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The Wonders of Norway
Norway is one of the 3 countries referred to as Scandinavia. Scandinavia is a historical and cultural-linguistic region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethno-cultural Germanic heritage and related languages. It comprises of the three kingdoms, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. (Source Wikipedia) Norway is mostly surrounded by water, well at least on three sides, north, west, and south. To top it off it has tons of water inland, as well, in the form of fjords, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Below is a picture of one of the fjords located in Sogn of Fjordane Municipality.  Sognefjorden is nicknamed the King of the Fjord It is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway. Norwegians love nature and take great pride in keeping nature as untouched as possible. Almost 17 percent of mainland Norway is now protected under the Nature Diversity Act. A large proportion of this consists of mountainous areas. In Norway, you will see wild, rough, magnificent nature in contrast to magnetizing, man-made wonders, which allures visitors from all over the world. Learn about Trollstigen/Troll Path or Troll Ladder, another wonder of Norway. Trollstigen  Trollstigen/The Troll Ladder located in Romsdalen, The most dangerous road in Norway. To enjoy driving on Trollstigen, the most dangerous road in Norway from the safety of your couch.
You will also discover technologically advanced tunnels, bridges, and well-maintained roads, which makes travel by car a pleasure and surely a time saver. This is Europe's Nordic parkland, rich in history, with a dramatic mix of cities and villages. Enjoy the ancient architecture, tall mountains, high-falling waterfalls, huge islands, and numerous seas. In February you might find polar bears walking around in Spitsbergen, the largest inhabited island of the Svalbard Archipelago, the most northern part of Norway...  Polar Bear in Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway
Source www.visit Svalbard.com while beautiful spring tulips are blooming in Stavanger, located on the mild Southwestern Norwegian coast.  Tulips blooming in Stavanger in February Surely, Norway is a land of contrast, from the forest-clad mountainsides and valleys, a multitude of deep, blue fjords, winding rivers, and sparkling clean blue lakes filled with fish to the unique undersea tunnels and the latest in bridge-building connecting islands to the mainland. Last but not least, the unusual Midnight Sun is surely among the wonders of Norway. It lights up Northern Norway's night sky to daylight. You can easily read your newspaper outside at 2 o'clock in the morning, or how about golfing at 3:00 am? The Aurora Borealis, commonly known as Northern Lights in the heavens will amaze you. Keep the sound on and click on the arrow in the picture below. Perhaps this is one of the most thrilling of the Wonders of Norway.
This beautiful country invites you to listen to concerts by thundering rivers, on top of mountains, and by misting waterfalls.
Today's feature is the music by Edward Grieg's Per Gynt, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King". Be sure your sound is turned on. Enjoy! Born November 15, 1843 in Bergen, Norway. Explorations Erik Thorvaldsson (Old Norse: Eiríkr Þorvaldsson; 950 – circa 1003), known as Erik the Red, Leif Erikson's father, a Norse Viking explorer, with a dubious reputation, sailed west from Norway with his family and settled in Hornstrandir, northwestern Iceland. Medieval and Icelandic saga (history) sources claim that Erik the Red founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland. Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway. Leif Erikson (circa 970 – 1020) in Icelandic, Leifur Eirikkson, Leiv Eirikkson, in Norwegian, son of Erick the Red, followed his father's footsteps in the area of explorations. About the year 1000 A.D., Leif planted his tracks in a land he named, Vinland, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. 
