Kristiansand, Norway - Fiskabrygga, Ravnedalen

Today a friend and I took a trip to Kristiansand from Oslo.  This is what the route roughly looks like.  The weather was nice today, for a change, so we figured, why not.  The plan was to just check it out.

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The journey was roughly 4 hours each way on the E18, distance over 300 kms.  Kristiansand is a city of roughly 83,000 people, which is very small.  Just above a tenth of the size of Oslo, which isn't very big to begin with compared to many other cities, but this is Norway we're talking about.

We arrived at about 5pm or thereabouts.  And since we were pretty much starving at this point, food was the first priority.  We walked through the city, and then to the fiskabrygga (fish market).

Kristiansand Domkirke (Cathedral), Neo Gothic Church completed in 1885, third largest cathedral in Kristiansand, and one of the largest in Norway.  The tower is 70m in height.

Henrik Wergeland, apparently a famous Norwegian writer.  Statue was located close to the church.  He is well appreciated by birds.

Downtown Kristiansand, not many people considering it was Saturday

Probably the least boring McDonald's building I have ever seen, also a similar one in Bergen

Sliding Sushi Doors, I like

More downtown Kristiansand

The fiskabrygga is the most popular destination in Kristiansand.  It's really small though.  The food was okay, but probably overhyped and as everything in Norway, overpriced.  I paid 189 NOK (31 AUD) for a meal that consisted of trout, cucumber, and potatoes at a restaurant called "Restaurant Rett i Garnet".

Boats along the shoreline, near Standpromenaden

Along the shoreline, near Standpromenaden

Giant vase of sorts, near Standpromenaden

Boy on bear figure, near Standpromenaden

Fiskebrygga area, where we had dinner, the restaurant is on the left, mostly concealed but you can see the sign that says "rett i garnet" which is the name of the restaurant

Opps missing an I, did the crab eat it??

Fiskebrygga area, you cross that bridge which is located close to the boat wharf, and you get to Fiskebrygga.

Fiskebrygga area, the Kilden arts performing centre is located on the right, it's the triangular shaped building.  That's a separate bridge from the previous picture.

This woman has to be middle eastern, I have no idea what it's doing in Fiskebrygga

Dinner!

After dinner we took a very short walk to the Kilden arts performing centre, then took a walk back to the car.

Kilden arts performing centre

Another bent lamp post in Norway.  Last one spotted was in Hemsedal!

Along the shoreline, but at a different angle, near Standpromenaden

Along the shoreline, but at a different angle, near Standpromenaden

Sad figure, along Markens gate

Along Kirkegata

Along Kirkegata

Along Dronningens gate

Strange trees spotted along Dronningens gate and Festningsgata, you can see coast at the end of the street

Along Festningsgata and Rådhusgata.

At 7pm or thereabouts, we left the city and drove to Ravnedalen park, located about 2.2 kms away from the city centre.

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Close to the entrance there's a series of rather dangerous stone steps which rise to about 1.1km, and at the top of the mountain, called "Ravneheia", you get rewarded with a good view of the city, which was what we did.  There's also a cafe at the foot of the steps but we didn't go there or walk around the park as we didn't have much time.

The entrance to the park

Walk up the not so well cut rocky stone steps (there's more of them!)....

And you get to see this!

We left at about 7:30pm and I was back home at 11pm ish.  It's also possible to catch a train to Kristiansand via the NSB trains, it's 4 and a half hours each way.

How to do a tax return in Norway

In Norway there are two simple things you have to do every year, fill out your tax card and then do a tax return (i.e. what you're reading now) when the time comes.  Rinse and repeat.  This post is step two so you must have already filled out your tax card.  And it's a very wise decision to follow this blog.

The month of April is tax month and this is my first year doing tax in Norway, since I've only been year for a year or so.  You have use a government web portal called Altinn to do this.  In late March there was a complete disaster where everyone who had logged into the system found themselves logged in as Kenneth, aged 36 from Oslo, and all his details were available for everyone to see.  Apparently some sort of fiasco happens every year.  The system was built at a cost of 1 billion NOK or according to today's rate, 174.8 million US dollars.  You would think that spending that much would yield a reliable system but unfortunately you do get what you pay for especially when you give that money to the government!

