Planning Your Trip to Norway - Norway - page 52

THE B&B WAY The B&B system
in Norway isn't as highly developed as
it is in such countries as England.
Generally, when you arrive at a town
in Norway, you can go to the local
tourist office, which will give you a list
of private homes that receive guests.
Most often they will also book you
into one of these accommodations for
a small fee. Or, you can look for
accommodations signs displayed
along roads or directly outside houses,
reading ROM or HUSROM .
In larger towns private rooms are
priced from 550NOK to 750NOK
($79-$107) for a double, breakfast
included. A B&B guidebook for Nor-
way titled Bed & Breakfast Norway has
full details; copies are available in Nor-
way at general bookshops. For more
information, contact B&B Norway
AS, P.O. Box 92, N-6659, Rindal,
Norway ( &

another idyllic B&B in the fjord coun-
try; Norrøna (p. 404), in the far
northern city of Bodø beyond the Arc-
tic Circle; and Gamle Prestegård
(p. 425) on the island of Vaerø in the
remote Lofotens.
FARM HOLIDAYS Farm holidays
in Norway are many and varied, but
all serve as escapist (and often isolated)
destinations for those who want to
venture into the remote hinterlands to
discover what is called “the real Nor-
way.” Farms all over the country offer
accommodations, ranging from west-
ern farms in the mountains, some-
times with impressive fjord views, to
farms in northern Norway facing the
open sea. Guests usually stay in their
own comfortable cabin or house,
complete with kitchen facilities, in or
near the farmyard. Some farms also
provide breakfast. Many offer the
opportunity to participate in various
activities and aspects of daily life on a
farm. The standards, activities, and
prices vary a great deal. Contact the
local tourist information office or
visit www.visitnorway.com for more
information.
Although we do not pretend to
have lodged at every farmhouse in
Norway, we've stayed in enough of
them to have some particular
favorites. These include a complex
called Hardangerfjord og Fjellferie
BA, Sjusetevegan 145, N-5610 Øys-
tese. This is actually a complex where
five owners have combined to offer 14
units for rent in restored farmhouses
and modern cabins in Øystese and
Norheimsund in the Hardangerfjord
district (one of Norway's most beauti-
ful fjords). In lieu of phoning, send an
e-mail to [e-mail] or visit www.
hff.no for more information.
Outside Bergen, we'd recommend
No. 17 Grønnestølen Gård, Grønne-
stølsveinen 17, N-5073 ( & 55-28-
66-00 ). Lying about 4km (2 1 ⁄ 2 miles)
from the center, this complex of

99-23-77-99; www.bb

norway.com).
The list of private homes serving as
B&Bs can change from week to week.
Also, Norwegians will sometimes only
open their homes briefly for the few
weeks that summer lasts. Therefore,
recommending permanent B&Bs who
receive guests year-round is not always
reliable. Actually some of the best
B&Bs are located in ugly industrial
towns—often in the converted homes
of plant or factory owners. As such,
they tend to attract mainly commer-
cial clients and not the adventurous
visitor who wants to explore Norway's
scenery.
Here are some of our favorites in
spots more likely to be visited, with the
page number to follow so that you can
quickly find them: Frogner House
(p. 90), is the best B&B in Oslo. In
other parts of Norway, other favorites
include: Gjestehuset Ersgård (p. 195)
in the summer and winter ski resort of
Lillehammer; Ullensvang Gjesteheim
(p. 299), at Loftus, one of the best
B&Bs in the western fjord country;
Ulvik Fjord Pensjonat (p. 305),