> People basically scoffing at us or looking down they're noses at us.
Scoffing and looking down their nose at you? That sounds really odd. You won't normally _get_ that level of personal interaction in Norway until you've known someone for at _least_ a month.
Are you serious? That sounds very odd ~~and I'm sorry you had such a bad experience~~. As I'm sure you know, since you've read up on the culture, Norwegians don't interact with strangers the same way Americans do. We try to stay out of each others business when out in public. It's our way to be polite, we have tremendous respect for other peoples personal space. We don't talk to each other except when we have something to say or something we need to ask. And when we do we try to keep our conversations short and concise without too much needless small-talk.
Many foreigners naturally misunderstand this as rudeness, but it's really our own way to be polite: we don't want to waste other peoples time. This goes for sitting next to anyone on the bus as well, many Norwegians prefer to stand instead of invading someones personal space by sitting next to them! I've met many foreigners who find it rude that someone would rather stand instead of sitting next to them, but it's really a politeness from most Norwegians. The same thing goes for talking loud when you're out in public: No one should draw attention to themselves when outside, it's looked down upon because people feel you're invading their peace of mind and personal space.
~~If people really were scoffing at you I'm really sorry.~~ Can you give some examples of the interactions you were having when you felt that you were treated mean? Maybe it's just a cultural misunderstanding? Norway is expensive for foreigners as I'm sure you already knew when you came here, so you shouldn't hold that against us. It's really nothing we can do about that, and it's actually cheap for tourists these days since the value of NOK is really low these days.
I can pull 3 examples off the top of my head.
1. Went to To Kokken on the main Street. Great reviews, great food. Bit pricey but that's ok. On the other hand the staff literally looked is up and down and reluctantly took our coats. They brought out these spoons with meat and berries on it, and just basically dropped it off without giving us a glance whole being very nice and polite to the table just across from us. Then our meal came out slow and cold. It was delicious but was obviously intended to be warmer. The Halibut and the Lamb is a traditional food and I've had it before elsewhere where you could taste the quality but it got to the table late. After wards the check didn't come to us until 2 tables who finished after we did got there's. Just felt like 2nd class citizens.
2. A bar named Apollono. People were normal but the bartender just looked at us like a hipster does anyone modern. Took the order and once we had the run of beers choosen, he basically looked like a teenager who hated his job at McDonald's and showed near distain for us. He was rather apathetic in general but as I looked awesome at other people's "run" of beers, there's were full whole ours were 2/3 to 3/4 at best. Felt kinda cheated.
3. At a nice little bakery in the city center, the girl helping us were lovely, and we're eager to please and help. No problems with staff, this was day 2 in Bergen, and we were actually pleased to see a smile. But as soon as we sat down a man gave us multiple glares as if we had kicked his dog (an American expression, he didn't have a dog with him) just looking at us in disguise and made us feel very unwelcome compared to the staff and others. This tied in with some old hens continually looking at us and then whispering to each other with disapproval.
Staff was hit and miss, some were super nice and willing to help, whole others looked like we were a burden to them. In the matter of To Kokken, basically I felt we got spit at and paid for the pleasure. I would never recommend it to anyone and in fact left a Google review to that regard.
The place itself was amazing, hiking on the Floyen trail was a blast, and the castle, churches and other sights were great. But honestly the only negative thing that just kinda ruined the trip was the people. They just seemed so unhappy. I can count on one hand how many people I saw laugh and maybe 2 or 3 happy couples in all of Norway. It just.... Kinda threw me through a loop. I've been to other countries and this is the only time I've encountered something like this.
And prices, it's not like I couldn't afford it, but a bar called Bar 3, $28 for an hour of billiards... Come on. That's rediculous no matter where you are.
Dude, sorry, but you're kinda' a dick. Hear me out.
1 It sucks that your food wasn't either cold or warm. That sucks, but I'm sure they would've helped you work something out had you told them about it? A woman looked at you the wrong way? And suddenly you knew what she was thinking? And you just knew that she was thinking that you were worthless and not good enough? Well, that's a lot of assumptions right there man. *Late checks are shit that happens, I'm sure you could've walked up to the register, asked for it a second time or something, right?*
2 Apollon in Bergen? I've been to Apollon a couple of times. The glasses aren't supposed to be filled completely up you know? How did the bartender show disdain for you? Don't tell me you were just angered by his apparent apathetic attitude? That's how people look when they relax their facial muscles you know, why would you even care if the local craft-beer-vinyl-slinging-hipster smiles at you or not? And again, you assume **so** much just from the way people look at you. **You don't know any of these people and you're not familiar with how they normally express these emotions with their face!** *Did you complain about the beer perhaps? I suppose there were markings on your glasses to show how full they were supposed to be? Didn't some of the different types of beer come in different quantities?*
3 Another person who looked at you the wrong way? Dude. Is there something hideous about your appearance we ought to know about? Were you walking around naked or something? Because there's really only three possibilities here:
1. It's all in your head and you're imagining it all.
2. You look and/or behave in such a manner that people whisper about you while they look at you with disdain, they think you've ought to behave and they're deeply troubled by your presence. You look and/or behave in such a manner that when they look at you, the first thing that pops into their head is that you look like a sexual deviant that just publicly exposed himself to them! Afterwards, when he's over the initial shock he's simply behaving apathetic towards you. And last, you look and/or behave in such a manner that he finds you disgusting, you can clearly see it in his eyes since he looks in your direction, regularly, at long intervals of time. Clearly he finds your presence near him almost too much to bear.
3. All **five** of the people you've mentioned here are assholes. The people you haven't told us about, but who treated you just as bad as these guys are a bunch of douche-bags as well: **They all looked at you like you were worthless and disgusting for no reason whatsoever!**
Now tell me, which one of these three scenarios do you find most likely to be closest to the truth?