Note that this post does not constitute tax advice.  Everyone's situation is different.  This post is based on my own personal situation.  If you're married/with kids/divorced/own a house/living with someone or something like that, you're not me, and if you follow this and get into trouble, you only have yourself to blame.

But anyway, back to the main point, for foreigners, the most important part in doing your tax return is to claim the standard deduction for foreigners, which can only be claimed during your first two years in Norway.  And here is how you do it.

First log into Altinn, then click on the "RF-1030 Tax return for wage earners and pensioners etc. 2011" message.

Next, click on "Submit tax return with changes or additions".

Then click on "3.3/4.8 Interest, debt, other capital costs and deductions".

Lastly, from the drop down box, select item "3.3.7 Ten per cent standard deduction for temporary stay in Norway".  You can then claim a deduction of up to a maximum of 40000 NOK or 10 percent of your salary.  If you work a full year, then you can deduct the full amount, otherwise you deduct based on how many months you've worked.  E.g. If you were to work a year, you would be legible for the full 40000 NOK, but if you were to only work 6 months, then you can only deduct a maximum of 20000 NOK.  Then click the Add button to make the change, followed by the Start submission button.

If you're due to get some money back you should get it back in June at the earliest.  If you owe money to the government, you should pay it before 31st May to avoid interest charges.

Bonus!! To get good karma points!!

Good karma for you sir/ma'am!

Consider a small donation to me, I'm human and writing this blog takes time, a lot of time.  Writing a single blog post takes an average of two hours.  You can show your appreciation by donating, or visiting and buying incredibly useful software to rename files and more!  You've already saved thousands of dollars just by reading this post from the comfort of your home.  Think about that for a moment. :)  Still not inclined?  Then the very least you could do is share this post and let others know about it!  Post it on Facebook, twitter, etc.  Remember the law of karma!

Frankly speaking in my opinion, tax returns are a big waste of time on my part, as well as the government.  At best it's "creating jobs" that add zero productivity to society.  At worst, it is the biggest waste of time.  I am not a fan of taxes, but if taxes are implemented, then why not a flat tax rate for everyone?  No one likes to pay tax, stealing from Rob to pay Paul is theft.  Just an interesting side note, Norway treats tax evaders far worse than someone who murders.

Don't forget to share this post and let others know if you find this useful!

Saint Petersburg, Russia, Day 5 - Bronze Horseman, Ollis Pizza

Day 5, Bronze Horseman, Ollis Pizza, April 9th

9am ish Woke up, had breakfast in the hotel which pancakes, bread and oats. Then packed and checked out at 12pm. I dropped my luggage in the hotel, then took a walk to the bronze horseman.  My flight was 5:15pm so ideally I should be in the airport at 3:15pm.

Walked past St. Isaac's cathedral again, nice weather today.

12:48pm Arrived at the bronze horseman.

Bronze horseman (Медный всадник), statue of Peter the Great

Bronze horseman with St. Isaac's cathedral in the background

Took a short walk across the road to the Admiralty embankment along the neva river.

Admiralty embankment

By this time it was 1pm, so it was time for lunch which was Ollis pizza located a short walk away.  I ordered a mushroom, chicken, and blue cheese pizza, as well as a ham, pepperoni, tomato and cheese pizza.  Drinks were a beer and a mojito without alcohol.

