Our guide is originally from India but has been traveling the world for the last 13 years. Right now he is giving walking tours in Bergen. His perspective is more as an outsider rather than a native, but we could relate to his observations.
When Norway wanted to be separate from Sweden, Sweden took all the farmland and gave Norway only the mountains. Most of Norway’s food must be imported. That is why everything is very expensive. However, oil – lots of it – was discovered in Norway.
Electric cars are encouraged, and gas-powered cars are no longer sold here. Cruise ships have a deadline of 10 years to become electric, but they are allowed to switch back to diesel at sea, a technology developed by Norway, of course.
Bergen is the cultural capital of Norway. Edvard Grieg is a well known composer. In fact, even today all Norwegian composers come from Bergen.
Grieg was only 5-feet tall which is unusual for a Norwegian. His musical pieces focused on Norwegian nature and his wife.
Ole Bull State Park in Pennsylvania is named for Ole Bull, who toured the United States in the 1850’s. In 1852, Ole Bull purchased a large tract of land in Potter County and attempted to develop a series of Norwegian settlements.
Music, especially American Country Music, is big in Bergen Look at VisitBergen.com to see what is playing.
This hour-long documentary on fish might trigger people who watch it. I had to turn it off. Our guide said that farmed salmon especially from Norway is to be discouraged.
Every man and woman can access nature. Allemannsretten is a traditional right from ancient times. Since 1957, it has also been enshrined in the Outdoor Recreation Act. The right ensures that everyone can experience nature, even in big, privately-owned areas. One can camp, fish, pick berries, mushrooms, and wildflowers. It is a closely-guarded secret where families go to pick mushrooms.
Norwegians swim in the summer and winter. In winter it might be called bobbing. They certainly invented cold water therapy. They also read a lot.
Norwegians have a long Christmas season. They put up lights on October 1 and keep them up until Feb 28. This makes sense when darkness lasts so long in the winter.
Summer means tanning. They put their face toward the sun while walking. It is called walk tanning.
Norwegians consume more pizza per capita than any other nation. Grandiosa is the favored brand. It is a frozen pizza usually eaten at home. Also, they like things that are sugar free and chili flavored.
Norwegians eat an early dinner around 5pm. Drinking occurs on Fridays and Saturdays and never after work. They have a special word for drinking outside. It is utepils. Drinking beer outside is something related to happiness, sun, good times.
Norway was the last country to outlaw eugenics. Blonde was encouraged and celebrated.
Norwegians avoid eye contact and use earphones. They don’t want to be bothered. Their friends come from school, jobs, children, and fitness groups. Norwegians shuffle to make noise that they want to pass rather than saying excuse me as that is too forward.
Norway’s cultural emphasis on humility is strongly influenced by an unwritten social code called Jante Law that encourages modesty and discourages boastfulness. Do as other Norwegians do. Everyone is on the same page. One can even check each other’s income online.
These are the 10 standards of humility in Norway:
- You are not to think you are anything special.
- You are not to think you are as good as we are.
- You are not to think you are smarter than we are.
- You are not to imagine yourself better than we are.
- You are not to think you know more than we do.
- You are not to think you are more important than we are.
- You are not to think you are good at anything.
- You are not to laugh at us.
- You are not to think anyone cares about you.
- You are not to think you can teach us anything.
These archaic standards of Jante Law first written in 1929 produced a culture of conformity but discourage ambition. No wonder there is a Minister of Loneliness in Norway. When the standards for COVID said to keep a distance of six feet, they asked “Why so close?”
Norway’s birthrate is 1.4 whereas in the past families had as many as 10 children. There are small houses near water for those who work there, not for families.
The Norwegian word for Mom is mor, and Dad is far. So mormor & morfar is Grandma and Grandpa on the moms side and farmor & farfar means Dad’s Mom and Dad’s Dad. What a great way to keep things straight!
Days of the week in the Norwegian language are named based on Norse mythology.
- Monday: mandag (man-dag) named after Måne, who was named after the moon.
- Tuesday: tirsdag (tirsh-dag) named after Tyr, the Norse god of war and justice.
- Wednesday: onsdag (ons-dag) named after Odin, the Norse god of war.
- Thursday: torsdag (torsh-dag) named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder, sky, and agriculture.
- Friday: fredag (freya-dag) named after Frigg and Freya, the Norse goddesses of love
- Saturday: lørdag (lur-dag) name is derived from the Old Norse word “laugardagr” which means washing day
- Sunday: søndag (sun-dag) named after Sól, who was named after the sun
The parks have pigeon houses although they are more like hotels. Veterinarians check them regularly … even the pigeons get healthcare.
Norwegians encourage home ownership. Most own property by the age of 30. They believe that everyone has the right to home ownership.
One can rent out a home for three years, then one needs to sell it or live in it. This prevents people from collecting homes.
Bergen and Seattle are sister cities. Norway will always have a strong partnership with the USA because Norway borders Russia.
“Person serving you is on their first summer job.” This is posted ever summer at a local ice cream store that is known for employing young teens.
We signed up for a historical tour of the Bergen waterfront and who do we see? Denise and Tao. Denise said that she knew that it was us because she saw my orange hat.
Bergen started as a wharf that became a town. The Hanseatic league established Bergen as a Hanseatic office, an outpost in a key trading location.
Assembly halls were for meals, drinking, prayer, classroom, etc. After meetings, there was a curfew. The apprentices had to leave by going outside in the dark, often in the pouring rain to a shared bed to keep warm.
Apprentices wanted to become journeymen, then facing managers, and then merchants. Merchants became very rich. They painted their houses white which means you have made it because it was difficult and expensive to make white paint.
In 1349 the black plague killed two-thirds of the people in Bergen. This meant jobs and houses were abandoned.
In 1360, the Hanseatic office was formally established as a trade company. Bergen was a German office not a Hanseatic city. The German language was spoken.
Trade was in dried codfish from Lofoten in northern Norway for grains and cereals coming up from the south.
By the 1500’s, all good things came to an end. There was war, new trade routes, and the Hanseatic league lost power. There were fewer offices outside Germany. However, the Hanseatic League still has meetings in Lübeck, Germany today.
Fires are a part of Bergen history. Everything was built of wood, and the fire “department” of the past consisted of one man and one horse and was closed at night.
In 1702 100 percent of Bryggen burned down. Wood is cheaper than stone and can be found everywhere. Stone was used only for churches and cellars.
In 1754 the Bergen Hanseatic office closed its doors. A new Norwegian Office was opened by Germans that were Norwegian citizens.
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