North Sea Sunrise

Port side balconies face east when the ship is travelling south.  At about 6 AM the sun began its sleepy climb above the ocean’s surface to illuminate the North Sea.  You can tell it’s the North Sea because an oil platform is clearly visible on the horizon as the sun pushes up above the fog layer.

 

 

 

 

Here are some fun facts about Norway.  A few are repeats.

·        It is roughly the size of New Mexico.

·        Population is 4.8 million people.

·        The form of government is a constitutional monarchy.

·        Their first king was “borrowed” from Denmark.  They picked the youngest son of the monarchy there and asked him to be king. 

·        Their standard of living is pretty high.

·        The North Sea provides plenty of oil to Norway, some of which they sell, but they keep quite a bit in reserve.

·        Hydro power is plentiful because there are waterfalls everywhere.

·        Every citizen gets free health care and a pension provided by the government.

·        Their effective tax on income is roughly 45%.

·        Their VAT tax (sales tax) on goods sold in stores is 25%.

·        Now you know how they pay for the health care and pensions.

·        There is a shortage of labor in Norway so they import workers, primarily from Eastern Europe and the largest percentage is from Poland.  Most can afford to buy a house back in their home country (in cash) after working in Norway for three years.

·        Norway is not part of the European Union though they have trade agreements with the EU.

·        Norway hunts seals and whales. 

·        The big cities, near the ports, experience a mild winter because the Gulf Stream keeps their harbors relatively warm.  Inland is a different story with cold and plentiful snow. 

·        Norway is having trouble keeping young Norwegians in Norway, especially those who grow up on farms.  There are many abandoned farm houses and farms.

·        It isn’t unusual to hear of a Norwegian who must walk ten or fifteen minutes from their parking space to their house. 

·        In the mountains they get so much snow that some of the ski places open in June because the roads aren’t passable until then.

·        You see Troll dolls, statue and souvenirs everywhere.  I think they are ugly but people must buy them.

·        1 Krone equals 18 cents U.S.

·        Gas is about 14 Krone per liter.  There are roughly 3.8 liters to a gallon.  That means gasoline is 9.50 per gallon but most of that is Norway’s revenue since they own their oil.  Because the standard of living is high gasoline is “cheap” in Norway economic terms.

·        Solar power isn’t a practical option in Norway.  Wind power might be.  Harnessing the motion of the ocean for energy is something they are developing.  They don’t really need to do that since hyrdo generates more than enough power for the country.

·        The handmade sweaters are expensive and very heavy.

·        Norwegians do cross country ski but they end up doing it in the dark or on lighted trails because from November until May they have far more darkness than sunlight. 

·        There are houses in the middle of nowhere with no other house for miles and miles.  There are no roads near those houses.  Sometimes there is no electricity.

·        Water from glacial streams is pure enough to drink without purification.

·        Glacial melt near Olden is from parts of the glaciers that are at least 5,000 years old.  A company in Olden bottles that water and sells it with a stale date stamped on the bottle.

·        Norwegian raspberries are very large and very delicious.