When I first accepted the invitation of a Norwegian friend to visit 
his country, I knew for sure that we wew going to see wonderful things  
but I would never imagine to which extent.                              
First of all because, thanks to the continuos presence of this friend,  
we had the possibility to discover places that surely we could never see
in any other circumstance.                                              
     By means of touristic guides and television, one thinks to know    
everything about Norway, but usually , as tourists, people usually flock
towards the usual typical sites indicated by guides and travel agents.  
Everybody knows about  the beauties of the Great North, the fjords, the 
islands, the midnight sun at North Cape etc, but, personally, we have   
visited other magnificent interesting places of this country .          
The regions we have visited are: Oslo,Larkollen, Fredrikstad, Hvaler,   
Svinesund in Sweden, Lillehammer and the Park of Sjusioen.              
Once landed at Gardemoen airport, we immediately had the impression of 
a strange and fascinating atmosphere.                                   
     While driving to Oslo we had the possibility of getting some       
anticipation of what we were going to see during the following days:    
lakes, forests, endless meadows  spotted with wooden houses which, with 
all their beautiful shapes and colours made up a gorgeous choreography. 
     First of all what looked somehow strange to our eyes was the deep  
feeling that the Norwegian people have for their nation: all the houses,
or a great part of them,have a long pole fitted in the garden on top of 
which the national flag sways, mainly for all official national events  
but, also, strange enough for us,on the occasion of private anniversaries
like birthdays or similar.                                               
    The first thing you are likely to discover in Norway, and try not to 
miss it, is the VAFFEL a sort of crèpe , sweet, served at the end of a   

meal as a dessert,stuffed, at the moment, with cream and strawberry jam. 
In Norway strawberry jam is very popular. It is used in many occasions   
and though strawberries are cultivated in nurseries, it can be considered
the most important fruit, like tomato is for us in Italy.                
Oslo is astonishing for the way it offers you a very special mixture of  
strong nationalism, high technology, tradition, the contrast of modern   
concrete buildings of the centre and parks, many and everywhere.         
     In a few words, you can meet there everything you expect  from a    
metropolis but with a substantial difference: the elementary respect for 
other people and the environment.                                        
     A must, during the visit to the city is the King palace that is     
situated at the end of Karl Johans gate, the main street of Oslo which,  
all around, offers to the tourist a great park where one can have the    
first encounter with nature inside the town. The classic lake with wild  
life animals and, all around a green to rest upon.                       

Visiting the center of Oslo, after all, is not so easy.                  
All the alleys leading to the center are not free: you must pay!!        
And, once you are in, you must find a place to park: really not so easy, 
even in underground parkings.                                            
We decided not to visit any museum and headed for another "must":        
HOLMENKOLLEN AND HIS SKI JUMPING PLANT.
At the foot of this sport monument you can visit a museum dedicated to    
the history of Norwegian ski, from 600 B.C. to nowadays.                  
    Once you are on top of the jumping tower you can see all around the   
scenery of all Oslo, not only, but your sight may spread for miles and    
miles away. If this is not enough for you, you may go to the television   
tower situated on top of a hill not so far away: from up there, for sure, 
you may keep under control the whole province of Oslo with all its        
forests, mountains and endless green meadows.                             
Leaving Oslo we drove South heading for LARKOLLEN.                        
If you like sea, in Larkollen you may find a camping site hidden into a   
forest and situated on an isthmus with the ocean on one side and a natural
bay on the other, full of boats. From there you can see all the islets    
and the opposite coast. One of the island is very special because , with  
ebb tide, you can reach it by walking on the rocks protruding out of the  
water.   If you have the  chance  of  having a  motor-boat  you will  be  
delighted by visiting all the surrounding inlets and coves, very peculiar 
with their rounded reddish rocks.                                         
Go there at sunset, between 7 and 11 p.m.. Yes, that is the right time.   
Dont forget that from June to August you have the Midnight Sun.           
    Actually you cannot see it directly but you can imagine it behind that
special glow.                                                             
As a matter fact it is almost daylight for 24 hours a day!          
   We left Larkollen and made up our way for FREDRIKSTAD, a bulwark during
a war with SWEDEN from 1787 to 1816.                                      
    FREDRIKSTAD is a fortified town which now  is a actually an  open-sky 
museum with all the surrounding walls, the ancient hamlets, the cobbled   
square and with the ancient buildings once used by troops.
   All around the town walls a special track, you may go on foot or with a
bike,alllows you to have a full sight of the whole town.                  
    From  Fredrikstad you may very easily reach HVALER, the last of  four  
islands all connected, each other, by bridges, one of which almost at water
level.    At any rate the last connection to Hvaler is under the           
 As a matter of fact, after paying your toll of a few crowns, water. 
you dive down into a 4 km tunnel 180 metres under the water level.         
When you head out you will simply be astonished by what surrounds you!     
Houses are all white in colonial style which armonizes perfectly with      
all the special landscape.                                                 
As already noticed during our travelling, even more here, everything
has been built with a great respect for the environment.                   
Houses are there, the roads as well, but all this is beautifully fused     
with the woods, the meadows, the red rocks of the coast.                   
Nothing disturbs your sight in this magic place.                    
   Even the church, with its cemetery standing by, seems to be there to   
beautify the landscape.                                                    
    It is actually a perfect fusion of beauty and peace of the soul and     
only one who has been there can understand what our feelings were in       
that moment in that small piece of heaven. From this island you may see    
the coast of Sweden and, driving there, through  Fredrikstad, we met on    
the road special panels showing the symbol of the clover.                  
If you ever meet them, stop and follow the arrows.                         
They will lead you to discover some Viking graves or very interesting
rock engraving dating back to prehistory.                                  

