Summary

The article humorously explores Norway's unique and often perplexing road signs, which reflect the local idiosyncrasies and can be both amusing and challenging for visitors.

Abstract

The author of the article, after traveling through Norway for 80 days, shares a collection of the most amusing and bewildering signposts encountered on the journey. These signs, ranging from the cryptic "Bom" to graphic depictions of danger and paradoxical gun regulations in the Arctic town of Longyearbyen, highlight Norwegians' tendency to expect intuitive understanding rather than explicit instructions. The article also touches on the Sàmi people's sentiments towards the Norwegian majority and concludes with a whimsical sign in Bergen, all of which underscore the entertainment value and attention-grabbing nature of Norwegian signage.

Opinions

The author finds Norwegian's approach to signage quirky and reflective of their general disposition towards giving directions, suggesting they expect people to inherently know what to do.
There is a perceived lack of clear instructions for navigating unique driving situations, such as one-lane tunnels, which can be confusing for visitors.
The "Bom" sign is considered the most mystifying, with its meaning of "Boom" in Norwegian offering little clarity to road users.
Warning signs are described as overly graphic, potentially distracting drivers with vivid illustrations of possible accidents.
The gun regulations in Longyearbyen are seen as paradoxical, with residents required to carry a firearm outside town for protection against polar bears but prohibited from carrying within town limits.
The author points out the humor in the Norwegian word for "speed" being "fart," which can lead to juvenile jokes.
A satirical sign in Sàmi territory reflects the indigenous population's feelings of invisibility to the majority Norwegian population.
The whimsical sign in Bergen is noted for its playful and enigmatic nature, leaving the author to ponder its implications.
Overall, the author appreciates the entertainment value of Norway's sign language, acknowledging that its obscurity often led to increased attention to signposts.

Norway’s Funniest Signposts

Bom!

What are we supposed to make of this? Photo credit: Tim Ward

One of the quirks about Norwegians is that they are not very good at giving directions, generally speaking, and their signposts — or sometimes, lack of them — reflect this idiosyncrasy. It’s as if they expect everyone to just kind of know what to do. I’m sure they all do know. For visitors, however, this can be perplexing.

For example, most underground car tunnels have two lanes of traffic. But occasionally, you run into a one-lane tunnel. There are no signs explaining how to deal with a car racing directly towards you in the dark. Only because Teresa (my beloved spouse) and I have been in other Nordic countries with narrow tunnels did we know to look for “pull-overs” every few hundred meters. But even so, we had to intuit that the car with the pull-over to its LEFT must yield to oncoming traffic. It would have been nice to have that somewhere on a signpost.

Now that we have finished 80 days on the road through Norway, we can share our greatest roadside hits:

The “Bom” triangle, above, remains Norway’s most mystifying sign. We saw it often enough on the roadside that after awhile, we would shout “Bom!” whenever it appeared. According to Google Translate, Bom in Norwegian means, in English (wait for it)…“Boom!”

Other times, warning signs offer overly-graphic, even distracting depictions of various ways people might plummet to their doom if they ignore the triangle:

In the town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, high in the Arctic, the municipal authorities take no chances and bundle all the signs into a single poster beneath one overarching principle:

Please note the inherent paradox: The blue sign on the bottom row says you are required to carry a firearm with you when leaving the town, as protection against polar bears. The bottom right sign says you are not allowed to carry a gun within the settlement. So if you plan to leave town, you need to carry a gun, but you can’t carry a gun through town to get to the edge of town…how does that work?

Funny thing is, the polar bears don’t read the signs. Sometimes they wander right into town — where people are not supposed to be armed! The staff at our hotel cheerfully told us that if we see a bear in town, just to run into any house or car. “No one locks their doors in Longyearbyen. The town is very safe.”

This sign on the outskirts of Longyearbyen, says, basically, “Polar bears are everywhere.” So, Bom! Photo credit: Tim Ward

This next sign, below, is also a warning, and a serious one, to watch for children playing near the road. In English, it’s easy to get distracted by the coincidence that the Norwegian word for “speed” is “fart.” Another common signpost reads dint fart — “don’t speed.” Whenever we would pass such a sign, I would say to Teresa, “I dint fart, did you?” and she would respond, “Are you a 12-year-old boy?”

This one below, is bitingly satirical, and by no means an official sign. I saw it from the street in a shop window in Karaskjok. This is in Sàmi territory, where the indigenous inhabitants of Norway’s far north have their Parliament. All too often the Sàmi feel their concerns are invisible to the majority Norwegian population:

This final sign, in a park in Bergen, is perhaps the most whimsical sign I have seen in all Norway. It leaves me wondering if a gentleman is not allowed to use the slide if he isn’t wearing a hat.

In sum, I’d like to thank the people of Norway. Your sign language may be sometimes obscure, but it is often entertaining. That, funnily enough, helped me to pay close attention whenever I saw a signpost by the side of the road.