my books) a ordinary summer, winter has well and truely arrived. For the first time since I have been in the country, it snowed in October! Well, at the end of October anyway...
But that could be a sign for a great winter. Lots of snow - lets hoping the Kristiand Ski Field is open for most of the season!
Most of the trees still have their beautiful colours and with snow, it makes for great scenic pictures. I will go out later and see if there are any worth taking.
Kristiansand may get cold in the winter, but it is also very beautiful. Fresh air, fresh water, beautiful surroundings, what more can you ask for?
With the cold comes responsibilities unique to countries that have snowfall.
1. You have to put that nice motorcycle or car away in storage. (at least these vehicles will have low milage) I have an old British Douglas Vespa that gets stored in a nice dry place. Cant have that English steel getting rusted! There are a LOT of Harley Davidson fanatics in Norway. I have never seen so many enthusiasts. So the neighbourhood is a lot quiter in the winter!
2. A few months before the Norwegian winter you have to chop the wood for the fireplaces.
3. Buy those woollen long johns and tops.
4. Buy a good pair of snow boots. I use Sorels and they are fantastic. Well worth the investment.
5. Buy ice scraper for the windows of the car.
6. Put away the garden furniture and pot plants.
There are a lot of small things that need to be done to cope with a Norwegian winter. A very important one is snow tyres!
The Roads Authority here in Norway (so I believe) recommend that people put on their snow tyres at the beginning of November. It is not set in stone that you do this, but it is advised. I dont think you can get fined if you do not have snow tyres on after that time, but you could be faced with the blame should you have a car accident in Norway.
Lets face it, better to be safe than sorry. So, I do it at the start of November. This is a strange feat for someone from the sun burnt country of Australia! Yep, not sure if I will ever get used to it.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
But that could be a sign for a great winter. Lots of snow - lets hoping the Kristiand Ski Field is open for most of the season!
Most of the trees still have their beautiful colours and with snow, it makes for great scenic pictures. I will go out later and see if there are any worth taking.
Kristiansand may get cold in the winter, but it is also very beautiful. Fresh air, fresh water, beautiful surroundings, what more can you ask for?
With the cold comes responsibilities unique to countries that have snowfall.
1. You have to put that nice motorcycle or car away in storage. (at least these vehicles will have low milage) I have an old British Douglas Vespa that gets stored in a nice dry place. Cant have that English steel getting rusted! There are a LOT of Harley Davidson fanatics in Norway. I have never seen so many enthusiasts. So the neighbourhood is a lot quiter in the winter!
2. A few months before the Norwegian winter you have to chop the wood for the fireplaces.
3. Buy those woollen long johns and tops.
4. Buy a good pair of snow boots. I use Sorels and they are fantastic. Well worth the investment.
5. Buy ice scraper for the windows of the car.
6. Put away the garden furniture and pot plants.
There are a lot of small things that need to be done to cope with a Norwegian winter. A very important one is snow tyres!
The Roads Authority here in Norway (so I believe) recommend that people put on their snow tyres at the beginning of November. It is not set in stone that you do this, but it is advised. I dont think you can get fined if you do not have snow tyres on after that time, but you could be faced with the blame should you have a car accident in Norway.
Lets face it, better to be safe than sorry. So, I do it at the start of November. This is a strange feat for someone from the sun burnt country of Australia! Yep, not sure if I will ever get used to it.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
Tourism in Southern Norway
On the news last night they talked about how there are too many organisations within Norway that are focused on promoting tourism to the southern part of Norway and how too much money is being spent for little or no reward.
That may be the case, I really dont know, but I am doing my little bit to help visitors to Kristiansand find what they are looking for. AND, I do it for free!!!
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
That may be the case, I really dont know, but I am doing my little bit to help visitors to Kristiansand find what they are looking for. AND, I do it for free!!!
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
Master Ferries
I noticed a couple of comments on Master Ferries, so I thought I would add to this.
