David

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504.

The statue has been reproduced many times. The plaster cast of David at the Victoria and Albert Museum has a detachable plaster fig leaf which is displayed nearby. The fig leaf was created in response to Queen Victoria's shock upon first viewing the statue's nudity, and was hung on the figure prior to royal visits, using two strategically placed hooks.

The David was originally intended to be placed high up on the facade of Florence’s Duomo. But when people saw the final product, they realized it would be a waste to hide him up there. So, a commission made up of artists (including Botticelli and Leonardo) and leading citizens was formed to decide where to put it. The placement in front of the main entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio was favoured by members of the new Republican government, who transformed the David into a political statement. He was set up as an image of strong government as well as a warning to all who pass. The David displaced another statue, the Judith and Holofernes by Donatello, that previously stood in that location.

In 2010, a dispute over the ownership of David arose when, based on a legal review of historical documents, the Italian Culture Ministry claimed ownership of the statue in opposition to the city of Florence, where it has always been located. Florence disputes the state claim.

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Roman Forum

The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the central area of the city around which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. Space where religious activities were conducted and the communal hearth of the city.

The Roman Forum was designed by the architect Vitruvius with proportions 3:2 (length to width). For centuries, the Forum Romanum was the site of the city's most important public buildings, such as the Arch of Septimius Severus, built in AD 203 and the Roman Forum Rostra or platforms for public speeches. The reliefs on the triple arch represented many of Rome's victories over oriental tribes and the Rostra was decorated with prows of warships captured during battles. The Roman Forum became the spectacular showcase of the Roman Empire filled with beautiful statues and architecture.

Today, archeological excavations continue along with constant restoration and preservation. Long a major tourist destination in the city, the Forum is open for foot traffic along the ancient Roman streets which are restored to the late Imperial level. The Forum Museum (Antiquarium Forense) is found at the Colosseum end of a modern road, the Via dei Fori Imperiali.

This small museum has a significant collection of sculpture and architectural fragments. There are also reconstructions of the Forum and the nearby Imperial Fora as well as a short video in several languages. It is entered from the Forum by the side of Santa Francesca Romana and is open from 08:30 to one hour before sunset. Admission is 12 Euros.

In 2008 heavy rains caused structural damage to the modern concrete covering holding the "Black Stone" marble together over the Lapis Niger.

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Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the city of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby.

The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive (Plinian) eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

The area around Vesuvius was officially declared a national park on June 5, 1995. The summit of Vesuvius is open to visitors and there is a small network of paths around the mountain that are maintained by the park authorities on weekends.

There is access by road to within 200 metres of the summit (measured vertically), but thereafter access is on foot only. There is a spiral walkway around the mountain from the road to the crater.

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Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline on the southern coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula in the Province of Salerno in Southern Italy. The Amalfi Coast is a popular tourist destination for the region and Italy as a whole, attracting thousands of tourists annually.

The Amalfi Coast remained isolated geographically until the 19th century when Ferdinand II, the Bourbon King of Naples, commissioned the construction of a road connecting the villages dotting the coastline. The Amalfi Coast road reached Amalfi by the middle of the century, and this provided the access that today allows countless tourists each year to experience the beauty of the Amalfi Coast.

The Amalfi Coast lies in a Mediterranean climate, featuring warm summers and mild winters. It is located on the relatively steep southern shore of the Sorrentine Peninsula, leaving little room for rural and agricultural territories. The only land route to the Amalfi Coast is the 40 kilometres long Strada Statale 163 which runs along the coastline from the town of Vietri sul Mare in the east to Positano in the west.

The Amalfi Coast is known for its production of limoncello liqueur as the area is a known cultivator of lemons, known as sfusato amalfitano in Italian, which are grown in terraced gardens along the entire coast between February and October. Amalfi is also a known maker of a hand-made thick paper which is called bambagina. Other renowned local products are a particular kind of anchovies (local Italian: alici) from Cetara, and the colorful handmade ceramics from Vietri.

In 1997, the Amalfi Coast was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape.

