Introduction Where to Go What to Bring About Norway Trondheim the Capital of Mid-Norway

Survival Guide to Trondheim

Introduction

On behalf of BEST Trondheim we welcome you to the land of the midnight sun - NORWAY! We don't know what kind of expectations you have for your time in Norway, but we're sure we have an idea what some of them might be.... Norway is cold, there's lots of snow and rain, all Norwegians are Vikings, we have polarbears in the streets and all the girls are beautiful blondes with blue eyes. Well, there is some truth to everything that is written here, - but we will let you find out for yourself!

No matter what your expectations are, we hope you’ll enjoy your time here in Norway. We hope that your experiences here are not only educational, but help you to come closer to understanding yourself and your connection with the rest of the world. After all that's what internationalisation is about and that's the purpose of our organisation!

Welcome to Norway...... we hope you will all have the time of your lives!

Where to go when you come to Trondheim

Our idea is to pick you up when you arrive, but due to few cars and little time this can become a problem when it comes to waiting. So we will try to have one meeting place so that you can at least find us somewhere. Therefore the most important thing is that you should contact us when you know when and where you will enter Trondheim. Having control on this matter makes it easier for us, and in the long run for you. Beneath follows directions to The Railway Station. We will use this place as a base at the arrival day.

Arrival by train

If you have told us when your train will arrive then we will meet you there. If something goes wrong, either we will notice that the train is late, or you can find us at the station. We will put up posters at the arrival hall to tell you where we are. The station is not big so we should be able to find each other

Arrival by plane

At the Airport, take the first bus you can find, almost all of them goes to Trondheim.The busses are blue and white, usually with a nice picture at the back, and are standing right outside the arrival hall where you get your luggage. The bus ticket from Værnes to Trondheim cost 50 NOK. The bus usually takes about 35 minutes to the centre of Trondheim, and we want you to get of at the Railway station . If you’re plane is on time, then we will know when to meet you at the Railway Station, otherwise you should go inside the building and look for our posters.

If something goes wrong!

In this guide we give you some telephone numbers. Please use them!
ref "Telephone"

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What to bring?

You must bring:

Passport
Visa if you need one
Travel insurance
International Student Identity Card (ISIC)
Sleeping bag
Money
Ticket
Warm clothes

In addition you have to remember that the weather in Norway won't change at will. Be prepared for everything! (Storm, wind, rain, even sun!!.) The temperature will probably be between 15 and 25 °C at day, but it might go down to 5-10 °C at night. (We don't expect it to go that low, and ussually it doesn’t, but i might happen)

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About Norway

Norway is a modern industrial country. The oil exploration and operation is important and many people are involved in it both at sea and on land. Tourism is increasing, and is now a big industry. Fishery and agriculture is also important industries. Communities are scattered along the coastal areas, most people live in the south east of the country and fewer in areas inland. The sea has been and still is an important form of transport and industry. Wherever in the country you may happen to be, you can be sure to find a sportsman and brass band. Norway has long traditions of both. In general Norwegians are very active. Skiing is a typical winter time activity and in the summer football is the big thing, It's also common for people to walk in the woods and go to the beaches.

Norway is rich in art and craft, of beautiful silver jewellery, dating from the Viking era, and in the art created in the national costumes. We also have long traditions in creating lovely knitting patterns which all are unique depending on the area of Norway they are coming from. Closely related to the folklore are also wonderful wood carvings and knives. Not least is the Sami handicraft, exquisite and colourful. Norway has also a reputation for stylish furniture production.

Tradition dies hard in the coastal regions, the annual festivals being one. In Molde the annual jazz festival takes place in June and bring together famous jazz musicians. Also in Bergen, Oslo and Harstad annual music festivals are arranged. All over the country the National Day, May 17th, is a day for celebration a day for children and brass bands.

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Trondheim, the capital of mid-Norway

Trondheim is one of the oldest cities in Norway with its roots firmly planted in Norway's Viking era. It was grounded in 997 by the Viking King Olav Trygvasson (son of Trygve). Despite being a modern metropolis by Norwegian standards it has kept its small town characteristics. Trondheim achieved its present appearance after a fire in 1681.The town is like most other Norwegian cities in that it is surrounded by forests. It is situated by the fjord Trondheimsfjorden and is built along the Nidelva river. Trondheim has approximately 150 000 inhabitants and is Norway's third largest city. It's one of Norway's greatest student towns, with about 20 000 students and the famous Students Society.

The ABC's of Norway

Alcohol: Liquor, wine and strong beer can only be purchased at Vinmonopolet, the government controlled liquor stores. This is one of the reasons why the prices are rather high. Beer with lower (4,5%) or non alcohol content can be purchased at grocery stores. You must be 18 years old to buy beer, and 20 to buy liquor.

Agricultural products:Milk, meat, pork, grains, fruit and berries

Area:386 890 sq km.

Bank: Banks are normally open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (until 31.aug. they close at 3:00 p.m.) on weekdays and closed on Saturday and Sunday. In addition the Post Office is open until 5:00 p.m.. Most automatic teller machines (cash machines) accept international credit cards.

