The small differences...

...between two countries probably can only be seen when you go to an unknown place in your home country. At least that is what I realized when I went to Berlin last week. Not even two months before I was also in Germany but at home where I am so used to my surroundings that I probably didn't pay attention to differences between Germany and Norway. Apart from that I just don't like big cities - too much traffic, noise, polluted air and you need hours to go from one place to another (changing busses and trams und subways several times).
Anyway, I was quite surprised how fast I got used to Norway since I always wanted to say unnskyld instead of entschuldigung or even sorry. I was also quite surprised when passing by some people and they were actually speaking German ;). In addition I was quite surprised to see cars without lights when it is almost dark or very rainy weather (something which happens almost never in Norway)and cigarette commercials on these huge poster boards. I also caught myself trying to ignore the red lights for pedestrians since here in Oslo people just don't care - in Berlin most people still wait patiently. In addition everything seemed to be so cheap - especially food (and that in Berlin which is for sure not the cheapest place in Germany). It is quite unnecessary to say that I like the German alcohol policy better (no special shops you just get wahtever you like as long as the shop is open) and I don't think that Germans have more of an alcohol problem than other countries.
Otherwise I have to state that generally Germans (even in Berlin) actually are more friendly. It starts at the airport: the Norwegian just gives you a ticket with a seat number, the German asks where you would like to sit. One guy at the airport in Berlin was really worried about me sitting on the floor and getting too cold so he asked me where I wanted to go and checked when the check-in desk would open and since there was still some time he even wanted to give me a newspaper to sit on.
Besides it happens quite often that complete strangers talk to you on the street - maybe that was a coincidence, I don't know.
One really funny thing is that the people at the Oslo airport always claim that my backpack is extra size luggage (I never had that problem at any other airport - even not Norwegian ones). I don't have to pay more but I just have to check it in at another desk - this time I even had to put it in a plastic bag - very strange.
All in all I have to admit that I was missing Oslo(and Norway) the second day already but I think that is mostly connected to my dislike of big cities and to the fact that a small hotel room just does not really feel like home.