Isn't it good, Norwegian... food? (Err... nope.)

Ryan & Isaac
Originally uploaded by ronald_gainey.

Miscellaneous thoughts on Norway.

Everything was VERY expensive. This is partly (largely?) the exchange rate. The Norwegians also have a very high standard of living (something close to the highest per capita income in the world, I believe). So they earn their needs in kroner a bit faster than I can earn them in dollars... and then when I buy them in kroner, whew! Paid ten dollars for a small pocket-sized bottle of hand sanitizer.

Natural beauty, spectacular. Mountains and fjords were stunning. The cities we saw were also beautiful. Bergen beats Oslo by a nose.

The people were very nice and friendly, pretty much without exception. And yes, fluent English was essentially universal.

Toilets/Bathrooms, nice. I particularly like the habit of hiding the toilet tanks inside the wall. Yes, it probably makes them harder to service, but oh, the room saved and the aesthetic superiority! The faucets are all aesthetically and functionally superb.

Cuisine? Eh... Ever seen a Norwegian restaurant, anywhere (outside of Norway)? Me either. Food tends toward the bland side, here. Another main drawback is that there's a paucity of fresh vegetables (fruits too, perhaps slightly less so). Yes, I know we're pretty far north and a lot of that stuff doesn't grow here, but it seems to me that it's not likely that distances and shipping costs are really prohibitive. Norway has higher per capita income and (generally) better living standards than the U.S., and if we can get grapes and tomatoes shipped in from Chile during the winter, the Norwegians could get that stuff up here. It's possible that tariffs or outright import restrictions stand in the way, though I do see plenty of American soft drinks (and TV shows). And heck, even if one or more of those barriers do apply, as a last resort you can grow these things hydroponically (or otherwise) in greenhouses; again, they've got the money. My guess is that there may be a cultural tendency toward conservatism, at least in eating habits. In America, new foods and cooking styles are frequently introduced, and often generate excitement. I'd bet that if there was a demand for different food options, they'd be here. I'm guessing if someone tries something new here, it fails--"Hey where's my bland meat and gravy?" In the meantime, there's strawberry and rhubarb spread. Yum...