Norway

What other country can feel like the middle of nowhere and the top of the world, while simultaneously being the wealthiest and most peaceful nation in the world?  Does such a place even exist?  In Norway, ja!  Natural elements run extreme in this small country – a land of the world’s largest fjords, waterfalls, and coral reefs and the most dazzling of skies in the winter or early spring months – but a cool quiet embraces the landscape.  Perhaps it is the dramatic brilliance of the land that brings its silence – go for a late-night to early morning drive in Lofoten when you can see the sun saturate the mountains and waters as it sinks, slumbers for a few hours, and awakens to fill the sky with a light brighter than before.  In its towns, however, Norway’s quiet gives way to an explosion of art, literature, music, history, and cuisine.  Head to Hamaroy for Hamsun Days, a week-long literary festival celebrating Hamsun (rumored to have the most extensive Norwegian vocabularies of all time – talk about a man of words!); stroll through the Vigeland Park sculpture garden and Viking Ship museum in Oslo; check into Norway’s burgeoning jazz, rock, black metal or pop music scene.  Those who prefer the small-town feel can ferry-hop from village to village, spend the night in a lighthouse (Hellisoy Fyr, Fedje) and catch themselves breakfast!  For such a tiny country, Norway has something for everyone, whether you’re avid skier, indie rock aficionado, or inspired poet…go fish!