I have also heard the unfortunate news about Master Ferries stopping their routes from Kristiansand to Denmark. Apparently the reason for this is that you are not allowed to operate a ferry in Norway that does not go all year long. Unfortunately Master Ferries cannot do this because they use Super Fast Cats that are not suitable for the winter months.
This seems a little strange seeing that you have other services - for eg charter flights from Kjevik to Spain etc that only operate in certain months of the year.
It is also a problem because then the ferry prices will go up. They are expensive enough as it is without going higher.
It is healthy for there to be competition in different services. It keeps the providers honest and prices down.
Everyone I know has been on bother Master Ferries and Colorline to Denmark from Kristiansand. They both run good services. There are those that complain because there are delays, but this occurs to any ferry. Especially in the Nordic countries where there are often harsh weather conditions.
There are a lot of people in kristiansand that hope Master Ferries can once again operate from Kristiansand. I dare say that if someone started a petition, almost everyone in the city would sign it. I for one, would also sign it.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
I have also heard the unfortunate news about Master Ferries stopping their routes from Kristiansand to Denmark. Apparently the reason for this is that you are not allowed to operate a ferry in Norway that does not go all year long. Unfortunately Master Ferries cannot do this because they use Super Fast Cats that are not suitable for the winter months.
This seems a little strange seeing that you have other services - for eg charter flights from Kjevik to Spain etc that only operate in certain months of the year.
It is also a problem because then the ferry prices will go up. They are expensive enough as it is without going higher.
It is healthy for there to be competition in different services. It keeps the providers honest and prices down.
Everyone I know has been on bother Master Ferries and Colorline to Denmark from Kristiansand. They both run good services. There are those that complain because there are delays, but this occurs to any ferry. Especially in the Nordic countries where there are often harsh weather conditions.
There are a lot of people in kristiansand that hope Master Ferries can once again operate from Kristiansand. I dare say that if someone started a petition, almost everyone in the city would sign it. I for one, would also sign it.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Why I built this website.
I built this site to help people travelling to Kristiansand for the holidays. It is a great city and I am a foreigner myself. I am from Australia and have been living here for 3 years (but have been coming to Kristiansand for about 6 years).
It is a beautiful city with loads of things to do. Can be a little bit difficult finding your way around and getting information about what you want to see and do, so hopefully this will help a little.
I know that I was frustrated when i arrived here and couldnt find information on buses, local gyms in Kristiansand and those sorts of things.
So I have built a few website to help with this -
Find a Gym in Kristiansand with GymLink.no
The Gymlink site also have information on gyms in Oslo if you are moving there.
Find a restaurant in Kristiansand with Olive.no
Find a beautician in Kristiansand with Mobilhudpleie.no - she can also come to you.
Find a kattepensjonat in Kristiansand - a cattery in Kristiansand.
Find a web designer in Kristiansand - which happens to be me!!!
Find an antique furniture restorator in Kristiansand with bumoen-mobler.no
If you are travelling on a budget, there are some handy tips in here.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com/
It is a beautiful city with loads of things to do. Can be a little bit difficult finding your way around and getting information about what you want to see and do, so hopefully this will help a little.
I know that I was frustrated when i arrived here and couldnt find information on buses, local gyms in Kristiansand and those sorts of things.
So I have built a few website to help with this -
Find a Gym in Kristiansand with GymLink.no
The Gymlink site also have information on gyms in Oslo if you are moving there.
Find a restaurant in Kristiansand with Olive.no
Find a beautician in Kristiansand with Mobilhudpleie.no - she can also come to you.
Find a kattepensjonat in Kristiansand - a cattery in Kristiansand.
Find a web designer in Kristiansand - which happens to be me!!!
Find an antique furniture restorator in Kristiansand with bumoen-mobler.no
If you are travelling on a budget, there are some handy tips in here.
Adam
http://www.kristiansand-norway.com/
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