Hitchhiking in the south of Norway. Summer 2024

In June, we covered 635 kilometers in southern Norway, catching rides with both locals and foreigners. In hitchhiking circles, Norway (along with other Scandinavian countries) is often described as a great place for thumbing, with the shortest waiting times. However, we found it even more difficult than Sweden, which in our experience is not the easiest country to hitch in. Meanwhile, of all the Nordic countries, we'd put Iceland and Denmark at the top of the list of easiest places for hitchhikers. But ultimately, we can't complain, because in Norway the weather was on our side most of the time, which is not always the case in that part of the world, even in summer. Here's a short collection of our hitchhiking stories in a non-chronological order.

Tønsberg - Oslo

That day can definitely be described as one of the most remarkable hitchhiking days we've ever had. Of course, nothing can beat the journey in Myanmar where we ended up teaching English in a remote village, but still, our trip from Tønsberg to Oslo proved to be quite an adventure. On the map, these two cities are barely more than 100 kilometers apart. However, we managed to cover 245 kilometers and it took us almost the whole day.

Our crazy journey started on a sunny morning when the three of us were picked up in Vidaråsen by our host's local friend. He brought us to a bus stop at an exit to the E18, took our picture, wished us luck and drove off, probably thinking we were insane, but at least there was a train station nearby. Yes, you read that right, there were three of us standing on the side of the road trying to get a ride to the Norwegian capital. Hiji, our host, decided to join our adventure after hearing so many stories about our hitchhiking escapades. We were happy to have such a young, vibrant addition to our team of aging hitchhikers, although the outcome of such a combination was not at all certain. "Surely we will have to split up at some point," I said, smiling at the indifferent drivers passing by. We were holding an unusually colorful sign with a Norwegian flag on it that Hiji had designed and drawn for that trip. Finally, after more than an hour of trying to get the attention of the drivers, a young woman pulled up. She was on her way to work at a family-run dental clinic in Drammen and kindly offered to take all three of us. "Only once before had a Norwegian woman stopped for us. She's so brave," I thought to myself. It turned out that our driver was originally from Lithuania and had lived in Norway for thirteen years.

We arrived in Drammen before noon and didn't even have to separate yet. We were euphoric: only 40 kilometers left until Oslo. No sooner had we started hitchhiking than a middle-aged man in a red two-seater convertible stopped and offered a ride for one person. My prophecy was coming true. It seemed like a perfect opportunity for our younger friend to enter the capital in style. Off she went with the wind, and we stayed, expecting the same fate as two weeks ago when we waited for a lift for two hours under the scorching sun in exactly the same spot. But this time a miracle happened. Within minutes, a car stopped. "I'm heading to Oslo in a couple of hours. First I need to stop at home and then pick up my daughter from a friend's house. Do you guys have time for all that?" - a woman asked, as if to apologize for not being able to take us to Oslo right away. We quickly got into the car. - "You know, I've already passed you and then turned around to pick you up. I've only seen hitchhikers in the movies. In Africa, where I grew up, you don't have to stick out your thumb because drivers will stop to help you anyway. I've been living in Norway for nine years, but have never seen anyone hitchhiking here.” We met many kind people, but she was different. I couldn't take my eyes off her face in the mirror with that big, bright smile. She radiated joy, a deep, genuine joy of life that is rarely found. Her name, Nice, fit her well.

Our last hitchhiking ride in Norway turned into an unforgettable road trip. Nice took us to her home, where she showed us pictures of her recent three-week trip to Africa. She became a Norwegian citizen last year, and this was her first time back in her home country. "When I got my passport, I looked for the cheapest flight and found a ticket to Poland for 20 euros. I went there for a weekend with my daughter, and that's how I celebrated my newfound ability to travel freely." We drove to pick up her daughter in Notodden, which meant getting further away from Oslo, but we were happy to spend more time with Nice, listening to her fascinating stories and infectious laughter. "Norwegians like to complain, but from my perspective and where I come from, I can only say thank you. Everything is great!" When we arrived, her daughter was watching a movie at the public library. We waited for her and then drove all the way back to Oslo. Those four hours we spent with Nice were a precious gift from the road. The road that connects us with incredible people.

Skien - Høvåg (2 cars, 3 hours)

That day of hitching was quite smooth and easy. At six in the morning our host drove us to a perfect spot with a bus stop and a gas station right at the exit to the E18 highway. The weather was cloudy and gray with rain in the forecast, but at least we had some shelter close by. In half an hour, a semi-sporty Mercedes pulled up. Driving it was a menacing looking, muscular bald man in wraparound sunglasses. If I were alone, I might have refused the lift, but as a couple, we chose to accept it. What we learned about our driver during the ride was in stark contrast to my first impression. He is a jack of many trades, but currently works with disadvantaged children in a public daycare center. He and his wife have raised two children of their own and three foster kids. "We have been together for 50 years, since we were 16. She's the source of stability in my life and the most important person for me. It's good that her parents live longer than mine, because I hope she will live longer than me.” As we talked, our driver also mentioned that he had a black belt in karate and that's why he, unlike other Norwegians, was not afraid of hitchhikers. Meanwhile, it began to rain and white low clouds covered the green hills outside the car window. “The Bible says 'Thou shalt not judge,' but everyone does the exact opposite,” he remarked. Somehow I missed the context, but the sentence stuck with me. And I bet you can't even guess why he was on the road that day. Our driver was on his way to pick up an Iraqi girl living in an undisclosed location because her family had ordered an honor killing of her. In fact, one of the killers hired by the family was stopped at an airport and his mission was accidentally discovered during a random check.