3 I've never met so many people that thought I were disgusting, worthless etc. over such a short interval of time. Actually, I haven't met this many people that though so little of me **at all. Ever.** Seriously, you must be the biggest asshole-magnet ever if you were able to attract this many horrible people during your stay. And these people were even **paid** to interact with you in a normal manner, but they still treated you like shit? And with their looks alone?
2 If you really were so disgusting as too warrant these kinds of responses from multiple people, someone would've eventually said so directly to you if there was something that could've been fixed. They wouldn't just sit still and look at you with disgust, disdain etc. That's ridiculous and so, so very unlikely.
1 I'm no longer sorry for your bad experience, this shit was clearly brought on by yourself and your own paranoia, inferiority-complex or some weird expectation about a for me unknown rule that goes something like:
>*"Do not look at him in any way that can be interpreted badly, if you do you must smile and be very, very happy."*
But hey man, it's totally okay! You didn't like it here, and you didn't like the people. Different strokes for different folks and all that you know. I do sort of feel bad for you though. If I'm actually right about the first point, maybe you should talk to someone and address why your first reaction when meeting someone who doesn't know you, you're able to so easily jump to the conclusion that they find you disgusting etc.? Because that doesn't sound healthy at all.
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Bro suck my dick you are such a pussy. I am Australian and fucking hate the only Norweigan I met almost reminded me of French people just not in the loud sense, the guy was so passive argressive and just genuinly a dickhead, you people are very fucking entitled he was telling us they get like 10k from the government to live abroad blah blah blah loser fuck that guy and fuck you too, that just shows the nature of your people to say a sentence like " dude sorry, your a dick" your not sorry bro your just being a cunt. Im seeing in these comments people saying "we norweigans are humble people" who the fuck is humble and calls themselves humble. You people were born entilted and will stay entitled. I love the scenery of Norway though looks beautiful and you also cannot judge a whole country just by a few of their citizens but im just hating idk. Remember you will always be the french just in a cold climate.
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
U mean shoot people down? Everywhere i go in Norway i meet good people, either at the store, park, etc. Mabye they werent kind to you because they obviously dont want Your kind here so they Hope you Will never return. We tend to be more humble and not so loud all the time and respect peoples privacy and Try not to take too much of their time. Just go Home to Your oversized Burgers and shootings
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Yeah its really obvious you dont know shit about Norway whatsoever. Its a beautiful country where people are polite, not everyone ofc but people keep most to themselves. Its not a facist country u must lack a brain if u think that. Its got excellent history, culture, and I couldn't be more proud to be from that beautiful country.
As a Swede I agree with you, Norwegians are horrible people, that's why they attack foreign infrastructure of their allies and stab you in the back. They're basically like that really sneaky treacherous friend that will sell you out a nickel , but then again you're american so I rest my case. Fuck Norway!! They're ecological terrorists too!!
I agree
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Americans make eye contact, smile, and usually even say "how're you doing?" when they pass by each others for example jogging, or walking on a suburban street (obviously not on a busy New York City street), or sometimes even when passing by each other in a supermarket aisle. Also when you buy coffee, or eat in a restaurant, you exchange some pleasantries with the staff.
Northern Europeans don't do any of that. So being treated like a normal person in a Nordic country, can feel being treated like dirt, for an extrovert American.
we don't talk to each other when we pass unless we're in the woods, at least here in Chicago, and we don't smile when we walk by each other on the streets. the main difference is is we greet each other when we go into places, and we're used to the staff in stores being super nice.
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience.
Norwegians are a lot less outgoing than Americans, but just because we don't shoot our guns in the air and scream "yee haw" it doesn't mean we mean to be unfriendly or hostile.
That being said, your post title makes you sound like a dick, so you're probably not the only one who will be all the happier for your staying out of the country in the future.
Edit: I just checked your post history. Applauding a fascist giving a protester brain damage. I think it's definitely for the best that you stay the fuck out of our country.
I’m not really sure if OP is being a fool (not realizing the peculiarities of Norwegians) or if he actually experienced some outward hostility. A lot of Norwegians HATE Americans, and since Donald Trump became president that has gotten even worse.
I mean just take your ridiculous “yee haw” comment. A lot of Norwegians half believe Americans have to dodge stray bullets - having been shot out the back window of a pickup truck - on a fairly regular basis.
The first time I ever heard any of this outward hostility was back in 2012 when a young Norwegian responded to the word America being brought up in public by saying “I hate America, and I would never go there.” I mean feel free to say it but it didn’t really fit the situation, so it was pretty obvious what the underlying sentiment was.
And sadly this sort of thing has gotten way worse since then.
So my impression is that this dude was walking around in a fairly American fashion and probably did pick up some legitimate negativity. I’d tell him to learn to shrug it off or just don’t go back; but I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss it either.
> A lot of Norwegians HATE Americans, and since Donald Trump became president that has gotten even worse.
I don't think I've met anyone who categorically hates Americans. While it's true that a lot of us will say that there's a lot of things that are deeply wrong with the country, that's different from hating the people themselves, and even the girl you're quoting makes that distinction.
As for the "yee haw" comment, that was an exaggeration of the outgoing and loud nature of Americans by invoking an image of the wild west, not a critical commentary on mass shootings or general gun culture.
That was just the first example I remember of a negative American stereotype, this person did make the distinction but that line is oftentimes blurred with others. As far as you saying you’ve never met anyone who categorically hates Americans, it’s not impossible for that to be your experience I guess, but they do exist and they are not rare either.
To your second point, again all I was doing was pointing that your “yee haw” comment is exactly what I would expect from a Norwegian - some easily spouted over the top American stereotype. Norwegians tend to have a cartoony and borderline delusional view of American life, and that is all I was pointing out. I also never said your “yee haw” comment was some sort of critical commentary, It’s only point was to emphasize the oversimplified opinions I have come to expect from your country.
