Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There's also an extensive wine list. You'll leave feeling you've had a substantial
and hearty meal.
In the Park Hotel Vossevangen, Uttrågate.
&
56-51-13-22.
Reservations recommended. Main courses
185NOK-255NOK ($26-$36); lunch smorgasbord 275NOK ($39); fixed-price dinner 350NOK ($50). AE, DC,
MC, V. Sun-Thurs 7:30-10:30am, 1-3pm, and 7-10pm; Fri-Sat 1-11pm.
Fleischers Restaurant
NORWEGIAN The dining room of this land-
mark hotel, a few steps from the Voss train station, hasn't been altered since the
hotel opened over a century ago. Long the leading restaurant in the Voss area,
the Victorian-style Fleischers remains the traditionalists' favorite. Its lunchtime
smorgasbord is a lavish array of all-you-can-eat Norwegian delicacies. Specialties
include smoked salmon and filet of beef, lamb, pork, and veal. This is authentic
cuisine that would have pleased Ibsen—a real “taste of Norway.” What you
won't get is dash and culinary sophistication.
Evangervegen 13.
&
56-52-05-00.
Reservations recommended. Lunch smorgasbord 195NOK ($28); main
courses 160NOK-255NOK ($23-$36); summer buffet 325NOK ($46). AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Sat 1-10:30pm;
Sun 1-9:45pm.
INEXPENSIVE
Vangen Café
NORWEGIAN The least expensive cafeteria-style outlet in
Voss is one floor above street level over a small souvenir shop and food market.
It's in the center of town, a 5-minute walk south of the train station. Soft drinks
and fruit juices are sold, but no alcohol. The
dagens menu
(“today's menu”) is the
best food value in town.
Vangen Super-Market, Vangsgata.
&
56-51-12-05.
Smorgasbord 35NOK-42NOK ($4.95-$5.95); dagens
menu (daily specials) 85NOK-125NOK ($12-$18). No credit cards. Mon-Fri 10:30am-6pm; Sat
10:30am-4pm; Sun noon-6pm.
VOSS AFTER DARK
Fleischers Top Spot Nightclub
In the cellar of Fleischers Hotel (see “Where
to Stay,” above) you'll find this well-established nightspot. Dance bands play
nightly for an older crowd that's dressed up a bit. Many people come here just
to drink—beer costs 53NOK ($7.55). The club is open Monday to Thursday
from 9:30pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday until 3am.
In Fleischers Hotel, Evangerve-
gen 13.
&
56-52-05-00.
Fri-Sat cover 60NOK ($8.50); no cover for hotel guests.
7 Balestrand: Center for Sognefjord
™
90km (56 miles) N of Voss; 219km (136 miles) NE of Bergen; 204km (126 miles) SW of Fjaerland
Long known for its arts and crafts, Balestrand lies on the northern rim of the
Sognefjord, at the junction of the Vetlefjord, the Esefjord, and the Fjaerlandsfjord.
When Esias Tegnèr wrote of the snow-covered mountains and the panoramic
Sognefjord in the saga of Fridtjof the Brave, the topic sold widely and sent an
array of artists to the area in the mid-19th century.
Soon Hans Gude, Hans Dahl, Johannes Flintoe, and other well-known Scan-
dinavian artists were painting the fjord and mountain landscapes. Their art
became so popular that regular visitors started to flock to Balestrand to take in
the glories of the area for themselves—and so they have continued to this day.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
From Voss, continue driving north on Route 13 to
Vangsnes and board a car ferry for the short crossing northwest to Balestrand.
You can also take a train from Bergen or Oslo to Voss or Flåm, and then make
