The Northern Project

The Northern
Project
BEST Office - LBG Trondheim
Snail Mail address:
BEST Trondheim
c/o Internajsonal Seksjon
O.S. Bragstads plass 3
7491 Trondheim
Norway
The board:
[email protected]
CORE TEAM :
Jens Danbolt
[email protected]
+47 99377161
Sarah Mari Sande
[email protected]
+47 48072260
Erlend Munkerud
(more info)
[email protected]
+47 97538079
Kule Yosia
[email protected]
+47 46397910
WELCOME
Welcome to Norway!
On behalf of BEST Trondheim we welcome you to the land of
snow, trolls, northern lights, fjords and mountains!
Hopefully Norway will live up to your expectations. With polar
bears and penguins walking around the streets, vikings
drinking and singing until the early mornings and of course
beautiful blond girls with blue eyes, we will guaranty you
an awesome time!
So get ready for the time of your life in the BEST country of the
Nordic kingdom!
Hugs,
BEST Trondheim
Norway is famous for its fjords, two of which, the Geirangerfjord and the Nærøyfjord, feature on
the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Sognefjord, the longest of them all, and the Hardangerfjord, famed for its cherry and apple trees, are among the most visited.
Northern lights
The Northern lights are a common natural phenomenon in Northern Norway, and are most
commonly observed above the Arctic Circle between late autumn and early spring.
Weather
The weather in Norway is much milder than one would expect. Because of the Gulf Stream and
warm air currents caused by the coriolis effect, temperatures along the coast of Norway are
5-8°C higher than at comparable latitudes elsewhere.
Vikings
The Vikings have a bad reputation as raiders, but they were also traders, explorers and settlers,
and the legacy from the Viking Age (AD 800-1050) lives on. Read more about the Vikings.
Winter sports
Norway’s success in the Winter Olympics is unrivalled, and the country has a total of 329 medals (118 gold, 111 silver and 100 bronze) to its tally. The best ever games for Norway were the
Lillehammer winter games in 1994, when Norway, which was competing on home turf, topped
the medal table, having won 26 medals, of which 10 gold.
Trolls
Trolls are an important part of Norwegian folklore. They vary in size and appearance, but are
invariably ugly and messy creatures, and always mischievous (if not downright nasty). They
usually live in caves or deep in the forest, and only emerge from their hiding places after sunset
- legend has it that they turn to stone upon contact with the sun. Several places in Western and
Northern Norway have been named after them, such as Trollheimen, Trollstigen, Trollhatten
and Trollveggen.
From: www.visitnorway.com
N O R WAY
Fjords
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Good to know:
BUYING ALCOHOL IN NORWAY
Wine, spirits and strong beer are only sold at Vinmonopolet - special shops that are wholly owned by
the state. Such shops are found in the larger cities and towns.
Beer can be bought at supermarkets, but only before certain times of day. This can vary from place
to place but is by law no later than 8 pm on a weekday and 6 pm on Saturdays and other days immediately preceeding public holidays. The exception is the day before Ascension day, which counts as a
weekday.
WHAT CLOTHES SHOULD I PACK?
Your luggage should include some light clothes, items you can layer (that way you can add or remove
layers depending on temperature), at least one warm jumper, waterproof coat and/or umbrella and
comfortable walking shoes/boots/trainers.
In autumn and spring, you may want to bring waterproof trousers and boots.
PAYING FOR GOODS AND SERVICES
Cash
It is always a good idea to have a bit of cash on you, and you need Norwegian currency to get by. You
will find ATMs everywhere in towns and cities, and in most rural areas there will at least be one place
where you can withdraw money, such as a kiosk or a petrol station.
Credit cards
The use of credits cards is widespread in Norway, and they are accepted almost everywhere, even for
small amounts such as for parking and toll fees. Eurocard, MasterCard, VISA, American Express and
Diners Club are the most common.
Please note that some grocery shops or supermarkets do not allow foreign credit cards, although they
happily take debit cards. If in doubt ask before shopping.
Shops
Shops are normally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In the cities many shops close later (at 8:00 p.m.).
Grocery stores are open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Norway’s standard of living is high and so are the
prices.
National costume of Norway on
our national day, 17th of May
How to get to Trondheim?
