Christmas in Norway. What to do on Christmas here

Christmas time is here so I decided to give a little info what can you do/see/taste here on Christmas. 
As Norway is big on wintersports even without the permanent snow  there are a lot of places with fake snow where you can go skying near Oslo or take a trip to Geilo or Beitostølen where there are mountains for the real deal. If you're into iceskating then there are several places to go.  In te city center here in Oslo there is a free skating place, that is if you have your own skates but you can rent them and the price is not that expensive. 

Besides sports you can enjoy many Christmas markets not only to shop but also taste some local food and bavarages.
Speaking about Norwegian Christmas food -there are many different ways and places you can try the local Christmas food. I've asked Norwegians to tell me about their number 1 Christmas food and the answer always was Pinnekjøtt-a traditional dish made out of  smoked and dried  lamb meat mostly typical to Western and Northern Norway but gaining it's popularity through out the country. You can get it at any local grocery store or some of the local restaurants. This is usually served with traditional mandelpoteter- a type of boiled potatoes and kålrabistappe- mashed swede puree.  

Besides that pork ribs are also a traditional Christmas food.  Besides that there is the tradititonal  Lutefisk -fermented fish. This is something more traditional to Sweden and I can't say I've heard a lot of Norwegians actually eat this but this is also available in any grocery store. Now on to the drinks. In Norway I was surprised to find out that  Glühwein is not that popular and not really available in stores here but Norway has a variety of Christmas beers which are actually  quite good. Of course that depends on your taste but as I am from Latvia and we favour darker ale type beers these are pretty nice.  There is also the tradititonal Glögg which is a warm alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage -it comes in different variations . This is usually made  out of mulled wine and coniac or brandy ,heated up with honey and some fruits. All the spices are available in the grocery store as well.
The tradition in Bergen is to make a Gingerbread city  so you can also check that out. Bergen is a gorgeous place to be at Christmas.

There are also many concert and charity events you can attend and just enjoy the atmosphere here.
If you ask me what to do on Christmas in Norway here is what I would say- rent a cabin in the more mountainess area , get some food and stuff , get a Christmas tree and spend the time there. Offline. Just you and your friends  and family and I guarantee you will have the best time ever

The magical Møre og Romsdalen.

Møre og Romsdalen is one of the most beautiful regions in Norway.  This is where you find Ålesund and Atlantic road, Trollstigen and Geirangerfjord.
We traveled there in may but june is a bit better. The mountain passages are open and the weather is better. We stayed t the Scandic hotel in Ålesund which was great  but I recommend you do that only while you're in Ålesund when you're travelling around the region, you can find mountain cabins to stay at. Do rent a car. Travelling here with your own may be difficult due to the fact there is little to no highways going to this region and most of them are going through mountains so they may be closed.  We just rented a car and traveled the region this way. You can do it straight away at the airport.  The bus from the airport does not go past 8 pm so if you have a hotel near by , you should think about a car.

We started by checking out Ålesund. This is a wonderful small town, reconstructed in art-art nouveau style after a fire took place at 1904, when a large part of town center burnt down which made other cities reconsider safety of the tradititonal building style in Norway, the materials, the way the buildings are spaced and so on. Now the little town is as romantic as it gets- little art-nouveau  houses,  the view to the ocean from one side and the mountains from the other. The harbour is right in the middle of town center as well as fjellstua- a great look out point at the top of the hill with a restourant. The climb is fairly easy , there are stairs all the way up to the top.

Othet things you should visit is the aquarium, the Ålesund church and Storhaugen lookout point.

The next day we went to Geirangerfjord. There are different ways to get there but we drove via Sykkylven and Hellesylt then by boat to Geirangerfjord. There are some tours going to Geiranger from Ålesund  but as it was may and only the beginning of the season so that was not an option. Plus car gives you liberties that no tour can. Going through mountains in May in this region there is still a lot of snow and the scenery is beautiful. Taking the road number 60 after Sykkylven you will be passing the Sunnmøre Alps, gorgeous mountain peaks.

 Most of these road will go through mountain passages and verity of tunnels as well as ferries so be prepared to take a lot of them during your trip. On our way to Hellesylt there is a gorgeous look out point to the entrance of Geiranger. Here we took a ferry going through the  Geirangerfjord . On the way you can hear the story of fjord and local farmers which is really interesting.  All of the Geiranger farms are abandoned due to the conditions here but it is fascinating how these people survived here and what they needed to do so. 

Arriving at Geiranger we take a brief walk and up and down the stairs next to the waterfall and check out a local shops by the port. After that we tarvel a bit upwards in Dahlsnibba direction to hike up the Storseterfossen. This is a very interesting place where you can walk behind the waterfall.  The hike is not that difficult and there is a brick trail practicly all the way up to the top.  This place is breathtaking . The waterfall, the mountain view is just magestic. This place is so quiet at the top becausr the rock hovers over the waterfall and when you get to the waterfall it is just something. A definite must.

After that you can go further up the main road to Dahlsnibba. But we drove further up the Geiranger serpentine to the view point and further away to the Trollstigen national tourist route. This is the road that connects Geiranger to Åndalsnes.  This is the road you can find several waterfalls, the Trollstigen serpentine  mountain passage and Trollveggen. The wonderful nature sights are complimented by modern architecture making this a wonderful route to take. 

As it was may the part of Trollstigen was closed so we could only travel this much. But the region is very beautiful. The Trollveggen is the tallest vertical rock wall face in Europe and  eventhough we couldn't go through Trollstigen  we still came to see Trollveggen and  check out Trollstigen.  Trollstigen has always been an important trade route in this region.  The new road was only built in 1916 but you can still walk the old horse road which has been there for centuries.

We leave to travel back to Ålesund and come back the next day for Åndalsnes. Here is where we take a hiking trip to Rampestrekken via Romsdalstrappa. This hike is one of the most demanding I have taken because of the steep climb upwards. At the top you will find another lookout point where you will see the fjord and Trollvegen. The view is absolutely fantastic but the climb maybe difficult and scary if you have fear of heights, so be sure to take water and good shoes with you.
After that we travel to one of the most known attractions in Norway- Atlantic road. This is where you can find Storseisundbrua, the curved  bridge,

This road connects several little islands and fisheries . The region needed a better transportation route for  quite some time in order to transport the fish and sea products and so the road was finally finished in 1989 and was nominated in 2005 as construction of the century. A definite must to enjoy the views of Atlantic ocean and the beautiful constructions them self.
All in all the region is gorgeous and there are so many attractions and thing to see a book  would not be enough to describe it all. The main things I can advise you is to travel here in June so every attraction would be available, be sure to take at least one boat ride here so you can see the fjords from all of  the angles, take some time and hike somewhere in this region , it most definitely  will be worth the while and if you have more time than we did , check out the Mardalfossen which is gorgeous site on one of the tallest waterfalls in Europe, as well as Rauma railway ,Valldal and Tafjord. whether you like architecture, nature or just the athmosphere, this region is for you.