If you ever find yourself in this part of our beautiful world, then I highly recommend dropping by…read moreto visit this beautiful church. It is located in Vik, Norway. Pretty scenery everywhere one looks!! There is an entrance fee to enter the church. I believe the proceeds go towards the upkeep of this historical place. We were fortunate to visit before the bus load of tourists arrived. This church is a wonderful example of Norwegian architecture from bygone days. It is a stave church. Most of these churches were constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. This specific church was built in 1130 approximately. It has been restored by The Society For The Preservation Of Norwegian Ancient Monuments. Much of the building is still original, though, including many of the stave walls. Such a beautiful wooden church!! The Norwegian wood carvings both inside and outside are impressive. A "Must See" when in this part of Norway!!

I really enjoyed my visit to this church. Plus, there was no one else there, so we were able to…read morehave the place all to ourselves to explore. A few of us made a day trip out of this, renting bikes in Balestrand and biking to the ferry in Dragsvik and continuing on to Vik. Needless to say, it was a long bike ride, and the reward at the end was this beautiful church. The church is located on the outskirts of town, a few minutes from the main area of town. When we arrived, we had the place to ourselves. It was extremely peaceful, but also gave us a great opportunity to rest our legs after a bike ride that was more challenging than expected. The exterior of the church has some wonderful woodworking at the top with dragons radiating from the top. Inside the church is rather dark and austere. It's also pretty empty, no ornate decorations present. The church was built around 1130, so it has been around for a while, albeit with reconstructions over those 900 years. Regardless, it is an impressive structure and display of craftsmanship. The person collecting the admission can provide some additional information about the church. This was a great day trip, granted taking the long way, as we did not have a car and rented bikes. We moved at a healthy clip (or at least tried to) and it is a full day of activity, when you factor in ferry schedules and travel time. At the end of the day, you can look back fondly on soaking up the scenery along the route and seeing a wonderful example of Norwegian architecture. I would highly recommend this as a visit should you be in the area. It's worth noting that there are limited dining options in the town of Vik, in the event you are looking to coordinate a visit with a meal.

Borgund stavechurch is without a doubt one of the most beautiful stavechurches in Norway. It should…read moredefinitely be on your list og destinations. I've never been on the guided tour here, but just walking around enjoying the architecture and the mountainview around it is lovely. There's fields with sheep and lambs around and you get a proper view of the Norwegian cultural landscape as well. The giftshop also has a lot of interesting gifts and souvenirs!

Really cool church well worth the rather long drive out to it. Don't be fooled by the name "Borgund…read moreStave Church," it is actually quite a ways outside of Borgund! Not having a GPS, I kept driving and driving and thought I had missed it, but it's out there! Just keep going until you see it right off the road. Parallel to the main road is a scenic route that is AMAZING! So much better than the main road. There are plenty of exits for the scenic route from the main route, so plan for another hour or two to allow yourself time to take the scenic route. It runs by rivers, deep gorges, and dark tunnels. The church itself is neat, but they charge you to enter the grounds! I believe admission includes entrance to the museum inside the visitor's center as well.

The Hotel: I had a very pleasant stay at Røsheim. Everyone…read morewas very friendly and helpful. The room I stayed in was charming. It was tastefully and appropriately decorated to match the age of the place. I particularly liked the upright wooden bathtub and was pleased that there was enough hot water to fill it up (which took some time). While I thought the restaurant was a little pricey (for my budget) I ended up eating there 2 of the 5 nights I was there. On the other hand I thought the rooms were very reasonably priced and they had 4 different priced rooms to offer. As I mention below, the rooms may have been cheaper since I was there in September. The Restaurant: The food I had at Røsheim was the best I had in Norway on my three week trip! Truly exceptional food with service to match. There is a set menu and you can get all four courses for 600 NOK (around $72) or just 3 courses for 500 NOK (around $60). Keep in mind that this doesn't include any drinks. Add some wine and your dinner bill could easily be more than your room bill. Keep in mind that I was there towards the end of the high season so prices might have been less.

Twisted and narrow roads that felt at times like single lane made for a butterflies in your…read morestomach ride with breathtaking views on the way up to this view point. The platform is 650 meters above Aurlandsfjord and provides spectacular panoramic views. The clouds were quite thick and I really didn't think we would have much of a view once we got to our destination. Our Tour Guide knew better and mentioned he hadn't seen the clouds so thick. Although we couldn't see the water, due to the clouds, it was a unique view that doesn't happen often. Not far from Flam, this was the last stop on our full day tour and what a Grand Finale. Based on other pictures, there are different views depending on the season so maybe visit every season?. Pictures don't do it justice-a must and not to be missed!

