Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just around the shoreline from Norheimsund, Øystese has an exceptional art museum, the
kind you just don't expect to find in a small fjord-side village. Interesting detours abound,
including the constant lure of Hardangerfjord's famed fruit farms.
Sights
Kunsthuset Kabuso
GALLERY
(
www.kabuso.no
;
incl admission to Ingebrigt Vik Museum adult/child Nkr60/free;
10am-5pm Tue-
Sun Jun-Aug, shorter hours rest of year)
The Kunsthuset Kabuso runs a fascinating program that features big-name contemporary
artists (Damien Hirst, Matthew Barney and James Turrell have all exhibited here in the
past) during most of the year, with summer shows that focus on Norwegian identity and
traditional, often local, work.
The museum also has a range of concerts right across the musical spectrum year-round
(Nkr180 to Nkr250); the small theatre has fantastic acoustics.
Ingebrigt Vik Museum
MUSEUM
(
www.kabuso.no
;
incl admission to Kunsthuset Kabuso adult/child Nkr60/free;
10am-5pm Tue-Sun
Jun-Aug, shorter hours rest of year)
Under the direction of the Kunsthuset Kabuso, this permanent collection of the work of
Ingebrigt Vik (1867-1927), one of Norway's best-loved sculptors, is housed in a beautiful
and unusual early modernist pavillion designed by Torgeir Alvsaker. Vik was born in
Øystese, and although he spent most of his working life in Paris, he returned to the fjords
in his last years. Pieces in bronze, plaster and marble are on display.
Steinstø Fruktgard
FARM
(
www.steinsto.no
; Steinstø; 11am-5pm Sun-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat mid-Jun-mid-Oct)
A high summer pilgrimage to this farm, a short distance east of Øystese, rewards with ripe
strawberries in June and a bounty of raspberries, cherries, plums and apples in July. A cafe
serves great apple juice and a rustic apple cake, as well as
lefse
(flat bread) and waffles.
Come on Sunday afternoon for a homey late lunch (mains Nkr165).
Tours can be arranged for groups, but it's often possible to tag along.
