Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cheesecalled
geitost.
Lessthan7percentofthecountry'slandisarable,result-
ing in numerous small farms. The government recognizes the value of farm-
ing, especially in the remote reaches of the country, and provides rich sub-
sidies to keep this tradition alive. These subsidies would not be allowed if
Norway joined the European Union—yet another reason the country remains
an EU holdout.
Appropriate for a land with countless fjords and waterfalls, Norway is
known for its pristine water. Norwegian-bottled artisanal water has an inter-
national reputation for its crisp, clean taste. Although the designer Voss wa-
ter—the H2O of choice for Hollywood celebrities—comes with a high price
tag, the blue-collar Olden is just as good. (The tap water is actually wonderful,
too—and much cheaper.)
WhiletheNorwegianpeoplespeakacollectionofmutuallyunderstandable
dialects, the Norwegian language has two official forms:
bokmål
(book lan-
guage) and
nynorsk
(New Norse). During the centuries of Danish rule, people
in Norway's cities and upper classes adopted a Danish-influenced style of
speech and writing (called Dano-Norwegian), while rural language remained
closer to the Old Norse. After independence, Dano-Norwegian was renamed
bokmål,
and the rural dialects were formalized as
nynorsk,
as part of a nation-
alistic drive for a more purely Norwegian language. Despite later efforts to
combine the two forms,
bokmål
remains the most commonly used, especially
in urban areas, books, newspapers, and government agencies. Students learn
both.
The majority of the population under 70 years of age also speaks English,
butafewwordsinNorwegianwillserveyouwell.Forstarters,seetheNorwe-
your shoes at the door; indoors is usually meant for stocking-feet only. At the
end of a meal, it's polite to say “Thanks for the food”—
“Takk for maten”
(tahk for MAH-ten). Norwegians rarely feel their guests have eaten enough
food, so be prepared to say
“Nei, takk”
(nigh tahk; “No, thanks”). You can
always try
“Jeg er met”
(yigh ehr met; “I am full”), but be careful not to say
“Jeg er full”
—“I am drunk.”
