But coming overland from Sweden it would take a while before we saw the change. The first sights that impressed me were all the crystal clear lakes, with surfaces so perfect they created a symmetric image of hills, trees and sky. Next was the haphazard positioning of farms on every hill. It seems that every bit of even remotely level land was under cultivation. Norway is also the only place I've been where prices are higher when produce is in season.
Government policy prevents importation of cheaper produce when a local alternative is available.
As a result, prices drop considerably as soon as the local product is gone. All the snow and all those mountains mean a lot of water. And with arable land at a premium the locals won't let a little thing like lack of rainfall get in the way. Like the residents of Lom, a little town that's home to one of a very few stave churches to survive the eight centuries since St. Olaf decided that Christianity was a better bet than Paganism. So they decorated the roof of the church with dragons and other symbols of their earlier beliefs.