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Mount Etna

Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, close to Messina and Catania. It lies above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is the tallest active volcano on the European continent, currently 3,329 m high, though this varies with summit eruptions. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps.

Etna is one of Sicily's main tourist attractions, with thousands of visitors every year. The most common route is through the road leading to Sapienza Refuge, lying at the south of the crater at elevation of 1910 m. It hosts a large parking, several bars, a hotel, and is a starting point for the cable car. From the Refuge, a cableway runs uphill to the elevation of 2500 m; from there, visitors can take a drive with special terrain vehicles, or take a long walk to the designated crater area at 2920 m.

There are two main points of departure for a trip on Etna: Etna Sud (la Sapienza) from which you may either walk or take the cable car to 2,900m, from there it is a 2-4 hour round trip to the summit craters, although there is no need to go that far to get a good feel for the majesty of the mountain. The other point of departure is Etna Nord (Piano Provenzana) from where you may walk or take 4X4 buses up to the observatory at 2,400m. You may walk to the summit craters from there.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations. In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain, or Fontana di Trevi in Italian, is Italy’s largest and most famous Baroque fountain, standing 85 feet high and 65 feet across. Baroque art, a popular European art form between 1600 and 1750, is characterized by highly ornate and decorative art and architecture.

The Trevi Fountain that stands in Trevi Square today was designed by Roman architect Nicola Salvi. Building began in 1732 and concluded three decades later. Before his death in 1751, Salvi chose young artist Giuseppe Pannini as his successor. The fountain that stands today has work expressed in the original sketches from Bernini, Salvi and Pannini.

Coins are purportedly meant to be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder. This was the theme of 1954's Three Coins in the Fountain and the Academy Award-winning song by that name which introduced the picture. An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy; however, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

The Trevi Fountain has appeared in famous films, securing itself a place in popular culture. It can be seen in Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” and the 1953 Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn movie “Roman Holiday.”

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Colosseum

The Flavius amphitheatre is the biggest and most imposing in the Roman world, but is also the most famous monument in Rome and is known as the "Colosseum" or "Coliseum". Started by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavia family, it was opened by his son Titus in 80 A.D.

The highly ostentatious opening ceremony, lasted one hundred days during which people saw great fights, shows and hunts involving the killing of thousands of animals (5000 according to the historian Suetonius). For the opening, the arena space was filled with water for one of the most fantastic events held in Roman times, naumachias – real sea battles reproducing great battles of the past.

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena, though entrance for citizens of the European Union (EU) is partially subsidised, and entrance is free for EU citizens under eighteen or over sixty-five years of age.There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.

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Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a freestanding bell tower located in the city of Pisa in Italy. Like its name suggest, it actually does lean to one side. The tower started to lean during construction because the foundation was built on soft ground that had difficulty supporting the weight. The lean became worse as construction continued for several decades. Between 1990 and 2001 it was stabilized and the lean was partially fixed.

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m. Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons. The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.

Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 199 years. Work on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on August 14, 1173, during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Also included in this designation were the cathedral, cemetery and the baptistery.

In May 2008, after the removal of another 70 metric tons of ground, engineers announced that the Tower had been stabilized such that it had stopped moving for the first time in its history. They stated it would be stable for at least 200 years.

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The Musée d'Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay is a museum housed in a grand railway station built in 1900. Home to many sculptures and impressionist paintings, it has become one of Paris's most popular museums.

The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d'Orsay, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle to the design of three architects: Lucien Magne, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux. It was the terminus for the railways of southwestern France until 1939.

The Gare d'Orsay was inaugurated on the 14th of July 1900 for the Paris World Exposition and was considered a masterpiece of industrial architecture. But soon the platforms had become too short for the now much longer trains and as early as 1939, the gare d'Orsay was out of use as a train station. Over time it was used as a parking lot, as a shooting stand, as a theatre location and even as a reception center for prisoners of war.

The train station had been completely abandoned since 1961 when it was saved from demolition by the French president Pompidou. In 1978 his successor, president Giscard d'Estaing, decided to use the Gare d'Orsay as a museum for 19th and 20th century art.