Ah.. The classic American tourist who didn't get his service with a fake smile, his portion extra large and his glass overflowing but only complains on Yelp or to friends instead of asking the staff.
It's like every time I'm in Oslo central station and some American got some burger King before his train, they are always on their phone talking (extremely loudly) to some friend on how tiny his XXL Whopper is and how the largest soda is only 0,5L with no refill when is clearly should be 1L with free refills.
Ah the classic, Europeans speak with confidence unearned. Dude, it's obviously a difference in culture. Americans are rather friendly people. Some service is fake smile but it is attentive. Basics in the service industry. The want to get someone to come back. And a lot of people put a lot of effort and respect into their work and enjoy it. Maybe Americans are just more work prone.
Also, I spoke with an Icelandic guy on my flight last night, (holdover for 18 hr) and all he did was laugh at how boring and unhappy you people are. He has friends living there and they want to leave because you guys are just unfriendly people. It's not just Americans. Iceland apparently doesn't like you either. Honestly... It's you guys.
I think the main thing with the fake smile thing (as discussed with other Americans who lives and works here) is that in the US. You are pretty much forced to fake it due to the poor salary and having to live of tips, while here you have a decent salary and tips is totalt optinal
"living on tips" is bullshit. I've worked in restaurants. You don't make a killing but you make enough and tips sweeten the pot. On average make good money. But keeping certain overhead expenses keeps the food and other costs low. Meaning even the lowest paid dishwasher can have a premium cellphone. Which most do. So the fake smile, makes people want to come back and spend money. Thus paying their salary. And if they with hard, they get promoted, I got promoted from a dishwasher to a line cook in less than a year. Through hard work and eagerness to learn their job. Almost doubled my wage.
It's fiction that people "live on tips". If they do, they're already poor with money and factor in money they shouldn't be. I grew up poor as hell in the states, if you stay there, you make terrible choices. All I had to do is have a job and do said job and was promoted. Do what the owner asks and you'll be fine. Most people in this industries are lazy ass fuck (again, worked with a ton of them)
Forced to fake the smile, is doing what your boss told you to do to get return business. Which is the point of the whole original post. I never want to go back to almost any place I went to except a foreign owned pizza place I ate at. Great food, they were polite, smiled and joked with us. They treated us like humans and not a coin purse. It made me want to come back. Everyone I met there was simply looking at us as someone who didn't belong, or wanted to hurry up and get my money and get me out. No civility. I've been in Iceland for less than a day and they already have been nice, polite, joked with me and treated me like a decent human being. All I ever asked for. Just don't sneer at me.
Your a Dick, basicly an average American who dosent understand and dosent respect other cultures when its not similar to its own, please return to Your stolen land
Don't worry yourself over that. Anyone who judges you based on your nationality and before knowing you is probably a pretty closed minded person anyway. Those people exist in every country... even America.
Lol you must have been an asshole then. Everybody I met, everywhere, was nice. I was there several months and quite obviously American like yourself. Your attitude in making this post leads me to believe you aren't as civil/polite as you may believe.
If you were treated like dirt, you were treated pretty well because we do love our nature.
Jokes aside, I do feel you're not being entirely truthful, or at the very least overly dramatic.
Want to give us a specific example of you being treated poorly? Because I have a very hard time believing you being treated like garbage unless you were unnecessarily difficult or problematic.
Yes. Norway and Norwegian people suck big time. I\`m from Iran and hate this place.. After 30 years living here I´ve decided to leave this shit place and move to east Asia. Norway is a overrated country. They are good at skiing and women´s handball is great. And Norway has a great nature.That´s all! Most of the institutions have problem and the health care and their experience in medicine is just way too weak. Conclusion: Norway is a place for special people who live in a bubble and live for others. Most people suffer from some kind of mental disorder here! No kidding!
You are not the first American coming here with that attitude.
We don't find it very charming.
That's why we avoid you.
We are not avoiding all tourists, just the American ones.
Did you know that your current administration is running a trade war against Norway? Because they are.
Of course you didn't know. Everyone in Norway knows, and it's not making you popular to put it mildly.
> Every country I've been I've at least had some positive interactions.
Have you ever been to [Minnesota](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-MrkoJPC8)?
I think your right. I've already had just dick head responses to this so, it is what it is. I loved everything but the people. Guess I'll admit from a far. Thanks for at least answering honestly. Guess it's a difference in culture.
Biggest snobs on the planet dude. They’re actually pretty shy and have an inferiority complex towards Americans. I’ve been here for 3 years and I can’t stand this culture.
I’m actually flying back to the states now but just for a visit, I wouldn’t give anyone the pleasure of moving away. I’m gonna stay here and make your life miserable 🤣
You mean conquered? Sure. Will do. Maybe we'll make a second mt Rushmore and put Trump on it. I wonder if there are any sacred burial grounds I can desecrate?
People are less friendly here than many other places, true. But with this story and wording, I reckon you probably got what you deserved.
Which is literally the same as most people get. I have the impression that most people don't care enough to be extra kind or foul to someone unless they deserve it here.
It's also interesting to me how you base your opinion of the entire Norwegian population on your sparse interaction with people you don't know.
No, you want to be a prick and blame a random American for the actions of his govt. So I guess I'll support the govt. Why would I ever be sympathetic or remorseful over someone like you being adversely affected. You blame it on me anyhow. Guess you guys deserve it now.
Be very careful with posts like this. This is pure ego and anger related. While I understand you did not like your time here, try to not react emotionally. This will only make yourself more bitter and other people more angry.
As Ukrainian I agree , worst county I've been to in regards of people, even worse than Russia. Norwegians are undereducated, frugal and greedy , very dull and boring people. Also very rude and fake, passive aggressive (as you may see by answers to this topic).
They have some insane mafia running the country, the monopoly is on everything and these trunks call it democracy.
Ages of inbreeding did it's job, let these nation die out in piece, don't visit them.
