Iceland - Music Festival Puts Town on the Map

We have a new Blog about Scandinavia and our insider's view with our custom travel and tours. Please continue to follow our blog posting on our new blog Insider's Scandinavia - Great Places to Go and Things to do!

For the young and adventurous looking for musical Iceland travel and Iceland tours, there is a new up-and-coming pit-stop to add to your list! The fourth annual Aldrei Fór Ég Suður (I Never Went South) musical festival descends upon the tiny town of Ísafjörður (pop. 4,000) this Easter, bringing some of the best acts of Iceland to jam on the harbor.

After you’ve taken your complimentary dip in the Blue Lagoon, snapped your breathtaking photo of Gulfoss, and witnessed the Great Geysir, there is no better way to top your vacation than with Icelandic born music, ranging from the new-age electronic to the traditionally homespun.

What started as a half-cracked pub conversation between Icelandic musician, Mugison, and his father on what it would be like to hold a music festival in their tiny hometown, is now fast becoming one of the most celebrated music events in Iceland. It is an event that will appeal to any traveler, as the admission is free and the music spans a wide variety of influences. One can enjoy the famous Sigur Ros in the same day as the local Accordion Society.

Reykjavik may offer a wealth of cultural and lively night life that attracts tourists from all over the world and Iceland’s geysirs and glaciers know how to inspire, but on March 21st-22nd the western-coastal city of Ísafjörður will hold its own!

Of course, we do offer other Scandinavian travel options like Norwegian coastal voyages (also known as Hurtigruten) and plenty of destinations beyond Iceland. We can arrange for escorted packages or independent Norway travel, Norway tours, Finland travel, Sweden travel, St. Petersburg travel,

Source: "Aldrei Fór Ég Suður, (Now More Than Ever)." Reykjavik. 21 Mar. 2008. http://www.reykjavik.com/underpage.aspx?id=Nightlife&article=200770314059.

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Norway - Remote Possibilities, part II

We have a new Blog about Scandinavia and our insider's view with our custom travel and tours. Please continue to follow our blog posting on our new blog Insider's Scandinavia - Great Places to Go and Things to do!

At The Nordic Company, we pride ourselves on personalizing any level of Norway travel you like. In a previous post, I explained that many of our clients travel to Norway to relax on a low-key vacation. Still, a Norway tour can also include remote places with global importance.

We’ve helped some clients venture off the beaten path, in more ways than one. A few have even visited the arctic archipelago of Svalbard, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably due to the news surrounding the new Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV).

SGSV is one of the world's largest seed banks and is embedded deep in the snow covered mountains. It protects Earth's agricultural diversity from extinction and some 6.5 million seed samples are there. Securing a firmer hold on our global food supply for future generations is only a small part of Norway's contribution to the world. We may know it best for its spectacular scenery, gregarious people and its ability to create travel memories that last a lifetime; but as I’ve always said, there’s so much more to Norway.

Of course, we do offer more temperate options like Norwegian coastal voyages (also known as Hurtigruten) and plenty of destinations beyond Norway. We can arrange for escorted packages or independent Finland travel, Sweden travel, St. Petersburg travel, Iceland travel and Iceland tours.

Learn more: Svalbard Global Seed Vault official site

Carter, Walker G. "Saving the World's Seeds." Viking Magazine. March 2008: 19-23.

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Norway - Remote Possibilities

We have a new Blog about Scandinavia and our insider's view with our custom travel and tours. Please continue to follow our blog posting on our new blog Insider's Scandinavia - Great Places to Go and Things to do!

When our typical clients travel to Norway, their itineraries are often as scenic as they are sedate. Of course, a Norway tour can easily include remote areas well off the beaten path. At The Nordic Company, we pride ourselves on personalizing any level of Norway travel you desire.

A few of our braver clients have traveled to the far reaches of northern Norway in search of adventure of the arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Known to us as a destination for dog-sledding, snow camping and ice hiking; as of February 26th, it is now also known to the world as home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV).

Of course, we do offer more temperate options like Norwegian coastal voyages (also known as Hurtigruten) and plenty of destinations beyond Norway. We can arrange for escorted packages or independent Finland travel, Sweden travel, St. Petersburg travel, Iceland travel and Iceland tours.

Learn more: Svalbard Global Seed Vault official site

Carter, Walker G. "Saving the World's Seeds." Viking Magazine. March 2008: 19-23.

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Norway - Discovering Norway: In My Backyard and Abroad, pt. II

We have a new Blog about Scandinavia and our insider's view with our custom travel and tours. Please continue to follow our blog posting on our new blog Insider's Scandinavia - Great Places to Go and Things to do!