It would not only contain paintings, but it would also cover different art forms, including sculptures, engravings, photos, film, architecture and urbanism.

Restoration of the Musée d'Orsay, as it is now called, started in 1979 and finally on the 29th of November 1986, the museum was inaugurated by the French president, François Mitterrand.

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Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.

The Palais Garnier is probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica." This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical.

The Palais Garnier also houses the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Library-Museum). Although the Library-Museum is no longer managed by the Opera and is part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the museum is included in unaccompanied tours of the Palais Garnier.

The interior of the Opéra Garnier building is even more impressive than its exterior. The marble Grand Staircase has a height of 30m/98ft! The 54m long Grand Foyer features a mosaic covered ceiling and a large number of chandeliers. It is so luxurious that it can be compared with the corridors in Versailles.

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French Riviera

The Côte d'Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from the Italian border in the east to Saint-Tropez, Hyères, Toulon, or Cassis in the west.

The seaside coasts in France are named after precious stones. If you were to traverse through, you’ll find names such as mother of pearl coast, alabaster coast and the jade coast and if you are looking for more colorful ones you can find the amethyst coast or the ruby coast!

In 1887, The French Riviera was the first to acquire such a nickname as Cote d’Azur or Azure coast.

This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales. 

The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, each year the Riviera hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90% of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime.

As a tourist centre it benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.

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Palace de Versailles

Palace of Versailles, former French royal residence and centre of government, now a national landmark. It is located in the city of Versailles, Yvelines département, Île-de-France région, northern France, 16 km west-southwest of Paris. As the centre of the French court, Versailles was one of the grandest theatres of European absolutism.

When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.

UNESCO designated the palace and its gardens a World Heritage site in 1979. Following a devastating winter storm in 1989, which destroyed more than 1,000 trees on the palace grounds, the French government initiated a wide-ranging project of repair and renovation. A severe windstorm in 1999 caused the loss of some 10,000 trees, including several planted by Marie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte. The chateau was also damaged. In the late 1990s some nine million people visited the palace annually.

The Fifth Republic has enthusiastically promoted the museum as one of France's foremost tourist attractions (Opperman, 2004). The palace, however, still serves political functions. Heads of state are regaled in the Hall of Mirrors; the Sénat and the Assemblée nationale meet in congress in Versailles to revise or otherwise amend the French Constitution, a tradition that came into effect with the promulgation of the 1875 Constitution. Public establishment of the museum and Château de Versailles Spectacles recently organised the Jeff Koons Versailles exhibition.

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Notre Dame de Paris

Not the largest cathedral in the world, the Notre-Dame might be the most famous of all cathedrals. The Gothic masterpiece is located on the Île de la Cité, a small island in the heart of the city.

Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.

Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave but after the construction began, the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher and stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern.

Bishop Maurice de Sully started the construction in 1163. The Cathedral was to be built in the new Gothic style and had to reflect Paris's status as the capital of the Kingdom France. It was the first cathedral built on a monumental scale and became the prototype for future cathedrals in France, like the cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres or Rheims, just to name the most famous.

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Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and in western Europe. The highest mountain in Europe is considered by most geographers to be 18,510-foot (5,642 meter) Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia near the Georgian border. Some consider it, however, to be in Asia rather than Europe.

The mountain lies in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France. The location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the valleys of Montjoie Valley and Arve Valley in France. The Mont Blanc massif is popular for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, and snowboarding.

The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valley, Italy, and both Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France — the latter being the site of the first Winter Olympics. A cable car ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the Col du Géant. Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the 11.6 km Mont Blanc Tunnel runs beneath the mountain between these two countries and is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes.

The Voie des Cristalliers or Voie Royale is the most popular climbing route up Mont Blanc. To start, climbers take the Tramway du Mont Blanc to the Nid d’Aigle, then climb slopes to Goûter hut and spend the night. The next day they climb the Dôme du Goûter to L'arrête des Bosses and the summit. The route is somewhat perilous with danger from rockfall and avalanche. It is also very crowded in summit, particularly the summit ridge.

