lofjord, and the southern tip of Norway. Oslo is known for its museums and green spaces. Many of these are on the Bygdøy Peninsula, like the Norwegian Maritime Museum, and the Viking Ship Museum with 9th century Viking ships. The Holmenkollbakken is a ski-jumping hill with panoramic views of the fjords. Even though it is a major city, nature is easily accessible from Oslo. A short trip by bus, train, or car can take you out in the woodlands, or up the coastline to visit some fjords. Oslo has all the modern amenities.
Stavanger – Stavenger is Norway’s third largest city. Stavanger Cathedral dates to the city’s founding in the 12th century. The Stavanger Museum chronicles the city’s history and the preserved wildlife. The Øvre Holmegate shopping street is renowned for its colorful buildings. In recent years, Stavanger has become a popular ports of call for cruiselines, with a steady rise of cruise ships docking for stops. Stavanger is deep in fjord country, and has some of the most spectacular views. For example, Preikestolen is one of the famous natural wonders of Norway, and is a short distance from Stavanger. The famous clifftop overlooks the Lysefjord.
Trondheim – Tourists travel to Trondheim to enjoy the music, arts, entertainment, night life and education. Every year the St. Olav Festival starts at the end of July. The festival celebrates Olav Haraldsson who spread Christianity throughout Norway. The festival includes religious contributions and cultural events such as concerts, Middle Age dramatizations, lectures, exhibits, and more. Nidelva is the town’s true gem. The river where sunsets can be seen are spectacular. In the Viking Age, Trondheim was the Norway’s capital. This gives the city a rich history. Nidaros Cathedral is located in the city center, and there are many museums scattered around the city.
As most Norwegian’s English competency is very high, then you should have no problem finding English speakers to interact with when traveling around Norway. In Norway and other Scandinavian countries, you will not need to rely much on the local language, but of course it is always helpful to learn some basic phrases regardless, and locals will appreciate the gesture and view it as a sign of respect.
Norwegian is closely related to English, so many words and pronunciations are not difficult to learn. A University of Oslo article reports that perhaps English was strongly influenced by Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages. That when Old Norse peoples settled in the British Isles during the 5th century, that Viking brought language with them, and even though Old English died out, Norwegian is still around today. Similarities between Norwegian and English are the same on a lexical level all the way to the syntactical level.
What Languages are Spoken in Norway?
Norwegian – Norwegian is the most widely spoken language in Norway. It is a North Germanic language that is shares links with Swedish and Danish, both descend from Old Norse. Norwegian is a primary language for 95% of the population. The language has two disctinct written standards: Nynorsk (New Norwegian) and Bokmål (Book Language).
Sami – Sami is a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in Northern Europe (in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden, and extreme northwest Russia. There are ten or more Sami languages, depending on the definition and divisional terminology. Arguably Sami is closely related to Finnish because Finnish is also a Uralic language.
English – Most Norwegians speak English from birth. Due to the proximity of English speaking media, travelers, and international business, English is very common. Virtually everybody speaks English (at minimum a basic understanding, usually in regards to the elder population). Tourist information is usually printed in other languages with most Norwegians also speaking German, French, or Spanish.
Kven – The Kven language, spoken by the Kven people, is a Finnish language, and spoken by about seven thousand people in northeastern Norway. Kven is often considered a Finnish dialect, and has a