I first visited Norway as part of a general tour round Europe. By the time I got to Norway I was getting pretty jaundiced by the fact that most places in Europe looked much the same as each other. Norway, however was a shock. This place is different, the houses, people, town centres, bars, restaurants, food and drink are all different to what you would find elsewhere. It is a very unique place and definitely worth a visit.

Oslo is a pretty miserable place and has little to commend it other than that it is the starting point for the Oslo to Bergen train. This journey takes you through the Norwegian tundra, across the fjords and finally into Norway’s prettiest town – Bergen. En route you get the chance to stop at Flomm – on top of a mountain, catch a train with 15 sets of brakes that will take you down the mountainside to Myrdal on the fjord and bring you back (it goes up the mountain faster than going down).

You may find Norwegian cuisine confusing – they dont do much with lunch or dinner. Breakfast is the big meal of the day and they do that in style. Get used to a few thousand calories before 9:00 am and then little else before bedtime.

Incidentally, since the sun is mow entering a newly active period, this will be a good time to travel further north to see the Aurora Borealis which will be particularly spectacular in the next few months.