Another chapter in my love letter to Norway…read more Absolutely remarkable. Breathtaking. Overwhelming. Stunning. The switchback drive on Bjørgavegen up to the viewpoint was a white-knuckler. We drove in our rental car & I had to do some deep breathing exercises to keep my calm. To complicate matters further, it was January when we visited, so the road was snowy as well. But January also comes with perks - this world renowned tourist destination with near-panoramic views of Aurlandsfjord was completely empty. I will never forget this experience. It's an absolute must if you're in the area. If you're not up for the drive, tour busses make the trip from Flåm. I would love to come back in the summertime!

Rimstigen is by far the best hike in the best fjord in Norway, and it's a hidden gem! The trailhead…read moreis in Bakka, down a small road from Gutvangen. You can park on the side of the road and the trailhead is on the right side of the road just before the bridge. The trail starts as a steep climb...and then continues as a steep climb until the very top! But it is SO worth the pain. All the way up and all the way down are amazing views, and if you are really adventurous, you can keep going up onto the ridge. This trail was an old road the farmers used to take with their herds to take them to the summer grazing fields, so it connects several cities if you're willing to hike far enough. It would be a fun multi-day hike if you are up for it! Naeroyfjord is easily one of the most beautiful things in Norway. Partly because no one else is going to be there while you're there, and partly because it is such a small fjord, you can easily access all parts of it and see across the fjord without a problem.

While only two of the original 5 or so currently exist, these are still very cool to see. Tucked…read moreaway in quaint Balestrand just outside of the city center, you could easily walk or take a short drive to the barrows. These are some of the only Viking-aged features left in Norway and are worth a trip. If nothing else, the small city of Balestrand has lots to offer if you have time to stop by after seeing the Barrows.

World longest tunnel, over 24 km long, connects Aurland and Lærdal. The lighting inside the tunnel…read moreis outstanding, makes whole experience of driving 15 miles under solid rock pretty special. There are several caves along the tunnel, allowing you to take a short break and snap pictures if you want to (yes, please, absolutely). It's about 20 min drive, very convenient and rather scenic drive between towns (visiting Stave Church in Lærdal!)

If your going to flam you probably have to drive through this tunnel....THE LONGEST TUNNEL IN THE…read moreWORLD. The only other option is that ridiculously narrow and dangerous scenic route that goes up and down the mountain. Beautiful scenic drive BUT really really dangerous. Unless your a really good driver (and keep in mind most car rentals in norway are stick shift) I would avoid this route. If your a good drive like me that can drive up and down narrow and curvy mountain roads only made to be a one way street but somehow fit 2 cars with one tire sticking off the road and dangling over the mountain and similar dangerous situations where you can't see if a car is coming around the corner while driving stick shift, you better take that challenge because the glaciers at the top, the flat valley areas, the grass covered roof houses, the goats and sheep and cows to see, waterfalls, etc. Oh, and keep in mind the scenic road takes a while (2 hours prob with all the stopping for the sight seeing- this is the road you take to see the fjord lookout point) For those that can't or don't want to take the time/have the time the tunnel is the faster way/short cut and safer.....well, if you don't fall asleep (thats why the gov. actually put lights in the tunnel, to keep people from falling asleep). This tunnel is the longest tunnel in the world. 20 minutes roughly. Its really long, dark most the time, boring, etc. lol, its a tunnel. Three sections with lights though which is cool. Overall, its the longest tunnel in the world and the fastest and safest way to flam from oslo or even the ski area hemsedal (that direction lol).

Yes I know it's a tourist spot. But I'm a tourist, so there…read more This one is very conveniently located in Flam (I don't know how to use other characters, sorry). We checked out of our hotel in a town about 30 minutes away and our bus wouldn't be leaving for another few hours so we went ahead and tried to walk OUT of Flam's tourist trap (gift shop restaurants and museums) to see what the town has to offer, and ended up at the Viking Village - a Viking village reenactment. Our tour guide was excellent. He very succinctly explained and summarized Viking culture and history. Taking us around to the different aspects and/or trades in the Viking Village, he gave some short, funny and educational talks. There's a restaurant serving Viking themed tourist-friendly food. A great gift shop. Flam is VERY much a tourist town: it's a cruise ship stop, it's the Flam Train terminus, tour buses pass by and there's a gas station if you're travelling by car.

This place was open super late and was one of the only options open when we arrived from the Fjord…read moreCruise at 5:20. It was not that crowded, but was clean and the staff was nice. They mostly serve Norse mythology themed burgers like Thor, Loki, Odin, etc. They also have classic salads like the Chicken Caesar salad. For a small little town with almost no other options, the burgers were fairly good!

One of the more popular hikes in Hemsedal, included in the "Top 20 hikes" recommended through the…read moretourist information. I like this one, not being one of the highest peaks (only raging 800masl), but with easy access from our cabbin. A very steap hike causing you to use more time on this one than expected from the distance. But the view from the top is wonderful and probably surprices you as this is not the highest mountains to climb in this area. Information sign's along the path gives you insight to the old history of this place! Bring your coffee and enjoy the view