Program 748: Quirky Oslo; Last Empty Places; Herbal

An American expat tells us what he likes about raising his family in Norway, and lets us in on a few of the customs of living in Oslo.

A wilderness and history author tells us what he found in four of the "emptiest" corners of the United States.

And an ethnobotanist helps us tap into centuries of knowledge about the healing properties of different kinds of herbs around the world — some of which might be growing in your own backyard.

Spend a therapeutic hour, with the next Travel with Rick Steves.

• Curtis Rojak, proprietor of Viking Biking in Oslo, Norway
• Peter Stark, author of "The Last Empty Places" (Mountaineer Books)
• Ethnobotanist Mimi Prunella Hernandez, author of "Herbal" (National Geographic)

• Curtis Rojak founded the Viking Biking tour company, which offers cycling and hiking tours in Oslo.
• The Rick Steves guide to Oslo.
• Peter Stark wrote "The Last Empty Places" to highlight what he found visiting the rural expanses of northern Maine, western Pennsylvania, central New Mexico, and southeast Oregon. Peter also writes frequently for Outside magazine on wilderness survival topics.
• Peter described the legacy of Shawnee chief Tecumseh in the years leading up to the War of 1812 on Travel with Rick Steves program 733 in November 2023.
• Mimi Prunella Hernandez is the author of the National Geographic "Herbal: 100 Herbs from the World's Leading Herbal Traditions." Mimi recently was head of the American Herbalists Guild.

• SON_SAS_0025_01101_Oletjednlatten_APM
• Norwegian Radio Orchestra, "Rustle of Spring (Christian Sinding, arr. by Hans Sitt)," The Nordic Experience, disc 1 (collection) / Warner Classics
• Den Fule, "Modus Mats," Quake / NorthSide
• Vasen, "30 Year Jig," Nordic Roots (sampler) / NorthSide
• Norwegian Radio Orchestra, "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 op. 46 - I: Morning Mood (Grieg)," The Nordic Experience, disc 1 (collection) / Warner Classics
• * SON_SONV_0326_00501_Peer_Gynt_Suite_No_1_4th_Movement_APM
• Symphony Nova Scotia, Howard Cable, cond., "Scherzo for Stephen for Orchestra (Honigman)," Opportunity Knocks / CBC Records
• Thievery Corporation, "A Guide for I and I," ESL Soundtracks-Modular Systems (collection) / Eighteenth Street Lounge Music
• Danielle Martineau, "L'Eau et le Vent," Here and Now: A Celebration of Canadian Music, disc 1: Music of the First Peoples and Folk Music (collection) / CBC-Sony Special Music Products
• Elmer Bernstein, "On the Move (from the soundtrack to 'Return of the Magnificent Seven')," MGM Sneak Preview (compilation) / Rykodisc
• OMI_OMN_0240_03001_Albuquerque_Mix_1_APM
• Jevetta Steele, "Calling You," Bagdad Café (soundtrack) / Great Jones-Island Records
• * Miles Davis, "All Blues," Kind of Blue / Columbia
• Philharmonia Virtuosi, "Appalachian Spring Variations on a Shaker Melody ('Simple Gifts')," Out Classics (collection) / BMG Classics
• St. Andrew's Strings (from Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida), "Simple Gifts," Simple Gifts / self-released
• International String Trio, "Por Una Cabeza (theme from 'Scent of a Woman')," Appalachia / ST Productions
• Etta Baker, "One Dime Blues," Blues Routes (collection) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Groves cond., "Caractacus, op. 35, 'Woodland Interlude' (Intro to Scene III)," The British Composers Guide to Britain, disc 1 (collection) / EMI Classics
• Cecilia Barraza, "Canteruias," The Soul of Black Peru (collection) / Luaka Bop
• The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Edward Gardner, cond., "'Baïlèro' from 'Chants d'Auvergne' (Cantaloube)," Kate Royal / EMI Classics

* Indicates filler music used during internal breaks on the broadcast

• In the open to the segment A interview, Curtis says he's been in Europe since 1998, "for 25 years now." Rick and Curtis start out discussing how Norwegians fend off the dark of winter with large windows and cozy interiors.
• At 12:19, Curtis says the Tesla has been the top-selling car in Norway, but that tax and tolling advantages on electric cars are being phased out.
• At 14:40, Rick notes the foreign currency exchange rate is favoring the US dollar lately, at ten Norwegian kroner to the US dollar.
• In a reset at 33:10, Rick mentions that Peter Stark's latest book is "Gallop Toward the Sun."
• At 37:00, Rick and Peter discuss how the empty places on the US map correspond to politically "red" regions "in this political climate."
• Rick mentions that Mimi is executive director of the American Herbalists Guild at 41:05.
• In the 53:13 reset, Rick notes that Mimi recently taught ethnobotany at Frostburg State University (Maryland), and that she and her husband oversee the Ponderland Native Plant Sanctuary near Asheville, NC.