Program 417a: Scandinavian Smackdown; Green Book Road Trips

Have you heard the one about the Swede, the Norwegian, and the Dane? Find out what Scandinavians tend to think about their Nordic neighbors, and the sometimes not-so-subtle differences that help give each country its distinct identity. Then listen in for the story of the US travel guide from the mid-20th century that helped African Americans find a welcome on the road.

• Åsa Danielsson, tour guide from Sweden
• Pål Johansen, tour guide from Norway
• Jane Klausen, former tour guide, originally from Denmark
• Travel writer Christopher Solomon
• Playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey, author of "Ruth and the Green Book" (Carolrhoda Picture Books) 

• The Sons of Norway maintain a blog about contemporary Norway on their website.
• The official tourism sites for Iceland, for Denmark, and for Sweden.
• Contact information for Asa Danielsson in Stockholm is on the Viator tour guide website. 
• Christopher Solomon describes his adventure in Alaska's Aniakchak National Monument, with photos, in the article "Baked Alaska" in the May 2014 edition of Outside magazine.  
• Calvin Alexander Ramsey authored "Ruth and the Green Book" to illustrate how African-Americans relied on The Green Book as a travel guide in the mid-20th century. 
• Here is a PDF copy of the Green Book, officially "The Negro Motorist Green Book," from 1949. 

USA Road Trip Haiku Awards

Graffiti on freights
High up in the Siskyous.
Travelling art show.
— Phyllis Baker, Seattle 

Louisiana's longest street
Great people along the way to meet
500 miles peddled to complete.
— Jeff Sibley, Central City, Louisiana   

Choose Sand or Asphalt
Cars along Shore or Race Track
Daytona Beach, Wow!
— Gail Weinstein, Port Orange, Florida  

Up to Michigan
Ah, sullen teenage daughter
Karma strikes again.
— Karen Albright, Fort Wayne, Indiana