Stunning mountain scenery and swims in an icy fjord included.
ivind Haug
I am a child of the tropics.
I wore T-shirts, shorts, and sandals throughout the year; closed shoes were a clammy imposition.
Aurlandsfjord, an 11-mile-long fjord on Norway’s western coast.Credit:Øivind Haug
The game flashes scenes from Google Street View across a screen, and players must identify the locations.
My son, aged 15, has spent too many hours playing it.
As a result, he has developed an acute, somewhat bizarre, knowledge of obscure geographies.
From left: The Arctic Cathedral in the city of Tromsø, built in 1965; one of the many sculptures by Gustav Vigeland at Oslo’s Frogner Park.Øivind Haug
One of his specialties isScandinavia.
Late one night, he insisted we book our tickets for the coming December.
Norway in winter is my lifes dream, he said, plaintively.
From left: Grilled langoustines, dry-aged beef, and a variety of small plates at Allmuen, a bistro in Bergen; boats in the harbor at Tromsø.Øivind Haug
What self-respecting parent could deny their child such a deeply held wish?
Cruise ships sat, as if abandoned, in the harbor, no passengers or crew in sight.
There was one corner of the bay that did, however, seem busy.
Hardangervidda National Park, as seen from the train from Oslo to Bergen.Øivind Haug
They approached the water and, to my astonishment, plunged in.
My initial sighting of this practice set my heart racing.
It seemed like a ritual reserved for localsdefinitely not something a visitor from the tropics would ever attempt.
From left: A guest room at the Bergen Børs Hotel; cod with bacon at Bengts Bistro, in Tromsø.Øivind Haug
I soon found out that none of this was exaggeration.
It was slower, filled mostly with tourists, and the surroundings were very different.
She greeted us with a distinctly American twang.
From left: Swimming off the deck of the Fjordsauna, in Flåm; Tromsø’s harbor.Øivind Haug
Although she had grown up around Flam, her father was from Barbados.
Any of you ever gone snowshoe hiking before?
she asked, smiling.
From left: A Fjordsafari cruise on the Aurlandsfjord; the Fjordsafari boat on the Aurlandsfjord.Øivind Haug
We stared back blankly.
Below us, like a sudden revelation, opened a panorama of hazy, stormy mountains and dark fjords.
Williams unpacked a thermos and served us a hotand very sweetdrink made from black-currant syrup.
From left: The Sommerro hotel, in Oslo; Frogner Park, in Oslo.Øivind Haug
We looked like astronauts.
The setting was, indeed, moonlikea landscape of rocky hills dotted with frozen waterfalls and patches of white.
Gradually, as we went deeper into the fjords, villages revealed themselves.
From left: Houses in Tromsø; snowshoe hiking near Flåm.Øivind Haug
They were inhabited by a handful of people and a few goats; one village had a single resident.
The existence of pastoral life on these hills was perhaps the most surprising aspect of our fjord excursion.
I had come to Norway expecting a 21st-century European country with spectacular nature, and I wasnt disappointed.
Tromsø, as seen from the air.Øivind Haug
But I didnt anticipate centuries-old life clinging tenaciously to the hillsides.
Then we clambered back into our motorboats and returned to Flam.
Perhaps, I rationalized, I could skip it, on a day that even locals might consider cold.
From left: Bakka Church, on the shores of Nærøyfjorden, in Norway; a church in the village of Undredal.Øivind Haug
This, of course, was the easy part.
I could have stayed in there all afternoon.
Count on teenage boys to disrupt their parents comfort zones.
The northern lights, as seen from Steinsvika Beach, near Tromsø.Øivind Haug
About 15 minutes in, my sons opened the door to the sauna and walked onto the deck outside.
I decided it was irresponsiblenot to mention damaging to my reputationto let them take this plunge alone.
Then I pulled myself up the ladder, to general acclaim from the family.
For us fathers, respect is hard-wonand often short-lived.
The structures were immaculately preserved, and the streets that ran alongside them were almost empty.
The whole scene was positively pastoral, almost too quaint to be true.
I told Williams how surprised I was by the apparent continuity of life in the area.
This town looks unchanged, I said.
Are these buildings real, or were they built for a movie set?
She laughed, and confirmed that these were indeed originals.
But she added that things werent quite as static as they might appear.
Some farmers had recently protested; they painted no cruise ships on bales of hay.
People work really hard to take care of this place and preserve its original feeling, Williams told me.
Williams told me she used to take this train home from school when she as a child.
She sat with the conductors and they helped with her homework.
Now the new conductors dont recognize her; they yell at her for not loading her winter equipment correctly.
Thats just the way it is, Williams said, somewhat ruefully.
Some things change, and some things stay the same.
Its just a fact of life.
Children of the tropics belong on beaches; we long for crystal-clear water, white sands.
For our last stop in Norway, we flew to Troms, 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Beaches were the last thing on my mind when we landed.
Temperatures hovered below freezing; the town was bathed in a perpetual winter darkness.
Yet late one night, we found ourselves standing on a beach.
The beach was unlike any other Id visited.
Sheets of undulating snow led into gently lapping Arctic waves.
The northern lights were on our bucket list.
We were determined to round off our trip with a sighting, but the evening began inauspiciously.
Sarah Caufield, our Canadian guide, told us that the viewing had been poor in recent weeks.
The lights were capricious, she said, and no one really understood when or how they would appear.
All we could do was hope.
Caufield monitored an app on her phone, trying to gauge our chances.
Some people gave up and returned to sit inside their parked vehicles.
People came running back from the parking lot.
It was like being at a Fourth of July show, except during winter.
We watched in awe, taking in the mystery of the Arctic night.
This is my dream come true.
The cavernous coffee shop is great for people-watching.
Dont miss the heated outdoor pool on the top floor.
Frogner Park
Expansive lawns, covered with impressive sculpture, stretch seemingly into the horizon.
On weekends, the park teems with families with young kids.
The dinner buffet is a satisfying option after a day of hiking.
gir Brewpub
A pub and restaurant in a wooden building.
Its Viking-themed menu offers a smorgasbord of traditional dishes.
Safety is taken seriously, as is protection from the cold.
Fjorena
Test your courage as you move between the warm sauna interior and the freezing fjord outside.
The sauna offers amazing views.
have a go at get a seat in one of the front carriages for the best view.
Bergen
Bergen Brs Hotel
Norways second-largest city is the gateway to the fjords.
Its restaurant is decorated with stunning frescoes.
It uses local produce for Mediterranean-inspired menus that change daily.
Bengts Bistro
A no-frills place with an authentic vibe.
The menu highlights pizza and grilled kebabs.
Polar Museum
This small, unassuming museum provides a great introduction to life near the Arctic Circle.
It offers northern lights and midnight sun experiences, as well as hiking in the surrounding hills.
