 | McLae´s guide to Norway |  |
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Norway Internet country code: .no International telephone prefix: +47  Henrik Ibsen Norway is well known for its amazing and varied nature. The fjords in the west of the country are long narrow inlets of the sea, flanked by tall mountains. Norway was an old Viking kingdom. Economically it is known for its oil and seafood exports. Norway has space. In this country, roughly the same size as Great Britain or Germany, only 4.5 million people live. Thus, for each inhabitant there is 65,000 square meters of land, but the vast majority of this land is a rocky wilderness which is completely unusable for any agricultural purposes. As a result, Norway has a large number of completely unpopulated areas, many of which have been converted to national parks. But even outside the national parks, much of the land is unspoiled nature which Norwegians strive to keep unspoiled. In winter, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding are very popular. In summer, hiking and biking are obvious ways to enjoy the enormous mountain areas. For the adventurous, kayaking, wildwater rafting, paragliding, cave or glacier exploration are possible. Car tourists will enjoy driving along the fjords and mountains in the west or to the midnight sun in the north. Briefly, Norway has a lot to offer in terms of nature. Norway is located on a large peninsula shared with Sweden in the north of Europe. In the north, it also borders Finland and Russia. A large but loosely defined northern part of of Norway and Sweden, as well as parts of Finland and Russia outlines an area known as Sapmi (Sameland), which is where the most of the Sami (lapp) people live. Because of the gulf stream, the climate in Norway is noticeably warmer than what would otherwise be expected at such a high latitude. Almost half the length of Norway is north of the polar circle. Summers can be moderately warm (up to 30 degrees C), even in northern areas, but only for limited periods. The length of the winter and amount of snow varies. In the north there is more snow and winters are dark; on the southern and western coast, winters are moderate and rainy, while further inland the temperature can get below -25 degrees C. Some mountain areas will have permanent glaciers. A rugged landscape shaped by the Ice Age, shows forest hills and valleys, mountains, waterfalls, and a long coastline with fjords, islands, and mountains growing directly up from the sea. Norway's highest point is Galdhøpiggen (2469m) in the Jotunheimen region that lies midway between Oslo and Trondheim, but away from the coast. In the far north (Finnmark), you will find flatter open spaces. Norway's primary income is the petroleum industry in the North Sea. It also has several other natural resources such as fish and minerals, some industry, and a healthy technology sector. Politically, it is dominated by a widespread and continued support for the Scandinavian model, which means high taxes and high government spending to support free schools, free healthcare, an efficient welfare system, and many other benefits. As a result the unemployment rate in Norway is low. The Norwegian people have rejected membership in the European Union (EU) in two independent popular votes in 1972 and 1994, after first having being vetoed out of membership by France in the 50s and 60s. However, being a member state of the European Economic Area and part of the Schengen agreement, Norway is still closely connected to the EU, and is integrated as a full member in most economic matters as well as in customs and immigration matters. Language: Norwegian is the official language of Norway. The language is very close and mutually intelligible with the two other Scandinavian languages, Danish and Swedish. Sami is a minority language which has official status in some Northern regions. Most Norwegians know how to speak English. Most Norwegians at age 50 and downwards speak English pretty well, an impressive amount of them even speak it fluently. Many Norwegians also learn German or French at school, however this is nowhere near the high number of people who speak English. On a side note: people in the northern region of Norway, especially the ones that have lived the war, do not appreciate if you talk in German. Because of the devastated land the Germans left behind after the war. Costs: Norway is an expensive country. While it is possible to travel in Norway with a limited expense account, some care must be taken to do so. Because labour is costly here, anything that can be seen as a "service" will in general be more expensive than you expect. Transport costs can also be a killer, because the country is large and distances long, so a rail or air pass can save you a lot of money. As rules of thumb, subsisting on under 500 kr/day will be difficult even if you stay in hostels and self-cater, with 1000 kr/day allowing a more comfortable mid-range lifestyle and over 2000 kr/day needed for good hotels and good restaurants. Take care when buying alcohol and tobacco, it will most certainly be more expensive than you expect. Eating and Drinking: Traditional Norwegian "farm" food is made by whatever can grow in the harsh climate, be stored for a year until new crops come out, and contain enough energy for you to do hard work. Typical examples are variations of yeasted and unyeasted bread and other forms of bakery, porridges, soups, inventive uses of potato, salted and smoked meat, and