Southern Norway - Norway - page 212

8 Southern Norway

T he coastal lands of southern Nor-
way, shaped geographically like a half-
moon, are studded with beaches, bays,
and sailing opportunities. Within this
area, the Telemark region is known for
its lakes and canals, which are used for
summer boating and canoeing. A port
city, Larvik is the hometown of one of
Norway's most famous sons, Thor
Heyerdahl, the explorer who con-
ducted the Kon-Tiki expedition,
among other famous voyages. From
Skien, visitors can explore this water
network. Arendal is a charming old
town with a harbor near some of the
best beaches. Kristiansand S is a link
between Norway and the rest of
Europe. The Christiansholm Fortress
has stood here since 1674, and the
town is near Haresanden, a 10km-
long (over 6-mile) beach.
The southern part of Norway is
called Sørlandet, a land of hills, val-
leys, mountains, rivers, and lakes. The
area gets more sunshine than any
other place in Norway and northern

Europe. Gulf Stream temperatures
make bathing possible in summer.
This section is the major domestic
vacation choice for Norwegians.
Rogaland is the southwestern part
of the country, and it has been called
“Norway in a nutshell” because of its
great variety of attractions. Fjords,
mountains, green valleys, beaches, old
towns and villages, a mild climate, and
countless fishing possibilities make
this area a prime vacation spot.
The district lives today in the tech-
nological future, thanks to its oil
industry, but it also harks back to the
country's oldest inhabitants. Here, the
Viking king Harald Fairhair gathered
most of Norway into one kingdom in
A . D . 872. The locals say that it was
from here that the Vikings sailed to
discover America.
Rogaland also consists of the hilly
Dalane in the south, the flat Jaeren
(farmland), the beautiful Ryfylke, and
Karmøy and Haugesund in the north.

1 Larvik: Home of a Great Explorer
15km (9 1 ⁄ 3 miles) S of Sandefjord; 130km (81 miles) SW of Oslo
This is a main port for ferries sailing for Frederikshavn, Denmark, and it's also
famously associated with its favorite homegrown boy, Thor Heyerdahl
(1914-2002), whose Kon-Tiki you may have already seen on the Bygdøy penin-
sula in Oslo. Heyerdahl organized and led the expedition by the balsa raft
Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947 to demonstrate the possibility of abo-
riginal South American voyages to the Oceanic Islands.
In addition to Heyerdahl, Larvik's largest export is a stone called Larvikitt
that's 270 million years old. The stone quarry here is the town's largest industry.
Larvik is a major transportation hub and communications center for south-
eastern Norway. It also makes a good center for exploring such small but color-
ful ports as Stavern to its immediate south.