Midnight Sun

Charming and picturesque Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway but seems much smaller. Maybe that’s because Bergen is dwarfed by the grand scenery all around her. In just a few minutes, a funicular can whisk you from the city centre to the top of one of the local mountains, where you can rent a mountain bike and explore the trails. From the highest of the local peaks – reachable by cable car – you can see not only the city, but also the Atlantic Ocean, the fjord, and the surrounding mountains.

Let us hasten to add that Bergen itself also has much to admire. Narrow cobblestoned alleys and the old wooden buildings on the waterfront promenade all invite for a stroll. Afterwards, visit the city’s famed fish market, in operation since the 13^th century, and still a great place to sample the fine local cuisine in one of the many seafood restaurants that are crowded around it.

Charming and picturesque Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway but seems much smaller. Maybe that’s because Bergen is dwarfed by the grand scenery all around her. In just a few minutes, a funicular can whisk you from the city centre to the top of one of the local mountains, where you can rent a mountain bike and explore the trails. From the highest of the local peaks – reachable by cable car – you can see not only the city, but also the Atlantic Ocean, the fjord, and the surrounding mountains.

Let us hasten to add that Bergen itself also has much to admire. Narrow cobblestoned alleys and the old wooden buildings on the waterfront promenade all invite for a stroll. Afterwards, visit the city’s famed fish market, in operation since the 13^th century, and still a great place to sample the fine local cuisine in one of the many seafood restaurants that are crowded around it.

This morning you will not be headed for the railway station, but for a quay a few steps from your hotel. Here, a local express catamaran ferry awaits you. For the first few hours, the ferry will negotiate picturesque straits that are just protected from the Atlantic Ocean by a rocky archipelago.

Then, things start getting increasingly majestic as your ferry turns into the Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. Soon, mighty rockfaces start towering above you, with waterfalls rushing down their sides. This is the point of the trip where you will have no use for your indoor seat but will spend the rest of the journey on deck, gazing at the ever-more imposing scenery. Be on the lookout for a glimpse of the Jostedalsbræen, the biggest glacier in continental Europe.

The ferry calls at several charming villages before it turns into the very narrow and dramatic Aurlandsfjord. At the very end of the fjord lies Flåm, with your hotel just steps away from the quay.

Flåm is a paradise for those who seek unique and spectacular experiences in nature. Wonderful as hiking around Flåm is, the high point of your visit will be a fjord cruise on one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. Included in your itinerary, this cruise through the narrow and dramatic Nærøy fjord offers non-stop stunning views of waterfalls, snow-capped peaks and charming villages.

Norway has three railways that are routinely rated as some of the most spectacular in the world, and Flåm Railway is the jewel in the crown.

Departing from Flåm at the edge of the fjord, your train will ascend 800 dramatic altitude meters over the next just 20 km. Along the way, your nose will remain constantly pressed against the window as the train passes waterfalls, deep gorges, ferocious rivers, and small farm desperately clinging to the steep hillsides.

The train terminates at the small Myrdal train station where you will change trains. And not just to any train, but to the world-famous Bergen Railway, also a member of Norway’s three finest routes.

This is one of Europe’s highest mainlines, and it passes through the wild scenery of the Hardangervidda National Park at 1200 meters altitude. The railway was a huge national project when construction started in 1875 and turned out to be very challenging. Parts of the route were determined by the Norwegian Polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, after he had crossed the mountains on skis in 1884.

Oslo may be a small capital, but its setting is second to none. Located at the edge of the long and narrow Oslo Fjord, and nestled against steep hills, the city is an all-year outdoor destination. In summer, locals relax on the waterfront promenade or take a swim at one of the city centre’s artificial beaches. In winter, they take the tram up the hills and go skiing.

A few years ago, the centre of Oslo was unequivocally the elegant Karl Johans Gaten boulevard leading all the way to the royal palace, but recently city planners have spent a good chunk of their oil money on rejuvenating the waterfront. This includes a spectacular opera house shaped like an iceberg and with trails leading to its roof. Next to it, the new Munch Museum is where you can confront his slightly disturbing Scream.

Board the Intercity train for a scenic journey north, with beautiful vistas on the way. You are seated in Pluss class, the Norwegian version of first-class. The train carries a bistro car that serves a fine selection of local delicacies.

Upon arrival at Trondheim, you will be met by your private guide who will escort you to your four-star hotel. Then, she will invite you on a privately guided two-hour city walk and introduce you to a few of the capital’s hidden treasures.

Trondheim is Norway’s former capital and one of the oldest cities in the country, founded as a trading post by the Vikings in 997. The charming city centre with its colourful wooden buildings from the 17^th century is compact and easily covered by foot.

Visit the world’s most northern cathedral (and the biggest building in Scandinavia from medieval times). Also, admire the picturesque view of the city’s iconic trading houses along the Nidelva river. Then head for the historic port area Bryggene, where the old warehouses rest on stilts jutting out of the water and are now home to fashionable shops.

The local Trondheimers are famed for being enthusiastic guests at the many cafés around town, from where they then head for the lively nightlife. You’ll be staying right in the middle of it all: In the centre of the old town, steps from the river and the port.

In Trondheim, you board the Hurtigruten cruise ferry for a one-night leg of the world’s most famous coastal route. Founded over 125 years ago, this used to be the fastest route between southern and northern Norway (thus the name – ‘the express route’). Indeed, until the 1940s the northernmost part of the country was not even reachable by car from Oslo. Even today, Hurtigruten is much more than a pleasure cruise, but also a vital link to isolated communities on Norway’s Atlantic coastline, transporting both locals and cargo between the towns.

Your one-night journey to Lofoten is one of the highlights of the entire route. When you wake up in the morning, you have passed the Polar Circle and entered the land of the midnight sun. Even more excitingly, you start looking out for Lofoten’s huge and magical wall of mountains that rise out of the Atlantic Ocean, growing ever more imposing as your ship steadily approaches her destination.

Above the Polar Circle, in the land of the midnight sun, further north than Iceland, and at the same latitude as Disco Bay in Greenland, a wall of steep and twisted mountains reaches from the Norwegian mainland far out in the Atlantic Ocean. Here, small, and isolated fishing villages with their iconic red cottages cling to the rocks and nestle against the steep mountainsides that rise just behind them. Eagles, otters, and moose know their way around this landscape with its maelstroms, glaciers and white sandy beaches.

For centuries, the Lofoten islands were the stuff of legend, only reachable in your imagination. Jules Verne let his Captain Nemo end his voyage under the sea at Lofoten. Today, adventurous travellers from all over the world flock to Lofoten to hike the mountains, kayak the sea, or just gaze at the other-worldly beauty of the place.

To explore Lofoten ideally requires a car, so a rental car is included in your vacation. It will be waiting for you in Svolvær, your base on Lofoten. Your only job will be to pay for petrol, and to remember to keep your eyes on the road, not the incredible scenery.