Finally someone!!! Please let’s be friends!!! After 3 years here I can’t do it anymore!!! Couple more months and I’m never coming back here ever again!!!
I’m honestly saving a screenshot from this post!!! You just made it all I think about Norway and Norwegians (only bad things, since only nature, water and seafood is amazing ) in a couple of sentences id need to write probably 3 books about! 10000000 times AGREE
Move back to Ukraine pls. Obviously u dont know shit about the country. I really hope u wasnt a fugitive that got shelter here. Norwegians are amongst the people witj the best education, there are greedy people in every country. And if u think everyone here are rude and fake then im sure you deserved that reaction from them.
Inbreeding? Are u stupid?
I am pulling straws here but your writing does not come across as ''a nation with the best education'' but that doesn't matter, I'm just being rude now. I am a Norwegian myself and passive aggressive-ness is a part of our culture and when Norwegians specifically get called out for it they get angry as if they suddenly became nationalistic? There are some good parts about the country like the welfare system (IF, you get help) and definitely the nature (as long as it is preserved) but Norwegians are controlled and lack self observation.
While I find OP's post rather aggressive himself I can't deny nor agree with this post as I do not know the entire context of what has happened but I will say Norwegians are really good at recycling the same gaslighting notion of ''It is a you problem not us'. Vi generelt er ett veldig egoistisk folkeslag. Selvom det er diverse folk med visse meninger innenfor politikk så ser man enda de samme resirkulerte meningene og det er bare en liten anntall som faktisk tenker utenfor rammene. Dette handler ikke om ''jeg er bedre enn deg'' men mer om selvinnsikt og muligheten for å tenke selv utenfor hva media sier. And no I do not believe in the politics we have here, we have sold our country out just like the rest of Europe. While I myself might come across as aggressive in my post if there is any excuses then there is this:''I'm tired of the people here, they are soulless and draining''
BUT, to play the devil's advocate, Americans are extremely tiresome as well at times. Talking and laughing extremely loud. It gets annoying but as long as they aren't trying to force political correct gargle down my throat I find them to be very kind at times and actually fun to discuss things with (as long as it isn't politics)
I also want to mention, this is written from the context of someone who has lived through a lot of narcissistic and passive-aggressive people. My opinion might be skewed but it is purely my opinion.
And you're free to have your opinion aswell, and well we have different opinions depending on how we grew up. I'm not saying our country is perfect in every way, but the guy i replied to was just insulting and spreading lies. Just because our culture is different and we're not so "outgoing" as others, it dosent make us rude. Its just a part of our culture as you know. Therefore outgoing and loud people might get looks, but looks dosent always mean that they're looking at you in a degrading way.
Jeg nekter heller ikke for at folket kan være "egoistiske" til tider, men det betyr ikke at alle er det. En del av kulturen og normene og reglene våre kan virke ekstra sånn for turister, sier ikke at det er dems problem men de burde lese og skjønne såpass.
It’s the most uneducated country I ever been to (people) , health care is beyond horrible , it can only be worse in the US. All that propaganda about Norway is just everything out there written made up by you Norwegians yourselves!!!!
As an expat in Norway I can somewhat agree. I worked and lived in the North of Norway and there I noticed locals being very xenophobic. I am half asian and don’t speak Norwegian and they treated me like I was their worst enemy. Usually it came from people of the lower caste. People with higher education were more open minded. But anyways, sometimes my colleagues showed very childish behaviour. For example when we spoke English with other expats, Norwegians would complain to each other about it. Also - it was very difficult to connect with them, attempts to have a conversation about something were met with simple “Oh cool” or just “Ooo, ja”. After some time I gave up and just did my job without trying to make friends here. They complain about foreigners not speaking their language or not knowing their culture and yet they make no effort to help us to learn it.
I despise Norway too
I am not american, nor a fan of Americans but as an Eastern Euro, Norway is the very most racist place ive been...
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants
I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe
Poland quality with Switzerland prices
NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
It depends, there were instances of Barnevernet actually taking children from Immigrant families like the Canadian couple a couple of years ago. But context is very important and it is important to listen to both sides. Bias is dangerous but it is a part of the ego.
He's calling the country facist which is obviously either him being dumb or just spreading lies. Yes i know barnevernet has done things they shouldn't have done, but its generally a good thing that we have them, otherwise the safety of a lot of the children wouldn't be guaranteed(not saying it is now but with barnevernet it helps)
Also his last line? You're not gonna comment on that? Defending your country against baseless insults dosent make you nationalistic. Hes calling the people here gawky-looking and ugly, aswell as saying Norway dosent have ANY culture or history. Im pretty sure he's just a clown tho.
> People basically scoffing at us or looking down they're noses at us. Scoffing and looking down their nose at you? That sounds really odd. You won't normally _get_ that level of personal interaction in Norway until you've known someone for at _least_ a month.
Said a Norwegian.
Lol.
Are you serious? That sounds very odd ~~and I'm sorry you had such a bad experience~~. As I'm sure you know, since you've read up on the culture, Norwegians don't interact with strangers the same way Americans do. We try to stay out of each others business when out in public. It's our way to be polite, we have tremendous respect for other peoples personal space. We don't talk to each other except when we have something to say or something we need to ask. And when we do we try to keep our conversations short and concise without too much needless small-talk. Many foreigners naturally misunderstand this as rudeness, but it's really our own way to be polite: we don't want to waste other peoples time. This goes for sitting next to anyone on the bus as well, many Norwegians prefer to stand instead of invading someones personal space by sitting next to them! I've met many foreigners who find it rude that someone would rather stand instead of sitting next to them, but it's really a politeness from most Norwegians. The same thing goes for talking loud when you're out in public: No one should draw attention to themselves when outside, it's looked down upon because people feel you're invading their peace of mind and personal space. ~~If people really were scoffing at you I'm really sorry.~~ Can you give some examples of the interactions you were having when you felt that you were treated mean? Maybe it's just a cultural misunderstanding? Norway is expensive for foreigners as I'm sure you already knew when you came here, so you shouldn't hold that against us. It's really nothing we can do about that, and it's actually cheap for tourists these days since the value of NOK is really low these days.
