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Area:
323,759 sq km (125,004 sq miles)
Population:4,445,329 (1999)
Capital:Oslo
Religion: Evangelical Lutherans; plus
other Christian denominations. |
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Geography:
Norway is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east
by Russia, Finland and Sweden, to the south by the Skagerrak (which
separates it from Denmark) and to the west by the North Sea. The
coastline is 2735km (1700 miles) long, its most outstanding feature
being the fjords. Most of them are between 80 and 160km long (50-100
miles), and are often very deep and surrounded by towering mountains.
Much of northern Norway lies beyond the Arctic Circle and the landscape
is stark. In the south the landscape consists of forests with many
lakes and rivers.
Climate: Coastal
areas have a moderate climate owing to the Gulf Stream and North
Atlantic Drift. Inland temperatures are more extreme with hot summers
and cold winters (November to March). In general, the lowlands of
the south experience colder winters and warmer summers than the
coastal areas. Rain is distributed throughout the year with frequent
inland snowfalls during the winter. The northern part of the country
inside the Arctic Circle has continuous daylight at midsummer, and
twilight all day during winter.
Government: Constitutional monarchy.
Declared independence from Sweden in 1905. Head of State: King Harald
V since 1991. Head of Government: Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
since 2001.
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål
and Nynorsk). Lappish is spoken by the Sami population in the north.
English is widely spoken.
Time: Norway Mainland: GMT
+ 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Saturday before last
Sunday in October). Jan Mayen Islands, Svalbard: GMT + 1.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.
Plugs are of the European round two-pin type.
Telephone: IDD is available. Country
code: 47. Outgoing international code: 00.
Currency: Norwegian Krone (NOK)
= 100 øre. Notes are in denominations of NOK1000, 500, 200,
100 and 50. Coins are in denominations of NOK20, 10, 5 and 1, and
50 øre.
Currency exchange: Eurocheque cards
allow encashment of personal cheques. ATMs are widely available.
Credit & debit cards: All major
credit and debit cards are widely accepted. Check with your credit
or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and
other services which may be available.
Travellers cheques: Accepted in
banks, hotels, shops and by airlines.
Banking hours: Mon-Wed and
Fri 0815-1530 (1500 in summer), Thurs 0815-1800. |
| Transportation |
Travel
International
Air: Norwegian air
travel is served by Braathens SAFE (BU) and Scandinavian Airlines
System (SAS), a Scandinavian airline. Air France, British Airways,
Air UK, Finnair, Icelandair, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines,
Ryanair and Swissair also operate services to Norway.
Sea:
The main passenger ports are Oslo, Larvik, Stavanger, Kristiansand
and Bergen. The main sea routes from the UK, operated by Fjord Line
and DFDS Seaways respectively, are from Newcastle to Bergen (travel
time - 25 hours 30 minutes) and to Kristiansand (travel time - 19
hours). Services from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavangar are also
operated by Fjord Line, a Norwegian line operating a number of Fjord
cruises within Norway. Fjord Line also operates services from Bergen
to Hanstholm (Denmark). Smyril Line operates services from Bergen
to Iceland via the Shetland Islands and the Faroe Islands in the
summer.
Rail:
Connections from the UK are from London via Dover/Ostend (via The
Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden) or Harwich/Hook of Holland,
or from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger. There are two principal
routes to Sweden, with daytime and overnight trains from Malmö
and Stockholm.
Cheap fares:
Reduced fares on rail services have vastly increased the use and
range of internal services. Scanrail cards allow 21 days' unlimited
travel in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland on railways and selected
ferries, and a 50 per cent reduction on other ferry services. InterRail
tickets are valid in Norway and are now also available for those
aged over 26 years.
Road:
The only international routes are from Sweden or Finland in the
far north. Camping trailers up to 2.3m (7ft 6 in) wide, with number
plates, are permitted on holiday visits.
Transport in Oslo
Oslo's international
airport is a whopping 50km (30mi) north of the centre of town in
Gardermoen. To get to the airport from Oslo (or vice versa) take
the Flybussen shuttle bus, which departs every 10 minutes for the
40 minute trip. The airport express train departs Central Station
every 10 minutes and the trip takes about 20 minutes. All 'regular'
intercity trains arriving from northern regions will stop at Gardermoen
and the train from Skien also stops at the airport.
