1936 On the Continent

fishing in Norway it is best to apply to the Norwegian State Railways office, in London; or to an organisation like Bennett’s Bureau, in Oslo.
Shooting
    Norwegian wild game ranges from the hare and the willow-grouse to the elk, the reindeer and the bear. The bear is gradually diminishing to extinction, though he still sometimes emerges for a raid on farmstock. But for the most part he is a harmless and friendly vegetarian.
    The elk, the largest game animal in Europe, is still numerous in Norway. The provinces of Telemark, Opland and Buskerud in the south, and the country around Trondheim further north are famous elk regions. Shooting rights are privately owned, or in the hands of the State, entitling the owner or his lessee to kill a certain number of elk in relation to the area of the shoot.
    For reindeer one must go to the wide highland plateaux, such as the Hardangervidda or the uplands of Ryfylke province. The reindeer roam in herds, always keeping above the tree-limit, and always travelling against the wind.
    Elk are hunted with hounds—two methods being employed. In the “loosehound” form of hunting the dog is put on a fresh spoor. When it comes up with the elk it holds it at bay, giving tongue, until the hunter gets near enough for a shot.
    The “leashound” method is used in the more open forests, and the dog is used for tracking only, and kept on the leash all the time. Reindeer are hunted by ordinary stalking.
    The
rype
, or willow-grouse, is prevalent over all the moorlands of Norway, where he frequents the stuntedwillows and dwarf birches on the moss-covered heights. Shooting is mainly done over a pointer.
    The biggest of the Norwegian game birds is the capercailzie, which keeps to the fir and pine forests, though early in the season it sometimes makes an appearance for a few weeks above the tree-limit.
    In the spring the wild geese come back from their winter migration in the south. Sportsmen intercept them as they wing in from the sea, and later in the year they provide shooting along the northern rivers and marshes of the country.
    Everywhere in Norway the hunter has to work for his sport. There is no waiting smugly in a butt for driven game to fly within easy range over one’s head. The quarry must be hunted in the best sense of the word, and the hunt takes on all the greater zest because of it.
Some General Information
    Forms of Address: Herr; Fru; Fröken
—Mr.; Mrs.; Miss. Every man is
Herr
in Norway. There are no titles. The sane democracy of the country abolished them in 1905. A man’s profession, however, is linked with his name—so that he is addressed formally as
Herr Professor Jensen
, or
Herr Ingeniör Carlsen
.
    Greetings: God dag
throughout the day, until the evening, when
god aften
and, later,
god nat
come into use. After a meal the host and hostess, or one’s companion if one is dining with a friend in a restaurant, are thanked with the words
takk for maten
—“Thank you for the food”—a graceful custom. Another pleasing courtesy is the expression
takk for sist
, which is used when meeting someone you have met before and not seen for some time. The words convey “Thank you for the pleasure your company gave me when we last met.”
    Coinage:
100 öre = 1 kroner. The kroner can be reckoned as a shilling. Actually it gives a rate of exchange at present worth about twenty-two shillings to the pound.
    Hotels:
The hotels of the cities and larger towns are of the normal international standard. In the country districts accommodation is simpler. But everywhere food is good, the welcome genuine and everything spotlessly clean. Accommodation can also be obtained in farmhouses—a delightful form of holiday. Norwegian country hotelshave inherited good old traditions of hospitality from their former days as posting-stations along the routes.
    Language:
Norwegian is not a difficult language to learn. The grammar is straightforward and has very few irregularities. There is a kinship both with English and with German. But English is the second language of Norway, and is widely understood and spoken all over the country. The English traveller feels more at home in Norway than in any other country of Europe. Home and social life are almost identical with the English counterpart. And there is a most wholesome absence of class snobbery. The classes are much more on a level than in Great Britain, and the uniform education in force throughout the country makes for a much fuller intercourse