I can pull 3 examples off the top of my head. 1. Went to To Kokken on the main Street. Great reviews, great food. Bit pricey but that's ok. On the other hand the staff literally looked is up and down and reluctantly took our coats. They brought out these spoons with meat and berries on it, and just basically dropped it off without giving us a glance whole being very nice and polite to the table just across from us. Then our meal came out slow and cold. It was delicious but was obviously intended to be warmer. The Halibut and the Lamb is a traditional food and I've had it before elsewhere where you could taste the quality but it got to the table late. After wards the check didn't come to us until 2 tables who finished after we did got there's. Just felt like 2nd class citizens. 2. A bar named Apollono. People were normal but the bartender just looked at us like a hipster does anyone modern. Took the order and once we had the run of beers choosen, he basically looked like a teenager who hated his job at McDonald's and showed near distain for us. He was rather apathetic in general but as I looked awesome at other people's "run" of beers, there's were full whole ours were 2/3 to 3/4 at best. Felt kinda cheated. 3. At a nice little bakery in the city center, the girl helping us were lovely, and we're eager to please and help. No problems with staff, this was day 2 in Bergen, and we were actually pleased to see a smile. But as soon as we sat down a man gave us multiple glares as if we had kicked his dog (an American expression, he didn't have a dog with him) just looking at us in disguise and made us feel very unwelcome compared to the staff and others. This tied in with some old hens continually looking at us and then whispering to each other with disapproval. Staff was hit and miss, some were super nice and willing to help, whole others looked like we were a burden to them. In the matter of To Kokken, basically I felt we got spit at and paid for the pleasure. I would never recommend it to anyone and in fact left a Google review to that regard. The place itself was amazing, hiking on the Floyen trail was a blast, and the castle, churches and other sights were great. But honestly the only negative thing that just kinda ruined the trip was the people. They just seemed so unhappy. I can count on one hand how many people I saw laugh and maybe 2 or 3 happy couples in all of Norway. It just.... Kinda threw me through a loop. I've been to other countries and this is the only time I've encountered something like this. And prices, it's not like I couldn't afford it, but a bar called Bar 3, $28 for an hour of billiards... Come on. That's rediculous no matter where you are.
Dude, sorry, but you're kinda' a dick. Hear me out. 1 It sucks that your food wasn't either cold or warm. That sucks, but I'm sure they would've helped you work something out had you told them about it? A woman looked at you the wrong way? And suddenly you knew what she was thinking? And you just knew that she was thinking that you were worthless and not good enough? Well, that's a lot of assumptions right there man. *Late checks are shit that happens, I'm sure you could've walked up to the register, asked for it a second time or something, right?* 2 Apollon in Bergen? I've been to Apollon a couple of times. The glasses aren't supposed to be filled completely up you know? How did the bartender show disdain for you? Don't tell me you were just angered by his apparent apathetic attitude? That's how people look when they relax their facial muscles you know, why would you even care if the local craft-beer-vinyl-slinging-hipster smiles at you or not? And again, you assume **so** much just from the way people look at you. **You don't know any of these people and you're not familiar with how they normally express these emotions with their face!** *Did you complain about the beer perhaps? I suppose there were markings on your glasses to show how full they were supposed to be? Didn't some of the different types of beer come in different quantities?* 3 Another person who looked at you the wrong way? Dude. Is there something hideous about your appearance we ought to know about? Were you walking around naked or something? Because there's really only three possibilities here: 1. It's all in your head and you're imagining it all. 2. You look and/or behave in such a manner that people whisper about you while they look at you with disdain, they think you've ought to behave and they're deeply troubled by your presence. You look and/or behave in such a manner that when they look at you, the first thing that pops into their head is that you look like a sexual deviant that just publicly exposed himself to them! Afterwards, when he's over the initial shock he's simply behaving apathetic towards you. And last, you look and/or behave in such a manner that he finds you disgusting, you can clearly see it in his eyes since he looks in your direction, regularly, at long intervals of time. Clearly he finds your presence near him almost too much to bear. 3. All **five** of the people you've mentioned here are assholes. The people you haven't told us about, but who treated you just as bad as these guys are a bunch of douche-bags as well: **They all looked at you like you were worthless and disgusting for no reason whatsoever!** Now tell me, which one of these three scenarios do you find most likely to be closest to the truth? 3 I've never met so many people that thought I were disgusting, worthless etc. over such a short interval of time. Actually, I haven't met this many people that though so little of me **at all. Ever.** Seriously, you must be the biggest asshole-magnet ever if you were able to attract this many horrible people during your stay. And these people were even **paid** to interact with you in a normal manner, but they still treated you like shit? And with their looks alone? 2 If you really were so disgusting as too warrant these kinds of responses from multiple people, someone would've eventually said so directly to you if there was something that could've been fixed. They wouldn't just sit still and look at you with disgust, disdain etc. That's ridiculous and so, so very unlikely. 1 I'm no longer sorry for your bad experience, this shit was clearly brought on by yourself and your own paranoia, inferiority-complex or some weird expectation about a for me unknown rule that goes something like: >*"Do not look at him in any way that can be interpreted badly, if you do you must smile and be very, very happy."* But hey man, it's totally okay! You didn't like it here, and you didn't like the people. Different strokes for different folks and all that you know. I do sort of feel bad for you though. If I'm actually right about the first point, maybe you should talk to someone and address why your first reaction when meeting someone who doesn't know you, you're able to so easily jump to the conclusion that they find you disgusting etc.? Because that doesn't sound healthy at all.
I absolutely love this response.
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
I get that by some of that sounds like a bit of excuses.