Leiv Eriksson Painting by Christian Krohg The exact location where Leif went ashore is not known, but according to the Sagas of the Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement in Vinland, identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada.  Fridtjof Nansen was born on October 10, 1861, in Store Froen, near Oslo, Norway. Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, oceanographer, humanitarian, diplomat, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was recognized as a great humanitarian for helping missions of war refugees. Fridtjof Nansen first won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14' during his North Pole expedition. In simple terms, he basically skied across Greenland. Roald Amundson and Fritjof Nansen placed the little country of Norway on the map with their daring explorations of the North and South Pole.  Among Captain Roald Amundsen's achievements, he gained an understanding of the mystery of Antarctic geography. Amundsen collected enough evidence to substantiate the theory that the great chain of mountains, which extends almost uninterruptedly from Alaska to Patagonia finds its continuation in a ridge connecting Victoria Land and King Edward VII Land, which, in honor of the former Queen Maud of Norway, he named this great chain of mountains "Queen Maud's Range." This information was collected from The Scientific American, Vol. CV1, No. 11, March 16, 1911 
Roald Amundson and Companions at the South Pole Dec. 14, 1911. Norway can boast of more recent explorers. They still produce adventurousness people with a strong, intrinsic curiosity for explorations of the unknown...
A Recent Race to the South Pole Daring and adventurous Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914 – April 18, 2002) an ethnographer and adventurer with a background in biology, zoology, botany, and geography. 
Thor Heyerdahls famous raft, Kon-Tiki Thor Heyerdahl became known for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, when he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in his hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Island.
One will see an astonishing variety of serene rural landscapes around the capital city, Oslo. But, this landscape is bleak compared to the wild, deep blue fjords along the Western Coast. Beautiful Bergen, another star of the wonders of Norway. The historic architecture by the harbor in the cosmopolitan city, Bergen, will intrigue you, and the zigzag roads that take you there will hypnotize you. If you travel to Bergen at the end of May, you can take in the International Festival/Festspillene, an annual international music and cultural event. Festspillene in Bergen is the largest yearly Festival held in Scandinavia.
The stark and barren landscape around Alta, Finnmark Fylke (County) is an astonishing contrast to the sunny beaches and coves of the Southern Coast and amaze visitors over and over again. From north to south, east to west, this country has a great variety - not only in landscape and nature but in the area of their foods, their official three languages, their almost endless dialects, and their unique and interesting customs as well.
Photogenic Romsdalen, with its "Majestic Alps", boast of intriguing zigzag roads like lightning, going up the mountainsides drawing curious visitors from near and far. Sprays of dancing waterfalls will keep you spellbound and cool while you admire them from the many bridges that allow you to advance to the higher plateaus. It is a country of contrasts, with scenery so varied it never ceases to amaze. A winter's velvety blue night sky is lighted by the shimmering Aurora Borealis, luring skiers to launch over the white sparkling crisp snow, before giving way to the bright Midnight Sun of summer that blends daytime and night into one. 
Borgund Stav Church depicts more of the Wonders of Norway. The land of the Vikings is full of tradition, exemplified by its rustic stave churches, folklore, arts, foods, and its folk music and folkedans, folk dance in English. Tunnel Building
 The World's Longest Tunnel is in Norway. In contrast, this country is second to none in education and modern technology. Have you heard of the extreme road and tunnel building in this country? Would you believe that they are creators of tunnels under oceans and under majestic mountains?  Another picture of The World's Longest Tunnel located in Norway. The engineers here have a lot of experience in designing roads on mountain shelves and in zigzag patterns straight up the mountain walls. Their tunnel building expertise gives them the capability to build tunnels in the most unbelievable places... the Norwegians are the very first in the world planning and building a tunnel for ships. Ever heard of that before? WOW! 
Norway building the worlds first Tunnel for Ships The world’s first ship tunnel will provide safer, faster travel for cargo ships and commuter vessels to avoid the notoriously treacherous waters around the Stadlandet peninsula also called Stat, located north of Bergen slightly southwest of Ålesund. This land is rich in petroleum. This small nation is up-to-date if not innovative in oil drilling technology. Another of the wonders of Norway is its amazing abundance of clean water. Norway produces hydro-electric power. A great deal of this electricity is exported to various countries in Europe. Of course, Norway joined in with the production and exportation of bottled water. You can buy Norwegian Voss Artesian Water around the world. The steep mountains and the laughing waterfalls; the jagged deep fjords; salmon-filled rivers, glaciers, and meadows invite visitors from all over the world to come and enjoy the wonders of Norway, one of the last great natural frontiers of the world. 
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