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Best 5 Norweigian Cities and Fjords
02/03/15 11:46 Filed in: Travel
Highlights of Norway
Norway is, without doubt, one of the most rewarding, beautiful and relaxing places to visit. Nestled between gorgeous mountains and breathtaking fjords, Norwegian cities are charming, historic, and easy to explore on foot. Here are just a sample of the best places to visit. For more detailed information you can download: The Passionate Traveler: Highlights of Norway — from the iBooks Store.
Norway is, without doubt, one of the most rewarding, beautiful and relaxing places to visit. Nestled between gorgeous mountains and breathtaking fjords, Norwegian cities are charming, historic, and easy to explore on foot. Here are just a sample of the best places to visit. For more detailed information you can download: The Passionate Traveler: Highlights of Norway — from the iBooks Store.
I’m a Passionate Traveler who likes to dig below the surface and ask questions about the places I visit. Here is my take on Bergen. 1. Bergen is the gateway to the Norwegian Fjords. Savor the medieval ambience of this former sea-trading capital harking back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Take a stroll through the historic Hanseatic Quarter’s narrow lanes overhung with creaking old timber structures, browse in quaint shops and interesting small museums.
Take the funicular to the top of Mount Floien for spectacular views of the town encircled by islands and fjords. Hike the trails meandering through forests of ancient Norway pines.
2. Geiranger and Geirangerfjord. The fjord with its sheer rock walls and cascading waterfalls is justifiably listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the town, climb the multilevel stairway that follows the path of the waterfall tumbling into the fjord far below. At the top, explore the modern Norwegian Fjord Center. Enjoy the multi-media show, "From Mountains to Fjord" that depicts this World Heritage Site through the four seasons with magnificent photos—a great way to absorb the history, culture and ecology of the area. Take a bus trip to the top of Mount Dalsnibba, 4,600 feet above sea level, for breathtaking views of the fjord.
3. Alesund. Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the elegant buildings in the Jungenstile, or Art Nouveau style — one the few intact Art Nouveau town centers in the world, which residents and visitors prize for its ambience and distinctive character.
Then we drove on to the Sunnmore Folk Museum, a charming open-air museum with 55 authentic houses. Our guide led us on a leisurely exploration of traditional old homesteads, farms, and the boat collection. The picturesque structures and the indoor exhibits gave a vivid sense of how the people of the Sunnmøre region had lived in harmony with nature for thousand years.
Before returning to Ålesund, the bus traveled a steep, winding road to the top of Mount Aksla, for breathtaking views of the town, the skerries (small, rocky islands), all the way across to the Sunnmøre Alps.
4. Eidfjord. From the town of Eidfjord take a ride up to the Måbødalen Valley and the Vøringsfossen Waterfall. Explore the Hardangervidda Nature Centre, a state of the art museum and visitors centre. The center houses exhibits of the Norwegian landscape, its climate and environment, including an aquarium and interactive stations. Marvel at the sweeping vistas of Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau, which incorporates Norway’s largest national park set up as a refuge for reindeer. Continue the drive up the winding road to the quaint Fossili Hotel. From the hotel you’ll have panoramic views of Vøringsfossen Waterfall, plunging and writhing through the canyon. Continue to the Sysen Dam, the main reservoir for the Sima Power Station, and vital for generating Norway’s hydroelectric power.
5. Oslo is situated in an amphitheater with the city center close to the Oslofjord and the residential areas stretching uphill in all directions. Forests surround the residential areas, quite extraordinary for a city of this size. Moose can be easily spotted in winter, and the whole of the capital is part of Norway's wolf reserve. Visit Oslo’s City Hall where each year on December the 10, the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Award ceremony takes place with the Norwegian royal family in attendance.
Take time to explore the Vigeland sculptures, within Frogner Park, the world’s largest sculpture park. The brilliant Norwegian sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, created poignant statues of men, women, and children in various stages of life—from infants to toddlers, from adolescents to adults.
The Viking Ship Museum displays important Viking discoveries from Gokstad, Oseberg and Tune as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord. On display are the world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships built in the 9th century, as well as small boats, sledges, a cart with exceptional ornamentation, implements, tools, harness, textiles and household utensils.
The Kon-Tiki Museum houses the original ships and artifacts from the world-renowned expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), the noted anthropologist, adventurer, author, and environmentalist. Heyerdahl built and sailed the Ra II, a papyrus reproduction of ancient Egyptian sailing vessels to prove his theory that Mediterranean civilizations could have sailed to America in ancient times. There’s also and exhibit about Heyerdahl’s Tigris and an Easter Island expeditions, which include a replica of a statue from Easter Island.
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