Just curious specifically because I’m going to Norway soon.

49 comments
  1. Britain has certainly lost its luster in recent years. For me, more than anything, British politics have been so bizarre in recent years that it sort of has turned me off on the entire country. In particular, the whole Brexit affair has been so sordid, it seems like Britain is trying its damndest to disconnect from the world. Britain has a special place in many Norwegian’s hearts due to the interest in British football, but I’m not sure even that helps these days… So yeah, I vote for the bottom picture!

  2. A bit of both! We see both types in fiction. Something in between is what we see on vacation in Spain 😉

  3. Definitely the second picture, but usually they do that shit while on holiday in Spain. In London (where I usually hang (Shoreditch area)) I’ve never seen anything outrageous yet.

  4. The way most Norwegians know some British people is through fotball/premier League, so yes, of those two, the second picture more closely than the first.

  5. Just to chime in, as an American I don’t view the Brits as “Downton Abbey”.

    But, you know, I wouldn’t exactly paint a pleasant picture of us either. (If you’re trying to be reductionist and simplistic – stereotyping.)

  6. It’s a bit of banter between friends.

    It’s a pretty good observation, though. Americans often associate the UK with television shows and movies based on British aristocracy, while Europeans often associate the UK with British holidaymakers we’ve seen in real life. Brits portrayed in movies are often classy, well-mannered, even heroic characters, while Brits on summer holidays often are of the drunker, chavvier variety.

    But again, it’s banter. We are close friends and allies, we’re allowed to joke around.

  7. Bottom picture is a relatively accurate representation of my idea of Britain, yeah – except people are a bit more stylish in the picture than I would expect them to be.

  8. It’s an illustration of a strict class society, isn’t it? The first group can pay for tickets to the USA and the second group can afford to fly on $100 tickets to Europe.

  9. Yeah, if I had to choose, I’d go with second picture.

    Before WW1, I might have gone for first picture.

  10. I would say neither picture captures UK IMO.

    UK has declined under Tories, that’s for sure. Brexit was a big mistake. It’s less tolerant than it used to be. NHS collapsing. Greater inequality in a country that already had too much inequality.

    But still, for me, UK is magical. Boating on the Thames on a lazy, sunny day. Singing “Come on Eileen” at full throat with a bunch of rugby guys in a pub in Luton. Pimms and strawberries at Wimbledon. Hiking through amazing scenery to check out a wind farm in Scotland. Ball at Oxford, and driving bumper cars in a full ball gown. All the weird and wonderful hidden gems in London. Visiting Belfast during the Troubles, and meeting incredibly cool people. Hiking the Brecon Beacons. Fish and chips wrapped in news papers on Brighton Beach. Enjoying a Beefeater gin and tonic in the company of a Beefeater.

    So many great memories, and much love for the people.

  11. The bottom picture could just as well be Norwegians tourists vacationing in Mallorca. Or just another Saturday night at Karl Johan.

  12. Norwegians love british people. Yes, also Norwegians get drunk and do stupid things. Only positive episodes meeting so many great british people. The only exception i recall was a Military episode in Norway, where a british navy seal was acting in a very Bad manner towards lower ranking soldiers, and he got furious when i commanded him to leave the building or i would call the military police (had a much lower rank).

    My parents in the 70s love british culture and the british TV series on NRK. They also travelled to UK on vacation. My strongest british feeling must be When I was a kid and Liverpool FC fan. Still remember most of the Liverpool players from late 80s. Now i don’t know any names 😂

    I like coffee not tea, but love british humor. Never visited UK, but been several times to US. Learned british accent at School, but now speak more american accent.

    Must visit UK. Where do the most typical british live in UK? London? Manchester? Liverpool?

  13. As there were thousands of West Ham United fans on wednesday in Prague for the the final of the Conference League I can say that the bottom picture is 100 % accurate.

  14. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the UK, and I find they’re just normal boring-ass people just like you and me 😂 do you have a third picture of just some guy trimming his hedges with a tired but content look on his face? I’d pick that image.

