Difference between revisions of "Talk:Norway"

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== '''A counter note to the below statement''' ==
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I am a norwegian guy and have hitchhiked a lot in norway. It's allways been cool. When it's light outside, avarage standing time with OK traffic maybe 30 minutes to an hour, and that's not bad! Actually i once outran the train by half an hour, me and two girs was hitchhiking from fredrikstad to nesodden, and we really didn't spend much time standing, maybe thanks in part to the two beautiful girls - but it was women stopping mostly. South of norway is a dream for hitchhikers, i'd say.
  
== '''No, it is not easy to hitchhike in Norway''' ==
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Mostly though i've hitched in north where i come from. It's been enjoyable, i've continued with it for some trips even after i got my car. After dark falls, people are much less likely to stop for you, for obeous reasons. People ARE friendly. Maybe part of the problem for many will be that many older norwegians are afraid of their bad english and do not wish to talk it, not because they're unfriendly but because it's a struggle.
  
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I advice hitchhiking here! :) (but maybe scrap that stupid sign people seem to be holding up all the time, in my eyes makes you seem silly. You're standing on the road in the direction you want to go, that sign is just pointless. Unless you're in a city center or something.) [[User:ThorRune|ThorRune]] 10:09, 21 September 2010 (CEST)
  
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== '''No, it is not easy to hitchhike in Norway''' ==
 
Ok, as said on the main page, "Norway is a '''good''' country to hitch in", but '''not easy''' to hitch in. My experience there was not as easy as what I read in other feedbacks.
 
Ok, as said on the main page, "Norway is a '''good''' country to hitch in", but '''not easy''' to hitch in. My experience there was not as easy as what I read in other feedbacks.
  

Revision as of 09:09, 21 September 2010

A counter note to the below statement

I am a norwegian guy and have hitchhiked a lot in norway. It's allways been cool. When it's light outside, avarage standing time with OK traffic maybe 30 minutes to an hour, and that's not bad! Actually i once outran the train by half an hour, me and two girs was hitchhiking from fredrikstad to nesodden, and we really didn't spend much time standing, maybe thanks in part to the two beautiful girls - but it was women stopping mostly. South of norway is a dream for hitchhikers, i'd say.

Mostly though i've hitched in north where i come from. It's been enjoyable, i've continued with it for some trips even after i got my car. After dark falls, people are much less likely to stop for you, for obeous reasons. People ARE friendly. Maybe part of the problem for many will be that many older norwegians are afraid of their bad english and do not wish to talk it, not because they're unfriendly but because it's a struggle.

I advice hitchhiking here! :) (but maybe scrap that stupid sign people seem to be holding up all the time, in my eyes makes you seem silly. You're standing on the road in the direction you want to go, that sign is just pointless. Unless you're in a city center or something.) ThorRune 10:09, 21 September 2010 (CEST)

No, it is not easy to hitchhike in Norway

Ok, as said on the main page, "Norway is a good country to hitch in", but not easy to hitch in. My experience there was not as easy as what I read in other feedbacks.

I hitchhiked From Oslo to Langoya (Narvik), in March 2010. I gave up to make it further, because it hasn't been that much fun to hitch in this country ...

First, I would point the fact that Norwegian people are not that much tourist-friendly, as some other "rich" countries. I know what I'm talking about, I'm from France. Even if the whole population do understand/speak English, a lot of drivers were distant, even sometimes rude with me. I had the same experience hitchhiking in Florida. Having your best smile and starting to ask a question to somebody who avoid your presence/voice/eye contact, is definitely not the funniest experience. A lot of Norwegians people didn't want me to talk to them and rushed to their car before I even finished to said what I was looking for.

