The Budget Babe's International Travel Advisor Fifi LaMode admits a fondness for fjords and a soft spot for trolls in the Land of the Midnight Sun. —TBB


by Fifi LaMode
Norway is probably the richest country in Europe. Oil is why. Before the days of North Sea oil, it was one of the poorest. Things are expensive here, VERY expensive. A pizza for 2 in a chain restaurant, and a beer apiece, will run $40. A meal for 2 in a nice restaurant? $300. Ok, that's the bad news. The good news is that the scenery is really spectacular. The fjords are beautiful, mystical, and ubiquitous.

Tied in with this mysticism are legends about trolls, strange little shape-shifters, which, as myths go, explained much of the unexplainable in the old days. For example, trolls sometimes change themselves into seductive women and thus keep the farmboys away from their chores. But here's how you can tell if it's a girl or a troll - the tail. They can't hide their tails. So if a lad is approached by a comely lass and has his suspicions, he'd do well to check under her skirt to see if she's hiding a tail.
OK, I'm not making this up - This is what trolls do. LOL

Back to the here and now - the big attraction in the Norwegian countryside (aside from the fjords), are wooden houses. You're thinking, "Oooooh, like we don't have that here?" Not with grass roofs, we don't. Why grass? Must be so the trolls can have picnics without venturing far from home! Every 25 yrs or so these grass roofs need replacing because the roots get too big and make cracks in the ceiling.

Again, I'm not making this up.

The effect is like something out of a fairy tale. Very cute. So we have lovely fjords and wooden houses with grass roofs. Very nice.

In contrast to the pristine countryside, city streets are not particularly clean, garbage cans are always full, and sidewalks have weeds growing out of them. Go figure. Grass on roofs, weeds on sidewalks. Maybe it's a "we're one with nature" thing.

What is also strange is the complete lack of fashion sense. For a wealthy European country the people are shabbily dressed. The young especially look sloppy and not particularly fit. The look is pretty much like the people in "My Name is Earl." Maybe it's because the clothes are so expensive? I don't think so. In other countries, like Poland and Croatia, people are less wealthy and yet many are elegantly and neatly dressed.

The upside is that, unlike in countries where fashion is a way of life, Norwegians don't really care what YOU look like. I wore the same pair of jeans all week because, why bother? Nobody seemed to notice. People were pleasant and friendly all around. You don't see flash jewelry or flash anything for that matter. Stores? The usual, H&M, blah blah blah. In an entire week I did not see one store that I could recommend. There are one or 2 upscale boutiques which feature local designers, (literally one or 2) and if you like folk-themed knits for $400 and up, you'll find something.

But for the budget-minded shopper looking for a local trinket, get a troll. A little one (about 4 inches high) costs around $15 and the odd little critters with long tails look cute when you get them back home.