| • Bergen and the fjords
The fjords are the most familiar and alluring image of Norway: huge
clefts in the landscape which occur along the west coast right up to the
Russian border, though the fjord region is usually defined as lying
between Stavanger and Ålesund. Wild, rugged and peaceful, these water-filled
wedges are visually stunning; indeed, this part of the country elicits
inordinate amounts of purple prose from tourist office handouts, and for
once it's rarely overstated. In the summer, the fjords are, it's true,
patrolled by a steady flotilla of cruise ships, and the hills heave with
hikers, but the crowds are rarely oppressive and what little development
there has been is seldom intrusive.
Bergen , Norway's second largest city, is a handy springboard for the
western fjords, notably the Flåm Valley and its inspiring mountain
railway, which trundles down to the Aurlandsfjord, a tiny arm of the
mighty Sognefjord , Norway's longest and deepest. North of the
Sognefjord, there is the smaller but less stimulating Nordfjord , though
there's superb compensation in the Jostedalsbreen glacier which nudges
the fjord from the east. The tiny S-shaped Geirangerfjord , further
north again, is magnificent too - narrow, sheer and rugged - while the
northernmost Romsdalsfjord and its many branches and inlets reach
pinnacles of isolation in the Trollstigen mountain highway.
By rail, you can only reach Bergen in the south and Åndalsnes in the
north. For everything in between - including the Sognefjord, Nordfjord
and the Jostedalsbreen glacier - you're confined to buses and ferries .
Consequently, although the buses and ferries virtually all connect up
with each other, it means that there is no set way to approach the fjord
region, and itineraries are very much a matter of personal choice. It's
a good idea to pick up full bus and ferry timetables from the local
tourist office whenever you can; be aware that shorter bus routes are
often part of a longer routeing on which the buses and ferries link up.
Car ferry rates are very reasonable, and although the impressively
speedy catamaran ( Hurtigbåt ) services are expensive, they are
considered an extension of the train system, and holders of rail passes
often qualify for fifty-percent discounts.
• Northern Norway
The long, thin counties of Trøndelag and Nordland mark the transition
from rural southern to blustery northern Norway. The main town of
Trøndelag, appealing Trondheim , is easily accessible from Oslo by train,
but north of here feels very far removed from the capital and travelling
becomes more of a slog as the distances between places grow ever greater.
In Nordland things get wilder still, though save the scenery there's
little of delaying interest until you reach the surprisingly interesting
steel town of Mo-i-Rana . Just north of here lies the Arctic Circle ,
beyond which the land becomes ever more spectacular, not least on the
offshore chain of the Lofoten Islands , whose idyllic fishing villages (and
cheap accommodation) richly merit a stop. Back on the mainland, Narvik
was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting by the Allies and
Norwegian resistance in World War II and is now a modern port handling
vast quantities of iron ore amid some startling rocky surroundings.
Further north still, the provinces of Troms and Finnmark are enticing
too, but the travelling can be harder still, the specific attractions
well distanced and - when you reach them - subtle in their appeal. It
was from Tromsø , northern Norway's largest urban centre and a lively
university town, that the king and his government proclaimed a "Free
Norway" in 1940 before fleeing into exile in Britain. The appeal of
Finnmark is less obvious: it was laid waste to during World War II, and
it's now possible to drive for hours without coming across a building
more than fifty years old. Most travellers head straight for Nordkapp ,
from where the Midnight Sun is visible between early May and the end of
July.
The train network reaches as far north as Fauske and Bodø, buses making
the link to Narvik, from where a separate rail line runs the few
kilometres to the border and then south through Sweden. Further north,
approaches are more limited, and access is either by the coastal boat (
Hurtigrute ) or bus. The Hurtigrute takes the best part of two days to
circumnavigate the huge fjords between Tromsø and Kirkenes; bus
transport throughout the summer (and some of the winter) is efficient
and regular, using the windswept E6 Arctic Highway as far as Kirkenes,
with the E69 branching off to Nordkapp on the way.
• Oslo
Despite tourist-office endeavours, OSLO retains a low profile among
European cities, and even comparisons with other Scandinavian capitals
are usually a little less than favourable. Inevitably, though, you'll
pass through - the main train routes heading west to the fjords, north
to the Arctic, south to the coast and east to Sweden are routed through
the city - but take heart: Oslo is definitely worth seeing. The city has
some of Europe's best museums, fields a street life that surprises most
first-time visitors, and helps revive travellers weary of the austere
northern wilderness.
Oslo is the oldest of the Scandinavian capital cities, founded,
according to the Norse chronicler Snorre Sturlason, around 1048 by
Harald Hardråde. Several decimating fires and 600 years later, Oslo
upped sticks and shifted west to its present site, abandoning its old
name in favour of Christiania - after the seventeenth-century Danish
king Christian IV responsible for the move. The new city prospered and
by the time of the break with Denmark (and union with Sweden) in 1814,
Christiania - indeed Norway as a whole - was clamouring for independence,
something it finally achieved in 1905, though the city didn't revert to
its original name for another twenty years. Today's city centre is
largely the work of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
an era reflected in the wide streets, dignified parks and gardens, solid
buildings and long, consciously classical vistas, which combine to lend
it a self-satisfied, respectable air. Seeing the city takes - and
deserves - time. Its half a million inhabitants have room to spare in a
city whose vast boundaries encompass huge areas of woods, sand and water,
and much of the time you're as likely to be swimming or trail-walking as
strolling the city centre
The City
Oslo's main street, Karl Johans gate , leads west up the slope from Oslo
S train station. It begins unpromisingly with a clutter of tacky shops
and hang-around junkies, but steps away at the corner of Dronningens
gate is the curious Basarhallene , a circular building of two tiers,
whose brick cloisters once housed the city's food market. The adjacent
Domkirke (daily 10am-4pm; free) dates from the late seventeenth century,
though its heavyweight tower was remodelled in 1850; plain and dour from
the outside, the cathedral's elegantly restored interior is in
delightful contrast, its homely, low-ceilinged nave and transepts awash
with maroon, green and gold paintwork.
