Experience Norway!

Experiencing Norway Like a Local!

There are certain destinations and attractions within Norway that tourists flock to, such as the Viking Ship Museum, Geirangerfjord and the Heddal stave church. While locations such as those are certainly worth seeing, you can have the opportunity to view this beautiful place from the eyes of a local. The following attractions are the most popular destinations among Norwegians:

Holmenkollen and the Ski Museum
As Norway is considered to be the birthplace of skiing, you can't visit without checking out the slopes. You can go skiing all over the world, but only Norway is home to a ski museum, which opened in 1923 and is the oldest of its kind. You can explore the origin of skiing, which dates back 4,000 years. At Holmenkollen, you can also find a the world's most modern ski jump, which opened on March 3, 2010. The total length of the slope is 96.95 meters, and the entire jump consists of 1,000 tons of steel, making it the only steel ski jump in the world. You can explore Holmenkollen on your own, or take part in any of the guided tours which occur during and after opening hours. The guides will fill you in on everything from polar history to modern skiing.

Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park

This destination is just as loved by Norway locals as it is tourists. Approximately 1 million Norwegians visit the park annually. Located in Oslo, this park contains 212 bronze and granite sculptures, all created by Gustav Vigeland. You can't miss the 14-meter high sculpture known as the Monolith, which is made up of more than 121 human figures.

Vigeland even designed the architectural setting and layout of the entire park. Spend the afternoon at the park, making sure to stop by Cafe Vigeland for a French pastry, sandwich or baguette. Aside from the magnificent sculptures, there's also a museum at the park, which displays the original full-sized plaster casts of the sculptures.

Floibanen Funicular

Rest assured, there are a number of stunning views throughout Norway, but nothing can beat the breathtaking scenery admired from the Floibanen Funicular, a cable car. When you step inside this car, you'll be taken 320 meters above sea level, where you'll be able to see all of downtown Bergen. The car will also take you to the peak of Mount Floyen, allowing you to soak in the truly picturesque view of sparkling fjords and islands. And it's not just the views you get to enjoy when you take the Floibanen Funicular. Hop off and go for a relaxing hike or visit the Floien Folkerestaurant to fine dine at 320 meters above sea level. The Floibanen Funicular departs every 15 minute from the city center.

The Lofoten Islands

You haven't truly experienced relaxation and serenity until you have visited the Lofoten Islands, which is as off the beaten track as you can get. Admire Norway's seabird population by heading to the island of Rost, located on the tip of Lofoten.You can also go on a nature safari, experience a northern lights tour or go fishing as you enjoy the natural beauty of your surroundings. If you want to practice your golf game, pay a visit to the Lofoten Golf Links course, where you can play along the Lofoten Mountains. If you go during the summer, you can play under the midnight sun - darkness will never fall on the golf course.

Toll free: 800.722.4126

E-mail: info@5stars-scandinavia.com

New Hurtigruten Ship

DISCOVER YOUR INNER EXPLORER

MS Spitsbergen is named after the Arctic crown of Norway – the archipelago of Spitsbergen. Hurtigruten has a long history of traveling to Spitsbergen, dating back to 1896 with its ‘Sports Route’. After a complete reconstruction, MS Spitsbergen will be included in the Hurtigruten fleet in 2016. The ship will feature elegant, modern, comfortable public areas and cabins and the decor will reflect the color palette of the sea. The ship is environmentally-friendly and we will continue to make improvements to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. She will also be equipped and adapted for future sailings in polar waters. The new ship’s maneuverability and size makes her particularly suitable for exploring the coast of Norway and bringing Hurtigruten’s guests even closer to nature.

A NEW WAY TO SEE NORWAY

We've long celebrated the traveler who wants to see as many new things as possible (and those voyages are still plenty) but our new ship - the MS Spitsbergen - is for the wanderer, the ponderer, the sightseer. Spend a little time with us in Norway.  

 

Toll free: 800.722.4126

E-mail:  info@5stars-scandinavia.com

MS Midnatsol to Southernmost Continent: Antarctica!

Exploring Antarctica with MS Midnatsol

MS Midnatsol offers an opportunity for travelers who possess a true spirit of exploration, and who want to “thrill” their senses by connecting with extraordinary natural surroundings - not just sailing by on a big ocean liner.  Here is the chance to connect with Antarctica’s gigantic ice, penguins, leopard seals, whales and albatross.  And more, to be among the fortunate few to step foot on the last untouched continent.  Back onboard, scientists will help deepen your understanding of Antarctica’s wildlife and environment, and expand your awareness of the fascinating world around you.

