This post came from my older blog and will be revised

 

I believe, that Norway is the most beautiful country in the world and the time has come to see the most of it! Fjords, colorful port cities, views from the mountains  and small charming fishing villages.

I am writing this on the way to the north of Finland, where I cross the Norwegian boarder.

Plans

Overall, I plan to make around 10 stops on my way from North to South, mostly on the western shore of Norway. I will make longer stops at the major cities and at Bergen I plan getting deeper into the country to catch some of the most beautiful fjords.

Tromsø

The largest Scandinavian city in the Arctic circle. Surrounded by mountains, that create a wonderful scenery at almost any place in the city. Tromsø is a big center of Sami culture and has been playing an important role in Arctic exploration. Almost 1/7 of the city population are students, who bring nightlife into the city.

Bodø

I heard, some people call it: “the gateway to the north of Norway”. This is the last station on the Norwegian railway. The city opens the beautiful views from the coastal roads and has many old charming fishing villages around. Close to the city there is the world’s strongest maelstrom.

There is also one of a major festivals happening there during my visit.

(Photo taken from Flickr Creative Commons, by clicking you get to author page)

Trondheim

The first capital of Norway and a city with more than 1000 years history. It has been an important trading hub in Viking times and played an important role in Christian religion in medieval Norway. Today it is third largest city in Norway and carries a large amount of heritage sites.

(Photo taken from Flickr Creative Commons, by clicking you get to author page)

Bergen

With the city center surrounded by The Seven Mountains, and its rich history, Bergen is probably the most attractive spot. While gathering information about the country, most people told, that it is the best place to visit in Norway. The city is close to the major fjords and has some of them right in the city area.

(Photos taken from Flickr Creative Commons, by clicking you get to author page)

Getting around

In case you want to make a similar trip, you may find following information useful. During the whole trip I use public transportation.

To the border of Norway, from Finnish side

I am starting in Finland and I head directly to the boarder of Norway with stops in Tampere and Oulu. For getting to Norway I am using bus connection between Oulu and Tromso. This bus makes a stops in Rovaniemi and few other places in Lapland. For those who travels from Russia the bus connections Murmansk-Rovaniemi-Tromso or Petrozavodsk-Oulu-Tromso can be useful.

Note: The bus schedule for Oulu-Tromso changes depending on the season, so check the bus availability in advance.

Ships

In Norway I am mostly using ships to travel along the shore side. The ships go regularly between the port cities and make stops once a day for each direction (North/South).

I have found, that the price would be significantly lower, if you don’t take a cabin. (Personal note: I always sleep terrible in any transport, so try to avoid it). Traveling without a cabin means that you travel short distances, and make stops in different cities to have some sleep. Which works perfect for me, since my plan is to explore these cities.

Trains

It can be a bit stressful traveling on a ship and mixing night and day trips, so some parts of the route I am covering on trains. If you look from the north, the Norwegian railway starts from Bodo. From there I am getting to Trondheim.

I also take a train at the end of the route in Bergen to come back to Oslo (from where I fly back to Helsinki). From what I have heard, it the most beautiful train route in the world

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