from the hip

We all know that Norway is an expensive place to visit. However, it may well be that some of the prices are even higher than you may think. I would even so far as to say pretty wild.

A Norwegian blogger yesterday published the fines local police authorities in Norway issues for minor offenses like urinating in public (or in the snow, as the case may be), drinking in public, or starting a fight.

The fine for peeing in the snow in the small city of Trysil, according to the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, cited by the blogger, is NOK 10.000. That’s approximately USD 2.000 or GBP 900!

Here is the headline from Dagbladet:

10 000 i bot for å tisse ute

Politiet i Trysil har egne påskepriser for dobesøk ute i naturen.

It says: “10.000 for peeing outdoors. The police in Trysil have their own prices for using nature as a toilet”.

Here is the list of prices compiled by the blogger:

• Trysil: Peeing in the snow - USD 2.000-3.000
• Trysil: Drinking in a public place - same
• Voss: Public fighting - USD 1.000
• Voss: Peeing - USD 400
• Beitostolen/Kvitfjell: Peeing USD 600-1.000

The official term, of course, is not peeing, but urinating in a public place. I’m just abbreviating a little.

Many people ask themselves, quite understandable, what to do when they are out skiing and need to pee? One commentator on the Norwegian blog suggested breaking into a cabin and peeing there. The fine for breaking and entry when in distress is lower than that for peeing, was his argument.

While imposing fines on foreigners and people from the cities seems to be a favorite activity for the Norwegian police, and no doubt brings money into the coffers of the Government and the police departments, crime is rising rapidly in Norway. Many Norwegians, therefore, feel that the focus of the police may be slightly misdirected.