Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beside the road about 2km south of Øye, there's a monument to one CW Patchell, an
English mountaineer who lost his heart to the valley.
Hotel Union
HOTEL €€€
( 70 06 21 00;
www.unionoye.no
;
Øye; s/d from Nkr920/1840; May-Sep)
Con-
structed in 1891, the Union has attracted mountaineers, writers, artists and royalty for over
a century. With period artwork and furnishings, panelled in wood and speaking old-world
charm, it's a delight. Rooms are named after celebrities who have slept in them: Sir Ar-
thurConanDoyle,KarenBlixen,KaiserWilhelm,EdvardGrieg,RoaldAmundsen,Henrik
Ibsen, a host of kings and queens - even Coco Chanel. The restaurant serves one-/three-
course lunches (Nkr195/Nkr350) and a three-/five-course dinner will cost Nkr475/595.
Runde
POP 100
The squat island of Runde, 67km southwest of Ålesund and connected to the mainland by
a bridge, plays host to half a million sea birds of around 230 species, including 100,000
pairsofmigratingpuffinsthatarriveinApriltobreedandstayarounduntillateJuly.There
arealsocoloniesofkittiwakes,gannets,fulmars,stormpetrels,razor-billedauks,shagsand
guillemots, plus about 70 other species that nest here.
You'll see the best birdsites -aswell asanoffshoreseal colony -ona
boat tour
(adult/
child Nkr180/90). Three boats - the
Aquila
, the
Casablanca
and the
Rundø
- put out from
Runde's small harbour, each two or three times daily.
Withinthe
Runde Miljøsenter (Runde Environmental Centre;
www.rundecentre.no
;
s/d Nkr1000/1500; 5-bed apt Nkr2250)
, there's a
tourist office (
10am-6pm May-
Aug)
and cafe.
With a range of cabins and rooms around the campground itself,
Goksöyr Camping (
70 08 59 05;
www.goksoyr.no
,
in Norwegian; per person/site Nkr20/110; 2-/4-bed
cabins with outdoor bathroom Nkr250/440, 4-bed cabins with bathroom Nkr520;
May-Sep)
is a fairly basic, waterside place. The owners, long-term residents on the island,
readily dispense information on birdwatching and walking trails.
Ålesund
POP 23,000
