Meet the Norwegians

They usually bring a thermos of coffee, build a small fire and grill hot dogs or eat their homemade lunch-pack. This is a nice way of getting to know people. It is also possible to join local hiking groups.

Eating Habits

Breakfast: Most Norwegians eat breakfast at home around 7 am. In general they eat cereals with milk or yogurt or slices of bread with butter and cheese, jam, ham and sausages, among other things. They drink a glass of milk or juice and a cup of coffee or tea.

Lunch: Lunch is most often prepared at home in the morning. Lunch hour is around noon. Normally Norwegians pack some slices of wholegrain bread with butter and the aforementioned cheese, ham, etc., in a box or wrapped in special lunch paper. The faculty canteens are open and offer both cold and warm lunches.

Dinner: Locals prepare and eat dinner at home around four or five o’clock. Traditional Norwegian dinner consists of meat, potatoes, vegetables and sauce. However, global trends have influenced us and Norwegians are fond of eating pizza, pasta, taco and wok dishes and other international food. The local stores offer what you need to prepare most meals.

Evening meal: As you will notice, we Norwegians are very fond of bread. This meal very often consists of slices of bread with butter and various toppings. Or, as with breakfast traditions, we eat a bowl of cereals or yogurt.

In Norway, the water is very fresh and clean, so we drink water from the tap. It’s good, healthy and free!

Social Life

If your social life has centered around going out with friends, visiting cafés, going to the movies and so on, you will find that Norway is expensive.
Norwegians like to do things together – this can be renting a film and making pizza together, making a picnic for a hike together, or just meeting at each other's rooms to “hang out”. If you are invited to dinner, you can ask if you can bring something along. If your host or hostess says yes, then they mean yes. Perhaps they will suggest that you provide a salad or dessert. If they say no, then they mean no, but perhaps you can invite them to your place some other time for cake and coffee.

If you are active, open-minded and interested in learning the Norwegian approach to life, you will find that Norwegians aren’t so hard to get to know after all!