Let’s talk about Norwegians and their relationship with the bordering country of Sweden!
Most of my experience with Sweden has been positive, granted 90% of the time I have been in Sweden it is to shop. In essence Sweden is Norway’s Costco, there is even a name for the shopping done there, “harry handel” or “harry shopping”. You may be wondering, “Why are you going to another country to shop??”, logical question and one I used to want to ask whenever I heard of my friends just casually going to Sweden. Norway is not in the EU, but Sweden is, as a result Sweden has lower taxes and prices on goods. Especially liquor! (in an unrelated note there was recently an incident where a German tourist caravan was pulled over for being too full of beer/liquor as the tourists intended to sell the goods while they vacationed around Norway.)
Due to the lower prices it is worth the drive over the border to shop, and usually you come back with a car full of goods like this one:
In all seriousness this is nothing compared to some of the cars I have seen, some are full to the point that the back end of the car is lower!
I have crossed the border to Sweden multiple times and have not had to go through customs, or show my passport! If anything I would describe the border of Norway/Sweden to be like the border between the US and Canada! Relaxed and totally natural to cross over! Security has gotten a bit tighter in recent months but it is no where near the way the Mexico-US border is, so to me it is a very laid back area.
Historically Norway and Sweden have been intertwined as Norway was passed between Denmark and Sweden for most of recent history. Norway is relatively young in comparison to the US. While the states were ridding themselves of the monarchy Norway was busy being shuffled between Denmark and Sweden, in utter peace. Though there had been tension the way things were handled were nothing compared to the volatile colonies of England. But maybe an ocean between the HQ and the branches makes for some rebellion? Could it be that the closeness of Sweden/Denmark made rebellion too costly? Who knows! (I sure don’t) There was once a show of “force” in a place called Fredrikstad, but I am planning a trip there and will go into detail on this when that time comes. Denmark-Norway was the longest standing, which could explain the language. Sweden-Norway started in 1814, the same year Norway made their constitution. Sweden-Norway was dissolved in 1905, another peaceful end to a union. Norway has their Constitution Day on the 17th of May, which is a post to look forward to!
That is the history of Norway-Sweden, greatly condensed and summarized. In future posts I’ll be getting into more depth on the relationships between Sweden-Norway-Denmark as their histories are so intertwined it is hard to mention one without the other.
For the most part you will hear Norwegians mention Swedes in jokes, usually as the butt end of the jokes. For example:
A Norwegian a Swede and a Dane are standing on the side of the road. The Norwegian says, “Let’s have a peeing contest!” The others agree. And then the Norwegian says, “Whoever pees the longest wins, I’ll go first.”
The Norwegian pees 10meters. Next up is the Dane, and he pees 200meters. And then the Swede goes, “That’s nothing look at this!” And then the Swedish man says, “Oh! It started raining?” As he is peeing all the way around the earth and hitting the back of his head.
(The Troll says this is funny but it must be Scandinavian humor because it is lost on me)
Oh shit, it's på norsk! 