We're back again to share more of The Nordic Company’s clients’ Scandinavian travel impressions! We like our staff to write about their experiences of Norway travel, Sweden travel, Iceland travel and beyond. Previously, Ashley, a Travel Specialist who joined us in 2005, told us a little about discovering Scandinavia with “fresh” eyes. Here are a few more of her thoughts...

Discovering Norway: In My Backyard and Abroad

It is easy to learn the ropes of the Scandinavian travel industry when the pride of Scandinavian heritage is so fervent and infectious and the phones are constantly ringing off the hook with clients raving about their experiences.

“You assured us the Flåm Railway would be spectacular, but the scenery was simply too much for words! I didn’t know places like that were still out there!”

“My favorite part was our evening kayak out into the Sognefjord. I can’t think of a better way to take in a sunset than sitting out in the world’s largest fjord.”

“Returning to our family homestead will be a moment forever etched in my memory. The Norwegians are so kind and open-hearted and the landscape is so rugged and remarkable. I can now fully appreciate my ancestry.”

Through the words of our satisfied clientele, I finally understood the enigma of Norway and why the citizens of Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin placed those trolls around the town: to remind them of their heritage. Those trolls were smiling with that far-off look in their eyes not because they were up to something evil, but because they were remembering a land of majestic fjords, impressive glaciers, and charming seaside cities – their homeland. The nearby Little Norway village attraction was built as another testament to that breathtaking country so far across the ocean, yet that so many feel inexplicably and indelibly connecting to. I may not have a drop of Scandinavian blood in me, but I take immense pride in sending our clients, year after year, to discover that same enigma of Norway that captivated me in my youth.

The Nordic Company specializes in independent and group travel to Norway and beyond. Whether you feel beckoned to rekindle your roots or simply want to experience the spirit of Scandinavia, a Norway tour by land or a Norwegian coastal voyage (also known as Hurtigruten) is unforgettable. We also invite you to consider Finland travel, Iceland touring and St. Petersburg travel.

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Norway - Discovering Norway: In My Backyard and Abroad

We have a new Blog about Scandinavia and our insider's view with our custom travel and tours. Please continue to follow our blog posting on our new blog Insider's Scandinavia - Great Places to Go and Things to do!

This space is dedicated to sharing our unique and personal experience in Scandinavia so that you can gain some insight and begin to get a flavor of this part of the world that we love so much. Each of our staff travels to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Russia and the Baltics to explore the cities, special features and accommodations of our trips. What better way to tell you about it than to have our staff write about Scandinavia and share it with you in their own words?

Ashley, travel specialist, joined us in 2005 and is discovering Scandinavia with “fresh” eyes.

Discovering Norway: In My Backyard and Abroad

When I was younger, my friends and I used to ride our bikes to Mt. Horeb to swim in the local pool. The homecoming stretch was always viewed as making it through the downtown area. It wasn’t that the traffic was bad or the hills too steep, but that we were inevitably confronted by a tiny army of wide-eyed and smiling life-size wooden trolls. They would stand proudly in front of storefronts, peek mischievously from behind trees, or just relax in the middle of a traffic median. No one offered any explanation for these trolls and to a bunch of eight year olds, this veil of mystery made them all the more fascinating. Where did they come from? Why were they so happy?

“I think the one holding the flower pot just moved,” my friend would announce nervously as we waited fro the traffic light.

“Shh…just don’t look at it. The light is almost green anyway,” I would whisper. A few years later, my grandmother took my brothers and I on a day trip to Little Norway, a reconstructed village depicting early life in Scandinavia, and the mystery of the trolls was revealed. Apparently, they come from Norway. As I meandered my way about the houses perched quietly on stilts, I wondered what kind of country this funny little place called “Norway” was really like. Do trolls really roam the hillsides? Do all of their spoons have such pretty floral designs? Do people always dress in such medieval costumes? It wouldn’t be until I began working for The Nordic Company in 2005 that my childhood curiosities would finally be answered.

Jerry Norsman was patient and welcomed me into the Nordic Company team where I discovered a passion for a very special part of the world that I never knew existed. Suddenly, the Midwest became a new and exciting place to live as the heart of Scandinavian heritage. Did I know what rosmaling was? Had I ever tried Acquivit? Would I like to celebrate Syttendae Mai? And most importantly…had I ever traveled to Scandinavia?

Whether you feel beckoned to connect with your roots or simply want to share in the spirit of Scandinavia, travel to Norway is an unforgettable experience. We also encourage you to explore Finland travel, Iceland travel, St. Petersburg travel and Sweden travel. The Nordic Company specializes in independent travel and group travel to all of these destinations and is here to help you plan your journey.

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