I was back in Norway again, seeing it from the sea this time, with many more years and experiences from which to renew my impressions of the “North Road”, as it’s name translates.
It was an overcast and cool morning when we arrived at our first port, the Norwegian city of Ålesund, which means “urban settlement”, a city of 43,000, and a sea town dotted with island municipalities connected by underground tunnels and surrounded by steeply rising, green mountains and distant snow-capped peaks. I hurried to the city’s focal point of Mt. Aksla, a few blocks walk from the pier and city center, and climbed the 418 switchback steps up to the modern lookout building to catch the picture-perfect overlook, before the predicted rains might obscure the vista. I was rewarded with a beautiful patchwork view of the city, the fjord, the surrounding islands, and the sea, beneath a background of mountains layered in the distance.
Ålesund is known for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture. On January 23, 1904, a devastating fire in the city destroyed its wooden houses and left 10,000 people homeless. Reconstruction of the city, which took 3-4 years, was done in the popular Art Nouveau style of that period, and much of it still remains.
Later, we took the local Hop On-Hop Off bus for a quick, comprehensive, tour around town, past the Atlantic Ocean Park, with Northern Europe’s largest saltwater aquarium, some of the nearby island neighborhoods, the Town Park, the Ålesund Kirke, or “church”, built in 1909, and the Art Nouveau Centre. The historic old town area is divided by a river lined with historic buildings that now house hotels, shops, restaurants, and businesses. By late afternoon, I was peeling off my coat and vest as the clouds cleared and the Norwegian sun smiled a warm welcome.
HAPPY 4th! We miss you two!