You just filled up your tank for the first time in Norway and almost fainted while paying? No wonder, Norway has the highest fuel prices in the world – even though it is one of the most important oil-producing countries and sits right at the source. Find out what else you should know about the country here.

In Longyearbyen on Svalbard, for example, fainting may be okay, but dying is forbidden by law! It’s hard to bury someone in the permafrost, the frost would push the corpse up again and again and prevent decomposition. That’s why you are only allowed to live there as long as you can take care of yourself.

Picturesque: the colorful houses of Longyearbyen. Photo: Boswell/Freepik.

On your tour through Norway, you should pay attention to drunken moose that stagger onto the road, especially at the beginning of winter. Because then berries and apples lying in the snow ferment particularly fast. And the intoxicated four-legged friends just can’t say no to that.

Beware of drunken moose! Photo: Freepik.

Very cheesy

You should definitely try Norwegian cheese. The locals are really proud of it, especially of their Brunost, the brown, sweet caramel cheese. The fact that the cheese slicer was invented here is evidence of the long tradition. And on the E4 near Ånäset, you’ll find the world’s tallest cheese slicer statue, over seven meters high.

Want a few more superlatives? In Norway you will find the highest waterfall in Europe, the Mardalsflossen. It falls in several stages from a height of 655 meters into the depth. With more than 80,000 kilometers, the relatively small country has the second longest coastline in the world. Only giant Canada can offer more.

The traditional midsummer fire in Ålesund made it into the Guinness Book in 2016 with a height of over 47 meters. By 2019, however, the record for the highest bonfire had already been lost to the spark fire in Lustenau, Austria. The Norwegians are also far ahead in terms of coffee consumption. Only the Finns drink more of it.

Compulsory mattresses for cows

It’s not far from coffee to the milk in it. Norwegian cows are said to give up to ten percent more milk than their colleagues in other countries. The reason: compulsory mattresses for the cattle, which have been in force since 2006. Happy cows are simply more productive.

In Brumunddal, about an hour north of Oslo, stands one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings measuring 85,4 meters. It houses apartments, a hotel, offices, restaurants, a swimming pool and community rooms. It stands directly on Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa is with an area of 369 square kilometers.

For an even more maritime experience, the underwater restaurant Under in Lindenes in southern Norway is the place to go. Here they serve a good selection of fish, seafood, seabirds and wild sheep from the area. To give guests something to look at, the fish outside the windows are attracted with lights, sounds and smells.

Have you ever had an experience with a drunken moose? Tell us about your impressions of Norway in a comment.