XC60 in Norwegian Fjords - Pics & Storyline...

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by polsesnabb

Generally, you will have to find someone above 60 years, before language is an issue. Those younger, generally speak English ok. English, as the second language, is mandatorily taught in all schools from 4th grade and onwards.
300.000 Norwegians visit UK annually, that is 5% of us each year. When I visit UK, I usually hear Norwegians on every corner :-)

Do you know the most popular destinations?

Roy

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by polsesnabb

Generally, you will have to find someone above 60 years, before language is an issue. Those younger, generally speak English ok. English, as the second language, is mandatorily taught in all schools.

This is actually reflected across much of Europe, particularly in the 'old Eastern bloc'. In the DDR, English was not the first foreign language. Now all has changed and the Internet is helping English become the language all school children aspire to learn well. Indeed, there are many examples of European Universities teaching their courses in English, perhaps driven also by textbooks being in English and the increased numbers of UK students looking to study in Europe. This last point, ironically, will see some changes as we Brexit.

[tem]

Originally Posted by polsesnabb

Generally, you will have to find someone above 60 years, before language is an issue. Those younger, generally speak English ok. English, as the second language, is mandatorily taught in all schools from 4th grade and onwards.
300.000 Norwegians visit UK annually, that is 5% of us each year. When I visit UK, I usually hear Norwegians on every corner :-)

I think Aberdeen would be one place in Scotland where you might meet Norwegian's, but not on every street corner.
Most are in transit, to and from Oil installations.

Where I live is part of Scotland's Route 66 and also gateway to the Orkney Isles and we see many cars/tour buses from Germany, the Netherlands and Belguim, but rarely any from the Nordic countries.

I wonder if most of the Norwegian's that visit the UK are on a days shopping spree, arriving early morning, hitting the likes of Marks & Spencer's and flying home late evening. Aberdeen was a popular destination, due to the short crossing.

tem.

[tem]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

This is actually reflected across much of Europe, particularly in the 'old Eastern bloc'. In the DDR, English was not the first foreign language. Now all has changed and the Internet is helping English become the language all school children aspire to learn well. Indeed, there are many examples of European Universities teaching their courses in English, perhaps driven also by textbooks being in English and the increased numbers of UK students looking to study in Europe. This last point, ironically, will see some changes as we Brexit.

Funny you should mention this as my Grand Daughter did her four year degree at Glasgow University and then went to the Central European University in Budapest for her Masters. As far as I know, all the courses at the CEU are in English.
For the last year she has worked in Budapest teaching English to mainly telecom operators and pre school Hungarian's.

Will Hungary be the next to leave the EU?

tem.

[polsesnabb]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

Do you know the most popular destinations?

Roy

Definitely London, meaning most are weekenders. Then, there are quite a few football tourists, going to the home cities of the Premier league teams.
As for Norwegians elsewhere, I suppose they "fly under the radar" most of the time. There is no direct ferry, so we would be in a rental car if driving. There are no organised bus trips to the UK from Norway, that I ever heard of. Maybe except related to specific themes (particularly interested individuals) as folk dance / music, old hand crafts, historical trips for seniors etc. Not really mass tourism. Still, the bus would be a local one.

Last: Whenever I visit the UK, I notice that we are taken for Swedes or Baltics most of the time.

There are multiple daily flights from all major Norwegian airports to London these days, but the logistics of getting to, through and from airports requires at least 5 hours of travel each way, making it a long day if you don´t stay overnight. I used to live in Bergen on the West coast, 25 minutes from the airport. Only once I did a daytrip to London, and had to leave home at 0530 (0430 GWT). When I arrived at Victoria Station, it was 1030 already. Then homebound, I left Victoria St. at 1730, and was home after midnight.

[tem]

Originally Posted by polsesnabb

Definitely London, meaning most are weekenders. Then, there are quite a few football tourists, going to the home cities of the Premier league teams.
As for Norwegians elsewhere, I suppose they "fly under the radar" most of the time. There is no direct ferry, so we would be in a rental car if driving. There are no organised bus trips to the UK from Norway, that I ever heard of. Maybe except related to specific themes (particularly interested individuals) as folk dance / music, old hand crafts, historical trips for seniors etc. Not really mass tourism. Still, the bus would be a local one.

Last: Whenever I visit the UK, I notice that we are taken for Swedes or Baltics most of the time.

There are multiple daily flights from all major Norwegian airports to London these days, but the logistics of getting to, through and from airports requires at least 5 hours of travel each way, making it a long day if you don´t stay overnight. I used to live in Bergen on the West coast, 25 minutes from the airport. Only once I did a daytrip to London, and had to leave home at 0530 (0430 GWT). When I arrived at Victoria Station, it was 1030 already. Then homebound, I left Victoria St. at 1730, and was home after midnight.

I think it only takes 1hr 15 mins to fly from Bergan to Aberdeen and the airport is near the city. Definitely was a popular route for a days shopping.

tem.

[xsaab]

From what I have seen most Norwegians travel to the sun for vacations. Why stop off at the UK to preview the weather that will be hitting Norway a few hours later.

Be aware that at the north end of the country they can get temperatures as high as 30C and 24hour daylight

[Arianne]

So today was one of those fabulous moments, a really super day of driving along what must rank amongst some of the finest stretches of road in the world? And our XC60 was a joy (still no sign of the turtle since the latest fix from Volvo and the peppy performance continues - which is great on these super-smooth Norwegian roads).

If any of you guys contemplate a road trip to Norway then Geirangerfjord, Eagles View & Dalsnibba are highly recommended. The latter is a toll road (120 NOK / £12). We've done some great stuff on previous holidays (Mont Blanc being a recent highlight) but this is up there with the best. We were fortunate with the weather, an essential ingredient to make it worthwhile.

Enjoy...

First up is Geirangerfjord. Checked that website that a fellow user (uniqueque) suggested and it confirmed that just one cruise liner, the P&O Azura, was visiting Gieranger today. That made a real difference as it meant the roads were quiet and not overrun with tour buses shuttling passengers up and down the steep, narrow roads. We took the car ferry from Hellesynt to Geiranger (approx. £100 for us all), takes about 65mins and I would recommend you reserve a space beforehand before you leave in the morning. We didn't and couldn't get on when we first arrived. So we waited about 75mins and enjoyed a coffee break. The ferry company have a website for online reservations: https://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-...it/showdetails








Then off to Eagles Road from Geiranger. A superb road with stunning views:










From there it's a U-turn and off to Dalsnibba...
















And finally. Spotted in Stryn - is this a D9 or D3 AWD XC60?



Apologies for the different sizes but the battery on my camera gave out and the lad came to the rescue with his IPhone.

Have a good week folks.

Arianne

[SuffolkBoy]

Great pictures of your XC60, Arianne.....the scenery looks pretty good too, in fact the scenery sets the car off beautifully

[tem]

Arianne, do you have the GB symbol within your number plate?
If not, the one on the hatch is not legal.
I should be black on white.
Naughty boy.

tem.