Hurtigruten

Norwegians are proud of many things in their land, including their coastal ferry system, Hurtigruten.  “Hurtigruten” means “the fast route” because when it started in 1893, it was.  It still is a lifeline for many isolated coastal cities, connecting them to goods, mail, and people.  It didn’t take long before “tourists” were added to that list, as it is rightly advertised as “The World’s Most Beautiful Voyage.” 

Each evening, one of the twelve Hurtigruten ships leaves Bergen, heading north to Kirkenes, the last stop on the line, right next to Russia.  The journey takes nearly six days. Many passengers stow their car below, then take it off in Kirkenes and drive back down through Norway, for a more thorough experience of the landscape and people.  Others opt to stay onboard for another six days for the return voyage south.

Many Norwegians can only dream of taking such a trip because it’s rather expensive, so this past week in Norway, NRK2, a television station, did a live broadcast from one of the Hurtigruten boats – 24 hours a day - port to port to port.  All Norwegians got to virtually experience this epic journey, through their television screen.  Lucky me, my husband insisted we experience it first hand for our twentieth wedding anniversary, even though the first time I went on a cruise, I jumped ship on day two because it just wasn’t my thing.  Truly, he loves me.

Because tourists are such a large part of their customer base, Hurtigruten tries to cater a little to them, but they make sure everyone understands they are (thankfully) not a cruise ship.  When the ferry docks in some of the larger cities, the layovers allow time for short excursions.  Some of them include sightseeing, Artic fishing, eating in a Viking longhouse, dog sledding, bird watching or visiting the North Cape, the farthest point north on the continent.  By staying on board for the return voyage, everyone is assured of seeing each and every port along the entire coastline, because Hurtigruten stops in the night on the way south, where they stopped during the day, on the way north.  So unless there is rain or low clouds, it’s possible to not miss a thing, especially in the summer when the sun never sets.

Cruise ships have to travel further off the coastline, but Hurtigruten takes the inside passage.  It’s always sandwiched between the mainland and the outer islands, so it’s smooth sailing and breathtaking views the entire trip.  The food is five star and the cabins quite comfortable.  It’s a wonderful experience for those, like my husband, who love to do nothing more than sit with a cup of coffee and watch the world pass by. I’m not that type, however, but I wasn’t the least bit disappointed.

Grocery Stores

The most noticeable difference between grocery stores in Norway versus those in America, is the price of the food.  Norwegian groceries cost about three times more than what I’m used to paying.  After living there awhile, I stopped looking at prices.  I couldn’t bear to pay over seven dollars for lettuce, only to discover half of it inedible.  Produce isn’t the freshest in the far north, and Norwegians don’t eat much of it.  They do like frozen pizza, though.  There’s at least one pizza aisle in every store.

The opening hours of grocery stores are finally expanding.  Ten years ago they opened only 10-5 weekdays, until three on Saturdays, and closed Sunday.  Now some have extended hours so the lit-up signs on their buildings say 9-21 (10-18), which means they are open 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday.  It took me a while to figure out that code.

I asked my mother-in-law once if she ever missed living in Norway and her only reason was, “No!  In America, you can go to the grocery store anytime you want!”  Apparently it was quite the thrill for her to no longer plan her days around the store’s opening hours.  I now understand.

Grocery stores in Norway don’t use coupons, but they do have sales.  Products sell out quickly though, and there are no rain checks, so arriving early is essential.  Store employees don’t work the night shift, so when I’d go shopping right after they opened, I’d have to make my way around racks of food waiting to be shelved, or step over pallets of merchandise.  Customer convenience or safety isn’t an issue.

Customers have to bag their own groceries which makes standing in line an opportunity to practice patience.  They also charge about twenty cents for every bag used.  I brought my own.  And there is a ten kroner deposit ($2) to use the shopping cart, which is returned from the little slot on the handle only when the cart is put back in its proper place and attached to all the other carts.  Luckily, I discovered an American quarter is the same size as the ten kroner coin. Sometimes I’d insert a quarter to use the cart and then not bother to return it to its proper place, leaving the quarter behind.  It was an act of rebellion I could afford.

One of the many stores I used has a member’s card that offers a one percent rebate.  I was shocked after we’d lived in Norway for a year, to discover my refund balance was almost $200, which meant, in that year alone, I’d spent nearly $20,000 on groceries there.  I’m thinking for that kind of cash outlay, members should get bags and carts for free.

The State Church

I’m sure when the State Church of Norway began, their intentions were good.  Unfortunately, they got their start from “Holy Ole,” the Viking king that found God on a raid down in England.  Ole was brutal though and “introduced” Christianity to Norway by killing all those who wouldn’t give up their pagan ways.  History says he didn’t exactly give up his Viking ways, though, since he often used horrific measures to make his point.  Burning at the stake, slicing off heads, or putting poisonous snakes down the throats of those who wouldn’t convert, was the norm.  He was determined, but unfortunately, mislead, in what it means to be a follower of Christ.

When the Viking days came to an end, the State Church began.  Our modern day Lutherans came out of the State Churches of Scandinavia.

The Viking kings used to own all the land in Norway, but then the Church got it all.  For nearly a thousand years, Norwegians bought their land and paid their taxes to the Church.  The State Church was the government of Norway.  Even today, the King of Norway is the head of the State Church, but they also now have a Prime Minister that runs the political side of things.

The Church has dictated what a person can do and when they can do it for centuries.  The meaning of Christianity got lost in there somewhere, as the Church devised more and more of it’s own laws and forgot the only important ones from God – to love and to forgive. 

In the late 1800s, some radicals formed the Free Church.  They wanted to be free from all the legalism and dictated rules and just follow what the Bible says.  It was scandalous.  It broke families apart and created quite the stir throughout the land.  Then in the early 1900s the Pentecostal movement arrived and that was even worse.  It was considered devil worship.  My own father-in-law lost his inheritance when he joined the Pentecostal Church, because he dared to believe there was life-changing power in the Trinity.  His parents disowned him because of it.

For the most part, the State Church today is watered down, routine, and boring.   Mandatory church attendance is no more, so very few Norwegians attend any church at all.  Some priests in the State Church don’t even call themselves Christians.  It’s just a job, paid for by tax dollars. 

We lived next to a State Church, and from what I could tell, their greatest function is to perform funerals – sometimes three a day.  I think it’s rather fitting, since the Church itself, sadly, seems to be rather dead.