Hi there
Looking at going to Norway for Christmas and New Year for about 10 days. Looking at visiting Tromso, Alta and Bergen.
Any recommendations on anywhere else in Norway to spend Christmas, somewhere with activities/dining available for tourists (not Oslo though).
Any other recommendations for this period during the polar nights?
Thank you
Link from VisitNorwayUSA [email protected]:
The preparations for the modern holiday season begin in early
December, with the baking of Christmas cookies (seven different kinds,
at minimum), buying christmas gifts and the significantly less fun act
of cleaning houses and apartments. Needless to say, a Norwegian
stressed out of his mind is not an uncommon sight during December.But pre-Christmas is also a time for coziness. A variety of Christmas
concerts are held in churches and concert halls all over the country,
while the Santa Lucia celebration on December 13th is a highlight for
children in schools and kindergartens.The essential day, however, is Christmas Eve (December 24th), where
most have a big family dinner. The dinner usually consist of ribbe
(pork ribs) or pinnekjøtt (lamb ribs), or in some parts of Norway;
cod. A lot of restaurants offer these dishes in the weeks before
Christmas as well. If you want to taste Norwegian Christmas cookies,
you can look for goro, krumkaker or berlinekrans in bakeries and
supermarkets.Some hotels and restaurants are closed from December 24th to the 26th,
but you will find plenty are open as well - at least in the mountains
and the big cities. And even though Christmas doesn’t last all the way
to Easter (as one of the famous traditional Norwegian Christmas carols
claim), the whole month of December is characterized by a unique
holiday spirit with the New Year's Eve as a concluding climax.
From the same page:
The ultimate gift: The northern lights
Many dream of a white christmas, but have you ever dreamed of
celebrating christmas while enjoying the spectacular northern lights?In 2009, the Travel & Leisure Magazine voted Tromsø as one of the
best places in the world to spend Christmas, not least due to the
possibility of seeing the northern lights.But chances are you will be able to see the lights in many
destinations above the arctic circle, and maybe in Trøndelag too. Some
cruise ships are known to offer northern lights-themed travels during
the holiday season as well.
