5 DAY Live TV Marathon – Norwegians and Norway

Norwegians love Norway, there is no doubt about it. When people brag about their home countries it’s always the soccer team, the women, the wine/food and the scenery. In Norway it’s the scenery first, said in such a way as to invoke the fear of God. God made this beautiful country, and then he put us here. It’s extreme, like our nature. Consider the following:

In 2009 the Bergensbanen (railway Oslo-Bergen) turned 100 years. To celebrate, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK made a recording of the 8 hour trip in High Definition. I’m not kidding; Download Bergensbanen in HD

It was highly praised (by fellow Norwegians) and people sat up watching the live stream, every minute of it, and some even got the DVD. Not just some people, but 30% of the country’s population. You may not get the point just yet. But consider the following: We’re doing it again!

If you don’t know what the Hurtigruten is ("Fast Route"), it’s an old transport route by sea going from Bergen to Kirkenes and back (some 1640 nautical miles). Today, however, it’s more of a really expensive cruise, featuring some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. Ah, there it is again.. The huge success of the Bergensbanen in HD live show inspired NRK to transmit the 134 hour boat trip from Bergen to Kirkenes live and non stop, starting today Thursday June 16th at 19:45 CET! I’m watching it now!

The flier is here but the actual live stream is here: http://nrk.no/hurtigruten/

If you can watch vids at work you should definitely check it out. From what I can see right now, it appears to be 2-3 minutes delay on the web compared to what I get on cable TV, but for most of us it’s the closest we’re going to get the full 134 hour cruise in our lives (at least until retirement age). If you miss it, check out the page anyway! They’re putting out a torrent later, like they did with Bergensbanen! So grab a beer and ship o’hoy!