fresh, salted or smoked fish. The regional variances in traditional food are, however, huge, and hence, what is thought to be "typical traditional" for one Norwegian might be totally unknown to another. Finer traditional food is usually based on hunted animals or fresh fish. Steak, medallions and meat balls from game, deer, reindeer and elk are highly appreciated foods with international reputation, so are fresh, smoked and fermented salmon varieties as well as a host of other fish products. Traditional pastries like lukket valnøtt (marzipan-covered whipped cream cake) are other original contributions to international cuisine. Cheese of various types is common, but one particularly Norwegian favorite is geitost (goat-cheese), a mild smoked cheese which bears a remarkable similarity to smooth peanut butter in color, texture and taste. Today, Norwegians use plenty of sliced bread for almost any meal except dinner, whereas recipes for hot meals will be taken from almost anywhere in the world, including of course the traditional kitchen, but seldom the most extreme examples. Eating out is expensive, with fast food starting from 50 kr and sit-down meals in a decent restaurant nearly always topping 100 kr for a main course. One way to cut costs is self-catering, as youth hostels and guesthouses often have kitchens for their guests. Breakfast is often hearty and buffet-style, so pigging out at breakfast and skipping lunch is also an option. For a cheap quick snack Norwegian-style, look no further than the nearest grill or convenience store, which will dish up a pølse sausage in either a hot dog bun (brød) or wrapped in a flat potato bread (lompe) for around 20 kr. Norway is often described as a "dry" country, because alcohol is highly priced and glass of wine/beer in a restaurant is in the range of 60 kr (6£/9USD/9 Euro). Beer can be bought at the supermarkets, however wine and stronger alcoholic beverages have to be purchased in state owned liquor stores (Vinmonopolet). You must be at least 18 years old to purchase beer/wine and 20 years old to purchase spirits (alcohol levels of 22% and above) in Norway. Technically, you're not allowed to drink in public. This law is very strict, and even encompasses your own balcony, if other people can see you! Luckily, the law is very seldom enforced (I've never heard of anyone being fined in their own balcony, for instance), and Norwegians indeed do drink in parks. There are calls for modifying the antiquated law, and recently, there has been a debate in media: most people seem to agree that drinking in parks is allright as long as people have a good time and remain peaceful. However, if you bother others and get too intoxicated or a policeman happens to be in a bad mood, you may be asked to throw away your alcohol, and in a worst-case scenario, fined. Drinking openly in the street is probably still considered somewhat rude, and it would be more likely to bring the police's attention than a picnic in a park, and is advised against. Having a glass of wine in an establishment that legally serves alcohol at the sidewalk, of course, is not a problem. In Norway, all alcohol with a volume percentage of under 4,75% can be sold at regular shops. This means you can get decent beer all over the place. The price varies, but imported beer is usually damn expensive. Shopping hours for beer are very strict: The sale stops at 8 pm (20.00) every weekday, and at 6 pm (18.00) every Saturday, even if the shop is open longer. On days before holidays, sales stop even earlier. This means the beer will have to be PAID before this time. If it's not paid, the person behind the counter will take your beer, and tell you "Sorry pal, too late!". On Sunday, you can't buy beer anywhere except bars/pubs/restaurants. For strong beer, wine and hard alcohol, you will have to find a Vinmonopolet branch. The state shop have a marvellous choice of drinks, but at mostly sky-high prices. The general rule is that table wines are more expensive than in nearly any other country. Expect NOK 80-90 for a decent, "cheap" wine. They are open until 5 pm (17.00) Mon-Wed, 6 pm (18.00) Thu-Fri, and 3 pm (15.00) on Sat. Sunday? No way. History: Archeological findings indicates that there were people in Norway about 12,000 years ago. They did probably come from more southern regions, that is Northern Germany, and traveled far north along the Norwegian coastline. In the 9th century Norway consisted of a number of petty kingdoms. According to tradition, Harald Fairhair gathered the small kingdoms into one and in 872 with the battle of Hafrsfjord, he became the first king of a united Norway. The Viking age (8th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion. The Norwegians settled on Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and parts of the British Islands and attempted to settle at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada (it is the Vinland of The Saga of Eric the Red). Norwegians founded the modern day Irish cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford and captured the Anglo-Saxon city of Eoforwic renaming it Jorvik, today known as York. The Norwegian Rollo invaded and was ceded Normandy by the West Frankish king Charles the Simple in 911. Rollo's great-great-great-grandson William the Conqueror successfully invaded and conquered England in 1066. The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, coinciding with a recession following the Black Plague in 1349, which wiped out between 1/3 and 2/3 of the