I'm Norwegian and these are my top 10 reasons why I love my country.
1) Nature
"Trolltunga" is a famous Norwegian mountain which is a popular tourist attraction. The stone which sticks out looks like a tongue, therefor the mountain is called "Trolltunga".
Norway has beautiful nature. There are mountains, fjords, waterfalls, The Northern Lights, and very green landscapes. In this case, photos can tell you more than words. These pictures may make you understand why Norway have a wonderful nature.
In the northern part of Norway, you can see the extraordinary phenomenon, The Northern Lights.
2) Food
Norway has many tasteful traditional dishes and other kinds of food. My favorites are "Pinnekjøtt," a traditional Christmas dish made by lamb/mutton meat, "raspeballer," which is potato dumplings, and "Rømmegrøt," which is porridge made by sour cream. I also like "brun ost," which is a brown cheese, "lefse," which is a kind of flatbread, and "Fårikål," which is made of mutton and cabbage. It's very difficult to explain how these things taste but I do recommend you to take a taste when you visit Norway.
"Rømmegrøt" is a porridge made of sour cream. It's a common dish which is eaten at St. Hans and 17. Mai in Norway.
3) Welfare
Norway is a welfare country and many Norwegian thinks it's very important to avoid a society with big class distinctions. There's free healthcare and education for every citizen. You can also get social support from the government to cover your basic needs if you're too injured or too sick to work. People with a Norwegian citizenship have to pay high taxes, and the tax system is very fair in my opinion. If you're richer, you have more taxes to pay. The Norwegian society works like a fellowship where people contribute as much as they can and if you struggle, there are people who can help you. Norway doesn't have the same system as US, where there's the "survival of the fittest" mindset.
4) Democracy
Norway is a peaceful country where people have the freedom to express their political opinions and can vote for the party they want. You can also make political satires and dislike authorities without getting arrested. In many places around the world there are dictatorships, war and many other things that Norwegian doesn't need to deal with. You're lucky if you're born in Norway.
5) Architecture
This is "Bryggen" in Bergen, called "the dock" directly translated to English.
I just love the shape, carving etc. The Norwegian stave churches are very well decorated.
Nidarosdomen in Trondheim has very beautiful carvings and sculptures thanks to the skilled workers and artists. According to the legend, Olav Haraldsson were buried there and then the church were built upon his grave. He's also known as St. Olav.
6) National Day
17. Mai is Norway's national day. I thinks that is a wonderful day because I loves my country and I think I'm lucky that I have many things that are easy to take for granted like democracy, peace and welfare. 17. Mai in 1814 Norway became an independent country and wasn't in union with Denmark anymore, in addition to getting our own law. Several years later, Norway wasn't in union with Sweden, either. Many people spend time with their family, eat traditional Norwegian food like "Rømmegrøt" and "Lapskaus," and go to parades.
A 17. Mai parade in Oslo by the royal family's castle.
7) Human rights
In Norway there are good human- and civil rights. The government and other authorities treats us as human beings, not animals. As I mention earlier, we have democracy, welfare and freedom to express ourselves. There's also very good equality and equity between genders, races, sexuality etc. Many Norwegians can still improve themselves and be lesser prejudiced to immigrants etc, but compared to many other countries around the world, Norway has come very far. The country has anti-discrimination laws as well, which protect people from discrimination and people can't fire people because of their gender, skin color, sexuality etc.
Norway has come far when it comes to equality and equity between genders, races, sexuality, religions, etc.
8 ) Prison system
This is a cell from Skien's prison in Norway.
In Norway you would be seen and treated as a human being, even though you did a very serious crime. You do still have human and civil rights which protects you against inhumane treatment, and you do also still have the right to be heard. The Norwegian prison system focuses on giving criminals an opportunity to change and the system is called "rehabilitation". You get free education, recreational activity, and the opportunity to get a job, because then you can learn how you can live in the society when you get released from jail. The Norwegian ideology thinks revenge and pure punishment can't change a criminal person's mindset and the only way to change it is showing them what's right.
This is a cell from a prison in the US.
9) Strict weapon laws
People's safety is more important than people's "right" to carry weapons everywhere.
Strict weapon laws improve the safety for many Norwegian citizen. There are fewer massacres, murdering cases, and other forms for killing because very few people have access to guns. The police do also have strict rules. A cop can easily get in trouble if s/he abuses their weapons and usually the police don't have access to weapons. Only in certain cases are they allowed to use them. In the US, it's equally easy to buy a weapon for an adult as buying wine in Norway. That explains why there are a lot of massacres in the US. Canada also has a big population, but they don't have as many massacres as the US due to strict weapon laws.
10) Clean water
The population in Norway is lucky to have clean water. Clean water is something many people takes for granted. In many places in the world it's either drought or pollution that makes it harder to find clean water to drink.
In Norway there's clean fresh water which is both safe to drink and tastes very good. Not every country in the world is blessed with such good quality drinking water. So all the raining and the cold climate are here for a reason.
Walkers in Norway can drink water directly from nature in many places.
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