Travel Articles - Norway - Kindly supplied by the Good Travel Guide Magazine |
NORWAY.
No other country in the world is as profoundly affected by the sea as Norway. In its deeply-indented fjords and islands, its restaurants serving seagull eggs and smorgasbord, in its proud, sea-faring people and its spellbinding Viking folklore, the sea exerts its force throughout.
Sailing on a Viking longship in the middle of a fjord, the imagination runs riot with tales of trolls living in the hills. Cruise ships ply right up within the Arctic Circle, the Land of the Midnight Sun, where the Lofoten Islands, on the rooftop of Europe, offer spectacularly wild surroundings, with sea bathing in the summer, whale watching and staying in timeless fisherman's cottages.
"To Norway? Isn't it freezing at this time of year? And expensive?".
This was their response, after telling some friends from Kent about my forthcoming trip to Norway.
But, as I was about to find out on my trip to the Lofoten Islands, none of these misconceptions are precise. Norway is a misunderstood country: people think because it's further north than Britain that the weather must be uninviting. Okay, Norway can get extremely cold in winter, but it's also a fact that in summer temperatures soar as high as those in Spain or Greece; the Gulf Stream means you can even swim comfortably off the coast in southern parts. As for expensive, I found it more affordable than many other European destinations.
Travel writer Nic Havers, who always preferred hotter climes for holidays, finds that opposites attract in Norway.
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