Skjolden, Norway: Walking With Llamas Down by the River

Skjolden, Norway: Walking With Llamas Down by the River

August 4, 2023Norway 10 Comments

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” ~Aristotle Llamas in Norway? I had no idea. Then again, I hadn’t heard of Skjolden, Norway, either. It turns out that the village of Skjolden (the “k” is pronounced like an “h”), with 300 people spread out along Norway’s longest fjord, also has a … Read More

Nordkapp, Norway: Taking It All In at the Top of the World

Nordkapp, Norway: Taking It All In at the Top of the World

July 31, 2023Norway 12 Comments

“Here I am at Nordkapp, at the edge of Finnmark, and I dare say the very edge of the world, since there are no other places further north inhabited by man.” ~Francesco Negri, Viaggio Settentrionale (published posthumously), 1700 Nordkapp, Norway. I had been anticipating standing at the proverbial top of the world ever since seeing … Read More

Tromsø, Norway: Gateway to the Arctic

Tromsø, Norway: Gateway to the Arctic

July 28, 2023Norway 10 Comments

In Tromsø, Norway, the phrase world’s northernmost gets quite a workout. There’s the world’s northernmost brewery (Mack Brewery), world’s northernmost university (Arctic University of Norway), world’s northernmost Protestant cathedral (Tromsø Cathedral) and the world’s northernmost botanical garden (Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden). Add to that Tromsø’s designation as the “world’s northernmost city of more than 50,000 people,” … Read More

Norway’s Lofoten Islands: A Moody Day Above the Arctic Circle

Norway’s Lofoten Islands: A Moody Day Above the Arctic Circle

July 26, 2023Norway 10 Comments

“Behind the clouds, the sky is always blue.” ~Norwegian Proverb Distant red buildings were peeking through a fog-shrouded sky as the Seabourn Ovation made its way toward Norway’s Lofoten Islands. Our ship would be anchoring off the shores of Svolvaer, Lofoten’s largest town, and tenders would be needed to take us ashore. The misty morning … Read More

Ålesund, Norway: Dreamy Art Nouveau Town on the Norwegian Sea

Ålesund, Norway: Dreamy Art Nouveau Town on the Norwegian Sea

July 24, 2023Norway 8 Comments

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Art Nouveau-designed Ålesund, Norway, reinvented and rebuilt its wooden-structured self after a devastating fire swept through the town in 1904. Romantic-looking pastel-painted buildings topped with turrets and towers line the harbor and are sprinkled throughout the city center. Stone and brick structures with decorative tile roofs call out … Read More