Today, a local adventure holiday in Telemark offers experiences like:

Exploring the Telemark Canal by canal boat, canoe, kayak, trail bike, e-bike or on foot.

Being introduced to a rich cultural heritage through myths and folklore, rosemåling (decorative folk painting) and bunad embroidery (traditional costume).

Discovering how impressive industrial advancement has affected world history.

Tasting your way through locally produced Arctic cider, craft beers and other local specialities (you can even spend the night in a barrel suite!)

Sink into Soria Moria, Norway’s most iconic sauna.

2. Knutholmen in Kalvåg

A vibrant ‘Lofoten community’ in Western Norway where a hotel sparks life to the village

The proprietors of Knutholmen Hotel have achieved wonders for the fishing village of Kalvåg: their superb accommodation has brought tourists to the area, helping the local community thrive. Even though Kalvåg originally means “cold bay”, you’ll find a wonderfully warm welcome here. The local spa even has an indoor beach of golden sand!

Thanks in large part to Svein Inge and his family, the Kalvåg community has now become a favourite summer destination among Norwegians, including the Queen herself. Today, travellers in this area enjoy:

Long summer nights on the harbourfront, indulging in seafood delicacies from the Knutholmen kitchen. It’s run by Svein Inge’s daughter Martine and her husband Martin, and every meal is a real treat.

Hiking up to the storm-watching cabin in all weathers – this extraordinary cabin sits on the edge of rocky terrain with panoramic views over the open sea.

Strolling through streets with restored wooden buildings housing craft shops, galleries and museums, while sea eagles circle overhead.

Knutholmen 2021 edition: Sjøholt boutique hotel & the floating sauna

Svein’s son Jan Fredrik, who now manages the hotel, has not only spent 2020 pimping up his own house. He has also brought new life to another Kalvåg building, Sjøholt, by inviting interior designer Gunvor Røkholt to design 16 brand new rooms, each with an individual identity. The atmosphere she has created by carefully selecting materials, patterns and colors, has to be felt to be understood.

3. Naustholmen in Steigen – an explorer’s dream island

Imagine being ‘stranded’ on an island above the Arctic Circle where time stands still, surrounded by rugged ocean, hundreds of tiny islets and staggering mountain peaks. Your only worry is plucking up courage for the freezing cold dip in the Arctic ocean if you want to get a taste of host Randi Skaug’s exclusive morning Himalayan coffee.

In 2020, Norwegian explorer Randi Skaug was featured by Ben Fogle in the popular UK TV series ‘New Lives In the Wild’. Why? Randi is the first Norwegian woman to climb Mount Everest and the second to complete the Seven Summits (the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents).

After you have enjoyed any of these landscapes, the sauna tent on the pier is there to give you the ‘King Feeling’ (as Randi calls it) after a day in the outdoors. It might not be the most fancy example, but there is charm in simplicity, and it’s hard to imagine any better place to be in the world as you sit there with a local beer gazing out at the view towards the Steigen archipelago, in the company of friends old and new.

Throughout her global travels, Randi has remained strongly committed to humanitarian causes. On her island she welcomes people of all sorts to experience the ‘King Feeling’ – the feeling that you are on top of the world.