Sogn Fjordmuseum — Attraction in Sogndal

We recently visited Sognefjord museum at Kaupanger. This museum is dedicated to the navigation in the Sognefjord. This may sound too specific, but to any one who has admired this superb landscape carved by glaciers will immediately realize the relevance of navigation as this has been for centuries almost the only way to move people, domestic animals, materials, goods or news from settlement to settlement. Thus it is not surprising that the vikings became such superb shipbuilders and navigants. The ships shown here were built with refined skills that roots in this viking era. All these and more is inside this museum, but what makes it a truly unforgettable experience is Lars, it's curator. As we asked him on some detail about one of the exhibited pieces, he, very generously, offered us a free guided tour to the museum. His knowledge on the matter is so deep that our curiosity could never touch its bottom in none of our questions. He does not only know everything on the matter and the exhibited pieces, he has also the ability to explain it clearly and very nicely, dressing his explanations on specific pieces with general background information as well with interesting and sometimes very funny anecdotes. After going through the museum Lars guided us to a nearby centuries old tavern and guesthouse. This wasnot only a place to restore exhausted an hungry bodies or protect themselves from ferocious weather, but key communication knots were news and rumours run from mouths to ears. It remains as it was. The upper floor, under the roof, were the guests slept was particularly illustrative on how hard life was not so far ago. The tour ended with the invaluable experience of looking through an more than a century old spyglass that belongs to Lars himself. It's astonishing how good this relic remains!

After this extraordinary guide by Lars you will never look at a boat with...

Wonderful museum and guided tour! I learned an incredible amount about Norwegian boat craftsmanship and the man running the museum was very kind and incredibly knowledgeable. Highly recommend! It was one of my favorite things we...

Enthusiasim meets a blast from the past. A young guide with a profound wide range of knowledge was giving us a tour. It felt walking in former times when Norway's vikings turned into a seriois trading...