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==NORWAY, A PARADISE FOR HITCHHIKING==
[[User:Francisco1|Francisco1]]
I hitchhiked up alone from Göteborg in Sweden to Bergen in just 2 days, in March. Although the main road between the 2 biggest cities (E16) was closed due to a snowstorm, I took route number 7, wich passes by a beautifull fjord. I always found rides, and got helped by the people, it was overall a great experience.
From Rygge to Honefoss I was unsure of how it would go because I had read that Oslo is hard to hitchhike out of, but the driver that picked me up (old norwegian man, the kind of person you would expect to be untrusty of foreigners) took me through the Oslo Fjord through Drommak, Slemmestad, past Sandvika and left me on the road going to Honefoss.
Later that same day I was left at Flå, a tiny village and the people there advised me to camp in the woods besides a bear park.
The next day a lady picked me up from there and invited me for coffe at her place where she checked the roads that were open (because of snowstorms), and let me use her internet to look for couchsurfing. The driver after that actually took me up to the mirador on the top of the Aurland Fjord to make me and another hitchhiker we found on the road visit, and then left me at Flåm, this making an almost 30 km and maybe an hour-long detour from his road. I then got to Bergen almost without waiting, wich is amazing considering the roads were closed and the tunnels were alternating traffic for pollution.
Maybe it was the fact that it was during easter holidays but I found Norway to be the best country for hitchhiking so far.
IMPORTANT ADVICE
Do think of the weather, it can get pretty cold and rainy (or snowy) and the distances are very big between the more populated east side of the country and the cities in the West Coast. Maybe taking a warm tent as I did was the best idea ever, the experience of camping in the woods in those mountains was very nice.
Remember, hichhiking is about patience, so maybe you'll have to wait for a good while (it IS true that there are not that many cars), but just enjoy the beautiful landscapes and you can always walk along the roads, they are not highways properly said.
Enjoy your trip !
==Another counter note...==
[[User:Fedecicco|Fede]] doesn't really agree with what said here up and found Norway. in the 3 weeks he hitched around it from north to south (more than 2000 km), a paradise for hitchhikers. The dumpsters always full of amazing fresh and good food, the security attention inside supermarket very low, an incredible amount of money busking in the streets and a lot of very cool people ready to help you as they can made his stay one of the best of his nomadic life. Of course is not a very easy country as of course you have to be lucky, but it's definitely worth doing it and the reward for that, a free amazing nature and life is so big that he couldn't even imagine. He was able to save more money and spend less than any other place. Go there for hitchin, dumpster diving and busking! (well maybe of course in summer, for winter sees other experiences)
''I did hitchhike in Asia, Caribbean, North America and Europe. So far I would say that Norway is the worst place I hitchhiked, just after Florida. My advice: go there with a Norwegian flag tattooed on your forehead, that might do the job.''
==Counter-Statement==
I am a French guy also, travelling alone and found it even better to hitchhike in Norway than in France (and France is a very good country to hitch in, in every different region apart from Paris, and not to say compared to Italy or Spain where it's way tougher). I don't look very norwegian and had no flag tatooed on my face, and always found people, many times locals (some foreigners also), any gender, any age, to pick me up, help me and give me good advice. Ok, so maybe it was not during the summer so the place wasn't crowded with tourists and it was a holiday so people were more relaxed, but nevertheless my experience was far from yours, and I'm sad that such a beautiful country with such nice people can give an unwelcoming image to some, and an amazing image to others.
[[User:Grata|Grata]] 23:27, 6 April 2010 (UTC)