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Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel is a name that has a lot of charm, it sounds almost poetic and lyrical. But don't let it fool you: Mont Saint-Michel is a small rocky tidal island situated on the north-west coast of France.

The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the eighth century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it. On top God, the abbey and monastery, below this the Great halls, then stores and housing, and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen and farmers' housing.

This place is characterized by the highest tides in Europe (up to 14 meters high), steep rocks, and quicksand. Its surrounding waters can move 18 kilometers away from the island and 20 kilometers deep into the coast. For centuries all these features made Mont Saint-Michel an impenetrable fortress.

The island was named after Archangel Michael. The medieval legend, which is quite grim, says that in 708 Archangel Michael (Michel) instructed the Bishop of Avranches, from a small nearby town, to build him a sanctuary on a rocky islet. Bishop had three visions of Archangel Michael but did not act on the request, because he wasn't sure as to how exactly he should interpret these visions. Only after Archangel Michael pushed his finger against the Bishop's head (according to other story he burned a small hole in his cassock with the sword) did he start the construction of the sanctuary.

One of France's most recognizable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million people visit it each year.

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Viking Ship Museum

The Viking Ship Museum presents great Viking ship discoveries from Gokstad, Oseberg and Tune as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord. 

The Viking Ship Museum (Norwegian: Vikingskipshuset på Bygdøy) is located at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. It is part of the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo, and houses archaeological finds from Tune, Gokstad (Sandefjord), Oseberg (Tønsberg) and the Borre mound cemetery.

The museum displays the world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships built in the 9th century, as well as small boats, sledges, a cart with exceptional ornamentation, implements, tools, harness, textiles and household utensils.

In 1913, Swedish professor Gabriel Gustafson proposed a specific building to house Viking Age finds that were discovered at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The Gokstad and Oseberg ships had been stored in temporary shelters at the University of Oslo. An architectural contest was held, and Arnstein Arneberg won.

The hall for the Oseberg ship was built with funding from the Parliament of Norway, and the ship was moved from the University shelters in 1926. The halls for the ships from Gokstad and Tune were completed in 1932. Building of the last hall was delayed, partly due to the Second World War, and this hall was completed in 1957. It houses most of the other finds, mostly from Oseberg.

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Oslo Spektrum

Oslo Spektrum is an indoor multi-purpose arena in east central Oslo, Norway. It opened in December 1990. Oslo Spektrum is primarily known for hosting major events such as the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Eurovision Song Contest, and concerts by artists of national and international fame, such as Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Chris Brown.

Oslo Spektrum opened in 1990, and It is currently owned and operated by Norges Varemesse (Norway Trade Fairs), who also own and operate the Norges Varemesse conference center in Lillestrøm which is Norway's largest conference center. It is used for concerts, sports, trade shows, exhibitions, congresses and conferences. The arena offers boxes, club seats, and dinner & show packages.

Oslo Spektrum is centrally located right next to Norway's largest public transportation intersection, Oslo Central Station and the Airport Express Train.

Designed from the outset to be flexible and in line with international standards for sporting events and concerts, Oslo Spektrum can accommodate almost any type of entertainment show or sports event that can fit inside. It has built-in ice making facilities, and while it is rarely used for ice hockey nowadays, it regularly hosts ice shows like Walt Disney's World on Ice. It also hosts the Norwegian Handball Championships, for a period becoming Norway's largest handball arena. Other notable events that are regularly held here include the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Norwegian Idol finals, Spellemannsprisen (Norwegian music awards), and the Oslo Horse Show. Currently, Spektrum hosts a total of 100 events annually, with some 400.000 visitors. Of these, 70% are concerts by major national and international artists, 10% are other types of entertainment shows, 13% are fairs, conferences and corporate events, and only 3% are sporting events.

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Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral is the largest and northernmost medieval cathedral in Scandinavia, built over the tomb of St Olav, the king of Norway in the 11th century, who became the patron saint of the nation. The oldest parts are from the 12th century.Next to the Cathedral you find The Archbishop Palace, the Archbishop’s Palace Museum and The Crown Regalia exhibition.

Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is the traditional location for the consecration of the King of Norway. It was built from 1070 to 1300, and designated as the cathedral for the Diocese of Nidaros in 1152. After the Protestant Reformation, it was taken over by the Lutheran Church in 1527. 

Nidaros Cathedral was built beginning in 1070 to memorialize the burial place of Olaf II of Norway, the king who was killed in 1030 in the Battle of Stiklestad. He was canonized as Saint Olaf a year later by the bishop of Nidaros (which was later confirmed by the pope). It was designated the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537 under the Reformation.

Two organs are installed in the Cathedral. The main organ was built by the Steinmeyer firm in 1930, and was erected in the north transept. It then had 125 stops. Installation of the Steinmeyer organ was commissioned in 1930 for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Stiklestad. The organ was funded mostly by donations, particularly by Elias Anton Cappelen Smith. In 1962, the organ was heavily rebuilt and moved to the west nave. Many stops were removed; some of them were used to build a new choir organ.

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Besseggen

Besseggen, is a mountain ridge in Vågå kommune in Oppland county. Besseggen lies east in Jotunheimen, between the lakes Gjende and Bessvatnet.

The walk over Besseggen is one of the most popular mountain hikes in Norway. About 30,000 people walk this trip each year. The route over Besseggen starts at Gjendesheim, up to the trails highest point, Veslfjellet (1,743 m), down Besseggen, further over the relatively flat area Bandet (at the foot of Besshø), and ends at Memurubu, where one may take the regularly scheduled ferry route back to Gjendesheim. Many choose to do the hike in the other direction by starting at Memurubu after first taking the ferry there from Gjendesheim. The trip is estimated to take about 5–7 hours to walk without rest stops.

From Besseggen there is a great view over Gjende and Bessvatnet. One of the unique aspects of the view is that Gjende lies almost 400 m lower than Bessvatnet, and while Bessvatnet has a blue color typical of other lakes, Gjende has a distinct green color. The green color is the result from glacier runoff containing clay (rock flour). Looking down towards Memurubu one can see the nearby river Muru coloring the water with a light colored runoff.

Wild camping is possible basically everywhere, the only restrictions being the immediate area around the huts. Water is plentiful and tasty. On the other hand, finding a flat and dry spot to pitch a tent can sometimes take a bit of searching, but is well worth the effort to sleep with some amazing views out the tent door.

Camping near Gjendesheim. Walk past the end of the parking area and continue along the lakeside trail for 100 m. Beginning here you you see plenty of places to pitch a tent. Can get a bit crowded on a nice summer weekend.

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Kongeparken

Kongeparken (lit. The King's park) is an amusement park in the village Ålgård, near Stavanger, Norway. Kongeparken is the biggest amusement park in the southwest of Norway and Rogaland's biggest tourist attraction. The park offers over 50 different rides and adventures for the entire family and has been awarded several times for good service and innovative attractions.

Kongeparken is an amusement park aimed at children between 3–12 years, but also offers adventures for children of all ages, the focus is on the family. As a guest you can sled down Norway's longest (1000 meter) bobsleigh track, learn about and make your own chocolate in Freia's Magical Chocolate Factory or lend a digital 2D or 3D camera. In the Children´s fire station the children can learn about fire safety, drive the fire trucks and help put out a fire. After finishing they graduate as fire inspectors. In 2013 the waterride "Fossen" (The waterfall) was added, this is an experience for the whole family. The park is full of exciting rides for the entire family.

The Lund-family gave Kongeparken the theme of bears. They were the first in Europe to import teddybears from America, and started the import in the late 1800. Kongeparken is the only amusement park in the world that holds the theme of bears. In 1997 the bears Brumle and Brumleline moved into the park. The King and the Queen of Bears lives in the castle of Kongeparken. In the castle you'll find one of the biggest rides in the park - a roller coaster with spinning gondolas.

Jul i Kongeparken(Christmas in Kongeparken) is an event happening on selected dates in November and December. Kongeparken focuses on a good old traditional Christmas celebration with decorations of fairy lights, Christmas trees, you can meet the elves and sing carols. The entire family can participate in the many activities and workshops on offer.

