Greetings, Dara's Travel Blog readers, from a bus driving through the Swedish countryside! I've just finished up a truly wonderful week in Norway, and instead of my usual blog post style (I did this, then I did that, etc etc etc), I decided to take some time to debunk (or reinforce) some of the most widespread stereotypes regarding this fine country. Keep in mind that my reflections here are based on exactly 7 days of Norwegian experience (5 in Oslo and 2 in Tromsø) that might be entirely non-representative of the country at large...basically just take them with a grain of salt!
Stereotype #1: Norway is sad, cold, dark, and depressing in the winter.
Dara's Take: Pretty false. While I totally thought it would be terrible weather-wise here, it has been totally reasonable, with most temperatures in the 30s and 40s both in Oslo and up north (warm water from the Caribbean keeps the Norwegian Arctic relatively warm). As far as light goes, although I have seen the sun for approximately 2 minutes total over the last week, the darkness really hasn't been too bad; in Tromsø, where the sun never comes up in the winter, there is the most beautiful blue light during what would be the "day" anywhere else, which was very delightful in itself (see photo below). It is also worthwhile to note that while I was hanging out in the Arctic Circle at temperatures hovering just around freezing, the entire US was apparently absolutely miserable. Norway FTW.
Stereotype #2: Norway is extremely expensive.
Dara's Take: Way too true. Although I've definitely lived in some expensive places before (see: summers in Singapore and the UK), Norway has to take the cake on this one. On Saturday night, I actually spent 300 NOK (about $50) on two kebabs and two beers (not all for me, I promise). While the kebab was, in fact, very delicious, I spent the next two days eating bread and cheese so I could get over the trauma of it all. Mind you, the Norwegians do cheese pretty well, but still.
Stereotype #3: Norwegians are all tall, blonde, and beautiful.
Dara's Take: At least partially false. While I expected to blend into a sea of blondness during my time here, there's definitely a lot more physical diversity than I was expecting (although there are more blonds per capita than pretty much any other place I've visited, I'm pretty sure). In terms of height, Jan assured me repeatedly that I'm pretty average for women here, although I still have some lingering doubts about this one. And, lastly, as far as the beauty bit goes, I've heard it's in the eye of the beholder, so I'll leave it up to you to judge on your next Scandinavian adventure :)
Stereotype #4: Norwegians love Norway.
Dara's take: seems pretty true to me! Everywhere I went, I learned from everyone how awesome Norway is, be it in terms of Viking history, environmentalism and sustainability, or dominance in globally under-appreciated winter sports. Honestly, after a week here I can't really blame anyone for espousing Norway's virtues...it is a really wonderful place! It's worthwhile to note, however, that people here (at least where I've been) are not overtly patriotic like we are in the States; you won't see tons of flags or other in-your-face displays of patriotism like I've seen in many other countries.
Stereotype #5: Norway is beautiful.
Dara's take: incredibly true. Although I probably saw less than 1% of the beauty of this country, I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was, especially in the north. Although of course I knew what a fjord was before I came (thank you, Hitchhiker's Guide), I had no idea how beautiful they would be in person. Adrienne once told me that the reason Mt. Ranier is so impressive is that it shoots straight up from sea level; the fjords here are like that, although multiplied over and over again, since most of the fjords have mountains on every side. It's incredible.
So that's all, folks! I'm in Stockholm until Sunday evening, then a few days in Finland and Denmark on my way home next week. Let me know if you have any requests for gifts, fun facts, etc, and I shall do my best to oblige!
Dara
PS: I know that the white highlighting above looks stupid, but Blogger freaked out when I tried to paste special characters from Microsoft Word. The copy and layout editor inside me is cringing, don't worry...
Stereotype #1: Norway is sad, cold, dark, and depressing in the winter.
Dara's Take: Pretty false. While I totally thought it would be terrible weather-wise here, it has been totally reasonable, with most temperatures in the 30s and 40s both in Oslo and up north (warm water from the Caribbean keeps the Norwegian Arctic relatively warm). As far as light goes, although I have seen the sun for approximately 2 minutes total over the last week, the darkness really hasn't been too bad; in Tromsø, where the sun never comes up in the winter, there is the most beautiful blue light during what would be the "day" anywhere else, which was very delightful in itself (see photo below). It is also worthwhile to note that while I was hanging out in the Arctic Circle at temperatures hovering just around freezing, the entire US was apparently absolutely miserable. Norway FTW.
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| Winter light in Tromsø, Norway. Although I of course edit my photos, I assure you that the sky and mountains were ACTUALLY THIS COLOR during my visit. Unreal. |
Dara's Take: Way too true. Although I've definitely lived in some expensive places before (see: summers in Singapore and the UK), Norway has to take the cake on this one. On Saturday night, I actually spent 300 NOK (about $50) on two kebabs and two beers (not all for me, I promise). While the kebab was, in fact, very delicious, I spent the next two days eating bread and cheese so I could get over the trauma of it all. Mind you, the Norwegians do cheese pretty well, but still.
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| An incredibly delicious dinner of reindeer sausage (the other red meat?), potatoes, onions, and mustard. Super great...but $25. Sigh. |
Dara's Take: At least partially false. While I expected to blend into a sea of blondness during my time here, there's definitely a lot more physical diversity than I was expecting (although there are more blonds per capita than pretty much any other place I've visited, I'm pretty sure). In terms of height, Jan assured me repeatedly that I'm pretty average for women here, although I still have some lingering doubts about this one. And, lastly, as far as the beauty bit goes, I've heard it's in the eye of the beholder, so I'll leave it up to you to judge on your next Scandinavian adventure :)
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| Perhaps my tall friends have skewed my perspective on Scandinavian height...Jan, Kristine, and I at the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum outside of Oslo. It was a really foggy day so you can't see the jump at all, but it's there, I promise! |
Dara's take: seems pretty true to me! Everywhere I went, I learned from everyone how awesome Norway is, be it in terms of Viking history, environmentalism and sustainability, or dominance in globally under-appreciated winter sports. Honestly, after a week here I can't really blame anyone for espousing Norway's virtues...it is a really wonderful place! It's worthwhile to note, however, that people here (at least where I've been) are not overtly patriotic like we are in the States; you won't see tons of flags or other in-your-face displays of patriotism like I've seen in many other countries.
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| Fun fact: the discovery of this (and other) historic Viking ships at the beginning of the 20th century helped to justify Norway's separation from Sweden by building a clear Norwegian cultural identity around Viking history. Today, it's mostly just cool that this ship is almost 1000 years old! |
Dara's take: incredibly true. Although I probably saw less than 1% of the beauty of this country, I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was, especially in the north. Although of course I knew what a fjord was before I came (thank you, Hitchhiker's Guide), I had no idea how beautiful they would be in person. Adrienne once told me that the reason Mt. Ranier is so impressive is that it shoots straight up from sea level; the fjords here are like that, although multiplied over and over again, since most of the fjords have mountains on every side. It's incredible.
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| I actually took this picture of the Northern Lights. Enough said. |
Dara
PS: I know that the white highlighting above looks stupid, but Blogger freaked out when I tried to paste special characters from Microsoft Word. The copy and layout editor inside me is cringing, don't worry...
I've always wanted to see the northern lights, wow! I have several Norwegian friends through blogging… they are very happy, kind people… How could they be otherwise in such a beautiful place??
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