Page 69 - WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE DISCOVERING ENGLAND

villages to reflect in the bright blue wa-
ters of that narrow fjord. The rock walls
sometimes appeared virtually vertical,
rising nearly 5,000 feet; the boat cap- Left, top: Fiskeboller, aka fish balls, are a classic Norwegian dish,
tain said that in the old days when crops served here at one of Bergen’s oldest restaurants, Wesselstuen.
were cultivated during summer here, Left, bottom: The cozy interior of Sjobua in Alesund, one of Nor-
farmers had to tether their children to way’s finest seafood restaurants. Above: The Thief’s Fru K’s Chef
keep them from falling into the sea. Johan Laursen’s seafood preparations, like this filet of saithe, are
exquisitely simple and fresh. Below: Bengt Dahlberg serves home-
We landed at Geiranger, another one of made chocolates at the charming chocolate shop in Geiranger that
those exquisite coastal villages where resides in one of those fairy-tale sod-roofed wooden buildings.
tiny old wooden buildings featured
roofs covered in green-grass sod, com-
plete with wildflowers.

One of our favorite meals was at the
Brasserie Posten, in the small town’s
old post office, right on the harbor in
view of those fairytale buildings. Chef
Kenneth Loken opened it just a couple
of years ago and has been a success ever
since. He strives to serve the freshest
seasonal Norwegian ingredients he can
find -- and he carries over 50 varieties
of Norwegian beer from 15 different
microbreweries.

We had a scrumptious shrimp salad and
a smorgasbord plate of smoked salmon
and meats as we sat on that charming
harbor, washing it down with Slogen light
ale from Troll Brewery, which started pro-
duction only in 2009.

In Bergen, a major port where the color-
ful harborside wooden buildings of Bryg-
gen, a World Heritage Site, house the Fish
Market, the Bryggens Museum and lots of
outdoor cafes and indoor shops, we went
old-school. Wesselstuen, one of Bergen’s
oldest restaurants since 1957, serves au-
thentic, traditional Norwegian fare in an
18th century wine cellar. Here we lunched IF YOU GO: For more information on all
on “fiskeboller,” fish balls, deep fried nug- these destinations and restaurants.
gets of dried salt cod served with greens
and a tomato sauce for dipping. http://wwwvisitnorway.com/us/
http://www.visitolslo/com/en/
Norway is as breathtakingly beautiful as http://www.thethief.com/en
everything you’ve ever read. http://www.visitalesund-geiranger.com/en
http://www.visitbergen.com/en
And its seafood is as worthy of super- http://www.fru-k.com/
latives, too, especially by today’s light- http://www.ekebergrestauranten.com/no/
handed chefs who never mask but only http://tupalo.com/en/rd/3n5k5e
enhance their superb ingredients. http://www.sjoebua.no/en-US/default.aspx
http://brasserieposten.no/
Savor that wondrous waterscape yourself. http://www.lystmeny.no/
http://www.wesselstuen.no/

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