Anyone interested in Norway will find Jay Nordlinger's four-part series, "Up in Norway," interesting. For Part I, go here.
For Part II, go here. For Part III, go here. And IV is here. Nordlinger is a senior writer with National Review. He offers impressionistic, desultory, snippets. A few excerpts:
I have heard some Americans say that Norwegians are stand-offish, particularly the older ones. I myself don’t find that this is the case. I find the Norwegians almost uniformly lovely: exceptionally polite, patient, good-humored, friendly, helpful. It’s like some law — some national law — has decreed niceness. Read a map in the street, and chances are someone will stop to ask whether he can direct you. He may even walk you to your destination. . .
Boy, do they smoke here in Norway. I don’t sense that smoking has been stigmatized, like it has in the U.S. . .
Oslo is the most expensive city I have ever been in, by far. (I have not been to Tokyo, so can’t compare.) The sticker shock never ceases. Everything is like quadruple a normal price. . . An American who knows this place well recalls her first week here: “I ordered a beer, and I was later given
the bill. I said, ‘Oh, no, I’m sorry, I’m just paying for one beer.’ I thought they were charging me for an entire party or something. But the bill was just for one beer.” . .
One huge difference between their May 17 [Constitution Day] and our July 4 — at home, in the summer, we dress pretty grubby: in T-shirts and shorts, ready for a picnic, ready for barbecue sauce spilled down our fronts. (Should I speak for myself?) On May 17 in Norway, oh, my, are they spiffy and formal: The men are in suits and ties; the ladies are in dresses, particularly of a folk nature. They are in national costume, and so are some, though a lower percentage, of the men.
One fact, I find astonishing: They publish your tax returns on the Internet. There is no privacy at all. Everyone knows what you make, you know what everyone else makes.
There's a good deal more.