FJORD FIESTA Road less traveled: Trollstigen’s winding hairpin bends his head when we ask for bacalao. “We’re inspired by Noma, so bacalao doesn’t really fit.” Comparing yourself to Noma, the world’s best restaurant, is gutsy – especially if you’re a halfempty onetime post office in Geiranger harbor. But the creamy fish soup of blue mussels, Salma salmon, spring onion, pale ale and crème fraîche delivers. Crossing the tiny street afterward, we’re transported once again, this time via the Alps and Scottish Highlands to Topanga Canyon, Los An geles. Villa de Sving has the sort of hippie-chic vibe for which Californian café owners would give one of their dreadlocks. “Californians like this place. It was while I was traveling there that I started to dream of a café like this,” Camilla Rönneberg says, bashing out the grounds after making yet another cappuccino. The black wooden cottage is full of secondhand furniture, plastic details in Seventies orange, tea lights, family games, and 1960s detective novels. Even if the summer brings much-needed income, Rönneberg looks forward to the off-season. And perhaps a gentle hike in the mountains? “No, no. In summer, we work around the clock, so when fall and winter come we don’t want to go walking around on some mountain. Not all Norwegians are nature lovers. In winter, I just want to sit here, drink wine and take it easy.” We have almost come to the end of the road, but there’s still time for one last detour. Erik Hil drestrand, chef at the Juvet Landscape Hotel, will be serving bacalao to night. We jump in the car and drive the small winding roads up to the hotel. The salt cod, dried on Averøya, has been rinsed un der running water for 24 hours. Hildrestrand puts it in an oven tray together with a tomato reduc tion of chili, garlic and peppers. “Good bacalao needs to have a kick, a real kick,” Hildrestrand says, sliding the tray into the oven. A couple of hours later and we’re finally about to get a taste of what the average Norwegian eats a kilo of each year (10kg if you’re Portu guese). It does have a kick and, yes, it’s salty... It’s almost worth the drive alone. GO TO TRONDHEIM/ÅLESUND SAS takes you to Ålesund/ Trondheim. Book your trip at www.flysas.com. Use money or your EuroBonus points, or combine points and money. END OF THE ROAD 24 HOURS IN ÅLESUND GRAB A LATE BREAKFAST. Wake up with industrial-strength coffee and a bowl of homemade muesli at Invit, an espresso barcum-interior design store with raw concrete walls, exposed pipework and pared-down furniture. Apotekergata 9. www.invit.no STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN. The best way to get your bearings and take in the town is to climb the 418 steps up Mount Aksla to Fjellstua lookout. www.fjellstua.no LUNCH WITH THE LOCALS. Having worked up an appetite, head to Lyst for good old-fashioned home cooking and dishes such as klippfisk with Serrano ham, potato purée and buttered vegetables. Kongensgate 12. www.lystmeny.no GO TO A MUSEUM. Ålesund’s art nouveau architecture is the result of a devastating fire in 1907. The Jugenstilsenteret (Art Nouveau Center) has exhibits on everything from jewelry to advertising. Admission: $12.50. Apotekergata 16. www.jugendstilsenteret.no SPLASH OUT ON DINNER. Right on the docks, the seafood restaurant Sjøbua is a favorite for fresh fish or bacalao, and even has its own lobster farm. Brunholmgata 1. Tel: +47 70 12 71 00. www.sjoebua.no STAY Housed in an old fish warehouse by the water, Hotel Brosundet’s rougher edges – bare brick walls and untreated pine – have been smoothed over by Norwegian starchitects Snøhetta. Those with money to burn should ask for room No.47, a lighthouse perched at the end of the Molja seawall on the Ålesund Strait. Rooms from €175. Apotekergata 5. Tel: +47 70 11 45 00. www.brosundet.no Additional reporting Hedvig Andersson 58 FEBRUARY 2013 SCANORAMA
FJORD FIESTA BERGEN 20,000 POINTS * From Round-trip. Book your ticket at Flysas.com/eurobonus * Price from airports in Scandinavia and Finland. Taxes and fees apply, from €48. SCANORAMA FEBRUARY 2013 59
Change language