We made a mistake planning only one day for Alesund, so we had to forego activities that take time such as visiting museums or going for hikes but were enchanted with exploring the city and all of the art nouveau buildings.
The morning started with a walk to the old town ... a small collection of old wooden buildings on the waterfront that weren't destroyed in the fire of 1904. It would have been easy to spend the entire morning in this second hand/antique shop that was packed from floor to ceiling with treasures from the past.
A photo of some buildings from across the water:
In 1904 a fire raged through Alesund destroying 850 buildings in 16 hours. The town was rebuilt in an incredibly short 3 years (1904 - 1907) by skilled trades & craftsmen and architects who flooded in from all over the world. The result is one of the highest concentrations of art nouveau buildings anywhere.
Some detail found on buildings:
Some buildings:
A final treat of the day was coming across a shop that makes traditional Norwegian clothing, now worn for special occasions.
Soon it will be Summer Solstice ... called the Midsummer Festival here (AKA Sankthansaften or St John's Eve). Bonfires are part of the celebration in Scandinavian and other countries. Last year Alesund won the world record for Norway. Their tower of wooden pallets was 47.4 meters tall leading to a fire that was 155.5 feet tall. Someone climbs up to light the fire from the top and it burns down.
We learn that Sting is playing in Alesund the evening of the day that we have to leave ... and there are tickets left ... and our Airbnb host would have room for us. Boogers. Bad planning.
On to Trondheim.
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