HIDDEN GEMS:SO YOU want to visit a fjord. But which one? The answer is Fjaerland, a branch of the Sognefjord, Norway's longest and deepest Fjord.
Why? First, the views. Take the ferry from Balestrand and they will mesmerise you. They are like an advert for clean air, healthy living and Scandinavian design. Small settlements scattered along the edges of brightly coloured wooden huts and farmhouses. Behind them, the steep slopes are punctuated by some spectacular waterfalls. The ferry stops in Fjaerland town, also known as Mundal – two streets and a cluster of photogenic hotels and cabins.
And then there is the glacier. As you approach the dock, look up to see the dark ice nestling in the gap between the peaks. This is the Bøyabreen, a spur of the Jostedalsbreen – the largest glacier on the European continent. Hire a bike and cycle down towards the head of the fjord. Notice how the icy waters gradually turn turquoise, then green the closer you get to the ice.
Visit the Norwegian Glacier Museum, housed in a building shaped not unlike a flying saucer. You can learn why glacier ice is blue (yes, really) and take a look at the preserved body of a man found in 1,000-year-old ice. Take a picnic and hike up close to the glacier itself. Listen as it groans and creeks its way into the fjord at a speedy two metres a day.
But the main reason, in my opinion, to choose Fjaerland over all the other picture-book fjord destinations, is that it is the Norwegian book town. Every craft shop, cafe, hotel and even the tourist office sells second-hand books, over quarter of a million of them, and many in English. Think Haye-on-Wye on a fjord and you get the idea. Book heaven.
www.fjaerland.org