    One thing tho, *very* distrustful people to strangers when you want to hand them a gift. My friend lost her day pass for the trains on one train, so I bought her a new one, as I was returning to give it to her she’d found her first one. Well I didn’t want my £40 to go to waste, so I tried giving it to people… Literally noone would take it, my friend told me it was futile and that they wouldn’t, but I couldn’t believe it haha. Even when I explained WHY I was giving it away, a couple that were in line to buy tickets just said “oh I see, well we already have tickets but thanks anyway!” motherfucker you are IN A LINE to buy tickets, just… Take it!!

    I ended up giving it to that couple because I could tell the girl wanted to, but not directly, since they refused, so I said “I’m going to put the ticket on this ledge, then I’m going to go enjoy my vacation in London with my patiently waiting friend, if you *really* don’t want it, leave it or throw it in a bin, if you do want it, take it and use with my blessing, you don’t owe me anything, I’m literally just trying not to waste money”

    I put it down, walked away, took a selfie with a very decorative figure, and as I was heading out my friend tapped my arm and said “they just took it”, I saw them test it on the machine, shrug, and brought it with them on the train.

    Jesus christ, I spent like 40 minutes just trying to be nice 🤣

  15. My husband is British. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Britain, and had many British friends. I’d say the truth is mostly in the middle there.

    The same thing goes for most countries. There’s both good eggs and bad eggs everywhere. That picture is as accurate for Britain as it is of Norway. Many places in Europe have a drinking culture like that, so it isn’t anything that’s specifically British.

  16. Lived there for like 3 months. My biggest impression is that people in England has mastered the ability of not giving a fuck

    As in I seen old ladies with navy blue hair, dude go on the bus in a bathrobe, people generally dare being more different there.

  17. I think the second picture should be half what’s shown and half a scene from the BBC show Heartbeat.

  18. As a Norwegian living in the UK; definitely the last picture.

    Norwegians and Brits both love to get wasted no doubt but the difference is, when not drunk that is;

    ….British people are so loud. I mean no offence but it’s a little “wow” to me.. I see people kicking off at the bus about not wearing masks, and people having a fight in town about what football team is the best..

    A conversation I observed in town when Everton won a game.. or something.. There was a lady wearing an Everton top that was being verbally assaulted by this lad

    Lad: you blue shites!!!!!!!! You’re in the minority!! Shut up you scratty cow… He screamed in her face like she’d killed his cat..

    The girl was just kinda laughing in his face, and I was just flabbergasted.

    Never ever seen that back home.. obviously it happens everywhere, but it just seems to be more common in the UK where people cause a scene in public.

  19. Britain and Brits are very much loved in Norway. There is a definite sense of neighborship and great appreciation of our mutual tendencies to joke around and common history, and I think common perspectives on how we see the continent and how we see the US.

    Norwegians are mass consumers of British television, from crime shows, gameshows, documentaries, nature documentaries. We are huge fans of British actors and the British poise and presentation.

    Norwegians these days find Germans increasingly foreign and distant, but to move to Britain is almost second nature to many, it’s seen almost as a region of Norway. My greater family (when including cousins) has several British intermarriages.

  20. Lol, yes. British tourists in other European countries are the drunkest and loudest tourists I’ve ever met 😂 I love Britain though, and I go there when I have the chance, but I absolutely do NOT see Britain as the first pic.

  21. The Brits I notice are the hooligans and the party people who are too drunk and destructive/disruptive. But unlike Americans, I don’t immediately cringe when I hear the accent. I have mostly encounters with Brits that are so tourist-normak that they’re forgettable. But that’s when they’re traveling in smaller groups or alone. And the ones who have moved here are usually pretty decent people.

    So usually, none of the pictures, but if I had to pick one, it’s the bottom one.

  22. Seeing as I’ve lived in UK, the bottom one is how I see it. Only ever saw one posh dude ever and he was literally a relic of the past (looked like he was roleplaying Sherlock Holmes)

  23. Can confirm. Was recently in london and the amount of drunks i saw at 21:00/22:00 was quite surprising.

    They are drunk so early 😂😂

  24. Haha, I used to see them as the first one, but after having lived there for 3 years, the second one is definitely more accurate lol

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