NORWAY - Scandinavia - page 553

In Solvorn
For more on this delightful little fjordside town—my favorite home base on
the Lustrafjord—see the description earlier in this chapter. While it lacks
the handy boat connections of Flåm, Aurland, or Balestrand, that's part of
Solvorn's charm.
$$$ Walaker Hotel, a former inn and coach station, has been run by the
Walaker family since 1690 (that's a lot of pressure on ninth-generation owner
Ole Henrik). The hotel, set right on the Lustrafjord (with a garden perfect for
relaxing and, if necessary, even convalescing), is open May through Septem-
ber. In the main house, the halls and living rooms are filled with tradition.
Notice the patriotic hymns on the piano. The 22 rooms are divided into two
types: nicely appointed standard rooms in the modern annex (big Sb-1,450
kr, Db-1,750 kr); or recently renovated “historic” rooms with all the modern
conveniences in two different old buildings: rooms with Old World elegance
in the main house, and brightly painted rooms with countryside charm in the
Tingstova house next door (Sb-1,950 kr, Db-2,250 kr, 500 kr more for larger
room #20 or room #23; all prices include breakfast, non-smoking, free Wi-
Fi, sea kayak rental, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.walaker.com ,
[e-mail] ) . They serve excellent four-course dinners (575 kr plus
drinks, nightly at 19:30, savor your dessert with fjordside setting on the bal-
cony). Their impressive gallery of Norwegian art is in a restored, historic
farmhouse out back (free for guests; Ole Henrik leads one-hour tours of the
collection, peppered with some family history, nightly after dinner).
$-$$ Eplet Bed & Apple is my kind of hostel: innovative and friendly. It's
creatively run by Trond, whose entrepreneurial spirit and positive attitude at-
tract enjoyable guests. With welcoming public spaces and 22 beds in seven
rooms (all with views, some with decks), this place is worth considering
even if you don't normally sleep at hostels (open May-Sept only; camping
space-100 kr, bunk in 7-bed dorm-200 kr, S-500 kr, D-600 kr, T-800 kr, S/D/T
cost50krlessfor2nightsormore,laundry-50kr,kitchen,freeInternetaccess
and Wi-Fi, free loaner bikes for guests, tel. [phone], www.eplet.net , trond-
[e-mail] ) . It's about 300 yards uphill from the boat dock—look for
the white house with a giant red apple painted on it. It's surrounded by a rasp-