Norway: Vikings, Bears, Boats, and Bergen

Strong Sense of Place

Yes, Norway has cities that are well worth a visit — Hallo, Oslo! Hei, Bergen! God morgen, Tromsø! — but nature is right there at every moment.

Where the coast of Norway meets the Norwegian Sea, there are more than 1700 fjords, stunning waterways lined with sheer rock cliffs and dotted with dramatic waterfalls, storybook villages, and friendly goats and sheep. The best way to experience the fjords? By boat, of course: a dinner cruise, catamaran, sailboat, kayak, ferry, whale watching boat, or a breathtaking ride on a fjord safari.

Inland, you can meet the locals of past and present. Stop by the fascinating Viking Village to time travel to 1000 (and learn to throw an axe!) — or spend an afternoon among the bears, reindeer, wolves, lynx, and leopards at the Bjørn Parken (Bear Park). You can feed a fox!

When you’re ready for a meal, too, sink your teeth into Norway’s national snack: the hot dog — with lingonberry jam and french-fried onions — or try the ubiquitous and one-of-a-kind brunost (brown cheese). Caramelized, savory, and surprising, it’s just what you want on a cracker or waffle. And don’t sleep on the smoked salmon, pickled herring, or shrimp plucked from the nearby icy waters.

In this episode, we get excited about all the exhilarating, unexpected, delightful adventures Norway offers — and talk about why the Norwegian government employs financial planners and moral philosophers. Then we recommend five great books we love that took us to Norway on the page:

• The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting, Deborah Dawkin (translator)
• We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance by David Howarth
• The Hike by Lucy Clarke
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.

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Transcript of Norway: Vikings, Bears, Boats, and Bergen

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