Church:Norway's official religion is Evangelical Lutheranism and although 93% of the population belongs to the Lutheran Church, the country has a remarkably low Sunday attendance. Norwegians have a rather relaxed attitude towards religion, and although attendance is low, 60% of the population say they believe in God.

Climate:Varies a lot from summer to winter and from north to south. In the southern part we have nice and warm summers (June - august), stormy, rainy autumns, cold winters and rainy springs with some sun. Up in the north there are long, dark, cold winters with lots of snow and summer is not to warm but does have a lot of light because of the midnight sun.

Constitution:Norway, like all of the Scandinavian countries, is a monarchy. The Danish Prince Carl was chosen to be our king when we declared sovereignty to the Norwegian territory in 1905. The prince took the Norwegian name Haakon and ruled the country until his death in 1957. His grandson, King Harald V, is the King of Norway today.

Currency:Norwegian kroner (1 EURO = 8,50 NOK)

Education:Children start school at age six and finish their compulsory education at the age of 16. Most people continue with three years of extra education, and the country has a relatively high proportion of people with a university degree. Almost everyone under the age of 60 can speak English to a certain degree in addition to some German or French.

Food:Unlike Continental Europeans, Norwegians have only one hot meal per day - dinner - which is served around five o'clock. For breakfast and lunch it is common to eat open face sandwiches , usually on dark bread. Typical spreads include liver pate, goat cheese or Norwegian caviar (not the same as Russian caviar). It is common for most people to bring their own lunch to eat at work. For dinner, the main course is usually accompanied by potatoes.

Government:

Type: Democracy

Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg

Major cities and population:

Oslo (capital) (500 000)

Bergen (250 000)

Trondheim (140 000)

Stavanger (100 000)

Major exports:Petroleum, non-iron metal products, gas, chemicals, machines, fish and fishproducts, paper, cardboard, iron, steel, ships, aluminium.

Major imports:Fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, cocoa, seasoning, timber, mineraloil products, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard, textiles, cars, furniture, clothes, metal, iron, steel, computers, site plant.

Major industry:Paper, cardboard, woodpulp, aluminium, steelconstructions, chemicals, machines.

Natural resources:Milk, meet, pork, grain, fruit, berries, minerals, oil.

Official language: Norwegian (two forms). Norwegian is a Germanic language and in addition to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, there are three extra; æ,ø and å. They sound like the vowels in the words bad, urge, and door, respectively. If you are looking for these letters in the phonebook, or any other alphabetic listing, you will find them at the end.

Population:

4 249 800

Annual population growth: 0,4%

Population density: 11 hab / sq km

Shoes:Norwegians don't normally wear shoes in the home, and we always remove our shoes when visiting someone else's home. Special indoor shoes may be used if you want to be more formal. Bring good walking shoes!

Shops: Shops are normally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In the cities many shops close later. Grocery stores are open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Norway's standard of living is high and so are the prices. Saturdays they close at 6:00 p.m and some small grocery stores are open from 11:00 am to 10:pm on sundays.

Sights: The fjords and mountains in the western part of the country, glaciers, Besseggen, Bergen, Oslo, the small white southern towns, The North Cape Finnmarksvidda, stave churches.

Water:The tap water is very good and perfectly safe to drink, You can also swim in it, even close to the big cities.

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Telephone

BEST Trondheim can be reached at these phone numbers:

Office: +47 73 59 54 96

Mobile phone numbers:
Hege Tokerud (047) 99 64 20 77
Martin Lervik Foss: (047) 98016338
Magne Kallevåg: (047) 41 65 10 49
Kari Reikvam: (047) 98037365
Sveinung Hartberg:40 20 40 89

International calls from Norway are not expensive. If you want to call home, bring your coins (ones, fives and tens) to a phone boot. To call from Norway to the outside world you have to dial 00 before dialing your country code. Instead of using coins you can buy a telephone card at a kiosk or in a bookstore. This is a little less expensive and easier to carry around than tons of coins.

Call your embassy or consulate!

Belgium - 22 55 22 15

Denmark - 22 44 18 46

Estonia - 22 11 21 48

Finland - 22 43 04 00

France - 22 44 18 20

Greece - 22 44 27 28

Hungary - 22 55 24 18

Italy - 22 55 22 33

Poland - 22 44 86 39

Portugal - 22 60 62 25

Romania - 22 44 15 12

Slovakia - 22 55 55 90

Slovenia - 22 44 81 05

Spain - 22 55 20 15

Sweden - 22 44 38 15

FIRE - 110

POLICE - 112

AMBULANCE - 113

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Mini parlour

Hei / Hi, hello
Adjø / Goodbye
Ha det bra! / Take care (The same as "goodbye")
God morgen / Good morning
God dag / How do you do? (Literally: Good day)
God aften / Good evening
Takk for maten / Thanks for the food
En øl, takk / One beer, please
Skål / Cheers
Takk / Thank you
Ja / Yes
Nei / No
Jeg heter … / My name is …
Jeg er trøtt / I’m tired
Unnskyld / Excuse me
Snakkes / See you
Jeg er sulten / I’m hungry
I dag / Today
I går / Yesterday
I morgen / Tomorrow
Mat / Food
Toalett / Bathroom
Hvor mye er klokken? / What time is it?

