One of the most beautiful photo galleries I have ever done: NORWAY!

When you look at a map of Norway, you wonder how it could be so beautiful when it is definitely part of the frozen islands. But the formations of the mountains, and the beautiful oceans, not to mention the aurora borealis, it makes for beautiful photos. I hope you enjoy this gallery, and I’ll insert some interesting information within the photos.

At an astonishing 15 miles (24.5 km) long, the Lærdal Tunnel is the world’s longest. Costing 1 billion Norwegian kroner to build (that’s about USD $110 million) the tunnel connects the small communities of Lærdal and Aurland.

The Norwegian capital has been the proud venue of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony every year (with just a few exceptions) since 1901. The other Nobel prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Physics and Physiology or Medicine are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden.That’s due to the wishes of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist who bequeathed his wealth to create the awards upon his death. No-one’s quite sure why he chose Norway for the Peace Prize.

A little over one thousand Norwegians can say they live in Hell. The small village is within walking distance of Trondheim’s international airport and even has its own train station. The train station is in itself something of a tourist attraction. Several times I’ve spotted tourists snapping a photo of themselves in front of the station sign! But there’re more to Hell than just the name. Take a short walk from the station via a signed forest trial and you’ll find some crude rock carvings of reindeer, believed to be around 5,000 years old. There’s also a hotel and a small shopping center, among other local facilities.

While sushi is absolutely a Japanese invention, they did not use salmon in the dish until it was suggested by a Norwegian delegation in 1980’s.

Despite the distance between the countries, Japan seemed a natural fit for Norwegian seafood. Japan’s fish stocks were suffering from overfishing but demand from consumers was high.The deals created all those years ago have helped to boost Norwegian seafood exports. In Japan, Norwegian salmon sushi is one of the most popular dishes, especially among younger people.It took time to happen though, as the Japanese were originally concerned with the health impact of eating raw salmon. But they got over that, and Norwegian exports haven’t looked back and seafood is now one of Norway’s biggest industries.

This should come as no surprise given the Norwegian obsession with skiing and their success at international level.

Sondre Norheim is said to be the father of modern skiing. In the late 19th-century, he began using stiff ski bindings so he could swing and jump with less risk of falling. His new ski design – the Telemark ski – led to the modern skis we know and love.But skiing itself goes much further back. An ancient rock carving at Rødøy in northern Norway shows that people used a form of skis to get around in the Norwegian mountains as long ago as 4,000 years.Finnmark is home to the oldest preserved ski ever found, at an incredible 2,300-years old. To top it off, many Norwegian words including ski and slalom originated right here in Norway.

Perhaps unsurprising given the facts above, Norway is the world’s most successful nation at the Winter Olympic Games. Despite having little more than 5 million residents, Norway has won more medals than any other country in Olympic history.

 Norway isn’t called Norway!

At least, not in Norwegian. Norway is the name of the country in the English language. In Norwegian, the country is called Norge. In the lesser-used nynorsk variety of Norwegian, the spelling is Noreg.

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