MzBxTrip

For our last two weeks in Norway, we decided to treat ourselves with a 10 days road trip!

We traveled all over the "south" of Norway passing by Lillehammer, Oslo, Stavanger and Bergen. Between Oslo and Stavanger, we stopped one night in a typical Norwegian hut in the middle of the nature. We were just not aware that there would be no heating, no running water and no electricity...... I must admit that the night was a bit hard.

We hiked and saw beautiful landscapes, passing by frozen lakes with rain and then 30min later fjords in full sun and a green nature.

In spite of the sanitary situation we could also meet people and have some parties during which we had a lot of fun.

I think that the place I enjoyed the most was Bergen. It is one of the rainiest cities in Europe and yet we had a lot of sun during the 3 days we were there! It's a very nice city with a lot of activities to do.

We were very happy to finish our stay on this trip which allowed us to do and see many incredible things!

Below: Some cools pictures of our trip 😉

How do international residents view Norway?

Safe but pricey…

Indeed, Norway is a very safe country! However, it is a very expensive destination... Norway is a country with a very high standard of living and therefore the salaries go with it. Norway is far too expensive, and it’s hard for its foreign residents to settle into life in the Nordic country. Overall, Norway ranks 38th out of 59 countries in the survey which ranks international residents happiness in various aspects of life.

Norway may be about to edge out Paris as the new capital of love, however. More than a quarter of those who moved to the Scandinavian country did so because of love.  

The impact of Covid-19 on life in Norway:

More than ten percent of those who upped sticks to Norway said that the most significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic was on their finances.

The pandemic has also affected foreign residents’ lives on an individual level as well as an economic one.

Norway is a constitutional monarchy. The king, however, has only an honorary role, but he is still a strong symbol of national unity and is also the head of the Church of Norway. The constitution of Norway, drafted in 1814 when Norway left the 434-year union with Denmark, was influenced by British political traditions, the Constitution of the United States, and French Revolutionary ideas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was created on the same day that Norway declared the dissolution of the union with Sweden: June 7, 1905. Although diplomats cannot present their credentials to foreign governments until the King of Sweden has officially renounced his right to the Norwegian throne...

On March 19, 2020, the Norwegian parliament voted to give the government enormous emergency powers. While this is in effect, the government can change any law except the constitution and human rights legislation. These emergency powers are due to expire in December 2020. During this period, Norway operates with a partially combined executive and legislative branch.

It should be noted that Norway is the only Scandinavian country (excluding Iceland) that is not part of the European Union. Membership has been discussed several times within the country, and two referendums were held on 26 September 1972 and 28 November 1994. Both resulted in a victory for the "no" vote, mainly because of concerns about fishing quotas imposed by Brussels. But the country also seeks to develop friendly relations with developing countries: Norwegians provide humanitarian and economic aid to some countries in Africa and Asia, to promote democratic values and human rights.

If you want to fully enjoy your trip/erasmus in Norway I advise you to have a car at your disposal...

Norway is a big country with many breathtaking landscapes. Thanks to friends who have a car we had the chance to do some roadtrips and discover some beautiful places.

In particular one day where we went to the Jostedal glacier. It was just AMAZING!

We stopped several times on the road to discover splendid places. We could also observe one of the most beautiful fjord of Norway.

(In more this day the weather was great)

FunFact : the water from the glacier was so pure that you could drink it directly from the source

I put you some photos to share you these incredible landscapes ;)

I find the Norwegian culture close to ours, but special... Indeed, I have the impression that the surrounding nature is almost omnipresent in their lives.

Contrary to us in France, who have a very fast way of life, it seems to me that in Norway people are calmer and take their time more.

The inhabitants of Alesund love coffee! It's part of their habits to come and relax with friends after work or during the weekend. A habit that we adopted very quickly!

Sport is also very present in the Norwegian routine. I often met joggers, people going to the gym or to the soccer field and even people climbing a mountain 4 times in a row while running (and there was a lot of snow and ice on the way...)

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It was Easter 8 days ago, and it seems that people here attach some importance to it because for 3 days everything was closed and before that everyone was selling chocolate. The university even offered us each a basket of chocolate!

The families get together to celebrate Easter (respecting the social distances of course).

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Last week was very sunny. Alesund has suddenly become very lively and dynamic. We were able to sit on the terrace and have a drink and watch the people. It's a small town and people seem to know each other very well. They enjoy around a beer to laugh and sing together.

Norwegians also have a close relationship with the sea. Many of them have a boat and like to go on small trips to fish and enjoy the sea air.

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Below, a small pictures of our usual coffee of the week:

During our exchange semester in Alesund, we study at the NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology).

NTNU is a young institution with a long history. The university, in its current form, was established in 1996 by the merger of six research and higher education institutions in Trondheim.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology has a main profile in science and technology, a variety of programmes of professional study, and great academic breadth that also includes the humanities, social sciences, economics, medicine, health sciences, educational science, architecture, entrepreneurship, art disciplines and artistic activities.

The university count actually more than 40 000 students and is located in Trondheim, Alesund and Gjovik for a total area equal to 734 000 m2. FunFact : They also have a boat (pretty big).

Our courses are mainly about marketing (Digital Marketing; Market Analysis; Cases in Technology and Strategy Marketing; Project). At the beginning, all our lessons were online but there was a moment where we had the chance to enjoy physical classes. Now we had severals covid restrictions in Alesund two weeks ago, so everything came back online.. 

However, we were lucky enough to be able to take advantage of some of the activities organised by the university's associations/clubs (football, games, cinema night, etc.). The encounters we made also made us discover many things! 

We have not been able to benefit from an integration worthy of the name, unfortunately because of the international health crisis situation that we all know... Although, international student groups were created so that we could meet each others. We also had a complete visit of the university before the beginning of our courses (the campus is very pleasant :).

We now have a month and a half before the end of our courses. So I'm going to enjoy as much as I can before I leave and manage the classes! (it should be ok, we are working well anyway)

Below some pictures to illustrate the post:

-Our little stay with friends in Tromsø ❄️-

Fun fact : We fed reindeer... and then ate them (they taste like beef) 🥴

A little bit of legend about the polar lights : Nordic mythologies mention the bifröst, the dance of the spirits of certain animals, particularly salmon, reindeer, seals and beluga whales; the blowing of whales in the Arctic Ocean; the reflection of the Sun or Moon on the armour of the Valkyries when they cross the sky; torches lit by the spirits of the dead to welcome newcomers to heaven.

During this trip, we also met the Sami people who welcomed us and told us some of their legends...

Thanks to this Tumblr page you will follow all the reflexions, wonderings, adventures and also a lot of crazy stuff I will share!