Norway
Published in Woman's Weekly 1st September 2009
Published in Woman's Weekly 1st September 2009
NORWAY – the most unspoiled travel destination in the world.
Norway has been a firm favourite destination for British visitors since the mid-19th century when the landed gentry began to organise tours of the Norwegian mountains and salmon anglers came in search of record-breaking fish. Their journals and travel memoirs are filled with awe-inspiring descriptions of the spectacular landscape that persuaded many an artist and photographer to discover the natural beauty for themselves. Today’s visitors continue to cross the North Sea to enjoy the same rugged land of rippling glaciers, breathtaking fjords and gracious hospitality. I count myself as a fan.
In fact, I am not the only one who rates Norway highly. A recent survey in The National Geographic Traveler magazine voted the Norwegian Fjords as the most unspoiled travel destination in the world and with the added bonus of long hours of daylight during the summer means you have lots of time to explore the scenery.
I started my journey at the Art Nouveau seaside town of Ålesund, the gateway to the Fjords and situated along the western coastline. Described as the most beautiful town in Norway I was immediately captivated by the striking coastal scenery as I stepped off the plane at the nearby airport. A short drive along quiet roads and a remarkable series of tunnels and bridges lead me to briefly stop by the small fishing community of Alnes on Godøy Island where I paid a visit to the pretty red and white stripped lighthouse. After climbing to the top to inspect the impressive panoramic views you must treat yourself to the delicious home made cakes and traditional Norwegian pancakes called Svele, which are served in the light keeper’s rooms.
Suitable revived I made the half-hours drive to Ålesund and immediately headed for a birds eye view of the town and surrounding landscape at the Fjellstua hilltop viewpoint. Photography enthusiasts like to arrive early in the day or at sunset to capture the best scenes on their cameras but the vista still looked pretty good to me on a warm afternoon.
On a pleasant summers day, it’s hard to believe that tragedy struck this charming town when in 1904 a dreadful fire decimated the wooden buildings and left 10,000 people homeless. Remarkably, Ålesund rose from the ashes thanks to a string of ambitious architects who completely rebuilt the town in the Art Nouveau style with a myriad of fairytale turrets, spires and medieval ornaments. Exploring the town centre on foot is easy and don’t be surprised if you suddenly hear the national anthem being played as your ears are not deceiving you! It’s just Ålesund way of welcoming The Queen Mary ship as she docks at the cruise terminal.
The wild and dramatic Hjørundfjord is one of Norway’s hidden treasures yet it’s easy to view the stunning scenery thanks to the local sightseeing boat run by 62°Nord that conveniently leaves from the centre of Ålesund. Only 40km long, this fjord cuts its way through some of the wildest mountain ranges in Norway, “the Sunnmøre Alps” passing alpine farms, waterfalls and small villages such as Øye, where time appears to have stood still. I lunched at the delightfully restored Union Hotel, which was originally built as a High Victorian establishment for the touring aristocrats and described by one English tourist from the 1890’s as “A little piece of paradise”. Each room is individually decorated with a host of period antiques and the food is pretty good as well.
My journey continued at Hellesylt where I boarded the Geirangerfjord tourist ferry to experience one of the worlds most famous and popular fjords. I joined the mass of excited photographers on the upper deck as we slowly passed by endless majestic waterfalls and assorted beauty spots on this unforgettable hour-long tour. Unfortunately the village of Geiranger at journeys end was easily forgettable as the 260 winter inhabitants are swamped by over a half million visitors in the summer season. Frankly, you’d do better to escape this tourist trap of troll shops and tacky gifts and head on up to the impressive viewpoints at Dalsnibba or Flydalsjuvet providing the weather is clear. Unfortunately, I was greeted with low clouds and rain so I hastily continued my journey across the snow covered peaks of the Nordfjord to the village of Loen by the Jostedalsbreen National Park. I last visited this area three years ago when the highlight of my trip was a wonderful guided glacial walk along the Briksdal Glacier. Any hopes of repeating this activity were curtailed by the lack of ice at the foot of the glacier – It had drastically melted both here and at the nearby Kjenndal glacier. Some experts put this down to global warming but the majority of local guides who I spoke to where not so convinced as these glaciers had been retreating for a long time. The average temperature is definitely warming though and trees are now growing at a higher level on the mountains than ever before – a sure sign of changing conditions.
