Norway

The original attraction is that Norway is full of mountains, islands and woodlands, all of which are very fine.

Then our children discovered the folkehogskole in Rissa and two went there to study boat-building and sailing. One of them is still there, helping to run the school’s farm and married to another member of staff. All three ended up with partners they met there.

Then it began to dawn on me that Norway is like Scotland could be if things had turned out differently, and I found it quite inspiring. It’s also one of the richest countries and spends its sovereign wealth on projects to support its population.

All the main drawbacks people complain about seemed to pale into insignificance: It’s expensive (depends what you buy, and have you seen the exchange rate movements over the last two years?). It rains (in some places, yes, but we have had some very good weather). It’s a long way. 1.5 hours by flight to Oslo. Ferry and road travel is much less convenient, which is why so much of this blog will be taken up with fascinating explorations in Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

Lots more has cropped up that we find attractive. Why Norway? Because it is.