     |
Fun on Norway travel"NORWAY TRAVEL" Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
7-11-1999 For centuries, Norway's deep-cut fjords have made coastal fishing arduous, transportation laborious. They have turned beach volleyball into an extreme sport. NORWAY TRAVEL In more recent decades, however, these giant fjords have become such celebrated tourist attractions that General Motors and Chrysler are now searching for places in Scandinavia to open up their own coastal enclaves. It's hard to glean this from the name, but ``Norway in a Nutshell'' is a full-day train-boat-bus-train tour that whisks tourists through some spectacular scenery between Oslo and Bergen on the southwest coast. At $100, it's no bargain, but you'd be hard pressed to get a cheaper ``fjord experience'' from Oslo. NORWAY TRAVEL Sitting just behind me on the first train leg of the journey was a sleeping woman who entertained the train car in the most audible and fragrant way imaginable - if you catch my drift. Each blast set off snickers from surrounding passengers. Eventually, the conductor nudged her awake to ask for her ticket. My other vivid memory from this part of the journey is the skiers. It was nearly summer and there was no snow in sight, but the train was carrying about 75 fully-clad cross-country-ski enthusiasts. Then the train started making its way up a mountain pass, and when I next looked out the window at Finse, we were in a snow-covered valley. The skiers disembarked, pulled on their skis at the station, and promptly made their way down the trail. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
NORWAY TRAVEL Soon after, in Flam, our band of 100 ``Norway in a Nutshell'' passengers transferred to a smaller train that carried us down the side of a fjord, behind a waterfall, past several ``oooh'' and ``aaah'' vistas and through a couple of tunnels until we emerged at a sea level, where there was a big tourist restaurant and gift shop! We then boarded a boat for a scenic tour of an inland fraction of the Sognefjord. A few hours later, we docked, transferred to buses and were deposited at a scenic overlook complete with - you'll never guess - an overpriced tourist restaurant and gift shop! NORWAY TRAVEL In a nutshell, the trip was touristy but nice; about what I expected. I joined an old high school friend, Jeff, and his wife, Jill, in Bergen, where we were supposed to catch a ride north on the coastal steamer, Hurtigruten. This journey was touted as ``The world's most beautiful voyage.'' The welcome-aboard information meeting had a bingo-parlor atmosphere. Jeff, Jill and I were the youngest people aboard by roughly half a century. I asked a crew member if this demographic was typical, and he said passengers ``generally range in age between 70 and death.'' My el cheapo cabin was better than expected, a notch up from the youth hostel standards I was accustomed to. For $100 a night, it should have been. NORWAY TRAVEL We spent most of our time reading and playing cards on the top-floor, all-window viewing deck. It felt like an economy-class airport lounge with better scenery and more greenhouse effect. The rugged coastline stretches forever (1,500 miles, anyway) and looks for the most part like it has yet to see a single cigarette butt. We stopped briefly in the picturesque burghs of Alesund, Kristiansund and Molde. Mostly, we walked around these towns and tried not to look like Hurtigruten passengers, which was surprisingly easy. Perhaps the only advantage of youth on this boat was the ability to blend in ashore. Peter, the guy in charge of the passengers spoke around five languages fluently and put up with questions like: ``What time is the midnight sun?''
Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
NORWAY TRAVEL As far as the midnight sun was concerned, I always pictured people sleeping outside with SPF 30 sun block on. In a nutshell, though, the midnight sun looks more like the midnight sunset: more stunning, less tanning....... Compare airline tickets for Norway travel here /cheap airfares home |