The family-run Alexandra Hotel in Loen is a popular choice for British visitors and it’s easy to understand why when your own balcony view overlooks the Nordfjord and the towering snow-capped mountains. Tearing myself away from such beauty was hard but the enchanting village of Balestrand on the northern shores of Sognefjord provided rich compensation. This area is noted for it’s hiking trails set amongst picturesque mountain scenery and provided an inspirational setting for the Norwegian Romantic artists of the C19th. These painters often stayed in the historic wooden water fronted hotel Kviknes where they exchanged their work for board and lodgings. For the curious, a little reminder of home can be discovered in the form of St. Olaf Church, or the English Church, as the locals like to call it. Built in 1897 for a British émigré Margaret Kvikne, this stave style of church still holds regular services by an every changing rota of enthusiastic British vicars.
My final destination was to the World Heritage city of Bergen via the Express boat that I boarded at Sognefjord. I really love entering the city this way as the harbour views are fantastic and the boat drops you right in the heart of the city.
Try strolling around the old cobbled streets and alleyways where people have lived and worked for centuries or take a funicular ride up one of the seven mountains and admire the handsome view.
The Bergen Card is a useful purchase as it entitles the visitor to either free or discounted admission to a large number of attractions and activities.
Food and Drink
There is no getting away from the fact that food and drink in Norway is expensive. Alcohol tends to be limited in availability although beer and wine are generally accessible in restaurants. Norway isn’t a member of the EEC so don’t forget to use your duty-free allowance at the airport before you arrive.
There are a number of ways to eat out inexpensively. Buffet breakfasts (frokost) are served widely and offer a substantial variety of fish, meats, cheese and breads at an affordable price. For lunch, be like the locals and ask for the daily special (dagens rett), which is normally a fish or meat dish served with potatoes or just prepare your own picnic. Bread, cheese yoghurt and local fruit are all good value and Norwegian sandwiches (smørbred) are substantial and satisfying.
10 Fascinating facts about Norway
1. The most useful Norwegian inventions include: the cheese slicer, the paper clip and the string vest!
2. Famous Norwegians include:
• The artist Edvard Munch (famous for his Scream painting)
• The playwright Henrik Ibsen
• Actress Liv Ullmann
• Composer Edvard Grieg
3. Norway has the longest coastline in Europe
4. Norway has the highest concentration of fjords in the world
5. Women in Norway have the right to 44 weeks of fully paid maternity leave and men 6 weeks of fully paid paternity leave.
6. Hydropower accounts for 99 per cent of the electricity generated in Norway.
7. In Norway, education is free, even college and university education.
8. Norway was one of the first countries to establish a Ministry for the Environment (1972).
9. There are more Norwegian descendants living in the United States than there are Norwegian people in Norway
10. Norway is one of the world’s richest countries per capita.
Norway has been a firm favourite destination for British visitors since the mid-19th century when the landed gentry began to organise tours of the Norwegian mountains and salmon anglers came in search of record-breaking fish. Their journals and travel memoirs are filled with awe-inspiring descriptions of the spectacular landscape that persuaded many an artist and photographer to discover the natural beauty for themselves. Today’s visitors continue to cross the North Sea to enjoy the same rugged land of rippling glaciers, breathtaking fjords and gracious hospitality. I count myself as a fan.
In fact, I am not the only one who rates Norway highly. A recent survey in The National Geographic Traveler magazine voted the Norwegian Fjords as the most unspoiled travel destination in the world and with the added bonus of long hours of daylight during the summer means you have lots of time to explore the scenery.
I started my journey at the Art Nouveau seaside town of Ålesund, the gateway to the Fjords and situated along the western coastline. Described as the most beautiful town in Norway I was immediately captivated by the striking coastal scenery as I stepped off the plane at the nearby airport. A short drive along quiet roads and a remarkable series of tunnels and bridges lead me to briefly stop by the small fishing community of Alnes on Godøy Island where I paid a visit to the pretty red and white stripped lighthouse. After climbing to the top to inspect the impressive panoramic views you must treat yourself to the delicious home made cakes and traditional Norwegian pancakes called Svele, which are served in the light keeper’s rooms.
Suitable revived I made the half-hours drive to Ålesund and immediately headed for a birds eye view of the town and surrounding landscape at the Fjellstua hilltop viewpoint. Photography enthusiasts like to arrive early in the day or at sunset to capture the best scenes on their cameras but the vista still looked pretty good to me on a warm afternoon.
On a pleasant summers day, it’s hard to believe that tragedy struck this charming town when in 1904 a dreadful fire decimated the wooden buildings and left 10,000 people homeless. Remarkably, Ålesund rose from the ashes thanks to a string of ambitious architects who completely rebuilt the town in the Art Nouveau style with a myriad of fairytale turrets, spires and medieval ornaments. Exploring the town centre on foot is easy and don’t be surprised if you suddenly hear the national anthem being played as your ears are not deceiving you! It’s just Ålesund way of welcoming The Queen Mary ship as she docks at the cruise terminal.
