The city hall of Norway's capital, Oslo. (Shutterstock)

Q: Is Norway marking any special anniversaries in 2011?

-- B. Brodeaux, Toronto

A: Next year marks the centennial anniversary of the great Antarctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who was also the first person to successfully reach both the North and South Poles. The country will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fridtjof Nansen, a lesser known Norwegian explorer whose list of accomplishments includes the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888.

For details on events related to the anniversaries, bookmark the website nansenamundsen.no, which will soon be available in English according to Norwegian travel representatives.

"The goal for 2011 is to spread knowledge about the two explorers and their lives and celebrate their contributions as nation builders and polar heroes," said Harald Hansen from Innovation Norway.

During 2011 there will be lots of other events taking place. Watch for exhibits at the Fram Museum in Oslo (fram.museum.no/en/) the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo (nobelpeacecenter.org/english) and the Polar Institute in Tromso (npweb.npolar.no/english).

Q: Is there a simple way to calculate the time in a different time zone. I'll be making a phone call to The Hague but don't know what time to make the call from Canada.

-- A. Furlong, Mississauga

A: I like to use a handy web tool I found online whenever I need to place long-distance calls. Try timeanddate.com and select the areas you want to compare. Using this tool, I found when it is 1:53 p.m. in Toronto it will be 6:53 p.m. in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Q: Where can we find up-to-date travel information for St. Lucia?

-- C. Yates, Toronto

A: You may have heard that Hurricane Tomas recently hit the island and did some damage but things are back to normal now. Our federal government regularly issues travel reports to Canadians travelling abroad. You can find up-to-date information at voyage.gc.ca. The Caribbean Tourism Organization also has a website -- onecaribbean.org -- with up-to-date information on its 30+ island destinations, including St. Lucia. You can also contact the St. Lucia Tourism Office in Toronto by calling them at toll-free 1-800-869-0377 or 416-362-4242.

ilona@mycompass.ca/Twitter: @mycompasstv