A local Norwegian newspaper

When you take the train from Oslo to Bergen,
you go through a valley called Hallingdal.
A "hallingdøl" is a person living in or from
that valley.
Hallingdølen is the local newspaper.

When I was a girl we lived in Hallingdal and
this was our local newspaper.
It was published only three times a week,
and it was actually one piece of paper,
folded in two, making four pages.
It was, as one boy innocently once said
"The newspaper with nothing inside".

But back then, from those four pages,
we found out what movies were screened
in the local cinemas, who was born,
who married and who died.
Sometimes local news could also be of interest.
Articles about local history, written in
the local dialect, were one of my favorites.

These days, when I happen to be in Oslo,
I buy a copy of Hallingdølen at the central
railway station Oslo S.
For 12 Norwegian crowns I am transported
back in time and place.
It still is published three times a week -
on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Yesterday's copy had 32 pages (!) and the logo
showed that it had been chosen as This Year's
Local Newspaper and that it has 22000 readers.

I enjoy these sporadic readings of
local news.
From four pages to 32 pages, Hallingdølen has
come a long way.