I think the boat docked in at lease 30 ports during the week, some for only 15 minutes and many throughout the night that we slept through. Where we could get off we did. Sometimes to visit a museum, or look for a shop to restock the soda and tonic water for our contraband Gin that we had smuggled on board. In Trondheim we found the Vinmonoplet - Government run wine and spirits shop so grabbed a couple of reds and three beers and proceeded to hide them in my backpack to allow for a “special” sneaky drink in the cabin. Beer and wine on board, in fact even on land in restaurants, is so dammed expensive that you would need to sell a kidney to afford the bottle so we restricted ourselves to a glass! The last time we made a wine last so long was when we drank my retirement bottle of Grange a couple of months ago! The comparison only extends as far as the time because the quality of the $25 per glass wine was average, in fact it was probably South American and something that we could buy for 6 pounds ($11) in the UK.
We did a couple of bus trips that were ok. You hop off the boat, board the bus and then rejoin it at the next stop. These trips were good for the commentary and we did a few stops for photos along the way but as with all bus trips you tend to drive quickly past everything and the photos out the window are often compromised by reflections off the glass. We managed to get the front seat on our first trip that really pissed off one woman travelling with her parents. She loudly said “ i tried to get the front seats but some people were just so selfish.....” “ i will make sure i reserve the front seats next time” AND she did. Wouldn’t have worried us except there was nothing wrong with her parents and they were quite capable of sitting in any seat... but clearly they were much more deserving than any other person paying the eaxact same amount and they of course should not have to que in order to get seats at the front of the bus. Bloody yanks!
Talking of Americans, the boat has more than there fair share of them. All loud, all very important and all wanting to tell you how great they are... Not one of them would admit to having voted for Donald! Interestingly though very few Asians.
Apart from the stunning scenery and a second Aurora show, we have learnt a few things about Norwegian culture and their economy. Engrained in their culture is a sense of equality. They have a word for it and basically it means “don’t think you are special or better than anyone else” you can see this even in their houses. While there is difference, obviously, nothing so far seems to be overly ostentatious! In fact when Kirkeness was rebuilding after the devastation of WW2 the government offered cheap loans to people if they wanted to build a house of specified design and size. This meant construction materials were standard and houses went up quickly and more people were able to housed in a shorter time frame. Over time people have made some individual changes but you can still see the basic design. People also all call each other by first name - doesn’t matter who - prime minister, street sweeper - all the same. They have roughly 50% women in their government including a female prime minister. Alcohol is very heavily taxed and they have an almost zero tolerance policy. Blood alcohol limit is 0.02 - if you are over the fine is heavy, you lose your licence and do jail time. They have special prisons for drink drivers and you are required to organise your own time there - book in when they have a vacancy and pay for it!!!
It seems they have some very strong social policies. They also seem to make very practical, long term decisions for the benefit of the country and people. For example when they were approached by various companies to search for gas and oil back in the 50’s and 60’s they realised they needed to have rules and guidelines before they allowed this. So after establishing boundaries, ownership etc they allowed exploration. Shortly after companies started operation and there were a few accidents etc they realised they needed much more stringent rules to protect the environment. The upshot is foreign companies are charged 78% tax. This money has been invested in a pension fund which invests in ethical companies and is worth a staggering amount of money. The website can be googled. Apparently they were smart enough to realise that at some point in the future when these natural resources are gone or the population is aging they may need this money to support people! And as governements have changed this policy has been maintained and the fund has continued to grow. The governement also decided it would be sensible for them to have their own company which they have. They have recently rebranded this as they have expanded into more renewable energy. The governement also reserves the right to have a 50% share in any foreign investment! (Fancy being able to have such a sensible long term approach that hasn’t flipped and flopped with change of government!) Despite all this wealth coming into the nation they maintained a sensible approach to internal economiocs and people were still required to pay taxes and work etc meaning they have maintained low unemployment - about 3% and good infrastructure etc. When they build new bridges and tunnels - of which they have many connecting small islands and small villages - there is often a toll but once the cost of the bridge or tunnel is paid for then the toll is removed and it is free! If you have an electric car - you don’t pay the toll. Farmers are supported which means that they can be viable with 50 cows. The only milk sold in the local shop is the local milk produced in that area. Imagine that!
It seems that when they need a new school or hospital they don’t tinker around wasting money doing a bit of this and that. They simply build a new building and the old may be torn down or repurposed later! Imagine! Teacher/ student ratios are 16:1 but we were told they have been pushing them up as high as 24:1 in recent years (even 28:1 in higher grades) Imagine!
A couple of other quirky facts - one town we visited had made a decision to paint all their houses blue. If you painted your house blue the paint is supplied. Another town decided that you need to paint your house a different colour to your neighbour! The result is not a lot of hideously painted houses but a range of blues, greys, greens, reds and yellows that all blend very harmoniously. Traditionally, barns etc were painted red and farmhouses white. White paint was a symbol of wealth as it was the most expensive paint.
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