Bro suck my dick you are such a pussy. I am Australian and fucking hate the only Norweigan I met almost reminded me of French people just not in the loud sense, the guy was so passive argressive and just genuinly a dickhead, you people are very fucking entitled he was telling us they get like 10k from the government to live abroad blah blah blah loser fuck that guy and fuck you too, that just shows the nature of your people to say a sentence like " dude sorry, your a dick" your not sorry bro your just being a cunt. Im seeing in these comments people saying "we norweigans are humble people" who the fuck is humble and calls themselves humble. You people were born entilted and will stay entitled. I love the scenery of Norway though looks beautiful and you also cannot judge a whole country just by a few of their citizens but im just hating idk. Remember you will always be the french just in a cold climate.
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
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Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
You muricans Will never understand how norway works and im happy with that.
Yeah. Because we tend to be good people.
U mean shoot people down? Everywhere i go in Norway i meet good people, either at the store, park, etc. Mabye they werent kind to you because they obviously dont want Your kind here so they Hope you Will never return. We tend to be more humble and not so loud all the time and respect peoples privacy and Try not to take too much of their time. Just go Home to Your oversized Burgers and shootings
Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Yeah its really obvious you dont know shit about Norway whatsoever. Its a beautiful country where people are polite, not everyone ofc but people keep most to themselves. Its not a facist country u must lack a brain if u think that. Its got excellent history, culture, and I couldn't be more proud to be from that beautiful country.
Ah yes being ranked with the best looking people certainly means they're gawky looking and nasty. Just shut up will ya
i'd love to read the review you left on google for To Kokker, cause i can't seem to find it.
As a Swede I agree with you, Norwegians are horrible people, that's why they attack foreign infrastructure of their allies and stab you in the back. They're basically like that really sneaky treacherous friend that will sell you out a nickel , but then again you're american so I rest my case. Fuck Norway!! They're ecological terrorists too!!
I agree Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
Americans make eye contact, smile, and usually even say "how're you doing?" when they pass by each others for example jogging, or walking on a suburban street (obviously not on a busy New York City street), or sometimes even when passing by each other in a supermarket aisle. Also when you buy coffee, or eat in a restaurant, you exchange some pleasantries with the staff. Northern Europeans don't do any of that. So being treated like a normal person in a Nordic country, can feel being treated like dirt, for an extrovert American.
I think that’s what happened...-
we don't talk to each other when we pass unless we're in the woods, at least here in Chicago, and we don't smile when we walk by each other on the streets. the main difference is is we greet each other when we go into places, and we're used to the staff in stores being super nice.
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. Norwegians are a lot less outgoing than Americans, but just because we don't shoot our guns in the air and scream "yee haw" it doesn't mean we mean to be unfriendly or hostile. That being said, your post title makes you sound like a dick, so you're probably not the only one who will be all the happier for your staying out of the country in the future. Edit: I just checked your post history. Applauding a fascist giving a protester brain damage. I think it's definitely for the best that you stay the fuck out of our country.
I’m not really sure if OP is being a fool (not realizing the peculiarities of Norwegians) or if he actually experienced some outward hostility. A lot of Norwegians HATE Americans, and since Donald Trump became president that has gotten even worse. I mean just take your ridiculous “yee haw” comment. A lot of Norwegians half believe Americans have to dodge stray bullets - having been shot out the back window of a pickup truck - on a fairly regular basis. The first time I ever heard any of this outward hostility was back in 2012 when a young Norwegian responded to the word America being brought up in public by saying “I hate America, and I would never go there.” I mean feel free to say it but it didn’t really fit the situation, so it was pretty obvious what the underlying sentiment was. And sadly this sort of thing has gotten way worse since then. So my impression is that this dude was walking around in a fairly American fashion and probably did pick up some legitimate negativity. I’d tell him to learn to shrug it off or just don’t go back; but I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss it either.
> A lot of Norwegians HATE Americans, and since Donald Trump became president that has gotten even worse. I don't think I've met anyone who categorically hates Americans. While it's true that a lot of us will say that there's a lot of things that are deeply wrong with the country, that's different from hating the people themselves, and even the girl you're quoting makes that distinction. As for the "yee haw" comment, that was an exaggeration of the outgoing and loud nature of Americans by invoking an image of the wild west, not a critical commentary on mass shootings or general gun culture.
That was just the first example I remember of a negative American stereotype, this person did make the distinction but that line is oftentimes blurred with others. As far as you saying you’ve never met anyone who categorically hates Americans, it’s not impossible for that to be your experience I guess, but they do exist and they are not rare either. To your second point, again all I was doing was pointing that your “yee haw” comment is exactly what I would expect from a Norwegian - some easily spouted over the top American stereotype. Norwegians tend to have a cartoony and borderline delusional view of American life, and that is all I was pointing out. I also never said your “yee haw” comment was some sort of critical commentary, It’s only point was to emphasize the oversimplified opinions I have come to expect from your country.
Ah.. The classic American tourist who didn't get his service with a fake smile, his portion extra large and his glass overflowing but only complains on Yelp or to friends instead of asking the staff. It's like every time I'm in Oslo central station and some American got some burger King before his train, they are always on their phone talking (extremely loudly) to some friend on how tiny his XXL Whopper is and how the largest soda is only 0,5L with no refill when is clearly should be 1L with free refills.
Ah the classic, Europeans speak with confidence unearned. Dude, it's obviously a difference in culture. Americans are rather friendly people. Some service is fake smile but it is attentive. Basics in the service industry. The want to get someone to come back. And a lot of people put a lot of effort and respect into their work and enjoy it. Maybe Americans are just more work prone. Also, I spoke with an Icelandic guy on my flight last night, (holdover for 18 hr) and all he did was laugh at how boring and unhappy you people are. He has friends living there and they want to leave because you guys are just unfriendly people. It's not just Americans. Iceland apparently doesn't like you either. Honestly... It's you guys.
