Norway Vacations

Norwegians, like other people who live in the far north, have developed coping skills to deal with the darkness that comes in the winter. They continue to engage in outdoor activities like skiing and skating and practice a concept known as ‘hygge’, which is creating a warm and cozy atmosphere to invite peace, comfort, and relaxation.

The flipside of the darkness is Norway’s midnight sun. In the summer months north of the Arctic circle the sun remains visible at midnight, around the summer solstice on June 21. The best spots to experience the phenomenon are in Bode, Svalbard, and Tromso. In Svalbard, the northernmost inhabited region in Europe, there is no sunset from April to August.

Easter is a time of colourful Sami festivals. Samis are indigenous people whose culture plays a large part in the wider culture of Norway. Traditional Folk music uses the Hardanger fiddle and traditional vocal styles. Henrik Ibsen and Knut Hamsun are popular authors and Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ is an iconic piece of art, and sits in the National Museum in Oslo. Also, there is a strong coffee culture in Norway,

The giant fjords of southwest Norway, will bowl you over. There are more than a thousand of these long, deep, and narrow bodies of water that reach inland from the sea, usually with very steep hills or towering walls of rock on both sides. Hardangerfjord, the 4th largest and 2nd longest stretches 179 kilometres, and hosts Norway’s 3rd largest glacier. Sognefjord is the longest and deepest, with an arm called Naeroyfjord, UNESCO World Heritage Site. The highest mountains in Norway are here, and it’s the perfect place to take a cruise.

The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is a phenomenon of bright dancing luminous steaks of light across the sky in white and green – it’s actually collisions between electronically-charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. They’re best seen in the polar night skies and occur roughly in 27-day cycles.

Norway’s climate ranges from temperate to Arctic and it has four classic seasons, where it's dark and snowy in winter, warm and sunny in summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Winters in Norway can see temperatures dip to below -30°C in some parts of the country, and the lowlands of the south and inland mountains tend to experience colder winters than the coastal areas.

To attempt to grasp the wonder that is the outdoor and natural beauty of Norway, try a rail journey or a cruise. These unique travel experiences help give you the grand scope of one of the world’s most beautiful places.

The Flam Railway is one of the world’s steepest standard-gauge railway lines that runs the 20 kilometre distance between the village of Flam and the Myrdal Mountain Station. In this relatively short distance, trains climb 865 metres in elevation. If you’ve got a fear of heights, this trip will test it. The steep mountainside ride has exquisite alpine landscapes, gushing waterfalls, and it goes through 20 tunnels. Myrdal Mountain Station is a launching point for hiking and the scenic trails of the Hardangervidda Plateau with its stark open spaces.

The train ride between Oslo and Bergen is one of the most beautiful in the world. At 7 hours and a distance of 485 kilometres, you’ll see mind blowing scenery. Sit back and enjoy this slow ride as you pass through 180 tunnels, forests, lowlands, waterfalls, and rivers. If you think the ride is beautiful in summer, try the winter ride, when you pass through a wide wonderland of pristine snow-white beauty.

Another way to view the spectacular outdoors of Norway is to cruise up the coastline from Bergen to Kirkenes, above the Arctic Circle. This 12 day trip will land you in 34 enchanting ports, and in between, carry you in silence along the coastal waters while you experience the rugged maritime nature of Scandinavia  at its finest untouched state.

Cruises and trains run all year round.

Central Europeans first moved into and inhabited the Arctic north 11000 years ago. These were the Komsa and later the Sami people. 

During the Iron Age, 3000 years ago, better and stronger tools were developed that allowed for the clearing of land and the building of bigger and more robust farms. With farms came more permanent structures, better and more comfortable living conditions, and communities. Newer iron boats also encouraged more trade and exploration away from the shores of Norway.

The first viking raid was in 793 at St. Cuthbert’s monastery on the island of Lindisfarne. The Viking Age was a significant period in Norwegian history lasting from about 800 to 1050. New technologies at its time saw seafaring boats that could make it to Britain. Many went and traded there, returning home with new goods. Strong Viking raids to Britain, Ireland, Europe, even into the Middle East created the once powerful and wide-ranging Scandinavian Empire.

Times of peace and connections with Sweden and Denmark marked several hundred years and a population increase occurred between the years 1000 and 1300 raising it to a staggering  400,000 from 150,000. Then a third of that number was eliminated by the Black Death plague of 1350.

In 1380 Norway joined Denmark under a Danish King. This connection with Denmark, along with official connections to Sweden continued until 1814, when Norway created its own constitution. This didn’t last long and Norway found itself again under the powers of a Swedish king, which lasted for the next 90 years.

The time between 1840-67 is known as a period of Norwegian romantic nationalism. The physical aesthetics of the country inspired art and literature, and helped frame a new nostalgic look at its national identity. In 1913, Norwegian women became the first European women able to vote and in WWII Norwegians resisted Germany as best it could with the help of Shetland fishermen who smuggled arms across the sea. Norway was a founding member of United Nations in 1946 and joined NATO in 1949.

The late 1960s were a time of great prosperity for Norway as oil was discovered in the North Sea. The economy took off, changing the country from one of Europe’s poorest to one of its richest. 

Norway has had a strong line of socialist governments that have created one of the most extensive social welfare systems in history, as well as in education and health, to the great benefit of Norwegians.

Due to its coastline, fish is a natural food staple in Norwegian cuisine. Many dishes are made up of ingredients traditionally found in Norway like game meat – elk, reindeer, and moose – and potatoes, root vegetables, and fresh produce lightly spiced with herbs, salt and pepper.

Around the Christmas season you’ll find the aromas of Pinnekjott in kitchens across the country cooking this meal of lamb ribs served with sausages, mashed potatoes and mashed rutabaga. Lutefisk is also a holiday mean – stockfish softened in water and lye, then grilled and served with bacon, potato, mushy peas and mustard.

Fenelar is a leg of lamb salt cured and air dried and served thinly sliced with bread and mustard, sometimes as an appetizer. Salmon and herring are popular and plentiful, and foraging in the wild for berries and mushrooms is a fun cultural activity.

If you like cheese, definitely try brunost, a fudge-like brown cheese both sweet and sharp, sliced into wafer thin pieces and served on bread or toast, sometimes with honey. And for your sweet tooth, Multekrem is a popular summer dessert made up of the sweet and tart cloudberry, and a dollop of whipped cream.

Alcohol can be somewhat limited and expensive in Norway, in part to emphasize responsible drinking. Brewing craft beer is gaining traction and becoming popular. Farmhouse ales are popular, and made with local ingredients. Ringnes and Hansa are popular brands and lots of Norwegians like their pils.

Most wines and spirits are more imported, but there are apple and blackcurrant wines made locally. Aquavit is the national drink, a potato based spirit flavoured with herbs, caraway seeds, anise, dill, fennel, coriander. A Scandinavian drink, the Nordic Negroni is made with aquavit instead of gin and a cloudberry mojito uses cloudberry liqueur and fresh cloudberries.

The drinking age is 18 for beer and wine, and any drink up to 22% ABV, then 20 years of age for drinks over 22% ABV.