Grand Hotel in Oslo

12 December 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Hotels Reading Time:  3 minutes

© Ssu/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Ssu/cc-by-sa-4.0

Grand Hotel is a hotel in Oslo, Norway. The hotel is best known as the annual venue of the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremonies and banquet, and its winners’ residence while in Oslo.   read more…

Henningsvær in Norway

28 November 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Giladtop/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Giladtop/cc-by-sa-4.0

Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the town of Svolvær. Henningsvær is connected to the rest of Vågan via the Henningsvær Bridges. The village is mostly located on the islands of Heimøya and Hellandsøya.   read more…

Bergen Line in Norway

8 November 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon voyage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Oslo station © Kjetil Ree/cc-by-sa-2.5

Oslo station © Kjetil Ree/cc-by-sa-2.5

The Bergen Line, or the Bergen Railway (Norwegian: Bergensbanen or Nynorsk: Bergensbana), is a 371-kilometre (231 mi) long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo, including the Randsfjord and Drammen lines between Hønefoss and Oslo, covering a total distance of 496 kilometres (308 mi). It is the highest mainline railway line in Northern Europe, crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres (4,058 ft) above sea level.   read more…

Tromsø in Norway

14 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Downtown Tromsø © flickr.com - The Municipality of Tromsø/cc-by-2.0

Downtown Tromsø © flickr.com – The Municipality of Tromsø/cc-by-2.0

Tromsø (Northern Sami: Romsa; Finnish and Kven: Tromssa; Swedish: Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Other notable settlements in the municipality include the villages of Bjerkaker, Ersfjordbotn, Jøvika, Kaldfjord, Kjosen, Kroken, Kvaløysletta, Lakselvbukt, Melvika, Movik, Oldervik, Sandneshamn, Sjursnes, Sommarøy, and Tromsdalen.   read more…

Sommarøy in Norway

6 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Harald Groven/cc-by-sa-3.0-no

© Harald Groven/cc-by-sa-3.0-no

Sommarøy or Sommerøya is an old fishing village in the western part of Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located about 36 kilometres (22 mi) west of the city of Tromsø and is a popular tourist destination due to its white sand beaches and scenery. The 0.41-square-kilometre (100-acre) village has a population (2023) of 304 and a population density of 741 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,920/sq mi).   read more…

Karl Johans gate in Oslo

29 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

© panoramio.com - Jorge Franganillo/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – Jorge Franganillo/cc-by-3.0

Karl Johans gate is the main street of the city of Oslo, Norway. The street was named in honor of King Charles III John, who was also King of Sweden as Charles XIV John. Karl Johans gate is a composite of several older streets that used to be separate thoroughfares. The eastern section was part of Christian IV’s original city near the ramparts surrounding the city. When the ramparts were removed to make way for Oslo Cathedral, three separate sections eventually became Østre Gade.   read more…

Andøya in Norway

17 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Ovuigner/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Ovuigner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about 300 kilometres (190 mi) inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main populatihttps://en.wikipedia.orgn centres on the island include the villages of Andenes, Bleik, and Risøyhamn.   read more…

The European Union: European Sky Shield Initiative

12 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag_of_Europe European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative. ESSI is part of the Common Security and Defense Policy and as such is designed to complement and relieve the burden on NATO.   read more…

The Viking Octantis

1 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Category: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Shiphistory62/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Shiphistory62/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Viking Octantis is a Polar Class 6 purpose-built expedition ship completed in December 2021 for Viking Expeditions Cruises, a subdivision of Viking Cruises. The ship has a capacity of 378 passengers with 189 staterooms. Named after the Sigma Octantis, the south star, the ship’s primary routes include Antarctica and the Great Lakes where the ship carries out scientific research during its cruises. The ship was joined by an identical sister ship Viking Polaris in fall of 2022.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top