Reflections on Norway

Back in 2018, my oldest son set out on a mission trip to Asia. My memories of that trip include driving to Idaho where his group returned, to help him and his car get back as it was having transmission issues. Of course, he hit a deer about three hours from home on the way back, which totaled the car and negated the need for me to drive that far. But my son’s memories of that trip are filled with something else, more like someone else as he met his future wife on that trip.

After he dropped to one knee, it was concluded that they would get married in Norway, her country of origin. This was an exciting aspect for me as I have a significant amount of Norweigan ancestry. Although the main reason I flew to Norway was my son’s wedding, seeing the motherland had me on pins and needles.

Norway is visually stunning. The sights of that country fill your eyes with beautiful roads, vistas, buildings, and more. It was beautiful from the well-designed airport to the fjords that I traveled around (and under). There were a number of communities that I drove through that, if I had spent more time in, would’ve qualified as Destination Towns.

Fartsdumpers and Other Roadway Aspects

Transportation in Norway was quite unique. As they weren’t a British colony, thankfully, they drove on the right side of the road. However, I didn’t see a single traffic light or stop sign in my travels. In the numerous miles kilometers that I drove, most of the intersections were either controlled by yield signs or roundabouts. I can’t tell you how many roundabouts I went through in just over a week. But everything flowed well. Even though I’m still not a fan of multi-lane roundabouts, single-lane versions continued to grow on me.

Another unique aspect of travel in Norway was the fartsdumpers. Yes, that is the name of speed bumps in Norway. Beyond the “unique” wording, they were something I raved about. America’s speed bumps are typically built in a way that forces the driver to slow to a crawl. In contrast, Norway’s are designed to accommodate the speed designed for the underlying roadway. Hence, you could continue over the speed bumps on a 50 kmph (about 31mph) roadway at that speed without much disruption in the ride. But go over the design speed and it will affect your ride as it does in America.

Other Modes of Travel

Two other modes of transportation caught my eye while I was there as well. The first was buses. A private busing company provided most of the busing service for the area. This included school-related trips and general public trips. The buses would just come off of their regular routes when it was time to take children to and from school. By regular route, I mean one that traverses through the countryside. Most of my time in Norway was spent in the rural areas with low-density towns dotting the countryside. But there was active busing there. It wasn’t uncommon to see a bus stop along the road at least 80-100 yards from the nearest house. Even with the low density, it appeared that the buses were utilized decently in these rural areas.

Then there were the ferries in Fredrikstad. The two that I rode on took those who walked on to Old Town or to downtown Fredrikstad.

Outside of the destinations, there were two facts about these ferries that drew my interest. First, was that the ferries were all-electric. They would come into one of the docks and meet up with the charging system while unloading and loading passengers (pedestrians and regularly a few bikers). After 10 minutes, they would shove off to their destination. The second aspect of these ferries that caught my eye was that they were free, no tickets are needed. Just hop on!

An Emphasis on Design in Norway

Norwegians also seemed to care more about architectural design, especially for the limited number of chain stores that put up shop in the country. There wasn’t a single McDonald’s or Burger King that I saw with the standard, boiler-plate building design seen throughout the United States. The examples of McDonald’s buildings in Norway were larger and grander in scale and finish.

Art and urban design also appeared to be a significant focus in many of the communities I visited. From benches to public art at various locations in the communities, placemaking was obviously important to the Norwegians.

Influential to Future Posts

The relatively short period of time that we were in Norway I was impressed with my surroundings. Soaking everything in, I believe there are aspects of my travels that will make it into other posts on this blog.