The wild and dramatic Hjørundfjord is one of Norway’s hidden treasures yet it’s easy to view the stunning scenery thanks to the local sightseeing boat run by 62°Nord that conveniently leaves from the centre of Ålesund. Only 40km long, this fjord cuts its way through some of the wildest mountain ranges in Norway, “the Sunnmøre Alps” passing alpine farms, waterfalls and small villages such as Øye, where time appears to have stood still. I lunched at the delightfully restored Union Hotel, which was originally built as a High Victorian establishment for the touring aristocrats and described by one English tourist from the 1890’s as “A little piece of paradise”. Each room is individually decorated with a host of period antiques and the food is pretty good as well.
My journey continued at Hellesylt where I boarded the Geirangerfjord tourist ferry to experience one of the worlds most famous and popular fjords. I joined the mass of excited photographers on the upper deck as we slowly passed by endless majestic waterfalls and assorted beauty spots on this unforgettable hour-long tour. Unfortunately the village of Geiranger at journeys end was easily forgettable as the 260 winter inhabitants are swamped by over a half million visitors in the summer season. Frankly, you’d do better to escape this tourist trap of troll shops and tacky gifts and head on up to the impressive viewpoints at Dalsnibba or Flydalsjuvet providing the weather is clear. Unfortunately, I was greeted with low clouds and rain so I hastily continued my journey across the snow covered peaks of the Nordfjord to the village of Loen by the Jostedalsbreen National Park. I last visited this area three years ago when the highlight of my trip was a wonderful guided glacial walk along the Briksdal Glacier. Any hopes of repeating this activity were curtailed by the lack of ice at the foot of the glacier – It had drastically melted both here and at the nearby Kjenndal glacier. Some experts put this down to global warming but the majority of local guides who I spoke to where not so convinced as these glaciers had been retreating for a long time. The average temperature is definitely warming though and trees are now growing at a higher level on the mountains than ever before – a sure sign of changing conditions.
The family-run Alexandra Hotel in Loen is a popular choice for British visitors and it’s easy to understand why when your own balcony view overlooks the Nordfjord and the towering snow-capped mountains. Tearing myself away from such beauty was hard but the enchanting village of Balestrand on the northern shores of Sognefjord provided rich compensation. This area is noted for it’s hiking trails set amongst picturesque mountain scenery and provided an inspirational setting for the Norwegian Romantic artists of the C19th. These painters often stayed in the historic wooden water fronted hotel Kviknes where they exchanged their work for board and lodgings. For the curious, a little reminder of home can be discovered in the form of St. Olaf Church, or the English Church, as the locals like to call it. Built in 1897 for a British émigré Margaret Kvikne, this stave style of church still holds regular services by an every changing rota of enthusiastic British vicars.
My final destination was to the World Heritage city of Bergen via the Express boat that I boarded at Sognefjord. I really love entering the city this way as the harbour views are fantastic and the boat drops you right in the heart of the city.
Try strolling around the old cobbled streets and alleyways where people have lived and worked for centuries or take a funicular ride up one of the seven mountains and admire the handsome view.
The Bergen Card is a useful purchase as it entitles the visitor to either free or discounted admission to a large number of attractions and activities.
Food and Drink
There is no getting away from the fact that food and drink in Norway is expensive. Alcohol tends to be limited in availability although beer and wine are generally accessible in restaurants. Norway isn’t a member of the EEC so don’t forget to use your duty-free allowance at the airport before you arrive.
There are a number of ways to eat out inexpensively. Buffet breakfasts (frokost) are served widely and offer a substantial variety of fish, meats, cheese and breads at an affordable price. For lunch, be like the locals and ask for the daily special (dagens rett), which is normally a fish or meat dish served with potatoes or just prepare your own picnic. Bread, cheese yoghurt and local fruit are all good value and Norwegian sandwiches (smørbred) are substantial and satisfying.
10 Fascinating facts about Norway
1. The most useful Norwegian inventions include: the cheese slicer, the paper clip and the string vest!
2. Famous Norwegians include:
• The artist Edvard Munch (famous for his Scream painting)
• The playwright Henrik Ibsen
• Actress Liv Ullmann
• Composer Edvard Grieg
3. Norway has the longest coastline in Europe
4. Norway has the highest concentration of fjords in the world
5. Women in Norway have the right to 44 weeks of fully paid maternity leave and men 6 weeks of fully paid paternity leave.
6. Hydropower accounts for 99 per cent of the electricity generated in Norway.
7. In Norway, education is free, even college and university education.
8. Norway was one of the first countries to establish a Ministry for the Environment (1972).
9. There are more Norwegian descendants living in the United States than there are Norwegian people in Norway
10. Norway is one of the world’s richest countries per capita.
