What do you see when you're in Norway?

What do you see when you're in Norway?  I pondered this question tonight as I took a walk to the Three Swords Monument.  The answer, "It depends on who you are and how you view the world around you".

As a mom I see the baby strollers - everywhere.  I've never seen so many men and women taking their children for a walk.  It is truly amazing.  If you ask why you'll hear that the law allow women to take a year off, paid, after giving birth and the men also take time off to spend with their children.  Of course as an Alaskan, I have to ask myself "Are there really that many strollers or are there so few in Alaska?"

If you're my son you see an amazing number of beautiful Norwegian women.  Beauty at any age and any size!  Is it hard to be beautiful when you have a sun-streaked blond hair, amazing cheek bones, golden tanned skin and are 6-foot tall with thighs the size of my calves?  I'm not sure but, in summary, WOW!

As my son, you'd also notice the array of vehicles on the roads that include motorcycles, cars, trucks and the occasional 4-wheeler and tractor.  We've seen more high-end than low-end cars traveling around.  You'd also notice the large number of fairly packed-full city buses moving in every direction.

As an American we can't help but see signs of us everywhere.  Most of the American fast food you'd ever want to eat is yours for a slightly higher price (well, maybe two to three times the price at home).  That said, it's clear you aren't in Kansas anymore.  The majority of food in the stores don't look like U.S. foods and the majority of stores here are not in the U.S.  Personally, I like that.  Every country doesn't need to, and shouldn't, look like the U.S.  It's all about being unique.

Have I talked about the bicyclists yet?  It's somewhat disturbing that almost every biker in Norway looks like he or she is in the Tour de France.  So I'm following them on the highway, about to be irritated that they are moving so slowly, when I realize that they are traveling at the speed limit!  There are some serious bicyclists here.  They are fun to watch and inspiring to say the least.

The list of what you see is incomplete if I don't mention the tunnels.  In the U.S. we're very likely to move a hill if we want to travel through the area.  In Norway, they appear to think nothing of blowing through a hill and creating a tunnel.  Some of the longest tunnels in the world are here in Norway.  As a geologist I'll admit that I love them.  I've never seen so many rock outcroppings from the inside!   I love the integration of nature with modern transportation systems.  One question though, "How do they afford them?"  So many tunnels with so few people to pay for them...

There's a lot more to see in Norway - the people's sense of community, blue water, plants everywhere, and occasionally bright blue sky - it's a country that is worth visiting, if only because it is so difficult to explain.