Blue cheese pizza

After that it was time to get back to the hotel and head to the airport.  I went through customs again with the paranoid customs asking me if I spoke Russian in Russian.  The airport was packed by the way, took me an hour just to clear customs.  The plane was full as well.  I had to fly from St Petersburg to Stockholm, then Stockholm to Oslo.  Arriving into Arlanda airport in Stockholm, the customs officer even wanted to see my ticket to Oslo even though my Norwegian visa is shown clearly in my passport.  My flight was supposed to be for 6:30pm but it got delayed and we didn't depart till 7:15pm due to bad weather in Oslo.  I ended up buying a Stockholm picture book and a chicken sandwich in the airport before boarding the plane.  It was full of kids, who had flown to Spain for some sport or something and they were going back to Norway.  I ended up sitting next to them, and was on the window seat.  The kids who were about 12 or 13, were really curious about me and kept seeing what I was reading on my ipad, one of them even had the nerve to go through the front pocket of my seat!  Amazing.  The kid on the aisle introduced himself to me as well.  I can't remember his name to save my life but at least he was friendly.  Well he also manage to gas his pants and stink up the plane, that wasn't really nice.  Good thing the flight was only 45 minutes from Stockholm to Oslo, I would've gone a bit crazy otherwise.  The weather wasn't ideal coming back, it was raining.  Good news is I arrived back and in one piece at about 9:30pm.

I don't know when will be the next time I fly into St Petersburg but I'm guessing June or July or sometime in the later half of the year.  There's still places that I want to visit, like the Peterhof palace.  Meanwhile I'll have to make do in Norway.

Saint Petersburg, Russia, Day 4 - Russian Museum of Ethnography

Day 4, Russian Museum of Ethnography, April 8th

10am ish Woke up later than usual this morning and skipped hotel breakfast.  Instead breakfast and lunch was at Tepemok.  I had buckwheat with mushrooms and it was great.  Buckwheat is so tasty.  Anyway the weather wasn't particularly good this morning, it was snowing and wet.  The plan was to visit the Ethnography museum.  But before that we went to the nearby shopping centre to have a look around at the shops, and to use the toilet but it was expensive so we went to a different shopping centre instead and used the toilet there.  Then we walked to the museum.

Alexander Pushkin statue on the arts square in front of the Russian museum

Russian Museum

3:30pm Arrived at the ethnography museum, which is next to the Russian museum.  The building is currently undergoing renovations, and the entrance makes it look that way.  The entrance fee is 350 rubles for non Russians, for Russians it was 100 rubles, additionally if you wanted to take photos with your camera you had to pay 150 rubles.

After paying the fee you start at a large hall and go left or right to the different galleries.  The left in the photo below, where security is, is where you start (I was standing in front of entrance to the right gallery when taking this photo.).  There's also a large exhibit area that was blocked.

The first gallery was the people of the sea and earth and people of the forest galleries.  It was about people who lived in the baltic region and north west.

Snow shoes

Celebrating Maslenitsa, to mark the welcoming of spring and to bid adieu to winter

The summer festival Ligo, a Latvian festival, to celebrate the summer solstice (Midsummer) which is the shortest night and longest day of the year

Musical instruments

The second floor was about Caucasus and Ural regions, people who lived in the middle of Russia.  And the photos are as follows.

The funny shaped thing with "rings" at the bottom was used to till the ground

Wooden skis :)

Cutlery

The other side of the hall on the ground floor was more Russian orientated costumes, it show cased how Russian women dressed and the type of clothes they wore indicated their wealth status.  Traditionally, those who wore a veil were married.

Russian funeral

Differently cutlery and artefacts

Weaving machine

Bear trap

Spot St Petersburg

Back to the ground floor in the other gallery, were traditional folk costumes who lived in different parts of Russia.  By this time the museum was about to close so I couldn't take many photos.

6:30pm Dinner was sushi, "Palki sushi" was the name of the restaurant.  It was 2 for 1 day, so everything was basically half price.

Japanese lemon tea

Spicy sushi set

Mystery photography man near Palki sushi

Also took a walk to take a picture with Ostap Bender, a character from the book "Twelve Chairs"

After dinner we took a walk to the Singer house bookshop and had a look at what they have to offer.  Also bought a nice calendar for a friend at work.  Then took another walk to buy more groceries from the shopping centre.  I couldn't remember what time I slept but I was so tired I just kind of fell asleep, also "The Dark Knight" was on tv but it was all in Russian. :)