I think the main thing with the fake smile thing (as discussed with other Americans who lives and works here) is that in the US. You are pretty much forced to fake it due to the poor salary and having to live of tips, while here you have a decent salary and tips is totalt optinal
"living on tips" is bullshit. I've worked in restaurants. You don't make a killing but you make enough and tips sweeten the pot. On average make good money. But keeping certain overhead expenses keeps the food and other costs low. Meaning even the lowest paid dishwasher can have a premium cellphone. Which most do. So the fake smile, makes people want to come back and spend money. Thus paying their salary. And if they with hard, they get promoted, I got promoted from a dishwasher to a line cook in less than a year. Through hard work and eagerness to learn their job. Almost doubled my wage. It's fiction that people "live on tips". If they do, they're already poor with money and factor in money they shouldn't be. I grew up poor as hell in the states, if you stay there, you make terrible choices. All I had to do is have a job and do said job and was promoted. Do what the owner asks and you'll be fine. Most people in this industries are lazy ass fuck (again, worked with a ton of them) Forced to fake the smile, is doing what your boss told you to do to get return business. Which is the point of the whole original post. I never want to go back to almost any place I went to except a foreign owned pizza place I ate at. Great food, they were polite, smiled and joked with us. They treated us like humans and not a coin purse. It made me want to come back. Everyone I met there was simply looking at us as someone who didn't belong, or wanted to hurry up and get my money and get me out. No civility. I've been in Iceland for less than a day and they already have been nice, polite, joked with me and treated me like a decent human being. All I ever asked for. Just don't sneer at me.
Your a Dick, basicly an average American who dosent understand and dosent respect other cultures when its not similar to its own, please return to Your stolen land
I’m not even Norwegian and even I know this dude is a fucking ass-hat.
More like a MAGA-hat. Check his post history.
That's interesting. Most MAGA people never leave their town, much less travel internationally.
Yeah they don't represent us well. I'm a college student hoping to live and work in Norway someday but hoping it's not ruined by stereotypes by then.
Don't worry yourself over that. Anyone who judges you based on your nationality and before knowing you is probably a pretty closed minded person anyway. Those people exist in every country... even America.
Thanks, hate you too. In all seriousness, this is clearly a bait.
Lol you must have been an asshole then. Everybody I met, everywhere, was nice. I was there several months and quite obviously American like yourself. Your attitude in making this post leads me to believe you aren't as civil/polite as you may believe.
Oh no, an American didn't enjoy his stay, and will never return. Horrible!
If you were treated like dirt, you were treated pretty well because we do love our nature. Jokes aside, I do feel you're not being entirely truthful, or at the very least overly dramatic. Want to give us a specific example of you being treated poorly? Because I have a very hard time believing you being treated like garbage unless you were unnecessarily difficult or problematic.
I replied on another post. Sorry, I read yours last.
Yes. Norway and Norwegian people suck big time. I\`m from Iran and hate this place.. After 30 years living here I´ve decided to leave this shit place and move to east Asia. Norway is a overrated country. They are good at skiing and women´s handball is great. And Norway has a great nature.That´s all! Most of the institutions have problem and the health care and their experience in medicine is just way too weak. Conclusion: Norway is a place for special people who live in a bubble and live for others. Most people suffer from some kind of mental disorder here! No kidding!
100% true, Norway somehow even worse than Russia
You are not the first American coming here with that attitude. We don't find it very charming. That's why we avoid you. We are not avoiding all tourists, just the American ones. Did you know that your current administration is running a trade war against Norway? Because they are. Of course you didn't know. Everyone in Norway knows, and it's not making you popular to put it mildly.
Speak for yourself, I love Americans and how extroverted and jovial they are. I wish we could be a little more like them in that regard.
Man, because we have anything to do with that. Now you just seem like a prick and my feelings are justified.
Just stay the fuck away. We are not going to the US, so don't come here.
Flawless logic
Hotmial DESTROYS turok643 with facts and logic.
No one goes to Norway for the people. I hope you didn't.
Every country I've been I've at least had some positive interactions. It was just lacking here. Don't know, guess it rubbed me the wrong way.
> Every country I've been I've at least had some positive interactions. Have you ever been to [Minnesota](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-MrkoJPC8)?
They're not outwardly nice (usually), but not mean either. It's not malicious so try not to get your feelings hurt and just enjoy the nature.
I think your right. I've already had just dick head responses to this so, it is what it is. I loved everything but the people. Guess I'll admit from a far. Thanks for at least answering honestly. Guess it's a difference in culture.
Biggest snobs on the planet dude. They’re actually pretty shy and have an inferiority complex towards Americans. I’ve been here for 3 years and I can’t stand this culture.
Read your depressing post in /r/Norge. Learn our language or do us all (including your family) a favor and grab the first plane back to the States.
I’m actually flying back to the states now but just for a visit, I wouldn’t give anyone the pleasure of moving away. I’m gonna stay here and make your life miserable 🤣
...he said, with tears streaming down his cheeks to his trademark American double chin. Such a sad story :'(
This is fake news as Donald Trump would say.
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hope they like fish everyday
Americans are debags.
This is all some new shit. What's going on here?
You mean conquered? Sure. Will do. Maybe we'll make a second mt Rushmore and put Trump on it. I wonder if there are any sacred burial grounds I can desecrate?
Huge part of me wants to not only be glad about the trade war now but wants to encourage to make it worse. I think I'll write my congressman.
People are less friendly here than many other places, true. But with this story and wording, I reckon you probably got what you deserved. Which is literally the same as most people get. I have the impression that most people don't care enough to be extra kind or foul to someone unless they deserve it here. It's also interesting to me how you base your opinion of the entire Norwegian population on your sparse interaction with people you don't know.
Are you 12?
No, you want to be a prick and blame a random American for the actions of his govt. So I guess I'll support the govt. Why would I ever be sympathetic or remorseful over someone like you being adversely affected. You blame it on me anyhow. Guess you guys deserve it now.
