Norway: Land of Oil and Money...

Norway surprised us, but for a reason that isn't so great: I think, as ignorant Americans, we often don't think beyond our country. Remember I told you many blogs ago that smart, educated American friends of ours were confusing Sweden and Switzerland when we first told them we were coming here. Well, put us on the list of not having thought much beyond our country in terms of history, commerce, and culture. This stay in Europe has definitely opened our eyes, and hopefully the eyes of our children as well to all the interesting (and perhaps world important) histories and economies outside our own borders.

"Norway?", you are asking? Why did Norway trigger this guilt of Americo-centrism? Switzerland, sure, they have all the money. Germany, as it is really the anchor that is keeping the Euro from sailing into the sunset...

Well interestingly, I think Norway struck us because - who thinks of Norway? What do they have to do with anything? The only thing we knew coming to Norway was that it was expensive, and we thought, as long as we are used to Swiss prices, Norway could not be that bad (ha - never assume anything...). Upon arriving, we saw immediately how expensive everything was, and that got us asking a whole lot of questions...

So first, how expensive is expensive? Let's see:

A standard beer in a standard restaurant costs $13 - no joke, and not special places

A large pizza cost $50

Standard dinner entrees seem to range from $40-$60 - at places we would take our kids, mind you...

So all the expensive stuff got us thinking, why? And then, through a bit of Rick Steves mixed with the total truth of the Internet started shedding new light and education on this wonderful Northern country:

Norway is sitting on a gold mine of natural resources: oil, natural gas, fish, lumber, etc.. Norway is in a two way tie with Venezula as the 7th largest exporter of oil, and if measured by capita then they are the largest outside of some countries in the Middle East.

They have the highest human development index in the world ( I guess if we call ourselves the 1st world, compared to the 3rd world, then Norway might be 0.5th world)

The country was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II (I love the line from Wikipedia: "King Haakon and the Norwegian government escaped to Rotherhithe, London, England, and they supported the fight through inspirational radio speeches from London..." - would you be motivated by "inspirational" speeches from your leader sitting in the comfort of a foreign country?...)

They only have a population of about 5 million people - less than the whole Bay Area. Imagine, for a moment, if the Bay Area was the 7th largest exporter of oil in the WORLD - we would be mighty rich folk, no? So...

Norway ranks as the second wealthiest country in the world in monetary value (I think behind Luxemborg), with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation

And getting a bit lazy here, to cut and past from Wikipedia: The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy, a prosperous capitalist welfare state featuring a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. The Norwegian welfare state makes public health care free, and parents have 46 weeks paid parental leave. The income that the state receives from natural resources includes a significant contribution from petroleum production and the substantial and carefully managed income related to this sector.

Norway has a very low unemployment rate, currently 3.1%; 30% of the labour force are employed by the government; 22% are on welfare and 13% are too disabled to work, the highest proportions in the world. The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world. The egalitarian values of the Norwegian society ensure that the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies is much smaller than in comparable western economies.

So the moral of this story is: live somewhere that has a ton of exports, and then share the wealth with everyone. Works for me...

So the country fascinated us - is it a picture of what can work well in the world? Yes, but it comes with sacrifice. No one is SUPER rich (oh, I am sure someone is somewhere, but if they are they don't flaunt it), and even they had to stop free immigration in the 70s - don't think those fit with the American dream - but again, it was fascinating to observe how it can work...

So what did we do while we were there? There is a standard "Norway in a Nutshell" tour that we did- though we strung it out over a few days: Start in Bergen, where we got lost in a Norwegian Wood (how could you not hum the song...), took the ferry down the fjord to Balestrand, squeezed in a side trip to hike on the Nigardsbreen glacier (and even go into an ice cave they said had only formed that week and we were the first day to walk through it...);
another boat ride to Flam to take the train to Mydral (where you can rent a mountain bike for next to nothing from the cafe and ride it 20 km all downhill to Flam where they will return it on the train - what a missed opportunity!); and then on the train to end up in Oslo. On the way we stayed in the sleepy town of Geilo - a ski resort in winter, but accommodating in summer with bikes to take out from the hotel and lakes to swim in. I am tired just thinking about it all...

It really was all beautiful. Every minute.

So we ended in Oslo, just five days after their massacare shooting. It was incredibly tragic, and having learned how small the country was, and how great it was working, it was really a blow. They had been accepting of immigrants, they did take care of their people... but for some people (or shall I say a person) that wasn't good enough. What was most impressive, and hopefully powerful for the people of Norway, was that the event brought even more resolve to the people's beliefs and unity - you could feel it everywhere in Oslo, and was most visible in the enormous placement of flowers - everywhere. It brought back images of 9/11, and though you don't ever want to revist the pain and misery, the unity and conviction of what is right is an amazing sight to see.

OK, I have rambled on too long. What else to mention? We went to the art museum and got to see The Scream (or at least one of them - there are more than one!) - by Munch, a Norwegian painter(the kids loved it - interestingly, the painting was an expression of a man in the late 1800s who was full of anxiety over how the world was changing too fast - parallel to the shooting?);

we then partook in grilling in the park which is a local pastime, as eating out is so expensive (they actually have disposal stations for the hot coals, and burn marks in the grass from past grills). And then there was all the sculpture of Gustav Vigeland: the story goes that he convinced the city of Oslo to pay his room and board, and then he would create sculpture for them for the rest of his life - I don't have any pictures here, but look on-line - they are truly amazing, and Frogner Park, where they reside (all 212 of them) is really worth a visit...

So there you have it - an amazing journey through nature, history, economics, and the world, all in one summer vacation. It was time to get back to our own beds, rest, and prepare for the start of school in a few weeks.