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.
In Trondheim and Bergen the attractions are, guess what? Wooden houses! In the older section of Trondheim there's maybe a 2 block area of them where you can get a feel for what old Norway looked like. It's quite nice really. Restaurants serve bowls of soup for $15. (sorry, still haven't gotten over the sticker shock) The rest of the town is concrete and ugly with no particular style, except for Nidaros Cathedral, which was built sometime in the Middle Ages by Englishmen (Norwegians didn't know how to build with stone and bricks because all their houses were, yes, wood). This is where Norway's kings are crowned to this day.
Bergen also has a 2 block stretch of wooden buildings by the water, called Bryggen, one of which houses a Hanseatic Museum, where apprentices actually lived and you can see the cubby holes where they slept, and the dried fish that's hundreds of years old, which they used to eat. Interesting. Also visit the fish market next to Bryggen - they'll let you sample whale meat and other delights if you wish. Yup, whale. Looks greasy. I always head for the fish market when I travel to a place by the sea. Every port has something unique to offer. We did try the samples of salmon. (This is Norway, remember, so if you can get food for free, you take it!) Yum.
Since the cities were originally all wood, they kept burning down. Finally the Norwegians caught on that maybe this wasn't such a great idea, this wooden cities thing. So they built in stone. The result is pretty boring. So stick to the fjords. There's nothing to buy here (you really don't want one of those knit sweaters for over $300, do you? Why not? Because your grandmother wears them, that's why! Anyway, they sell them at Disneyworld at the Norwegian pavilion). If you want lots of fjords, take the Hurtigruten or Norwegian Coastal Voyage. The complete trip goes all the way to the Arctic Circle and you can see the northern lights. We opted for an overnight stretch from Trondheim to Bergen. The boat stops at various towns along the way and you can get out and walk around. It's the main coastal ferry service so it doesn't stop long at each place, but you get an idea of the scenery. My advice? Do this when you're old, because there's not much to do other than walk around each town for 1/2 hour or so. If you do go to Norway, go in mid-summer when it never gets dark, stick to one or 2 places, take a day trip to, say, Geiranger Fjord (supposedly one of the best), eat some fish, reindeer, apple cake, go into the countryside and see the grass roofs, and most of all, enjoy the extremely fresh air. It's a strange place, but a pretty one.
Bargain note: Rather than staying in pensions, opt for a nice hotel. You can get last minute discount rates at chains like the Clarion or SAS Radisson hotels. You wouldn't expect it here, but the rates are extremely reasonable. You also don't need to tip here. As in the other Scandinavian countries, the waitstaff make real wages and don't expect tips. Since Fifi tips everyone, she was constantly reminded of this fact by the locals. See? Told you they were easy-going folk. When was the last time someone told you not to bother tipping them?
xox,
Fifi
Bergen also has a 2 block stretch of wooden buildings by the water, called Bryggen, one of which houses a Hanseatic Museum, where apprentices actually lived and you can see the cubby holes where they slept, and the dried fish that's hundreds of years old, which they used to eat. Interesting. Also visit the fish market next to Bryggen - they'll let you sample whale meat and other delights if you wish. Yup, whale. Looks greasy. I always head for the fish market when I travel to a place by the sea. Every port has something unique to offer. We did try the samples of salmon. (This is Norway, remember, so if you can get food for free, you take it!) Yum.
Since the cities were originally all wood, they kept burning down. Finally the Norwegians caught on that maybe this wasn't such a great idea, this wooden cities thing. So they built in stone. The result is pretty boring. So stick to the fjords. There's nothing to buy here (you really don't want one of those knit sweaters for over $300, do you? Why not? Because your grandmother wears them, that's why! Anyway, they sell them at Disneyworld at the Norwegian pavilion). If you want lots of fjords, take the Hurtigruten or Norwegian Coastal Voyage. The complete trip goes all the way to the Arctic Circle and you can see the northern lights. We opted for an overnight stretch from Trondheim to Bergen. The boat stops at various towns along the way and you can get out and walk around. It's the main coastal ferry service so it doesn't stop long at each place, but you get an idea of the scenery. My advice? Do this when you're old, because there's not much to do other than walk around each town for 1/2 hour or so. If you do go to Norway, go in mid-summer when it never gets dark, stick to one or 2 places, take a day trip to, say, Geiranger Fjord (supposedly one of the best), eat some fish, reindeer, apple cake, go into the countryside and see the grass roofs, and most of all, enjoy the extremely fresh air. It's a strange place, but a pretty one.
Bargain note: Rather than staying in pensions, opt for a nice hotel. You can get last minute discount rates at chains like the Clarion or SAS Radisson hotels. You wouldn't expect it here, but the rates are extremely reasonable. You also don't need to tip here. As in the other Scandinavian countries, the waitstaff make real wages and don't expect tips. Since Fifi tips everyone, she was constantly reminded of this fact by the locals. See? Told you they were easy-going folk. When was the last time someone told you not to bother tipping them?
xox,
Fifi
heehee