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Munch Museum

Munch Museum (Munch-museet) is an art museum in Oslo, Norway dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.

The museum was financed from the profits generated by the Oslo municipal cinemas and opened its doors in 1963 to commemorate what would have been Munch's 100th birthday. Its collection consists of works and articles by Munch, which he donated to the municipality of Oslo upon his death, and additional works donated by his sister Inger Munch, as well as various other works obtained through trades of duplicate prints, etc.

The museum structure was designed by the architects Einar Myklebust and Gunnar Fougner (1911–1995). Myklebust also played an important role in the expansion and renovation of the museum in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of Munch's death. This site has also been the location of filming for an Olsenbanden-movie from 1984. The City of Oslo promoted an architectural competition for a new Munch Museum in the area of Bjørvika, a new urban development were the Oslo Opera House is also located. The new museum will probably be completed in 2017 by the Spanish studio Herreros Arquitectos.

The museum now has in its permanent collection well over half of the artist's entire production of paintings and at least one copy of all his prints. This amounts to over 1,200 paintings, 18,000 prints, six sculptures, as well as 500 plates, 2,240 books, and various other items. The museum also contains educational and conservation sections and also has facilities for performing arts.

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Oslo Opera House

The Oslo Opera House (Norwegian: Operahuset) is the home of The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. It is operated by Statsbygg, the government agency which manages property for the Norwegian government. The structure contains 1,100 rooms in a total area of 38,500 m2(414,000 sq ft). The main auditorium seats 1,364 seats and two other performance spaces that can seat 200 and 400. The main stage is 16 m (52 ft) wide and 40 m (130 ft) deep. It is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since Nidarosdomen was completed circa 1300.

Officially opened in April 2008, the Oslo Opera House was designed by the acclaimed Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. The opera, which took five years to complete, sits on the bank of the Bjørvika district, near the stock exchange and the central station. It is the largest cultural building to be built in Norway since the construction of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim at the start of the 14th century.

Oslo Opera has become a new landmark for the city and proved an instant success with both locals and tourists. In its five years since opening, over 8 million people have visited the house. Visitors grew by 20% between 2011 and 2012, and by the end of 2013 the total will pass 10 million visitors. 

From the outside, the most striking feature is the white sloping marble roofwhich rises directly up from the Oslofjord, allowing visitors to enjoy a stroll and take in views of the city. 

The opera has also won an array of awards, both at home and abroad, including the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Prize (2009) and the International Architecture Award 2010. It was also named World Cultural Building of the Year in 2008.

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Geirangerfjord

The Geirangerfjorden is a fjord in the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It located entirely in Stranda Municipality. It is a 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) long branch off of the Sunnylvsfjorden, which is a branch off of the Storfjorden (Great Fjord). The small village of Geiranger is located at the end of the fjord where the Geirangelva river empties into it.

This fjord is surrounded by the steepest and, one is almost tempted to say, the most preposterous mountains on the entire west coast. It is very narrow and has no habitable shore area, for the precipitous heights rise in sheer and rugged strata almost straight out of the water. Foaming waterfalls plunge into the fjord from jagged peaks. There are, however, a few mountain farms here, and of these one or two have such hazardous access, by paths that wind around steep precipices, and by bridges that are fixed to the mountain with iron bolts and rings, that they bear witness in a most striking way to the remarkable powers of invention which the challenges of nature have developed in man.

In winter the area around Geirangerfjord offers fantastic opportunities for the skiing enthusiast. Summit ascents in the Alps of Sunnmøre lead you to runs from 4,600 feet right down to the fjord – an experience you will never forget! If you like prepared slopes Strandafjellet, recently modernised with a chair lift , gondola lift and two pavilions at the top, is a powder paradise with reliable snow conditions.

The best way to experience Geirangerfjorden is of course by sea! See the abandoned farms and hear the fascinating history of those who lived‘Where no one would believe that anyone could live'. Sail right in to the waterfalls Dei Sju Systre, Friaren og Brudesløret (the Seven Sisters, the Suitor and the Bridal Veil). This is landscape at its wildest and most beautiful.

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