During the way towards Svinesund you may admire the nice choreography
Of the typical houses, all in wood and full of colours.                    
    Svinesund, between Norway and Sweden is duty free and the border is     
actually a fjord and the two nations are connected by a stately  bridge    
150 metres above the water. You have no customs there.                     
This part of Sweden is usually invaded by  Norwegians for the  very low    
prices for almost every type of goods: food and non-food. While crossing   
the bridge you are not  allowed to stop to  look down, but  you  can do    
that after parking your car on the opposite end and walking back.          
I think that a sunny day would be the best solution to be there, but I     
 can assure you that    even with  rain it is very fascinating.               
In Sweden you will notice the different style and structure of buildings,   
I would say : more European. In Norway style is more  rigorous and wood     
is almost a constant. We left the sea and went to the mountains.            
To tell the truth, travelling in Norway, you have the impression of 
being always on the mountains. But in that case we were in a very          
special mountain place: LILLEHAMMER.                                       
    Lillehamer, a sport centre that became very popular on the occasion    
of 1994 Winter Olympic Games, hides actually some very interesting         
treasures for the visitors.                                                
You can reach Lillehammer in two ways:  By travelling  on E6, the local    
motorway, in Norway it is free of charge. Or you can choose to go on the   
panoramic road that reaches Lillehammer through unforgettable sceneries:   
18O km from Oslo, so many indeed!!                                         
 But each one to be lived with the deep of your heart and your mind.
I strongly advise to drive with, in the background, the music by Edward    
Grieg, a  worldly celebrated Norwegian composer of the end of 18th century.
That would actually be the maximum.                                        
    Driving in Norway it is very important not to exceed the local speed  
limits and to comply with driving rules: automatic cameras are everywhere  
and, believe it or not, they are always in good conditions.                
Lillehammer is situated on the slope of a mountain and reflects itself     
on MJOSA lake. This lake is more than 120 km. Long and you can drive on    
its banks for almost 60 km. Coming from Oslo on the panoramic road.        
    The journey is astonishing because, while going northway, you have     
a perspective view of the scenery completely different than going south,   
though places are the same.    Mjosa lake, on which SKIBLADNER, an old     
romantic wheel boat, dating back to the beginning of last century,         
continuously goes to and fro, is one of the few lakes where tourism is     
admitted, but only in a small percentage.There you cannot find anything    
out of its place.                                                          

  Entering Lillehammer means entering the kingdom of TROLLS, mythical    
character of popular tradition, and of ELGS ( Elks).                       
    Wherever you may, go you will  see panels indicatine  the possibile   
presence of elks and you must absolutely give them the way, no matter      
where you are!!This means on motorways driving at the maximum speed of     
9O km:/h, or inside Lillehammer National Park at 1200 Mt. above sea level. 
    After visiting the places where 1994 Winter Olympic Games took place, 
you may head towards the natural park of Sjusioen: miles and miles of      
uncontaminated wilderness at its best!                                     
    We could only visit a small part of the park. In summer you can drive 
through it in any direction. A toll is requested. In winter it is quite    
advisable the use of a motorsleigh! The scenery is typical of highlands    
and everywhere you meet small brooks and springs from any small ravine.    
Valleys  are spotted with lakes and the huge pastureland supplies food     
to sheeps that produce the basic material for a typical local product:     
cheese with honey!                                                         
   It is a dark color cheese, sweet, used mainly for breakfast with the 
ever-present strawberry jam.                                               
Walking up and down along the many mountain trails, you meet the houses    
of local inhabitants and we discovered that actually there are no trails   
especially dedicated to tourists. Each single trail always leads to a house.
    The scenery around  is always changing according to the way you go:  
changing colours and shades.                                               
     The same lake seen 3 miles away is completely different.              
Before leaving the park you must absolutely make a  stop at PELLESTOVA     
(Stova means House) in order to taste: ROMMEGROT a local typical food      
made with curd milk and butter, seasoned with sugar. Definitely a highly  
caloric food, it is the traditional food of the local mountain people     
since centuries. It has a strange flavour, difficult to explain: it is    
quite worthwhile to taste it.                                             
Never leave Norway also without tasting JEGERGRITE MED REINSDYRKJOTT:     
boiled reindeer meat with mushroom  and cream. It is really a delicacy!   
Very typical of Lillehammer mountains .                                   
You may eat these foods with cooked potatoes and strawberry jam. 
No bread available.                                                       
Wayback to Lillehammer with its magical forests and woods where, walking  
through them, you discover many aspects about the legends of these        
mountains and their TROLLS.                                              
   Ferns and moss, with sunbeams reaching through the tree branches, are 
very beautiful.                                                          
You should stop on a trail, sit down and wait for the elks. But we have  
no time. Or you could make up your imagination and try to meet a Troll   
during an evening walk when the sun turns around a mountain leaving a    
red halo around low clouds.                                              
It is not actually a sunset here, but a gorgeous show that leaves you    
astonished and makes you feel so mean in this grand system which is      
life itself.                                                             
And all this may happen at 11 p.m. No way to speak about darkness.       
Sun has momentarily set behind a mountain but its glow keeps staying     
with us during our last walk in our last endless magic night in Norway!