Going Out

Food and Drink

Fish is a staple, along with meat, potatoes and other root vegetables. The favourite traditional hot snack is the pølse, a form of sausage.

The roadside kro (traveller's restaurant) is a good choice if you want to sample traditional Norwegian fare.

Breakfasts are often enormous with a variety of fish, meat, cheese, sweet whey cheese and bread served from a cold buffet with coffee and boiled or fried eggs. Open sandwiches are topped with meat, fish, cheese and salads. Popular dinner dishes include meatballs (kjøttboller or karbonader) with boiled potatoes, boiled fish and bacalao, a spiced dried cod stew.

Alcohol tends to be limited in availability and expensive, although beer and wine are generally available in restaurants. Licensing laws are strict and alcohol above 4.7% ABV for home consumption is sold only by the state through special monopoly stores (Vinmonopolet). Beer and cider is sold in general stores.

National specialities:

• Brunost (a sweet brown cheese made with whey).
• Roast wild elk, or reindeer.
• Lutefisk (baked preserved cod).
• Grøt (a form of porridge).
• Multer (cloudberries - a summer delicacy).

National drinks:
• Aquavit (schnapps).
• Pils (light lager).
• Lagerøl (lager with less than 2.5% volume).

Legal drinking age: 18 (beer, wine and other drinks up to 22% ABV), 20 (drinks over 22% ABV).

Tipping: Waiters expect a tip of no more than 5% of the bill.

Nightlife

Most villages have at least one café/restaurant where it is possible to eat and drink out. The bigger towns and cities boast a thriving arts scene including theatre, music and cinema. Restaurants and nightclubs tend to be concentrated in city centres, while in recent years the pub culture has been gradually arriving. Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger and Trondheim are well supplied with a wide choice of watering holes, many of which also offer food.

Oslo's nightlife centres on the Aker Brygge waterside area, the city centre, and the Majorstua district.

Most Norwegians tend to go ‘out on the town' only on Fridays and Saturdays. This is in no small part due to the high prices of food and drink, and the fact that the working day starts early. At weekends, it is normal for Norwegians to enjoy a forspiel (drinks at home), before venturing out as late as 2300.

Shopping

Most towns have shops selling Norwegian handicrafts. Silversmiths and potteries are numerous and worth visiting. Traditional items include printed textiles, woven articles, knitwear, woodcarving, silver, enamel, pewter, glass and porcelain.

VAT, known as MOMS, is levied at 25% on most goods. You can obtain tax-free cheques from any of the 3,000 shops carrying the sticker ‘Tax free for tourists'. These shops save visitors 11 to 18% of the price paid by residents. VAT refunds are paid in cash at airports, ferries, cruise ships and border crossings.

Shopping hours: Mon-Wed and Fri 0900-1700/1800, Thurs 0900-2000 and Sat 0900-1300/1500. Supermarkets are normally open Mon-Fri 0900-2000 and Sat 1000-1800. Shops are closed on Sunday. Kiosken (small shops offering limited essentials) and petrol station shops are open late in the evenings and on Sundays.