If you ever have a chance to make a cruise stop in Norway--take advantage of seeing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  Norway's biggest tourist attraction is without a doubt its nature. Especially beautiful are the mighty mountains, fjords and waterfalls in western Norway. Fjords can be found along the entire length of the Norwegian coastline, from Oslo Fjord to Varanger Fjord. And each one has good reason to be called the most beautiful.

     We know that skiing originated in Norway. Words like ski and slalom are Norwegian. Ski jumping and slalom competition started in the county of Telemark. Ski enthusiasts can go skiing on the Olympic facilities in Lillehammer, where Alberto Tomba and Vegard Ulvang were cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators during the Olympic Winter Games in February 1994. The annual ski festival at Holmenkollen in Oslo attracts a great many participants and tens of thousands of spectators.   But.... don't think that these vacation spots are just for winter seasons.  They are most beautiful--as you shall see--in the summer months, also.

     Today, cruise ships call on more than 30 different Norwegian ports annually. Norwegian cruises offer a vast selection of shore excursions where visitors can disembark to experience the rich coastal culture and heritage - from architecture, museums, and literature to festivals and concerts.   From its many ports along the coast it is easy to launch into a wide range of exhilarating summer outdoor sports activities like mountain walks, camping, fishing and golf. However, the fjords are.. and probably will always be...most sought after cruise itineraries.  The Norwegian coastline includes more than 67,000 enticing islands, enabling cruise ships to sail into beautiful sheltered waters.

     Norway is an economically stable and high-tech country situated in a calm corner of the world. Many tourists look upon Norway as a safe destination and quickly discover how warm, engaging, and welcoming the Norwegians are.  

GEOGRAPHY

     Norway has a very elongated shape, one of the longest and most rugged coastlines in the world.  It has a long land border with Sweden to the east, a shorter one with Finland in the northeast and a still shorter border with Russia in the far northeast.  Norway is one of the world's most northerly countries, and one of Europe's most mountainous countries. Virtually the entire country was covered with a thick ice sheet during the last ice age, as well as in many earlier ice ages. The movement of the ice carved out deep valleys, and when the ice melted, the sea filled many of these valleys, creating Norway's famous fjords.

     Norwegian per capita income ranks among the world's highest. North Sea oil and gas fields are one of the cornerstones of the Norwegian economy. Other major industries upon which Norway relies are fishery, pulp and paper, forestry, mining, manufacturing and shipping. Traditionally, however, the country is a fishing nation, with 90 per cent of it's catch exported. Whaling, a subject of controversy, has resumed despite an international ban. Fish farming is a growth sector, with government assistance, and Norway is now the world's leading producer of salmon.

     The  reindeer-herding nomadic Sami people have lived in Norway much longer than the Norwegians. They are recognized as Norway’s original population. They are sometimes referred to as Lapps, but prefer to be called Samis. Their culture has been developing in northern Scandinavia since the arrival of their first people 11,000 years ago. Like other aboriginal peoples, the Sami lived at one with nature. They wore colorful jackets and lived in tents and turf huts while they followed the reindeer. There is a wonderful exhibition of the Sami culture, their lifestyles and sod dwellings at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo which gives a broad representation of Norwegian and Sámi culture from the 16th century to present.

     For a long time the Sami were an oppressed people and their culture was in danger of dying out. Today the Sami stand stronger than most other aboriginal people in the world. They have their independence day, and their own flag and parliament.

     A thousand years ago Vikings set out from the fjords of Norway striking fear across Europe. They came from the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) during the period from 800–1066, which is referred to as the Viking age. During this period, Norwegians, as well as Swedes and Danes, traveled abroad on ships called "longships," as raiders, plunderers, explorers, settlers and traders. They were referred to as "Northmen" coming from across the North Sea. However, while the people outside of the north looked upon the Vikings as brutal, at the same time they admired their boldness, adventurness and powerful wanderlust. Be sure to see the Viking Museum here.
     The period of the Viking age eventually consolidated into a single Norwegian kingdom.  

GOVERNMENT

     Norway is a constitutional monarchy. This means that the King is formally the head of state but that his duties are mainly representative and ceremonial. The legislative and executive powers lie with the country’s elected bodies. When the Constitution states that: “the executive power is vested in the King,” this now means that it is vested in the Government. The members of the Norwegian Royal House are Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja and Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.