Directory A-Z - Norway - page 944

International access code 00
Norway country code 47
Phonecards
International calls can be prohibitively expensive. Although there are Telekort (Telenor
phonecards), they're increasingly hard to find (ask for the cards at post offices and
Narvesen kiosks), as are card and coin phones. Your best bet is to go for one of the phone-
cards issued by private companies. Usually costing Nkr100, they allow you to make over
six hours' worth of calls using a scratch PIN number on the back and a local access num-
ber. The only drawback is that they, too, can be difficult to find - some kiosks sell them, but
the easiest place to look is an 'ethnic' grocery store.
For international calls, internet-connected calls (eg www.skype.com ) are the way to go;
unfortunately few internet cafes are Skype-enabled. You cannot make phone calls from mu-
nicipal library computers.
Time
Note that when telling the time, Norwegians use 'half' as signifying half before rather than
half past. Always double-check unless you want to be an hour late! Although the 24-hour
clock is used in some official situations, you'll find people generally use the 12-hour clock in
everyday conversation.
Norway shares the same time zone as most of Western Europe (GMT/UTC plus one
hour during winter, and GMT/UTC plus two hours during the daylight-saving period). Day-
light saving starts on the last Sunday in March and finishes on the last Sunday in October.
Note the following time differences:
Australia During the Australian winter (Norwegian summer), subtract eight hours from Aus-
tralian Eastern Standard Time to get Norwegian time; during the Australian summer, sub-
tract 10 hours.
Finland One hour ahead of Norway.
Russia One hour ahead of Norway.
Sweden & Denmark Same time as Norway.
UK & Ireland One hour behind Norway.
USA Norwegian time is USA Eastern Time plus six hours and USA Pacific Time plus nine
hours.