Midnatsol to Begin 2016 Operation in Antarctica

Seattle, May 2015 – Hurtigruten, a world leader in sustainable explorer travel, is moving the MS Midnatsol to Antarctica for the 2016/2017 season, more than tripling the company’s guest capacity for sailings in this important polar region. The MS Midnatsol will join the Hurtigruten’s well-known expedition ship, the MS Fram, increasing the company’s seasonal berths from 2,268 in 2015/16 to 6,800 berths in 2016/17.

Antarctica itineraries include highlights such as the Falkland Islands, Chilean fjords, Patagonia, the Magellan Strait and Cape Horn. Sailings will depart from October 2016 to March 2017 with prices ranging from $5,999 to $6,666 per person, double occupancy. 

Toll free: 800.722.4126

E-mail: info@5stars-scandinavia.com

Smyril Line M/F Norröna

Smyril Line has started their new season and has been sailing a few trips to Iceland, at the moment we are in the Shetland Islands with approximately 600 guest who have been on our special cruise to the Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland.

During the winter season we have made quite a few changes and updates on-board. The Simmer Dim Restaurant has become a Steak House, serving fantastic fresh salads and other tasty dishes in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Our Deluxe cabins have got a total make over with new furniture's and a great new look and furthermore our Naust Bar has become a Sport Bar with a new Sporty look. During the summer we will make sure that the guest will have the possibility to follow all the sport events which are going on through the summer.

Our famous Norrøna Buffet Restaurant is still serving both breakfast and dinner during the whole week. The Buffet offers such a wealth of dishes that one cannot possibly try them all in one evening, even if you will be tempted to. Every evening there are over 20 different hot dishes to choose from, in addition to somewhere between 40 and 50 cold dishes. And then there is the cheese, the fruit and the irresistible pastry selection.

Pre-Book and save up to 20%
We would very much recommend that your guest pre-book the food before the journey, not just because they save money, but also to make sure that they get a seat either in the Buffet or in the Steak House.

 

Tallink Silja Line

We would like to inform you about the upcoming dry docking dates for our vessels. Please check the exact dates below:

Victoria I - STOCKHOLM-TALLINN route

02.03.2014 - out of service in Tallinn 10:45

10.03.2014 - in service from Tallinn 18:00

Isabelle - STOCKHOLM-RIGA route

03.04.2014 - out of service in Riga 11:00

11.04.2014 - in service from Riga 17:30

Galaxy - TURKU-STOCKHOLM route

05.05.2014 - out of service in Turku 07:00

14.05.2014 - in service from Turku 08:15

Silja Symphony - HELSINKI-STOCKHOLM route

06.09.2014 - out of service in Helsinki 09:55

16.10.2014 - in service from Helsinki 17:00

   Toll free: 800.722.4126800.722.4126
   Tel: 360.923.0125360.923.0125
   Fax: 360.923.0488
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   Email: info@5stars-scandinavia.com

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New Five City Baltic Cruise from St. Peter Line!

Five City Baltic Cruise
Helsinki - Mariehamn - Stockholm -Tallinn - St. Petersburg - Helsinki

 

ST. PETER LINE offers around the year for all passengers and nationalities up to 72 hours visa free stays in St. Petersburg with these two passenger ferries.

Enjoy St. Peter Line's visa free cruise on the M/S Princess Anastasia. Depart from Helsinki on Friday afternoon, via Mariehamn to Stockholm, where you have the full day at your leisure. Continue to Tallinn, with time for a city tour of Tallinn and Old Town with private driver/guide. Evening departure for St. Petersburg; full day to explore the imperial city of the Czars on your own, by St. Peter Line shuttle bus, or by private pre-arranged excursions.

As a novelty, Princess Anastasia will arrive from St.Petersburg to Helsinki on Friday mornings starting from 5 August 2011. New passengers from Helsinki can start with Princess Anastasia on Friday evening and sail via Mariehamn to Stockholm, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg they can stay visa free for two or three nights in a hotel before returning to Helsinki Port either with the other ferry Princess Maria on Thursday morning or the same ferry Princess Anastasia on Friday morning. Passengers from Stockholm can on Saturdays and Wednesdays go for visa free cruises spending from a day up to 72 hours (three hotel nights) in St. Petersburg before sailing directly back to Stockholm or via Helsinki and Mariehamn (in both you can jump off) back to Stockholm.

Please view our great offer on the Five City Baltic Cruise and all our St. PeterLine visa-free cruises from Helsinki and Stockholm to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Forbes Magazine: In Cod They Trust

Even in late March the weather can be nasty above the Arctic Circle, especially in the Lofoten Islands, where my German fishing buddy Ingrid Shumway and I were booked to compete in the Lofotcup, Norway's annual two-day cod fishing tournament. A 60-mile archipelago, the Lofotens fan across the Norwegian Sea like scared bait. They are one of the prettiest--and most out there--places on Earth. Sheared and whittled by 20,000 years of glacial ice, the islands are a sweep of 3,000-foot maritime alps and 3-billion-year-old granite plateaus. If Switzerland were flooded, it would look a lot like the Lofoten Islands.