PLANE
You can book cheap tickets at www.norwegian.no and www.sas.no. Be sure to
check the ‘Youth tickets’!! NB! When you book your tickets, be careful of what airport the plane arrives at. Oslo has three airports – Torp (Sandefjord), Rygge and
Gardermoen (the main airport). The cheapest way of going to Trondheim is usually
to take the plane to Oslo and then take the train from Oslo Airport (Gardermoen)
to Trondheim.
You can also travel cheap with Ryanair or WizzAir to Torp (Sandefjord) and then
take the train or the airportbus to Oslo, and then train or bus to Trondheim.
If you take the plane directly to Trondheim take the Airport bus to the city and
get off at “Trondheim Studentersamfund” (Trondheim Student Society) - a big red
building. You can just ask the bus driver to let you know where it is. The building
is just across a bridge after going around through the centre of Trondheim and it’s
easy to locate. The trip to Trondheim from Værnes (Trondheim Airport) takes about
50 minutes if you take Flybussen, the price is 90 NOK one way if you bring your
student ID, or 150 NOK if you want to by a two way ticket.
TRAIN
There are four daily direct trains between Oslo and Trondheim (two on Saturdays).
The trip takes from 6,5 to 7 hours, and if you order your tickets early you can get
some really cheap ones – Miniprice, where prices start at 249 NOK. If you order
regular tickets they can be quite expensive (adult 889NOK, student 638 NOK), so
be sure to make your order in good time before your departure, because the miniprice tickets are limited.
NB! You cannot change the miniprice tickets, so make sure you got the right dates
and time. The Miniprice tickets have to be ordered in the internet in advance:
www.nsb.no. You can also see the timetables here. Regular tickets can be bought
at the train station.
BUS
The cheapest bus from Oslo to Trondheim is Lavprisekspressen (low price express),
and it is the most populare among students. This bus goes through Gudbrandsdalen (The valley of Gudbrand) and this valley is really beautiful, so if you get some
cheap tickets, this is the bus you should take!
A C C O M O M O D AT I O N & W E AT H E R
We will be staying in the city centre of Trondheim most of the
time during the course. Part of the course will be held in a cabin
right outside of Trondheim. There, we’ll be enyoing the nature
to its maximum and relax.We are not planning on having
activities in the city centre during that time.
October is normally quite inpredictable in Trondheim, but rain
and cold mornings can be expected. The temperature can
easily get below 10 °C.
Before you go check out the weather at www.yr.no/eng
Important: All drinks with alcohol content
above 60 % are considered as narcotics and
are therefore forbidden by law in Norway!
There are three alternatives for the alcohol you can bring to Norway:
CUSTOMS
In Norway you have to be above 18 year old
for buying and drinking beer and low percent alcohol (up to 22 %). If you are over 20
you are allowed to drink whatever you want.
What to bring?
VERY IMPORTANT
• Passport
• Visa (if you need one)
• Travel insurance
• Money and Credit Card – NOK (Norway is expensive!)
• Sleeping bag
• Your tickets
• A warm jacket, water proof shoes, rain coat and good walking shoes!!
• Food, drinks, flags and clothes related to your country for
international evening
OTHER
• International Student Identity Card (ISIC)
• Medicine (if needed)
• Swimming clothes
• Towel, toothbrush, shampoo (regular stuff )
• Socks and warm underwear
• Camera
• Phone + charger
• Calculator
• GOOD MOOD AND BEST SPIRIT
I M P O R TA N T W O R D S
Beer – Øl
Can I get a beer? – Kan jeg få en øl?
Cheers – Skål
Money – Penger
Party – Fest
Mountain – Fjell
How much is it? – Hvor mye koster den?
Yes - Ja
No – Nei
I am a strawberry, eat me! - Jeg er et jordbær, spis meg!
You have beautiful eyes – Du har vakre øyne
I like your ass – Jeg liker rompen din (rawr)
The organizers are awesome! – Arrangørene er kjempebra!
Hi baby! You look pretty tonight ;) - Halla snuppa! har du truse på! ;)
The Norwegian alphabet has three extra letters, making a total of 29. The letters are:
Æ – Pronounced like the start of asshole.
Ø – Pronounced like the middle of girl
Å– Pronounced like the start of always.
Useful links:
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU in Trondheim):
http://www.ntnu.no/
Trondheim Studentersamfund (Trondheim Student Society):
http://www.samfundet.no/
More about Trondheim city:
http://www.trondheim.com/engelsk/
Sightseeing in Norway:
http://www.visitnorway.com
LBG Trondheim:
www.besttrondheim.no