I heard a lot about this famous highway E6, going all the away up North, like a dream road for hitchhikers. It's mostly a bad 2 lanes mountain road, dotted of wealthy villages that you absolutely need to avoid if you don't want to spend your day counting the huge amount of BMW and Mercedes driving toward you and frowning at your sign. Worst of all: Grong, 1day 1/2 to get a ride ... for 7km. Even if people living there (note that I do not say 'Norwegians'. See below) are used to drive on those icy roads, it takes some time to cross some portions of the road. If be any luck your stuck in a light snow storm, I hope you enjoy the company of you driver, which is actually most likely because of the point that I absolutely want to talk about now:

95% of people who offered me a ride were FOREIGNERS I type it big enough because this fact just made me feel like this beautiful country of Norway is absolutely not hitchhikers-friendly. Germany, Polona, Sudan, Colombia, Latvia, Belgium, Afghanistan, and I'm sure I forgot some others. Hitchhike Norway and you will travel the world. First, I've been really surprised to see that most (all) of the people offering me a ride where actually not from Norway. But it finally make sens when you figure out that you're not truly welcome in this country, as most of the foreigners-workers I met there, as native Samis as well.

Anyway, I don't want to talk about that at all, but I want to point the fact that hitchhiking in Norway is not as easy as it's said. Or maybe I am the only one how had such a bad experience there? I open the discussion, so please let's share your own experience!

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.

Grata 23:27, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Hello, i can complete this experience with my point of view. I was hitchhiking end of march 2010 from oslo to Tromsö and in April from trömso to Stockholm and further to leipzig.

On my way to the north on the E6 i stucked 250km before Trondheim and finally after some other happenings (a truck driver drove over my backpack) i took the plane from trondheim to tromsö (i had to get another plane to svalbard and this was the best option). Hitchhiking in Norway is fucking annoying.

E06 Yeah this is the nice street which goes up to far north. I thought this would be really easy for hitchhiking, only one street, all the traffic will pass by me. But my experiences where different.

First of all: If you want to get a long distance lift with a trailer, it is quite impossible on the E06. Truck drivers usually take other roads! From oslo to trondheim the 3 and from trondheim to Tromsö they go through sweden. Only very few companys go straight up north on E06. I stucked in Dovre for the night at a big truck stop, but all of the truckers went to the coastline. Also, but that is just my personal impression, many truck drivers have been really unfriendly.

Second: At 9 o´clock in the evening the traffic was shut down. I didn´t expect that it was so hard, but there where about 5-6 cars per hour passing my gas station. Passing without stopping. There was no traffic. No way to get a night lift.

Third: I had not one ride over 100km. All lifts i got where just for a few "miles" and i can share the experience of grata, that there where not many norwegians (maybe one out of 7, who was original norwegian) who picked me up.

Also norwegians i met later told me, that it is hard for foreigners to come in contact, even if they speak the local language. The norwegians are very reserved towards aliens and foreigners.

I can say that was the worst hitchhiking trip i ever did. i did the whole way back from tromsö to leipzig in two parts (tromsö - stockholm 38h and stockholm - leipzig 25h) and sweden was a bit better, but also not so easy. Long waiting times, much longer than in every southern european country (except spain). latest in denmark my karma came back and hitchhiking was again a nice experience with interesting lifts and helpfull people.

I developed a little personal theory with some of my lifts. ;) I explained me all what happened with two thing. First, the way of travelling for young people in scandinavia is usually by plane (long distances, by plane fast and compared to car not soo expensive). So most6 of the drivers wouldn´t understand why there is someone beside the street, looking for a ride and not taking the plane. Second has to do with the very good welfare system in scandinavia. People are not used to help each other, because the goverment takes care and there is no need for solidarity (even the homeless in stockholm have a mobile haha) to each other. This is just a wacky theory! But maybe there is some truth in it.

If you hitchhike in norway take alot of time with you, much food (it´s so fucking expensive there) and a good tent. Then it will be a nice trip. The nature is still awesome. But anyway i wouldn´t recommend this country!!!

(from Paulgato - August 2010...) I just hitched a short distance near Oslo - from Rygge airport to the Swedish border on the E18 - and I got four lifts - all from Norwegians - and I found them all friendly and helpful. (And yes, a very expensive country! Many Norwegians try to do their shopping over the border in Sweden.)