Scattered about are little fishing villages marked by simple fishermen's cabins and two-story wooden cod-drying racks. But don't let the old charm fool you. The place is full of chic coffeehouses, good bookstores, hotels that could win design awards in Milan and some of the most sophisticated seafood anywhere. Especially cod dishes, the Lofotens' still-bustling cod fishery being the reason Viking traders bothered to settle these Lilliputian islands. A thousand years later, in 1991, islanders turned the opening of cod season into a national event and invited out-of-towners.

A word about cod and the Norse. The fish lies in rough relation to northerners as cattle do to Argentineans and sheep to New Zealanders. Norwegians eat it fresh; boiled with fat skeins of its own delicate roe; air-dried and baked into a tomato-based bacalao; or prepped with lye, which turns the fish into something resembling a bar of soap.

Tournament headquarters is in the village of Svolvær, nearly 800 miles (and two more flights) northeast of Oslo. By the time we arrived the light was blue and Svolvær's waterfront looked like Saturday night on Santorini--with Gore-Tex. The cafes were packed with jovial Norwegians, but we managed to squeeze in and enjoy some surprisingly lean and tasty hamburgers.

"Hvalburger," our server corrected. Whales, a fellow fisherman told us, follow the cod, so this was good news.

By morning Svolvær Harbor looked like D-day. Scores of boats carrying 500 or so contestants revved their engines while crews ran around filling bait tanks and checking tackle. Swathed in layers of fleece, wool and rubber, we Gumby-walked to the Blomøy, the 58-foot postwar chartered boat we would share with nine other fishermen, all from Oslo. The day was so clear the mountains looked mythic. The starting horn sounded to a hail of whoops, and we were off. But the moment we left the harbor a north wind kicked up, the sea convulsed, the sky went dead-cod green and ice-pick sleet soon hacked at our faces. We skedaddled into the first handy fjord, but it was so rough there the Norwegian Coast Guard followed us in. Nonetheless, the captain cut to an idle, and the fishing began.

The boat bucked nonstop, one icy wave after another crashed onto the decks, and the wind tied endless knots in our lines. There was something heroic about standing there and surviving. Dock gossip that evening was that almost no cod had been taken by anyone. Something wasn't right.

On the second day we awoke to a perfect Arctic storm. Stowed rope and crab pots made snowy hillocks onshore as we headed out in near whiteout conditions. Within minutes I was totally freezing.

"Dere is no bad weather, only bad clothes," one of the crew noted, glancing helpfully at my dishwashing gloves, which were all that the Svolvær hardware store had left. Then he told us that Blomøy means either "flower island" or "cauliflower" depending, we assumed, on how the fishing was going. The old boat managed to plow through nonstop rollers for 45 minutes before we lurched into another fjord. We resumed battle positions, armed with heavy Norwegian fishing rods and handsomely tooled saltwater reels--all of which counted for nada. After three hours of fish-free torture I'd had it.

Whoever said misery loves company was crazy. All I wanted to do was crawl off somewhere by myself and warm up. I settled for the hold and braved its perilous long vertical ladder only to find a crew member named Odd Burviuk already down there playing "Misty" on his accordion.

"Shouldn't you be running the boat or something?" I asked him.

"Too rough," he replied with a rococo flourish. "I joke. Dis is nothing."

So the old Blomøy can handle weather like this? "Awk!" spat Odd. "She yust need replacement in skandekk, floor and skin. Also dare is tæring damage in the aftermath bastard around some keel bolts in forskipet." After that explanation, he began to play "That Old Black Magic." A yell sounded from above decks. Someone finally had a fish on. I scrambled back up the ladder. The snow had stopped, the air was still, and the Good Ship Cauliflower was bathed in celestial light. I was thrilled to find that the fisherman fighting a fish was Ingrid.

She boated it, too, with a little help from our first mate's gaff. There it was, the ancient Norwegian coastal cod: the Homer Simpson upper jaw, the churlish little chin barbel, the big startled eyes popping out of a scale-less skin. But intriguing. This cold-water cannibal won't hesitate to dine on its younger brethren. It makes its own enzymatic antifreeze that lets it handle water temperatures icy enough to make a grown man … pick up the accordion.

Ingrid's 8-pound cod won her ninth place in the women's division, an achievement we toasted at the Lofotcup awards ceremony on the waterfront that night. But the real celebration began when she led us and some Oslo pals to Svolvær's Rica Hotel, where she had snagged a room with a fishing hole cut into its floor. We settled into armchairs, poured brandy and cast our bait to the wind beneath our now warm feet.

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