think outside the nutshell

cloud over Nærøyfjord (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Norway in a nutshell® is a registered trademark for an itinerary that's marketed as an easy, fuss-free way to see the highlights of Norway.

The trip has several components, with potential touring components at each stop. You can "do" the entire journey in one long day (13 1/2 hours) ... or spend a day or more at each stop to explore in depth.

During my recent trip to Norway, I experienced two legs of Norway in a nutshell®. We had spent Saturday night in the charming Fjordstove Hotel, a traditional white-framed Norwegian home by the side of a fjord in the small village of Fjærland. The hotel does not pretend to be a luxury accommodation, but this is precisely the kind of place you should hope to stay when visiting Norway. Warm and hospitable, we got to meet the owner and his family, drink his home-brewed ale, and enjoy a wonderful dinner. Rooms were small and simple, but the views were to die for.

rainy day on the fjord cruise (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

We left the hotel at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning to catch a ferry, arriving in Flåm in time to do some shopping at Mall of Norway before boarding our 9:30 a.m. cruise. The two hour cruise took us through UNESCO listed fjords, and the scenery was beautiful. Had it been winter or spring, with snow glistening off the mountains, it would have been stunning, but it being October, we did encounter a few passing rain showers during our cruise.

The boat was mostly empty — lots of empty seats inside the cabin and very few passengers out on the deck. The cruise was a pleasant and enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours... but, as my colleague Landa pointed out, a fully booked sailing, with every inside seat taken and lots of people crowding the decks, would have felt very crowded and tourist-trappy.

Following the cruise, we experienced the next leg of Norway in a nutshell®. Our driver picked us up in Gudvangen and drove the twisty, hairpin-turning mountain road through Stalheimskleiva. We stopped in the interesting town of Voss for lunch.

Should you do the Norway in a nutshell® tour? My advice:

(1) Don't buy a packaged tour. It will feel like what it is, a rubber-stamped, mass-produced consumer product.

(2) Don't do it in one day. Norway is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Travel slow and savor the experience.

(3) Think outside the nutshell. Work with an experienced travel advisor to help create your own bespoke tour of Norway. Norway is full of charming villages, snow-capped mountains, and gorgeous fjords to fill your days ... and warm and hospitable places to spend your nights.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.