population. Royal politics at the time resulted in several personal unions between the Nordic countries, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under the control of Queen Margrethe. The country entered into the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Sweden, and after 1450 remained in a union with Denmark alone that would last until 1814. As Norway was the weaker part of a union that kept all of its royal, intellectual, and administrative power in Copenhagen, Denmark, this period was in light of the national romanticism in the 19th century sometimes referred to as the "400-Year Night". Other factors also contributed to Norway's decline in this period. With the introduction of Protestantism in 1537, Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of St. Olav at the Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with the cultural and economic life of the rest of Europe. Additionally, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces Båhuslen, Jemtland, and Herjedalen to Sweden, as a result of the wars between Denmark-Norway and Sweden. After Denmark-Norway was attacked by England, it entered into an alliance with Napoleon, and in 1814 found itself on the losing side in the Napoleonic Wars and in dire economic conditions. The Dano-Norwegian Oldenburg king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden. Norway took this opportunity to declare her independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models and elected the Danish crown prince Christian Fredrik as king on May 17, 1814. Nevertheless, Norway was militarily forced into a personal union with Sweden, but kept its liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service. This period also saw the rise of the Norwegian romantic nationalism movement in art and culture, as the Norwegians sought to define and express a distinct national character. The movement covered all branches of culture, including literature (Henrik Wergeland, Maurits Christopher Hansen, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe, Henrik Ibsen), painting (Hans Gude, Adolph Tiedemand), music (Edvard Grieg), and even language policy, where attempts to define a native written language for Norway led to today's two official written forms for Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Norway's growing dissatisfaction with the union with Sweden during the late 19th century, combined with National Romanticism and the growing national culture coming from it, led to the dissolution of the union on June 7, 1905. The Norwegian government offered the throne of Norway to the Danish Prince Carl. After a referendum confirming the monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the medieval kings of independent Norway. In 1913, Norwegian women gained suffrage. Norway was a neutral country during World War I. Norway also attempted to claim neutrality during World War II, but was invaded by German forces on the April 9, 1940 (Operation Weserübung). The Allies also had plans to invade Norway, in order to take advantage of her strategically important Atlantic coast, but were thwarted by the German operation. Norway put up a stiff fight against the German occupation and armed resistance in Norway went on for two months. The battle of Vinjesvingen eventually became the last stronghold of Norwegian resistance in southern Norway in May, while the armed forces in the north surrendered in early June. King Haakon and the Norwegian government continued the fight from exile in Rotherhithe, London. On the day of the invasion, the collaborative leader of the small National-Socialist party Nasjonal Samling — Vidkun Quisling — tried to seize power, but was forced by the German occupiers to step aside. Real power was wielded by the leader of the German occupation authority, Reichskommissar Josef Terboven. Quisling, as minister president, later formed a government under German control. During the five years of Nazi occupation, Norwegians built a strong resistance movement which fought the German occupation forces with both armed resistance and civil disobedience. Notable was also the effort of the Norwegian Merchant Navy. At the time of the invasion Norway had the third largest, fastest and the most effective Navy in the world. It was lead by the Norwegian shipping company Nortraship under the allied force thorugout the war and took part in every war operation from the evacuation of Dunkirk until the Normandy landings. In 1944, the Germans evacuated the provinces of Finnmark and northern Troms, using a scorched earth tactic to create a vast area of No-man's land in response to the Red Army attacking their positions in eastern Finnmark. The Soviets attacked into eastern Finnmark to create a buffer zone after pushing the German forces out of the arctic Kola peninsula. The Russians peacefully returned the area to Norwegian control after the war. The German forces in Norway surrendered on 8 May 1945. The occupation during World War II disturbed the Norwegians' confidence in neutrality, and they turned instead to collective security. Norway was one of the signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the United Nations, providing its first secretary general – Trygve Lie. Norway has twice voted against joining the European Union (in 1972 and 1994), but is associated with the EU via the European Economic Area. However, Norway is a member of the much smaller European Free Trade Association (EFTA). |
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