Oslo is well served by air from most of Europe and North
America. Travellers from Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa
will have to fly to Europe and board a connecting flight to Oslo.
If you're already in Europe, then buses regularly do
the trip from neighbouring countries Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
Russia and, if you're a masochist, the UK. The journey from London
to Oslo takes about 38 hours and flying can sometimes be cheaper
- not to mention much faster.
There's an efficient ferry service between Oslo and
other Scandinavian countries as well as the UK and Germany, popular
for people with their own vehicles. Certainly a ferry trip is one
of the more enjoyable ways of getting to and from Oslo, and some
of the scenery along the way is unforgettable.
Trains operate between Oslo and several European cities including
Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg and London.
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| Attractions |
Norsk
Folkemuseum
Imagine a museum that allows you to tour most of Norway
in just one day. Picture wandering the streets of old Norway and
getting a feel of what life was like hundreds of years ago. One
of Oslo's biggest drawcards, the Norwegian Folk Museum, allows you
to do just that. This fascinating open-air museum contains around
150 buildings from different regions, mostly dating from the 17th
and 18th centuries, including one of Norway's oldest structures,
the Gol Stave Church, built early in the 13th century in Gol and
moved to its present location in 1885. You'll wander past old banks,
pharmacies, post offices, barns and farmhouses and see folk dancing
and weaving and people dressed in festive costumes. The Old Town
section reproduces an early 20th century town and contains a petrol
station and a general store, and the first thing you'll come across
as you step through the main entrance is a huge display of old toys,
costumes, tools and appliances from around the country. The museum
is on the Bygd?y peninsula, a 10-minute ferry trip from central
Oslo.
Vikingskipshuset
If you want to get a better idea of how the Vikings
sailed around the world then the excellent Viking Ship Museum is
is your port of departure. This museum houses Viking ship discoveries
from Gokstad, Oseburg, Tune and around the Oslo Fjord. Here you
will see the world's two best preserved wooden Viking ships built
in the 9th century. The ships were used as tombs for noble people
and they were buried with everything they thought would be needed
in the afterlife - jewels, food, furniture - even servants! The
ships are beautifully preserved, courtesy of the blue clay in which
they were buried. The museum is just west of central Oslo, on the
Bygdøy peninsula.
It's worth spending time checking out each of the three
ships. The Oseberg was found in 1903 and in its heyday required
30 oarsmen. It's magnificently decorated with dragon and serpent
carvings and its burial chamber held the largest collection of Viking-age
artefacts ever uncovered in Scandinavia. It is thought that this
ship was purely a pleasure vessel for sailing in peaceful waters
because the wood used to build its mast was not as strong as in
other ships. The impressive Gokstad was built around 890 AD and
it's believed to have been a warship. Although not as elaborately
decorated as the Oseberg, the Gokstad was sturdier and had several
smaller boats measuring from 7m (23ft) to around 10m (33ft) in length.
These were used for ferrying people ashore and for fishing. Only
a few boards and fragments remain of the third ship, the Tune.
Vigeland Park
This is Norway's most popular attraction, with more
than one million visitors each year. Here you can spend hours wandering
around and seeing 192 sculptures made by Gustav Vigeland. Vigeland's
work is out there: sculptures of entwined lovers, tranquil elderly
couples and downtrodden beggars dot this beautiful park. It's just
about impossible to remain impassive to the humanity that suffuses
Vigeland's work.
The park is situated in the middle of Frognerparken,
a leafy, green park, perfect for lazing about on a sunny day. The
park's highest point, a 14m (46ft) monolith carved out of a single
block of stone, consists of 121 writhing human figures. |
| Activities |
| If
you crave the great outdoors and you're visiting Oslo in summer,
then you're in luck. Oslo is very much a 'get out and do it' place.
In summer, swimming is possible at the nearby beaches and hiking
can be enjoyed by following a good selection of trails. Oslo's fresh
air is good for cycling, climbing and horse riding - your lungs
will thank you. Boat trips, folk dancing and fishing are also popular
activities. Winter visitors don't miss out either. Aside from the
awesome skiing opportunities, ice skating can be enjoyed, particularly
when the Narvisen outdoor rinks freeze over naturally. Dog sledding
and sleigh rides are a winter novelty for many visitors. |
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