There are different requirements based on the license you already hold. Lucky for us, the requirements for someone with a US driver’s license weren’t so bad. As long as we began the licnse exchange process within the first year of arriving, we could exchange our license by completing a one-hour lesson and passing the road test. No theory/written test required. But only if we passed the first time (had we not passed, the requirements were significant.)
Zack began his process last fall, and it went smoothly. After his ‘lesson’ and test, he was the proud owner of a Norwegian drivers license. He was also happy to report that both the school instructor and the driving test examiner did everything in English.
The one-hour lesson does two things 1) it allows you use of the driving school’s car to take the test (we were not allowed to use our own car). And 2) it involves driving with the instructor from Sandefjord to Larvik (where the testing facility is). You get instruction along the way, tips on things to improve, and reminders about rules that are a bit different from what we know from America.
So in late January (about four days shy of one year here – yes, I’m a procrastinator) I began all the paperwork to exchange my license. A few weeks ago, just after Zack returned from the states, I took my test. Same instructor and same examiner. And same result: success!
I probably should have included it in the original architecture post (HERE). But for those who might be curious about what our house looks like, here’s a picture of it taken last year.As I mentioned before, we have been told that it was built around 1897.
We live in Vestfold fylke, and while most of the homes around us have a similar style (more akin to the home where we live, a 2-story built around 1897), it is not hard to find some variety as well. And it doesn’t take more than a stroll to the next street north of us to see what we’re talking about. Go up the hill and take a left, and you just might feel like you’re walking through a very random issue of an architecture magazine.
This is the first we come to as we begin to turn off our street. An interesting house – very large – and a mix of stone and mortar. It looks impressive at night!
This style of home is fairly ordinary here: particularly the white with black roof combo. It must be nice to have that garage in the back!
When my mom and step-dad visited last year, they couldn’t get over the fact that much of Norway is rock. And what do you do when you want to build and there are rocks in the way? Just work around them, as was the case with this home.
Here is another angle of the house built on the rock. Reminds me of a parable in the Bible (you can read it HERE),
While most areas remain consistent in architectural style, this particular street really does exhibit a wide range of eras and materials. This structure appears to be at least two apartments (not at all uncommon: many homes here are multi-family homes), and was obviously built more recently than many of their neighbors.
Every time Zack and I walk past this house, it reminds us of Doc Brown’s house in Back to the Future. Great Scott!
It’s hard to see here, but I really like this modern home built on the hill.
Here, you can see how the houses are built regardless of elevation. They keep going up!
In another month or two, you won’t be able to see this one for all of the trees.
Zack and I like this one a lot. It has a bit of a German/alpine feel to me.
And the green roof here is fun.
You can occasionally spots a house with a grass roof. We don’t see them often in our area, but did see a little playhouse with one.
Finally, this one is on a different street. But we think the dragons are interesting – definitely has an Asian feel to it!
Do you see anything similar to homes where you live? Which one is your favorite?
So, happy “anniversary” Kai & Synnøve! We are grateful for your friendship and look forward to many more adventures together.
When we moved to Vancouver, we experienced sticker shock. Everything seemed so expensive. Vancouver is North America’s most expensive city. But after a month or so, we learned where to shop, which brands were the most affordable, and how to join customer reward programs.
And then we arrived in Norway. Sticker shock all over again.
But there are a few things to keep in mind..
And just for fun, here is an interesting table from that report, showing some commonly purchased items, and what they cost in US dollars. How do prices in your city stack up to these?
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| Source: Worldwide Cost of Living 2013 |
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| Daniel loves the stores that have kid-sized carts! |
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| Kiwi is one of the grocery store chains in our city. It tends to have the lowest prices, but not as much variety. |
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| This picture shows the entrance into a large rotary. The signs above let you know what lies in each direction, and which lane you should be in. As you enter the roundabout: signal right if you plan to take the first right (for example here, the E18 freeway to Oslo) Don’t signal if you plan to take the roundabout exit that is straight ahead (for example, Kilen) Signal left if you plan to go three-quarters around and take the exit that is to the left (in this case, Sentrum S, or the South side of downtown) As you are about to exit the roundabout, you should signal right. |
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| This is as you are just about to enter the roundabout. The blue sign lets you know it’s a roundabout. And you always have to yield to cars already in the roundabout. |
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| The blue arrow lets you know that the road is dividing, and which direction you should go. This is especially helpful when there is a lot of snow! |
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| You are entering a No Passing Zone. |
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| This sign lets you know you are leaving the no pass zone. Anytime you see the sign all in gray with the diagonal lines, it means you’re leaving that particular zone (could be no passing, or a speed limit, etc.) |
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| Pedestrian Sign – these are important!! Pedestrians have the right-of-way at all crosswalks, unless it is controlled by a traffic light. You must stop, so you always need to be looking to the sides of the street as you approach a crosswalk. |
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| This indicates a 60 kph speed zone. Currently, Norway’s highest allowed speed is 100 (on some portions of the freeway/E18). |
Our biggest learning curve came with the yellow diamond, seen below. If you see this sign, it means you’re on a main road. You have the right of way and do not have to yield to traffic from other roads. Okay, that isn’t a problem. But when you don’t have the yellow diamond, you must yield to roads on your right. So if a car is coming from the road on the right, you have to stop and let them out. This one was strange for us!
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| Ah, the yellow diamond. This is the one that confused us the most as we learned to drive here! |
So Jeff’s question was this: Is there any formal or informal greeting or salutation in Norwegian?
There are things that are appropriate to say, but so far we haven’t learned anything that would be considered rude if we didn’t say.
Here are some helpful greetings and phrases.
For a greeting you might say
Often after this, you will say
If you are welcoming a guest into your home, you might say
As you are departing, you can say
And many times in your departure, you may choose to say one or two of these