And for some special occasions…

Ellers takk, jeg må hjem og legge meg. / I appreciate your offer, but I have to og home and sleep now.
Hva er det du mener? Jeg er da ikke slik. / What do you mean? I’m not that kind of person.
"Har´em øll her" or "Har’em øll her´a? / Do they have beer here?
Vil du se frimerkesamlingen min? / Do you want to see my stampcollection?

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Examples of Norwegian Prices

1 litre of milk 9 NOK

12 eggs 22 NOK

loaf of bread 5 - 15 NOK

cheese/kg 72 NOK

ground beef/kg 60 - 90 NOK

0,25 kg coffee 20 NOK

bottle of beer 12 NOK

20 cigarettes 50 NOK

bottle of wine

cinema ticket 55 NOK

disco/night-club 20-60 NOK

1/2 litre of beer 30-50 NOK

coffee in a cafe 10-20 NOK

cheap restaurant meal 60 NOK

soda in a cafe 18 NOK

postage outside Norway 6 NOK

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Accommodation

Accomodation will be provided. Don't worry.

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Restaurants, Bars & Nightlife in Trondheim

Discos:

Bajazzo: Very cheap beer on Fridays before midnight, only 20 NOK for a beer. People doing sports go here, together with people from outside town. Always a lot of people here, it might get quite crowded some times. The music is most disco, but also some local music. This is THE place for people from Trondheim and the surroundings. Covercharge is 50 NOK.

Frakken: Multi-floored disco complex. The age limit is 18 at Sunset and 20 at Frakken, so at Sunset you will meet only young persons. Frakken is in the basement, a bit more exclusive than Bajazzo and Bør. Note that there is a different ticket and different queues for the two places! There is no Covercharge at Frakken Piano Bar, the others cost 60 NOK.

Rick's: Crowded place, bar area at det 1. floor and disco downstairs. Covercharge usually 20 NOK.

News: Applies for a bit older people, age limit 20 on weekdays and 22 in weekends.Connected to Rick's which means you can go to two places if you enter at News. Covercharge: 50 NOK

Bars:

Cafe Dali: Nice café & bar, often a lot of people there. Restaurant at the top, good and expensive food.

Edgar: Situated in Studentersamfundet => CHEAP. Very nice, run by students only. Lots of games to play. Jukebox.

Café 3B: Café for students and artists. Cover charge in the weekends (concert).

Café Aroma: Café for students. It is very stylish but jet simple - a cool place! It is inspired by the African owner -very colourful. People have started to go here before or after the cinema, since it is situated near by.

9 Muser: Mostly students and artists, no music. Looks quite simple, but is really a nice place. Lots of people drop in after cinema. You can get small meals there too.

Mikrobryggeriet: American beer hall, they brew their own beer which is really tasteful. People of all ages present. Recommended.

Café Gåsa: Very small old fashioned place, you can sit inside or outside. Really nice, you must try this place!

Queens: Pub. Dart, kind of British look. Nice, but small place (if your body is not that big, and you know how to handle a beer while moving, this is no problem).

Frakken Piano Bar: Often good piano players, but can be a bit noisy and crowded.

Carl Johan: Nice, old fashioned bar. Service at the tables, nice waiters.

Pizzabars:

American style pizza (big & thick): Egon, Peppe´s Pizza, Dickens, Dolly Dimples, Pizza Hut. Quite the same all three, good food, cold beer. Pizza: about 120-170 NOK (big, 2-3 persons).

Pizza/Italian restaurant:

Frati: Quiet, very nice place, good food. Pizza: about 70 NOK (one person really satisfied). Not only pizza, also steaks, pasta, etc.

Zia Teresa: If you are lucky you might have the owner sing like Pavarotti at your table!

Italpasta: This guy might sing, too.

Napoli: Quite similar to Frati. Same prices.

Traditional Norwegian restaurants:

Hmmm, difficult question.... Try Havfruen or Hos Magnus. Order some seafood! These are more expensive then the pizza restaurants. If there are any millionaires here, visit Hadrians, and order wild pork from North-West Norway!

There are also Chinese, Indian, Mexican and American restaurants as well. In fact, it is impossible to list all of them . Try the yellow pages.

Cafés, daytime:

Eriksen: Traditional, old café. Expensive.

Edgar: The café at the Student Society - recommended!

Gjest Baardsen Café: At the main library, take a look, - might be expensive eating.

Mormors stue: Nice oldfashioned house, looks like a private house.

Bare Blåbær: Nice, recommended.

Dr.Livingstone: Café/Bar, stylish.

Choko Boko: Popular place, good coffee.

The facts, the advice's, the mistakes

One beer usually cost 40 NOK at all the places, with the exceptions mentioned above. Size: 0.4 - 0.5 ltr. Service fee and tips are always included. It is common to round the price up at the restaurants, but nobody expects big tips from students. Tuesday is "Students Night" with reduced prices at the discos => also more guests. The queues get long at about one hour before midnight on Friday (some places) and Saturday at the discos. There is no covercharge in bars.