By: Steinar Schenk, University student
As a Norwegian exchange student at the University of Minnesota, I’ve been asked to compare the American alcohol culture with the one I know from home.
Alcohol plays an important role in Norwegian cultural and social functions, thanks to the time when Norwegian Vikings ravaged Europe. Viking sagas by Norwegian poet Snorri Sturluson introduced the Gulating Laws, some of the oldest laws in Norway. These laws demanded that landlords brew mead; noncompliance may have warranted a fine or even land confiscation.