Have you ever felt moved by a photograph? Have you ever looked at a picture and
immediately thought ‘wow, if only I could see that in person?’ Well, I have, and this is that picture:
This is Western Norway, famous for the fjords shown above. Norway has never been on my radar of
places to travel to, but now I can’t imagine not going. Shows what a photo can do to a person. I’m continually awestruck while writing
this blog that places this beautiful actually exist in the world. So anyway, what exactly is a fjord? A fjord is basically a steep-sided inlet formed when
glaciers retreat, causing the sea to flood the newly formed U-shaped
valley. These fjords can be very
deep, as in ‘over 4,000 ft. below sea level’ deep. Western Norway has the highest concentration of fjords in
the world, therefore the region is often referred to as Fjord Norway. Norway’s longest fjord, the Sognefjord,
is centrally located in the region and is home to two national parks. One of its’ branches, the Nærøyfjord (don’t ask me how to
pronounce that, I’ve got no clue), is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Sognefjord area has a lot to see
and do, so this is where I plan to go.
Being outdoors is the name of the game here. You can hike a mountain or hike a
glacier. You can explore
waterfalls, go for a bike ride, or get cultured by visiting heritage sites
throughout the region. In the winter,
you can do everything from skiing to ice climbing. And for the truly daring among us, you can even go body
rafting. They put you in a wetsuit
and life jacket, slap on a helmet, and send you down the river. Think I’m joking? Check out the picture below.
All of this is great, but what I really want to do is take a
cruise through the fjords. There
are a bunch of different cruises to choose from, and you could even charter a
boat if you wanted. I think it’s
the perfect way to see this landscape up close and personal, and it seems to be
a popular item on people’s travel bucket lists. Seriously, is this even real? Amazing.
For more information about the fjords, including places to stay and
things to do, check out these sites!
No comments:
Post a Comment