I fell in love with Norway
When I visited Finland a few years ago, my whole idea of holidays changed. Finland was amazing. I prefer cold countries to hot countries. I prefer the scenery. I prefer the snow to the sun. I was done with beach holidays. More recently, I visited Switzerland and thought it was the most beautiful place on Earth. This year I went to Norway, and had the best holiday I’ve had in nearly twenty years.
The scenery in Norway blew me away. The country has a rugged natural beauty unlike anywhere else I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot. The other two countries I absolutely adore are Japan and China, and you can imagine how stunning their landscapes are. Sorry Switzerland, but I think Norway is even more beautiful than you are.
Then there are the people. Norwegians are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They have a stoic, down to earth, relaxed friendliness that was evident in everybody I met and spoke to. Maybe it’s due to the lack of crowding. There are less than six million people in Norway, and people become less friendly in crowded places. It’s part of the dispersion of social responsibility in crowds. Maybe it’s due to the need to be practical and co-operative in harsh climates. Norwegians are great.
When my daughter was coughing on a train, a middle aged woman kept looking at her, then started walking over to our table. Informed by my experiences in other countries, I bristled a little, expecting the lady to rudely insist that my daughter cover her mouth. That’s not what happened. Instead this kind lady spoke softly to my daughter, and asked whether she would like a sweet to help her with her cough, if it was okay with her parents of course.
One of the things I’ve noticed in most of the counties I’ve ever visited is racism. I’m brown, and I’ve been ignored, insulted, sworn at, and worse, in a lot of places. I can see racism where it exists. I didn’t see any racism at all in Norway. I saw white families with black children. I saw couples where one was brown, the other white, or one black, the other brown. In Norway, people are just people. It was like somebody had designed a society according the principles laid out in John Lennon’s Imagine.
There was also a distinct absence of class . Imagine my surprise, coming from London, when a new Rolls Royce pulled up to where I was waiting by a ski equipment rental store, and parked considerately, in an actual parking space. The guy who got out, grabbed a ski jacket from the boot, kissed his wife and child goodbye, nodded and politely said “hello” to us, then nonchalantly joined the queue like everybody else. I can’t imagine that happening in the UK. I can’t imagine a Rolls Royce driver bothering to find a parking space, and the guy would probably have to hit a few poses to ensure that everybody saw his luxury Swiss watch, before slowly putting on his designer sunglasses, then looking down his nose at everybody, and either just walking to the front of the queue, or bitching about having to wait. I took a look at the guys watch, it was a Casio.
That was at a ski resort, where my lack of skiing ability only made me like Norwegians even more. Norwegians don’t mind when an inexperienced skier accidentally bumps into them, they just help you up and ask if you’re ok. I saw that happen to a few people. In my case, I was heading downhill towards a lady and her toddler, who were both much better skiers than I am. Realising I couldn’t stop in time, I threw myself on the ground to avoid colliding with them. The mother thanked me and asked me if I was okay, before commenting that it was a great emergency stop. Awesome.
Today I saw something that made me love Norway even more. Somebody on YouTube was talking about how great Norway is, so I watched. Then he angled the camera out of his window to focus on a Palestinian flag. The flag ignited his vitriol as he was of the opinion that nobody anywhere should be allowed to display Palestinian flags. The YouTuber wanted his will imposed on all Norwegians. He is an Israeli who insisted that Norway belongs to Norwegians just like Israel belongs to Israelis, but Norway has been influenced by liars and terrorists, and is going to the dogs because it allows foreigners and immigrants into the country. The worst thing about Norway, he insisted is that it supports Palestine’s right to exist, allows people to boycott Israel, and even labels products that are produced in Israel’s illegal settlements.
The video just informed me that Norway has humane and fair foreign policies that respect international laws. It’s not a country founded on principles of racial or ethnic superiority. The video made me like Norway even more.
If you’re a driver, you’ve got another reason to love Norway. The roads are nearly always empty. Norway has eleven of the longest road tunnels in the world. I was always a passenger, but going through those tunnels was fantastic. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. The walls are illuminated in lights of varying colours every so often, to keep drivers alert. When you’re not in a tunnel, you’ll see some gorgeous scenery. Nobdoy drove like an idiot. Even BMW drivers didn’t do anything stupid on the roads in Norway. I don’t recall seeing any Range Rovers, so I can’t comment on whether the unusual miracle of considerate, safe road behaviour would have been evident there as well.
I could list so many more positives about Norway, but it’s hard to think of any negatives. If I had to, I’d mention the lack of transport links outside the cities. A person who wants to move around in Norway is going to need a car, or plenty of patience. In a lot of places, there is only one bus a day. Taxis are expensive. We took two taxi rides in order to catch connecting trains, both costing close to £200. But it was worth it. Food is expensive as well, but that’s the case everywhere in Scandinavia. Just about everything costs two or three times more than it would in the UK. Sunglasses and scarves were two notable exceptions.
Did I mention the Fjords? They’re breath taking. If you visit Norway, make sure you see the Fjords. I also throughly recommend going to a floating sauna, and dunking yourself in the freezing Fjords every time you get too hot, before you run shivering back to the sauna. It’s a fabulously enjoyable and refreshing experience.
I completely fell in love in Norway. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
