Fjords of Norway

"A jagged porthole in Engabreen glacier frames a view of a nearby peak."

Along the Norwegian Coast lies 1,190 fjords, all of when combined measures 63,000 miles, that's enough to encompass the earth two and a half times. Verlyn Klinkenborg, the author of Norway's Otherworldly Coast in the November 2013 issue of National Geographic, captures the beauty of snaking ocean water walled in by valleys, villages, and towering mountains. I always thought of Norway as a cold and undesirable place, but as seen in these magnificent photos, Norway proves to be quite the opposite.

Towering high above any man made objects in this landscape, are thousands of mountains carved by nature's endless water ways winding deep into the countryside of Norway. Giant mountains made of elegant yet rough marble, sedimentary rocks fashioned with varying orange and purple hues, and dazzling displays of water reflecting the ever so bright luster of the sunset far off in the distance. During the still, lifeless hours of night, a neon green glare appears in the stars above. The Aurora Borealis, better known as the Northern Lights, shines brighter than daylight during a hot summer in wild Africa at it's peak. This fjords of Norway is not only a habitat of earth and sky, it is home to many kinds of bird and fish of great quality to the Norwegians that live in this astounding vicinity. Birds such as puffins, gannets, gulls, and guillemots roost in the high habitats, and giant sized cod wander in these deep waters.

I have imagined this part of our globe, the north of Europe, as an unbearable, cold, and uninteresting place. I have never had a desire to travel to this glaciered popsicle of a country, however, this amazing article with its stunning photographs has changed my mind. I now have a deep urge that has released itself within me, pushing me to go out and get lost on an adventure and experience this landscape first hand.