Norway

[Lokesbrah]

So I've got this plan to go to Norway next summer (I'm Portuguese), and hitchhiker wiki says a bit of bad things about it. I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts.

To give you an Idea about what to say, I've been a Viking culture fan from as long as I heard about them. Recently I took a deep dive into viking mythology and as it should be, I'm loving it.

I haven't got all that much money, about enough I guess.

 

So, I would like to know what kind of places you recomend, what and where to eat, how much is it, should I stick to supermarkets and stuff like that, and mainly, How's Hitchiking? I would love to hitchhike just to know a bit more personally the people who live there and to know their thoughts on places and overall to make new friends.

 

Thoughts?

[SymphonicDan]

I spent two summer months near Bergen, Norway aged 19 working for a charity, and also visited Tromsø. Here are some good and bad things:

 

GOOD:

• Beautiful scenery. One of my favourite-ever experiences was hiking to the top of Kattnakken on Stord Island at midnight in July, looking down at the cloud cover and seeing the mix of reds and blues as the sun set (yes, at midnight!) They have mountains everywhere, fjords, parks, picturesque cities and villages, etc. Sky never gets dark at night? Yep if you do in June/July. Hiking trails right next to the city? Yep you can hike up a mountain from the city centre of Bergen. Northern Lights? If you go outside of summer and are lucky. Lots to do if you like natural environments.
• Very low crime rate. I was staying with some Norwegians who thought nothing of leaving a car full of valuables unlocked with the doors open while we left it out of sight for 5 minutes. I'm not saying that this was sensible, but it certainly reflects how safe it is there.
• The locals speak very good English. Although not Portuguese, sorry In 58 days I met only 3 Norwegians over the age of 10 who could not converse with me in English (and several hundred who could, including lots of children).
• Very good infrastructure. Even in remote areas, the roads are smoothly paved and well-lit and well-signposted. Everything is clean. Public transport is reliable etc.
• I found that people are generally helpful and polite to tourists.

BAD:

• Expensive! A main course at a typical restaurant costs over $30 and a typical 500ml drink of beer costs $10. Bus or tram rides are about $4. Outside of Bergen, prices may be lower. In Oslo they're even higher. Minimum wage is $17/hour and of course many people earn much more.
• Hitchhiking is especially difficult. A friend of mine is experienced with hitchhiking around Europe, and says that Norway is the hardest country to do it in (out of the countries she's tried, including UK, France, Spain, Romania and Israel (not in Europe, I know))
• Norwegians have a reputation for being cold and unfriendly. When I was there, I found the Norwegians I met to be warm and friendly, but due to the activities I was doing, I was more likely to meet warm and friendly people.
• In Bergen it rains 213 days per year (on average). Summer days in Tromsø are around 10-15'C. Winters regularly get down to -20'C everywhere in the country. Basically, if you go, be prepared for it to be cold and rainy, although there are plenty of dry, sunny clear days too.

Whether on not you choose to visit Norway, I hope you enjoy happy travels

[Lokesbrah]

I still have high hopes on going... I want to hear more about other experiences though.

I am also going because of the scenery yes XD I've been high on pictures and that is just amazing. I read somewhere that the best places to visit if you're interested in that is Bergen.

The hitchhike thing was a bit a shot in the dark, it is supposed to be a way to save money and increase the experience but i've been told A LOT that it's harder than most countries...

[AugustaAdaByron]

I also spent a year living in Bergen. For me it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. It's one of the places where I would happily live permanently.

 

I agree on everything that SymphonicDan said. The people I met were also warm and friendly. They liked to discuss about places and experiences but I wouldn't expect them to open up easily on a personal level to someone they don't know or even start a conversation with a stranger (that is not to say that they would not talk to a stranger, they're just easier to talk while out for a beer or even when hiking - most Norwegians I think love to be at the mountains, every time the weather was nice everybody was outside in nature). I didn't try hitchhiking but if you book train tickets in advance I think you can find good enough prices, the same is true for flights with Norwegian. As for places to stay, it is going to be expensive but I think that free camping is legal in Norway as long as you take care of the place where you camp and are not very close to houses. I know of a hostel where you could stay in Bergen if you are interested. Otherwise, there is also a couch surfing group on Facebook. I actually met a person who was couch surfing last year. The people I knew where fond of having drinks/dinner with people going through the town. Paradoxically enough, Bergen was the place where I've been more social and met many new people (even compared to the place I grew up).

 

Food is indeed expensive at the restaurants but you can find some meal deals around the city centre in Bergen. I used to buy roast chicken from a super market when I was too lazy to cook. It was tasty and cheap. Kebabs are also your friend when it comes to cheap food. Also, if you stay at a hostel and you have access to a kitchen, cooking might be the best option. I didn't go out for food often even on a norwegian salary. 

 

Sorry for the long post. Truth is I can not shut up talking about Bergen if I start but since you asked about Norway in general and about hitchhiking I'll shut up for now but let me know if you have any questions about Bergen or if you need suggestions on what to do there. I'm always happy to talk about my experience from the place.

[Lokesbrah]

If in fact Bergen is the closest to the scenery and to where the fjords are, then that's a stop for me for sure! I would love to know more. What about price ranges in the market? Thanks for helping me out !!

[Urzie]

It's awesome that you want to visit Norway. It's in fact a very beautiful country. When do you plan on coming? (I'm Norwegian... ) Most of Norway shuts down for three weeks starting the week of 13th or 20th of July (that's dates for next year and I'm not sure when it starts). We have this thing called "fellesferie" - common vacation, so in this period a lot of service places are closed or have reduced opening hours.

 

When it comes to eating, supermarkets is definitely the cheapest way to go. Couchsurfing is growing here, and I don't think you'd have much trouble finding places to stay (for free) with the possibility to cook food yourself. Camping anywhere in the woods/mountains is legal, but clean up after yourself. Most places have campsites where you can rent a spot for as long as you need.

 

I rarely see hitchhikers anymore, but I know people do it. If you can't hitchhike, there's always the train. You can get from Oslo to Bergen or Trondheim quite easily while enjoying the view. And it's not very expensive. You can get from Oslo to Bergen for 249 NOKs which is roughly €30. Here's a link.

 

A lot of people bike Atlanterhavsveien, which is incredibly scenic, though a bit further north than Bergen. The further north you go, the less dark nights you get. As for northern lights, they're usually only visible from September through March/April. You might be lucky to see some in August, but that's rare. 

[iliovasilema]

I was in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo for summer vacation and it was super duper great. People are warm and friendly, though everything is hell expensive (I stayed in Bnb and bought food to cook). 

 

Bergen has Norway in a nutshell daytrip that I think you should try out. It was very impressive and beautiful. 

The most awesome act I have done is hiking at Preikestolen near Stavanger. you can search for photos everywhere and the scenario is much better than those pictures. 

 

and I stayed in a small wooden cabin nearby forest in Oslo, also from bnb, just everyday has fried salmon and enjoyed writing journals there.

I've never tried hitch hiking, but I guess it's a bit difficult, though. 

[Ligeia Myrrine]

I have been to Oslo and Haugesund for business and a bit of pleasure. I definitely enjoyed my stay but the timing was not really good each time because of the weather.