hours are generally 0900 to 1600 on weekdays with extended hours on Thursdays. On Saturdays, most stores close early between 1300 and 1500 and are closed on Sundays. DNT and associated touring offices are closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Mail/Post
Norwegian postal services are helpful and efficient. You can pickup mail, addressed c/o Poste Restante, at any post office in Norway. Bright red mailboxes, embossed with the trumpet symbol of the Norwegian Postal Service, are often attached on building walls at chest level.
Laundry
Coin laundries are expensive and can be hard to find, although tourist offices can help you locate them.
Electricity
The electrical current of 220 volts accepts two round-ended prongs.
Weights and Measures
Norway uses the metric system. Weight is given in grams and kilograms, and distance in kilometres. Prices for fruits and vegetables are often listed per 100 grams (pr/hg). Fruits such as grapefruit and kiwi are sometimes sold by the piece (stk).
Telephone
Using Norwegian pay phones, which take 1,5 and 10 kroner coins, can be awkward. Domestic calls cost a minimum of 2 kroner. Phone cards sell for about 35 kroner, but the special green telephones they require may be difficult to locate. For overseas calls, it is easiest to use an international calling card, since hotels often add a huge surcharge. From Norway, dial 095 and then the code for the country you are calling (44 for the United Kingdom, 1 for the United States and Canada) followed by the city code and number you wish to reach. Some full-service huts have pay phones. If calling to Norway from home, the country code is 47.
Shopping
At a store marked Tax Free for Tourists you are entitled to a refund of the value added tax (VAT) when purchasing goods over 300 kroner. To receive your refund, you must ask the store for your tax-free cheque and present it along with your purchases at your departure point from Norway. Refunds are given in Norwegian currency.
Food and Drink
Food is expensive in Norway, but there are several ways to cut costs when in town. A substantial breakfast, included in the cost of hotel rooms, can be enough to carry you through until the late afternoon. Bakeries sell low-cost pastries and bread. Cafeterias and other self-service restaurants are informal and less costly than moderately priced restaurants. Many restaurants have a daily special which is reasonably priced. For a large meal it is less expensive to eat at noon. Water in cities and in the mountains is safe to drink. Beer, spirits and wine are extremely expensive due to high taxes. Beer and soft drinks are sold at many full-service huts.
CHAPTER 3:
Life in the Mountains
II n’est plus beau ni moins beau que les Alpes, il est autre
Louis Neltner
DEN NORSKE TURISTFORENING
Den Norske Turistforening (Norwegian Mountain Touring Association or DNT), along with its associated local organizations, manages over 320 mountain lodges in Norway. Established in 1868, DNT maintains trails and waymarking in both summer and winter, sponsors climbing courses, publishes a quarterly magazine and a yearbook, and maintains a list of the opening and closing dates for the huts throughout Norway. Mountain huts are unevenly distributed throughout Norway, with the majority in the south, and considerably fewer located in the north.
DNT Oslo office provides general information on all walks in Norway, and you can write to them for information published in English. Membership can be purchased at any DNT office or DNT staffed mountain lodge. The main post offices in Bergen, Oslo, at Fornebu Airport (Oslo) and Oslo S (Oslo Central Railway Station) sell memberships as well. Membership offers a 40% discount on hut and food charges. Families or married couples can buy a family membership. Members over 50 are guaranteed a bed at all DNT lodges. At self-service lodges, preference for bunk space is given to members, and only members can borrow keys to self-service and unstaffed huts. Some private lodges and glacier guides grant a discount to DNT members. DNT membership does not provide reciprocal privileges with other alpine clubs.
As many as 50 local touring organizations function in association with the DNT. Information on routes managed by local touring organizations is available at local touring offices. Trondhjems Turistforening in Trondheim manages huts in the Trollheimen and Sylene, and their office in Trondheim has maps and specific information on their area. Bergen Turlag in Bergen handles the Western Hardangervidda (see Appendix D). However the Oslo DNT office also has extensive information on these two areas.
In the mountain areas north of Trondheim huts are usually unstaffed, and belong to DNT branches. In the Far North the staffed lodges in Finnmarksvidda (fjellstuer) are owned by the state. It is wise either to visit or telephone the offices of Narvik og Omegn Turistforening (see Route 18) and Troms Turlag in Tromsø (see Route 19) before starting out and to make sure you have the correct key. Information on walking in Finnmark (see Route 20) is obtainable from Alta og Omegn Turlag in Alta (see Appendix D). The Oslo DNT office has limited information on these three areas.
MOUNTAIN LODGES
The mountain huts in Norway (turisthytten) are efficient, clean, and courteously run. They comprise three different levels of service: staffed, self-service and unstaffed. There are also private lodges which resemble a DNT staffed hut (see details below). Lodges, as described in this book, are located a day’s walk apart, usually 4-7 hours walking time. Mountain lodges provide food, shelter from the rain and comradeship, and make it possible to travel long distances with a relatively light pack. Use of a sheet sleeping bag is required.
Staffed Lodges (B)
Staffed lodges, larger than self-service lodges or unserviced huts, some with over 100 beds, provide full-service, such as meals, showers, drying rooms and limited supplies. Food is often transported long distances and reaches some huts on the backs of loyal employees. Prices at the huts differ little from mountain huts of Central Europe. In Norway, however, you usually have a choice of a room with 2 beds, 4-6 beds, or 8-plus beds. In most instances you will have your own bunk and not be crowded into a small cramped area. Food and accommodation at either DNT or private lodges are of the highest quality. Charges are standardized at DNT huts.
Self-service Lodges (SS)
About 200 self-service huts can also be found in the mountains of Norway, and some full-service lodges maintain a self-service section outside the high season. Since you do your own cooking, food charges are lower than at the staffed lodges. Payment is on the honour system. Fees for the overnight stay and provisions used should be noted on the envelope provided and payment (cash or credit card slips) deposited in the box on the wall.
All self-service lodges are well equipped with bedding, kitchen utensils and canned and powdered foods such as margarine, crackers, jam, dried potatoes, soups, canned meats, porridge and dried milk. You do your own cooking and cleaning, and a chore or two around the hut such as sweeping, tidying up, airing blankets, etc. The huts are often equipped with a standard DNT lock but many are not locked during the summer season. Some have caretakers who are in charge of assigning beds for the night and chores for the evening.
Before and after the main season, some full-service huts operate on a self-service basis. One section is left open for overnight stays, and a key is obtainable from a neighbouring hut