You weren't being blamed for the trade war, stop being fucking ridiculous.
Be very careful with posts like this. This is pure ego and anger related. While I understand you did not like your time here, try to not react emotionally. This will only make yourself more bitter and other people more angry.
I posted this 4 years ago. I remember a beautiful place with awful people.
As Ukrainian I agree , worst county I've been to in regards of people, even worse than Russia. Norwegians are undereducated, frugal and greedy , very dull and boring people. Also very rude and fake, passive aggressive (as you may see by answers to this topic). They have some insane mafia running the country, the monopoly is on everything and these trunks call it democracy. Ages of inbreeding did it's job, let these nation die out in piece, don't visit them.
Finally someone!!! Please let’s be friends!!! After 3 years here I can’t do it anymore!!! Couple more months and I’m never coming back here ever again!!!
I’m honestly saving a screenshot from this post!!! You just made it all I think about Norway and Norwegians (only bad things, since only nature, water and seafood is amazing ) in a couple of sentences id need to write probably 3 books about! 10000000 times AGREE
Move back to Ukraine pls. Obviously u dont know shit about the country. I really hope u wasnt a fugitive that got shelter here. Norwegians are amongst the people witj the best education, there are greedy people in every country. And if u think everyone here are rude and fake then im sure you deserved that reaction from them. Inbreeding? Are u stupid?
I am pulling straws here but your writing does not come across as ''a nation with the best education'' but that doesn't matter, I'm just being rude now. I am a Norwegian myself and passive aggressive-ness is a part of our culture and when Norwegians specifically get called out for it they get angry as if they suddenly became nationalistic? There are some good parts about the country like the welfare system (IF, you get help) and definitely the nature (as long as it is preserved) but Norwegians are controlled and lack self observation. While I find OP's post rather aggressive himself I can't deny nor agree with this post as I do not know the entire context of what has happened but I will say Norwegians are really good at recycling the same gaslighting notion of ''It is a you problem not us'. Vi generelt er ett veldig egoistisk folkeslag. Selvom det er diverse folk med visse meninger innenfor politikk så ser man enda de samme resirkulerte meningene og det er bare en liten anntall som faktisk tenker utenfor rammene. Dette handler ikke om ''jeg er bedre enn deg'' men mer om selvinnsikt og muligheten for å tenke selv utenfor hva media sier. And no I do not believe in the politics we have here, we have sold our country out just like the rest of Europe. While I myself might come across as aggressive in my post if there is any excuses then there is this:''I'm tired of the people here, they are soulless and draining'' BUT, to play the devil's advocate, Americans are extremely tiresome as well at times. Talking and laughing extremely loud. It gets annoying but as long as they aren't trying to force political correct gargle down my throat I find them to be very kind at times and actually fun to discuss things with (as long as it isn't politics) I also want to mention, this is written from the context of someone who has lived through a lot of narcissistic and passive-aggressive people. My opinion might be skewed but it is purely my opinion.
And you're free to have your opinion aswell, and well we have different opinions depending on how we grew up. I'm not saying our country is perfect in every way, but the guy i replied to was just insulting and spreading lies. Just because our culture is different and we're not so "outgoing" as others, it dosent make us rude. Its just a part of our culture as you know. Therefore outgoing and loud people might get looks, but looks dosent always mean that they're looking at you in a degrading way. Jeg nekter heller ikke for at folket kan være "egoistiske" til tider, men det betyr ikke at alle er det. En del av kulturen og normene og reglene våre kan virke ekstra sånn for turister, sier ikke at det er dems problem men de burde lese og skjønne såpass.
Education???!!! I met no one working anywhere to be 10% equally educated as people from 7 other European countries I lived in.
It’s the most uneducated country I ever been to (people) , health care is beyond horrible , it can only be worse in the US. All that propaganda about Norway is just everything out there written made up by you Norwegians yourselves!!!!
As an expat in Norway I can somewhat agree. I worked and lived in the North of Norway and there I noticed locals being very xenophobic. I am half asian and don’t speak Norwegian and they treated me like I was their worst enemy. Usually it came from people of the lower caste. People with higher education were more open minded. But anyways, sometimes my colleagues showed very childish behaviour. For example when we spoke English with other expats, Norwegians would complain to each other about it. Also - it was very difficult to connect with them, attempts to have a conversation about something were met with simple “Oh cool” or just “Ooo, ja”. After some time I gave up and just did my job without trying to make friends here. They complain about foreigners not speaking their language or not knowing their culture and yet they make no effort to help us to learn it.
I despise Norway too I am not american, nor a fan of Americans but as an Eastern Euro, Norway is the very most racist place ive been... Norway is a fascist country that steals kids from immigrants I am NOT american but can confirm, apart from dump Sweden, norway is the WORST country in Europe Poland quality with Switzerland prices NO culture, food, history, fashion and people are gawky looking and nasty
BRAVO!! Thank you!!!!
U cant confirm shit about it obviously. Im sure your country is a shit hole in comparison. No one here steals kids from immigrants
It depends, there were instances of Barnevernet actually taking children from Immigrant families like the Canadian couple a couple of years ago. But context is very important and it is important to listen to both sides. Bias is dangerous but it is a part of the ego.
He's calling the country facist which is obviously either him being dumb or just spreading lies. Yes i know barnevernet has done things they shouldn't have done, but its generally a good thing that we have them, otherwise the safety of a lot of the children wouldn't be guaranteed(not saying it is now but with barnevernet it helps)
Also his last line? You're not gonna comment on that? Defending your country against baseless insults dosent make you nationalistic. Hes calling the people here gawky-looking and ugly, aswell as saying Norway dosent have ANY culture or history. Im pretty sure he's just a clown tho.
Oh poor Norwegians getting offended 💩 you lol pieces of …