I just returned from a three-week vacation in Norway. Here are some of my impressions and observations.
From the airplane:
• It is so green – the forests, the fields, the meadows, etc. How beautiful. It is so much different from sun dried California.
In Oslo:
• It gets dark really late. At 11:00 p.m., there is still plenty of daylight outside. Strange!
• Everything is much more expansive than in California. Gas, for example, is 12 Norwegian krones per liter. That’s about 8 dollars per gallon. Good Lord!
• Everybody speaks English :D
• There are not so many overweight people as in California :D
• People don’t smile at each other. It seems people don’t even notice each other :(
• People here smoke more than people do in California (or, at least, it seems so) :(
• Many people drive small cars
• People eat whales :( (but, of course, not all people and not all whales)
• Customer service in California is better.
• Most stores and services are closed on Sundays and close early on Saturdays.
• Alcoholic beverages are only sold in specialized stores. For instance, you can’t buy beer on a gas stations (as you could’ve done in California).
In Lillehammer and nearest countryside:
• The countryside is magnificent. So peaceful.
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• Norwegians are proud to wear traditional clothes, called bunads, on special occasions such as weddings, national holidays, etc.
• People like to keep the old traditions alive. Traditional dancing, for example.
In Bergsfjord (a small fishing village in the north):
• Fjords! They are just as splendid as I imagined them.
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• Despite all the beauty of the mountains and water, I don’t feel comfortable here. I feel trapped. Even though it’s not an island, the glaciers prevent from getting to the rest of the mainland. The only way of transportation is ferry. But if, by some reason, it doesn’t come, there is no way to get out
• Twenty-four hours of daylight (the village is beyond the Arctic Circle). There are no mornings, afternoons, evenings, nor nights. You simply go to bad when you feel like taking a nap.
• People don’t lock their houses. At first, it seemed very strange to me. But there are only about 100 permanent residents in the village. Everybody knows each other. They all are like a big family.
• As I said above, the landscapes are very beautiful, but mosquitoes and wasps make taking a walk awfully unpleasant.
• The entire village is powered by the water coming from the glaciers.
• The are not many activities here. Fishing, picking berries, picking shells, hiking, sleeping, reading, dreaming, and simply enjoying the nature
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Norway
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- Tora
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Welcome back home, Cypress! The journey you did is awesome and so are the photos! I wonder how did you bear the flight?? I bet it was exhausting...
This is the most striking difference Russian travellers observe in USA while visiting the country, here people also are very rare to smile to unfamiliar people... so do IPeople don’t smile at each other. It seems people don’t even notice each other
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- mamuta
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Re: Norway
I'm jealous! I've always dreamt about fjords, whales and the Arctic Circle. I think you are wiser now because your new experience.But what about wandering? I love wandering and climbing on the mountains - are there any tracks ?Cypress wrote:Fjords! They are just as splendid as I imagined them.
Twenty-four hours of daylight (the village is beyond the Arctic Circle). There are no mornings, afternoons, evenings, nor nights. You simply go to bad when you feel like taking a nap.
The are not many activities here
- Cypress
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Re: Norway
There was a mountain lake, very beautiful. But to get to it wasn’t very easy not because it’s uphill, but because of those awful mosquitoes and wasps. Climbing mountains was possible too, but again those little vampires were so annoyingmamuta wrote:But what about wandering? I love wandering and climbing on the mountains - are there any tracks ?
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Interesting places to visit in Oslo:
Akershus castle was built at the end of 13th century. Later it was developed into a fortress. The castle is open to the public. Also the Norwegian Armed Forces museum and the Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there
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Norwegian Folk Museum exhibits cultural heritage of Norwegian people. Among the most impressive structures is a wooden stave churchdating from 1200.
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Akershus castle was built at the end of 13th century. Later it was developed into a fortress. The castle is open to the public. Also the Norwegian Armed Forces museum and the Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there
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Norwegian Folk Museum exhibits cultural heritage of Norwegian people. Among the most impressive structures is a wooden stave churchdating from 1200.
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Woa! It sounds like a really nice place... and neither I did heard of light at 11 pm... we have day light untill around 5 30pm... 11pm.. that's crazy! lol... and we do have a lot of natural resources and green forests... and due to the weather change we now have a lot more of crazy weather! I hope some day I could make a trip to nice places such as Norway...