(Photo by the blogger.)
Endelig sommerferie! (Finally summer holiday!) Juli måned (the month of July) is a joyous time of empty schools and – occasionally – blue skies in Norge. Many foreigners go to Norway to enjoy fjord og fjell and beautiful sceneries. But how do Norwegians spend the vacation?
• Hjemme [yemmeh] (at home). When your surroundings are already gorgeous, there isn’t much need to go anywhere, right? Of course, many nordmenn always have hytta (”the cabin”) as a way to get a bit away…
• Ferie i Norge (holiday in Norway). As long as you have a bil (car), and are not afraid of villmarka (the wilderness), the possibilites are as endless as they get. Many barnefamilier (families with children) drive down south to Kristiansand Dyrepark (Kristiansand Zoo) to say hello to alle dyrene (all the animals), have fun in theme areas such as Kardemomme by (Cardamom Town – from a famous children’s book), and feel the thrill of shows such as Kaptain Sabeltann (Captain Sabretooth – a pirate’s tale). Of course, people also go in the oppite direction. With the ship Hurtigruten you can go all the way from the tree houses of Bryggen in Bergen to midnattssol (midnight sun) in Kirkenes!
The ship of Kaptain Sabeltann. (Photo by Peter Krefting at Flickr, CC License.)
• Syden (the South). Norway is a rich country, and Norwegians travel all over the world. Many people still, however, long for Syden – a wonderful place where the sand is always golden, sola (the sun) is always hot, the people are always hot, and the drinks are perfect. Sometimes Syden means Spain, sometimes Greece, sometimes Turkey…
• Nabolandene (the neighbouring countries) Danmark og Sverige aren’t really utlandet (foreign countries, literally ’the outland’). Some Norwegians enjoy going to Sweden, which has lower prices and bigger cities than Norway. And you’d be surprised to hear just how many Norwegians head south to Denmark each year! With cheap drikkevarer (drinks), entertainment parks and long beaches, it’s a kind of ”mini Syden” for many Norwegians.
• På festival (”at festival”). Lots of young Norwegians gleder seg veldig (look very much forward to) festivalsesongen (the festival season). From my own experience I know that there are so many Norwegians at the Danish Roskilde Festival that it almost feels Norwegian! Festivals in Norway are growing each year, with some of the most famous being Øyafestivalen in Oslo and Pstereo in Trondheim.
