Date: 08/04/2013

Why we love Norway

Author: Laura
Location: Norway

From 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 through 2011, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world. In 2011, Norway also ranked the highest on the Democracy Index, and according to UNDP, it is the world’s “best” country.

It’s easy to see why we love it, but as an outsider looking in, how can we understand the culture & people who make up this remarkable nation?

At the start of the last century, when Norway declared itself independent from Sweden it was one of, if not the poorest country in Europe. With its mountainous landscape there was very little arable land that could be intensively farmed as in the other countries in Europe or Britain in particular, where the abundance and wealth that this created allowed the birth of the industrial revolution. Norwegians have joked that theirs is a country which was not designed with people in mind; because of the mountains, creating an infrastructure and road-building was harder, even today Norway possesses only 400 miles of motorway.

I’ve travelled in Norway extensively and have found Norwegians to be the most generous people I’ve ever met; willing to invite a stranger to stay in their homes on short acquaintance, warm hearted, open and friendly. However this is at odds with how they see themselves, there is a belief held by Norwegians that they are aloof, distant and cold – perhaps as a foreigner it is easier to break the ice – or perhaps they or I are mistaken but the main thing I remember from my time in Norway has been how kind and generous the people have been.

Norwegians can also be very tough and self-reliant, I believe that this is a leftover of the poverty and hardships that they as a nation experienced during the first half of the last century, before the success and prosperity that they experience today. The same mountains that hindered their development before are now a natural resource; providing alpine lakes that have been tapped for hydroelectric power to produce electricity so cheap that until a few years ago Norwegians would commonly leave their lights on all night. The harsh fjord-riven coastline has provided numerous natural harbours which have given rise to a strong seafaring tradition and Norway is the world’s second largest exporter of seafood and owns the world’s sixth largest merchant shipping fleet.

Norwegians also seem to enjoy spending time in the outdoors far more than the peoples of other nations I have encountered, with most families owning a cabin up in the mountains that they go to on weekends or holidays for fishing or walking trips and skiing in the winter. Although biathlon & cross country skiing are not the official sports they might as well be, with the national team given the same reverence that we reserve for our football players in England.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the Norwegian national character is through a unique feature common to Scandinavia and about which I will let you draw your own conclusions. The Norwegian Trekking Association maintains a system of mountain cabins, these are scattered all across the country and they are stocked with firewood, tinned food and left open all year round, anyone can use them and visitors pay by leaving money behind for the time they spend there, the supplies they have taken and leave them clean & tidy at the end of their visit. Amazingly the system works and there is no need for supervision or policing of this honesty-system, I only wonder what the results would be if such a scheme were attempted here in the UK.

By Harry Maskers

Find your perfect holiday in Norway

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