NORWAY

Travel Tips

To celebrate the year 2,000, the small Norwegian city of Sortland will be painted completely blue to appear like a 3D painting. What's more - the colour is even supposed to be permanent.

All in all, 180,000 square metres will be coloured in the official year 2000 colour. The Hotel, The City Hall, blocks, bridges, the marine base, the church - will be all painted to make Sortland blue. Blue concrete will even replace the ordinary asphalt in the central area.

The funny thing is that in Norwegian, the word Sortland means "Dark Country". For more information check out the web site at Virtual Sortland: http://home.sol.no/~sgraff/sortland/
Sverre Fjorstad Graff, Norway (Mar 99)

I have found a free email location in Oslo called Akersmic and is on Akersgata. You have to queue for 20-30 minutes but something this cheap in Norway is rare.
Neville Tivendale (Sept 98)

A bit south of Tromsoe is a place called Andoeya where you can go on a whale safari. It's in Vesteraalen, north of Lofoten. What a great experience to see Sperm whales or, if you are lucky, Killer whales.
Siw Braathen (Aug 98)

If you want to see the best part of Norway (the picturesque fjords), buy a Scanrail pass from a travel agent (I got mine in North America) before you go. When you get there, a one-way pass costs the same as the one month pass you could purchase in advance.
Samantha Fraser (Aug 98)

If you are travelling with children here are some ideas. A visit to a farm - there should be several options along the road between Oslo and Gausdal - try this site - http://tourist.no/

The House of Senses in Oslo, where you can explore different sensations (smell, touch, colour, sound). The best beach in Oslo for small children is probably Lang°yene - take a ferry to get there. There is a Museum of Childrens Art in Oslo that has a drumming room and a place where children can paint of draw . There are some toys to play with and also a small toy collection.

For indoor swimming, Raufoss has a big waterland , "vannland" with several pools slides. Hunderfossen Family Park North of Lillehammer is also good for children.
Taken from the Thorn Tree (June 98)

Yarns, Fables & Anecdotes

A word used in the Norwegian vocabular called "vardoger" is a kind of sound that sometimes arrives at your destination while you are on your way to the same spot. This is something most Norwegians have experienced in one or another way. Scientists even claim that this is a typical Norwegian "tradition" or "happening". For centuries, Norwegians have lived in rather isolated parts of the country where communication was difficult. And to compensate for this isolation, the nature itself had to use "supernatural" methods to improve the communication. Or so scientists claim.
My mother had an aunt who we visited twice a year on out way to our cottage. We never told her that we were on our way, we just stopped to visit her. Every single time, she had the dinner ready, fresh coffee and the correct number of plates on the table. She had already heard our arrival, and as a result she had enough time to give us all a warm welcome.

Other supernatural happenings can be explored in the valley of Hessdalen, South Trondelag. This is the place where you can find one of the few UFO observation sites in the world. For decades, strange lights have been seen in the sky almost every night. Scientists still don't know what causes these lights, but visiting Hessdalen, you'll get a good chance to visit these strange light-phenomenons yourself.
Sverre Bjostad Graff (Apr 99)

For more news, views and the odd bit of gibberish, drop in on the soc.culture.nordic and rec.travel.europe newsgroups.
For detailed up-to-date travel information check out Lonely Planet's Destination Norway.