Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

vely food, saw some wonderful sights.</p><figure id="1aef"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*B9w554MR0iFg-UbB39tLjw.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="75e9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*vlRDTfk1IF1TGLRLRGjHtg.jpeg"><figcaption>Some great sculptures at the Art Gallery (photo: author)</figcaption></figure><figure id="debf"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*5m5erntcf-y9t1KDkWZoIA.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="2be7"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*S9267hgH-mz2KdObYMzv4A.jpeg"><figcaption>Water with fluffy clouds and a lovely tall ship in the harbour (photos: author)</figcaption></figure><p id="69c1">It was great.</p><p id="e7c3">Then we got a bill in the mail.</p><p id="81c9">Five months later. For driving on Norway’s lovely toll roads.</p><p id="4dad">It wasn’t a great deal of money. And I get it. Toll roads are everywhere. I mean, I’ve lived in Melbourne, where the whole city is surrounded by toll roads.</p><h2 id="3c96">What was really surprising was this:</h2><p id="3c97"><b>We drove on a toll road in Norway.</b></p><p id="0765"><b>The company that charged us was in the UK.</b></p><p id="2452"><b>The bank account to pay the bill was in Germany.</b></p><p id="0536"><b>The customer service telephone helpline was in Sweden.</b></p><p id="38db">Talk about amazing!! Europe at its finest! They’re working together. Teamwork! And Norway doesn’t even have the Euro. Neither does the UK or Sweden. Which is maybe why the bank account is in Germany.</p><p id="66b2">But then, banks take all money. All the time. With extra fees and charges just to really make you wince.</p><p id="1547">They had even gone so far as to bill us in Euros, because we live in Finland, with Finnish number plates.</p><p id="398a">What an amazing example of European billing excellent! Chasing you across countries with paper to ensure you contribute to another country’s road building!</p><p id="4721">Of course, they could have had a toll booth like in Greece and Spain, but I guess the Norwegians didn’t want to spoil their lovely highways with ugly booths so they opted for maximum European cooperation and chose the paper chase instead!</p><p id="4a83">I can’t help won

Options

dering what Brexit will do to all of this…</p><p id="45aa">On that note, I think I’ll have another beer.</p><p id="80bf">Cheers!</p><figure id="73f9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*_vFHnMLsmASQqWByXA5CDg.jpeg"><figcaption>Norwegian beer with a great name! (photo: author)</figcaption></figure><p id="3356">~~thanks for reading~~</p><p id="fc0a"><i>Lisa is loves travelling, writing, reading, and partaking in the odd stout or two. She resides in Finland but still calls Australia home. Check out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/liisak_love/">Instagram </a>or <a href="https://lisanbolin.substack.com/">Northern Notes</a>.</i></p><div id="b3c3" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-bookish-window-to-the-world-b368db0e01d8"> <div> <div> <h2>My Bookish Window To The World</h2> <div><h3>A few books that have stayed with me</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*DylTu6OyCVHoHVqE_uCEHA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="2d65" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-darker-the-beer-the-better-d6de01cb4698"> <div> <div> <h2>The Darker The Beer, The Better</h2> <div><h3>My love for a good stout!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*g1hTYjHXHmdIv_YqIIaM1g.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="8675" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/patience-a15da47cdd83"> <div> <div> <h2>Patience</h2> <div><h3>A Poem</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*gYaJcMlxJOuBrEsWLR9-FQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

TRAVEL HUMOR

Welcome to Europe!

We Will Chase You Down and Bill You!

Statue by the harbour, Oslo (photo: author) 2019

I live in Europe. Coming from Australia, it’s not something I thought I’d be saying in my forties, but you never really know where life might take you!

On a craft beer tour of London, we met a great couple from Norway. They live in Oslo and we got on like a house on fire, or a bunch of drunks at a brewery (which is what we were!).

We spent hours chatting and drinking (and trying one of the best stouts ever to have touched my lips, but I digress).

Long story short: we drove to Oslo one weekend to see them.

It’s not a long journey, but it does require effort.

We live on an archipelago. It takes two and a half hours with a ferry to reach Sweden, the closest ‘mainland.’ (It takes five hours to reach the mainland of Finland via ferry!)

We took the ferry one afternoon, drove halfway through Sweden, stayed overnight at a hotel, then drove the rest of the way the following morning. A total of seven hours of driving. Plus two and a half hours on a ferry.

It’s a commitment!

As soon as we crossed the border we noticed a difference…in the driving.

Swedes are aggressive. They drive like they have a pregnant woman on board about to give birth or something. They tailgate. They cut in front of trucks. They swerve aggressively, pass like they’re being chased by dinosaurs on motorbikes.

Norwegians are calm. They leave plenty of room between cars. They float along in their electric cars (I’ve never seen so many outside an electric car magazine). They almost wave at you as they pass, friendly, not a one-finger-salute in sight!

A billboard to encourage people to wear a seatbelt, Norway 2019 (photo: author)

We met our friends, drank some great beer, ate lovely food, saw some wonderful sights.

Some great sculptures at the Art Gallery (photo: author)

Water with fluffy clouds and a lovely tall ship in the harbour (photos: author)

It was great.

Then we got a bill in the mail.

Five months later. For driving on Norway’s lovely toll roads.

It wasn’t a great deal of money. And I get it. Toll roads are everywhere. I mean, I’ve lived in Melbourne, where the whole city is surrounded by toll roads.

What was really surprising was this:

We drove on a toll road in Norway.

The company that charged us was in the UK.

The bank account to pay the bill was in Germany.

The customer service telephone helpline was in Sweden.

Talk about amazing!! Europe at its finest! They’re working together. Teamwork! And Norway doesn’t even have the Euro. Neither does the UK or Sweden. Which is maybe why the bank account is in Germany.

But then, banks take all money. All the time. With extra fees and charges just to really make you wince.

They had even gone so far as to bill us in Euros, because we live in Finland, with Finnish number plates.

What an amazing example of European billing excellent! Chasing you across countries with paper to ensure you contribute to another country’s road building!

Of course, they could have had a toll booth like in Greece and Spain, but I guess the Norwegians didn’t want to spoil their lovely highways with ugly booths so they opted for maximum European cooperation and chose the paper chase instead!

I can’t help wondering what Brexit will do to all of this…

On that note, I think I’ll have another beer.

Cheers!

Norwegian beer with a great name! (photo: author)

~thanks for reading~

Lisa is loves travelling, writing, reading, and partaking in the odd stout or two. She resides in Finland but still calls Australia home. Check out Instagram or Northern Notes.