Norway – a country in Northern Europe

SHOPPING
The schedule of stores in different parts of the country varies greatly. In large localities, department stores and large stores usually work from Monday to Friday from 9: 00-10: 00 to 17:00, on Thursday from 9: 00-10: 00 to 19: 00-20: 00, and on Saturday – from 9: 00-10: 00 to 15: 00-16: 00. Many supermarkets and large shopping complexes are open until late evening. Kiosks and small private shops also often work in the evenings and on weekends until 22: 00-23: 00.
In the summer, in the season of sales, discounts in stores reach 50-70%.
Buy wool sweaters, troll figurines, deer hides, wrist watches, jewelry and national food in Norway.
WHERE TO STAY
There is no official classification of hotels in Norway, so their “star” in the catalogs of tour operators is conditional. As in neighboring Finland, the hotel rooms in Norway are always in good and clean condition, and the service in them is at a good “average European” level. However, the range of services in most hotels is limited to the minimum necessary.
SEA AND BEACHES
Swimming in the sea and sunbathing on the beach near the Arctic Circle is not a fantasy, it is a reality. It is hard to believe that there is a swimming season on the border of eternal ice, but the beaches of Norway have existed for many years and are no worse than European ones.
This wonder of nature gives the rest a warm current of the Gulf Stream and the setting sun of the polar day. The swimming season in Norway opens at the end of May and lasts until mid-August. The beaches are mostly pebbly, in some places around the hotels have a sandy bulk coating. Perfectly equipped with everything you need, the beaches provide a huge choice of entertainment for all travelers. Here you can rent a jet ski or a boat, go water-skiing, or simply enjoy the sun. Near the beaches there is a huge number of cafes and restaurants with excellent national cuisine.
Utakleiv beach is the most romantic beach. The long (about 100 km) Norwegian coast, covered with pebbles, extends north of the Arctic Circle.
The beaches of Sula and Yehren are ideal for surfing and kiting.
STORY
On the early history of Norway there is only vague information. It is certain that the first settlers who drove the nomadic Finnish tribes to the north, far beyond their previous distribution, were the ancestors of the present inhabitants of Norway and belonged to a separate Scandinavian tribe related to the Danes and Angles. From the ancient sagas we can conclude that in remote times the Norwegians occupied the region from the southern part of the Vick gulf to Trondheim, the former Nidarose, but, like their neighbors – the Goths and the Swedes – did not form a cohesive political whole. The population fell into 20-30 separate groups.
Due to the physical characteristics of the country, communal ownership did not develop; the land constituted the private property of the owner, who either himself used it or gave his people to use it. The land was usually inherited by the eldest son; the younger ones received their share of money, and then went to seek their own happiness in a foreign land. This state of affairs, due to the scarcity of the soil, the thirst for fame and enrichment, increased the passion for expeditions to foreign lands, so that already in the 8th century the Norwegians began to terrify their neighboring countries with their raids. When, at the end of the 9th century, vast states began to form in Norway, the kings of which constrained the freedom of individual districts, the number of those leaving for long voyages increased even more. Sometimes the kings themselves also embarked on a campaign for conquest or plunder, wanting to glorify their name.
At the end of the 9th century, Norway rallied into one kingdom, and since then there is more reliable information about its history.
The Norwegian Vikings sailed to the Caspian Sea in the east and to Ireland in the west. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the shores of Greenland and North America, walked the Mediterranean to Constantinople (Istanbul) and conquered Iceland, the Faroe and Shetland Islands, and Normandy (France).
After strengthening the position of Christianity in Norway, in the 13th century, the city of Oslo became the capital of the state. It continued to flourish until the mid-14th century, when a significant part of the city’s population died as a result of a plague epidemic.
The underdeveloped trade, the low level of urbanization of the country, the plague that destroyed half of the population of the country – all this led to the fact that weakened Norway entered Kalmar Union in 1397 (a series of associations in the personal union of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under the supreme power of the Danish kings, which countries sacrificed their sovereignty, but maintained independence). The divergence of interests led to conflict and secession from this union of Sweden in 1523, and Norway for a long time remained an appendage of Denmark. Although at that time the country practically did not participate in wars, it remained a poor state.