Continuing along Karl Johans gate, it's a brief stroll up to the
Stortinget , the parliament building, an imposing chunk of neo-Romanesque
architecture that was completed in 1866. It's open to the public, but
the obligatory guided tour (July to mid-Aug Mon-Sat 10am, 11.30am & 1pm;
mid-Sept to June Sat only 11am & 12.30pm; free) shows little more than
can be gleaned from the outside. In front of the parliament, a narrow
park-piazza flanks Karl Johans gate; in summer it teems with promenading
city folk, while in winter people flock to its floodlit open-air skating
rinks.
Lurking at the western end of the park is the neoclassical
Nationaltheatret , built in 1899 and fronted by a stodgy statue of
playwright Henrik Ibsen. Beyond, up the hill, is the Royal Palace , a
monument to Norwegian openness; built between 1825 and 1848, when other
monarchies were nervously counting their friends, it still stands
without railings and walls and the grounds - Slottsparken - are open to
the public. The daily changing of the guard (1.30pm) is a snappy affair,
well worth a look. An equestrian statue of the king who built the palace,
Karl XIV Johan, stands in front of the main facade inscribed with his
motto, "The people's love is my reward".
Back on Karl Johans Gate, the nineteenth-century buildings of the
University fit well in this monumental end of the city centre. Among
them you will find Norway's largest and best collection of art at the
National Gallery , Universitetsgata 13 (Mon, Wed & Fri 10am-6pm, Thurs
10am-8pm, Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 11am-4pm; free). An accessible collection,
it may be short of internationally famous painters - with the notable
exception of the Impressionists - but there is ample compensation in the
museum's comprehensive display of Norwegian paintings. Highlights
include some wonderfully romantic, nineteenth-century landscapes by the
likes of Johan Christian Dahl and Thomas Fearnley, and two rooms devoted
to Edvard Munch, featuring the original version of the famous Scream as
well as The Sick Child , the first of an important series of depictions
of Munch's dying sister.
Heading south from the University buildings, you can't miss the
monolithic brickwork of the Rådhus (May-Aug Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm;
Sept-April Mon-Sat 9am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm; free), the massive City Hall,
opened in 1950 to celebrate the city's 900th anniversary. Few people had
a good word to say about the place when it was first built, but popular
irritation has moved on to other, more modern targets, and the Rådhus
has worn well, its twin towers a grandiose but somehow rather amiable
statement of civic pride. The interior - best seen on one of the
frequent free guided tours - celebrates all things Norwegian; the main
hall or Rådhushallen is decorated with vast murals by several of the
country's leading artists.
On the seaward side of the Rådhus is the central harbour, bordered to
the west by the old, yellow Oslo V railway station - now the main
tourist office - and Oslo's former shipyard, cleverly remodelled to hold
the hi-tech shopping halls of the Aker Brygge development. In the
opposite direction, running east from the Rådhus, is Rådhusgata , which
leads to the city's other harbour, Vippetangen, the gridiron streets on
either side of it a legacy of seventeenth-century Oslo - though sadly
it's only the layout that survives. To the south of Rådhusgata is
Akershus Castle (May to mid-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 12.30-6pm; late
April & mid-Sept to Oct Sun only 12.30-4pm; 20kr; free guided tours Mon-Sat
11am, 1pm & 3pm, Sun 1pm & 3pm), the most significant memorial to
medieval Oslo. Built on a rocky knoll overlooking the harbour around
1300, it was modernized in the seventeenth century by Christian IV. A
visit to the castle takes in the royal chapel and mausoleum, but it's
all rather bland. Very much more diverting is the Resistance Museum ,
beside the castle entrance (daily 10/11am-3/4pm; 20kr), where excellent
displays detail the history of the war in Norway, from defeat and
occupation through resistance to final victory. Surrounding the castle
are the sprawling earth and stone ramparts and bastions of the Akershus
Festning fortress, which date from the seventeenth century and which
were designed to resist artillery bombardment - the part of the fortress
adjoining the castle offers fine views over the central harbour.
• Southern Norway
Southern Norway is an immediately appealing region - flatlands and fells
fringed by a tempting coastal concentration of islands and long, if
mostly rocky beaches. As such it's long been the Norwegians' principal
domestic holiday choice, though everyone else tends to pass quickly
through, which is fair enough if it's a choice between this region and
the fjords. However, southern Norway may, of course, be your first view
of the country, in which case it's worth spending at least some time at
your point of arrival. International ferries put in to the western port
of Stavanger , the region's major town, and Kristiansand , a lively
resort. Both are pleasant centres in their own right, especially
Stavanger with its pretty little old town.
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