Our driver dropped us off at a roundabout near the highway. As we got out of the car, I thought to myself: You should never judge a person by his looks! The weather was changing, the clouds were giving way to the sun and we were prepared for a long wait as the road was quiet with very little traffic. However we were quickly picked up by two middle-aged, smart looking gentlemen. Throughout the entire ride they were complaining about the government and excessive regulations in Norway. It was entertaining to say the least, especially when you compare it to Portugal where we live. They made a short detour and took us directly to the tiny village of Høvåg. We arrived so early that there was still time for breakfast. As we sat in the shade of a bus stop waiting for our host to return home, I thought about that Iraqi girl and how life around us is made up of so many different, often invisible layers.

Drammen - Skien (4 cars, 6 hours)

Our first real day of hitchhiking in Norway (after the drive from the airport) proved to be a challenge. The bus stop in Drammen seemed like a decent spot with direct access to the highway heading south, but it took us a while to get a lift. After waiting an hour and a half in the scorching sun, we decided to change the sign from Larvik to the much closer Tønsberg, which was only 60 kilometers away. Again, more than an hour passed and no one stopped. The whole situation began to remind us of a certain time during our hitchhiking trip in Bosnia, when it took us the whole day to cover 200 kilometers. Finally a woman in a large new SUV pulled up. She turned out to be an Albanian refugee from Kosovo who'd been living in Norway for 23 years since the war in the former Yugoslavia. "You know, when we arrived, we all hitchhiked, since we are used to it in our own countries. But then we stopped because nobody really does it here.” She teaches education at the university and gave us a lot of insight into how children are raised in Norway. She said that children are taught to be independent and some of them start working and earning their own money before they turn sixteen.

Our driver dropped us off in Sem, just off the highway, as she figured that it would be a convenient spot for us to hitchhike further south. However, as we found out later, almost all the traffic was between Tønsberg and the nearby villages; very few cars actually turned onto the highway. Sweating in the afternoon heat, we decided to try our luck on the other side of the roundabout. As we walked, an old Norwegian man noticed our signs and followed us in his car. He offered to take us to a better place closer to Tønsberg, where there was much more traffic to Larvik. During the short drive we learned that he lived on an island with a population of only 5000 people, which increases tenfold in the summer with an influx of tourists.

Indeed, the next place worked out perfectly, and in no time we hitched a ride with a Malaysian guy who was going to work in Larvik. We got off at the shore of Lake Farris, where the road turned to Skien, our destination for the day. We had barely put up the sign when a car stopped. "You were smiling, I thought you were nice people and decided to pick you up," a woman said to us as we put our backpacks in the trunk. She was quite a character, laughing and making jokes all the time. "You know, I'm a retired policewoman, so I'm not afraid of hitchhikers," she smiled. I immediately remembered Bep, a 79-year-old Dutch woman who picked us up in France a few years ago. She too was full of life and wisdom. Elena, our 70-year-old Norwegian driver, used to work for the police on cases of abused children. At some point she felt burned out and had to quit, then got a degree as a social worker. After graduating, she started working with adult drug addicts. In her words, it was much easier emotionally than being in front of helpless children every day. “You can't go through life without sorrows but nevertheless it's mostly joy. You need to live while you are alive” - she smiled again. We told her that we were hosting travelers in our apartment in Portugal and would love to have her as a guest. “Let’s connect on Facebook. But you can’t add me as a friend, I disabled that. Because, you know, I’m way too popular for my age!”

Oslo airport - Drammen

After waiting for an hour and a half at the exit of Gardermoen airport’s parking lot, holding a sign that read “Drammen,” we finally saw a car pull over. An Indian-looking gentleman rolled down the window of his spacious electric vehicle and asked cautiously, “So, you’re going to… Drammen?” “Yes!” we exclaimed in unison, relieved.
“Where is it?” he asked, showing us the directions on his navigation screen.
“It’s right there on your route! You’ll be passing Drammen,” we pointed out.
“Hmmm, okay. And why are you standing here?” he inquired further.
“We are hitchhiking,” we explained.
“Hitchhiking?! Can I take a picture of your IDs? Please understand, it’s for my own safety. I’ll send it to my friends who are waiting for me in Stavanger,” he requested.
“Of course, here you go,” we said, handing over our passports.

After taking pictures of our IDs, he finally let us into his car. It turned out he lived in California and was on the first day of his vacation in Norway. Our driver, who grew up in India, had moved to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in computer engineering. During the one-hour drive, he shared that in India, even in some IT companies, employees are expected to perfect only one particular skill, which makes it challenging to grow and develop professionally. He also mentioned that he had to learn English almost from scratch in the U.S. because, contrary to popular belief, most people in India are taught in local languages.

He went the extra mile and dropped us off right at the address of our Couchsurfing host. With a smile, he assured us that we were nothing like the menacing hitchhikers from American horror movies. “What I’ve learned in life is that kindness always pays off,” he said warmly.