Adjust or it`s expensive
No doubt that Norway is an expensive country. But how expensive it really is, is in your hands. If you`re a fan of vacations in hotels and dining out every day, maybe even twice a day and want to do this cheap. I suggest Thailand but not Norway. A hotelvacation with restaurant daily can easily cost a few thousand $ over a week. Include some trips like whalewatching and your tax refund for the year is gone. But there are ways how to visit this country, have a great time and not spend a fortune.
-Skip the hotels, go for air bnb, cabins, or camping. Camping in the wild is allowed for everyone if you follow the rules for it. It`s called the allemansretten.
-Restaurants, yes Norway has some really good restaurants, but if you eat there on a daily basis, it`s expensive. A normal meal in a restaurant can easily be $100 for 2. And that`s not fancy or includes a lot of alcohol, it`s the normal price here. So enjoy a restaurant occationally and in the meantime you can buy groceries and cook for yourself. But don`t be shocked, their deepfrozen pizza costs a fortune and is not worth the price. Indulge on their fish selection and you get what Norway is all about.
-11$ Guiness in a pub
They are afraid of alcohol
Yes they are, alcohol is basicly forbidden everywhere. As a german i find it rather strange that i can`t drink in public. I don`t mean getting wasted, but a simple beer on the beach, or take your drink outside of the pub when it`s warm...that`s a no go. And alcohol is expensive, beer is the only thing you can buy in a supermarked, for everything else you have to go to vinmonopolet. It`s the govermental liquor store, and yes the prices are insane. I don`t drink in norway, it`s not worth it. But feel free to bring it as a gift, if you have friends in Norway and you know they like wine or beer, bring them something. A good bottle of wine is appreciated all over the world.
-just some cows casually crossing the street
Stick to speed limits as if your life depends on it
And with this i mean, as if your life depends on it. I literally mean, if it says 30, drive 30 not 33..not 35 and definitly not 40. The fines for overstepping the speedlimit just a simple notch will cost a fortune. It happens more then once every year that foreigners get stopped by the police and often they will insist you pay right away, and the money for the vacation is gone. A fine for $2000 is not hard to get in norway.
They don`t talk much
They don`t. Sure the customer service is good, even tho i am really biased, i am from germany. So what do i know about good customerservice. But in general people living in the north don`t talk much. it`s just not in their nature, it`s not meant as a lack of interest or being rude. They just don`t talk much.
Asian au pairs everywhere
That was something new to me, norwegians have many kids. A family with 3 kids or more is not rare, but the parents often work fulltime. So they hire au pairs, often from asian countries, who come for some months and then get replaced by the next. In general the lower paid jobs are done by foreigners.
The food is okeish
Norway is not known for its cuisine like Italy or France. It`s the same in germany our food is very simple and basic and developed only after the influence of other countries. If you like fresh fish and seafood, then you will find many options in norway, but beside that the most sold dish here is a deepfrozen pizza called grandiosa. Which tastes like cardboard with bland tomatosauce and artificial cheese. When it comes to fast food, you can find the usual, Mc donalds, Burgerking and so on. But also kebab stores, which in most cases you can just avoid, the meat is a mixture of meat and flour, grinded and pressed. It has nothing to do with an original kebab.
-typical waffle and coffee afternoon
They have a coffee and waffle addiction
Norwegians drink coffee all the time, 10pm no problem for coffee. Visit a friend and mostlikely they serve waffle and coffee, go on a ferry and it sells coffee and waffle, often served with brown goatcheese, a mixture that i never grew fond of beside fish, coffee and waffle are the national dishes in my opinion.
Don`t expect cleaned pavements in the winter
Forget the fancy small winterboots with a heel. You can`t wear them, only scandinavians have masterd the art of walking with heels on ice. Buy spikes for your shoes and don`t ever think sneakers will do. If you go hiking you need good hiking boots, in the winter you need good winterboots with a profilesole. People just don`t bother to keep the pavement clean and it`s understandable. It snows so much that it`s useless. In some cities you will come across superclean pavements in the winter, thanks to heating under the pavement. In the summer you will experience that the roads are rather bumpy, have lots of holes and are in general in a bad shape. So just leave your fancy shoes at home and come with good hiking boots.
Don`t underestimate the dark and the light
The lack of sunlinght can be tiring, if you come in the wintertime and plan to travel north of scandinavia, ensure you spend time outdoors when it`s light. It happend to me more then once that i was deadtired and wanted to go to bed and it was just 5pm. In the summer, it`s awesome to see the sun up`n running even at 12pm, but it makes it hard to sleep. So bring a sleeping mask, otherwise it`s a great experience but over time you will get more and more tired during the day. A sleeping mask can prevent that and ensure that you get some good hours of sleep, even when the sun is still shining.
-view from Aksla fjell in Alesund Norway
-I love the colourplay in the back
The nature is breathtaking
Last but not least the nature is really breathtaking, i can`t recall how often i just stood there and watched and tried to soak up every minute in my memory so i won`t forget it. You can take pictures as much as you want, but take your time, enjoy the moment. Live in the here and now and enjoy the beautiful sceneries this country has to offer. You can find everything your heart desires, from flat land with lakes to mountains, forrests dark and light, fjords shores and beaches. It`s magical, it`s beautiful and you will never forget the moment you just stood there breathed and captured it in your memory.
-Geirangerfjord
-Alesund by night