General Information
Norway is an expensive country. There's not really any way around this. Alcohol and tobacco are very expensive.For your kroner, however, public services are excellent and timetables are strictly adhered to. Roads are good, tunnels awe-inspiring.
The people
Norwegians are blunt, brusque and to the point; they can come across as rude. There's no word for "please"; just ask for what you want. There is a word for "excuse me" but you won't hear it very often - use your elbows to get to the bar in a crowded pub. Norwegians don't queue; you'll find ticket machines where you take a number in everything from the bank to the off license. In the countryside, however, the Norwegians' love of the outdoors is apparant and they will always say hello or stop for a chat on walking trails.
The language
The vast majority of Scandinavians speak excellent to flawless English so unless you're really out in the sticks you'll probably never need to speak the language.
Eating
Although Norway is known for buried and preserved fish like lutefisk and gravadlaks, standard fare is of the stodgy meat-and-two-veg or fish-and-two-veg variety, a lot like traditional British food. Unlike the British however, Norwegians have never developed a taste for spicy food and a meal in an Indian or Thai restaurant can be disappointingly mild - unless you can convince the chef you really do want something a bit hotter. New Zealanders will be right at home.
Fish
Fresh seafood is excellent. Prawns are cooked on the boat as soon as they're caught and sold on harbourside stalls the same day. Watch out for hval (whale meat) on restaurant menus though.
Meat
Reindeer and elk are both good. For the number of sheep in the fields, it's a shame that lamb isn't widely available in the spring. Pinnekjøtt, a traditional Christmas dish, is made with preserved lamb, so most of the fresh meat goes straight for salting.
Bread
Is bought freshly made and unsliced. It's very good but, like French bread, doesn't keep at all.
Fruit and veg
Are seasonal and grown without the pesticides and preservatives used in many countries. Much healthier, but they can go off more quickly than you might be used to!
Drinking
Hot drinks
Coffee is drunk black, strong and stewed. It needs an acquired taste - and caffeine tolerance!
Tea is not widely drunk and is made by dunking a Lipton yellow label tea bag in a mug of luke-warm water. Unless you're American, don't even go there.
Alcohol
Øl (beer) is generally lager, served cold and fizzy the Australian way. Breweries produce special summer and Christmas (sommerøl, Juleøl) varieties which are often darker.
Aquavit is a spirit made from potatoes.
The rules for buying alcohol vary. Some areas are dry, everywhere else you can buy beer at a supermarket. For wine and spirits you have to visit a Vinmonopolet. Supermarket and vinmo opening hours in Stavanger are around 9.00-18.00 Monday to Friday and 10.00-15.00 on Saturday. Nowhere can you buy alcohol on a Sunday.
Some pubs only have a beer license and will generally admit people over 18. Others have a spirits license and may have an over 23 policy. Spirits are sold until midnight but you can carry on buying beer until 2.00 am in a pub or 4.00 in a nightclub. The usual custom is a vorspiel, a kind of before-pub party where everyone gets pleasantly merry on cheap duty free booze before hitting the town at around 11.00 or midnight.
Sleeping
Of course there are the usual hotels and B&Bs of varying standard across the country. I just wanted to mention the hytte and the rorbu:Hytter
Hytte (literally "hut") can mean a lot of different things. Private hytter owned by locals are usually a small, slightly remote version of home. Hytter owned by companies for employees to rent out (usually for only a small fee) tend to be easy to get to, large and palatial - saunas and jacuzzis are not uncommon.
At the other end of the scale is the Turistforening network of hytter which stretches across the country. Bedrooms are dormitory style and there's usually no electricity or water. They're comfortable, well kitted out and generally remote - the idea is that you stay here after a day's walking or skiing and they're spaced up to a day apart, often many miles from the nearest road. Working on the honesty system, you fill out a form which allows your bank account to be debited later. Each hytte is provided with gas rings for cooking, a neighbouring stream or lake for fresh water, a long-drop toilet, fuel for the wood-burning stove, candles, pots and pans and board games. Tremendous value.
Rorbuer
Fisherman's huts in Lofoten, many of these have been converted to tourist accommodation. The one we stayed in was extremely basic, dirty and disappointing - I had expected something like a privately rented hytte. I think many are nicer though.