Ferries

We love showing our Norwegian guests around our part of America, but we’ve learned to never take them on a ferry.  A ferry ride is like asking them to participate in a traffic jam, as they consider them a major annoyance. When Norwegians talk about road trips, they don’t mention how many hours it will be, they just disdainfully talk about how many ferries it involves. 

Strangely, they also hate ferry dockworkers. These employees have developed a god-like self-image, as they know they control the placement of the cars.  Norwegians are disgusted by any sense of superiority, as it goes against the very fiber of their socialist thinking.  A song written a few years ago mocked the arrogance of the ferry workers. It was a huge hit and Norwegians howled every time they heard it.

I find all this so ironic, since the ferry system itself, with very few employees, is far superior to any I’ve been on in America.  Most run every twenty minutes, so there is no such thing as a “three ferry wait.”   They also provide free public toilets, a rare thing in Norway. The ferries are timed so if a driver goes the speed limit, they will make every ferry along their route, which eliminates the need for speeding.  Smart.

I was impressed by the Norwegian ferry system early on, when one year we were at a party across the fjord.  We stayed a bit too long and the late ferry only ran once an hour.  My husband’s cousin, who was driving, realized we wouldn’t make the 11 o’clock ferry and he didn’t want to sit at the dock for an hour with small children in the car.  His wife called the ferry, explained our predicament, and then asked if they would hold it.  They run an extremely tight ship, so I was surprised when the captain said they would do it for two minutes, and two minutes only.  Those two minutes were all we needed. That would so never happen in America.

Most ferries have small cafes and when that shuts down, they leave out food and coffee with an honor box to pay for what’s been taken.  It’s shocking that this actually works, but for the most part, Norwegians are very honest and honorable people.  They’d have to be, or the ferry system itself would shut down.  There are no tollbooths to drive through.  The ferry workers just wander around aimlessly among the cars and passengers, collecting the fares willy-nilly.  For a system that otherwise runs so efficiently, I don’t understand how they missed that one.  I’m sure if a person wanted to avoid being found, they could easily get free passage.  And if they did, it might just help deflate the ego of those ferry workers.