1. Norway is part of the Schengen Agreement (all the blue bits in the map below). Apparently, this is an agreement that allows for free entrance between countries (porous borders) and benefits anyone applying for a Visa or Residency here. You can read more about that here:
2. Norway makes REALLY good cheeseburgers & fries! They actually put the salad ON the cheeseburger. No really. You bite into your bun only to discover there are pieces of cucumber, onion, lettuce, pickle, tomato and corn with a nice sauce that tastes a bit like Thousand Island (but not as tangy) added to your meat and yummy, stretchy melted cheese. The beef is so much better than ours in the U.S. which must reflect the damaged emotional state of our bovine neighbors who are often spotted standing ankle-high in muck, much to our shame. Norwegian cows are happy little beings who roam around their farms eating downy, green grass and schmoozing with the sheep. They sit down and chill when it's sunny and huddle together under trees when the rain falls. It looks like such a happy community!
3. It doesn't matter how hard an American tries to pronounce Norwegian words, they are met with patient correction and repetition or sassy scoffings like, "It sounds like you're speaking Chinese! Bwuhahahahaaha!" Ha ha. Not.
4. Norway has excellent dairy (meieri) products which brings us back to Happy Cows. (Well, happy, that is, until it comes time to give one's life for a cheeseburger but that's another subject for another time.)
5. While we're talking about the cows, we may as well give props to the sheep. Admit it, they are just cooler than our sheep. Look at that dude. He just exudes confidence in his glorious curly wool and knows he's gorgeous with his long, Viking legs created to leap over rocks on his way up the mountain. This is probably why Norway has such beautiful knitted goods which brings me to point number six.
6. Norway has beautiful knitted goods! This needs no explanation.
7. Norwegians are brave, courageous, amazing people with a Viking spirit that can triumph over any adverse situations. This is a picture of a daring rescue referred to as Birkeneiner which has actually spawned a cross-country race that is run annually. This is a bit of the history of the famous rescue:
Around the year 1200, the rival groups shared the identical but opposite goal of controlling the entire country. In 1202, when King Sverre died, he had managed to acquire most of Norway, but in Østerdalen, the Baglers were still very powerful. Sverre's death meant some decrease in power of Birkebeins. His successor, King Haakon Sverresson, died only two years later, leaving his son Haakon Haakonsson as the ultimate target for the Baglers to get rid of the pretender to the throne. In 1206, the Birkebeiners set off on a dangerous voyage through treacherous mountains and forests, taking the now two-year-old Haakon Haakonsson to safety in Trondheim. Norwegian history credits the Birkebeiners' bravery with preserving the life of the boy who later became King Haakon Haakonsson IV, ended the civil wars in 1240 and forever changed Northern Europe's history through his reign.
How do I love thee, Norway? Let me count the ways......
P.S. I can't stop counting! I just had to add another one. Did you know that the tractors lay eggs around here?
