[Say, it isn't that bad!]

Originally Posted by coronatiger

In medieval Norway, "everyone" lived along the coast and traveled by boat if they wanted to get anywhere. Going from one village to a neighboring one would just as likely include sailing down one fjord and up the next, as going cross-country through forested wilderness.

While Norway and Sweden are quite large on the scale of Europe, you're still outnumbered by temperate plains and forests in Europe. :)