Molde,
the town of roses, jazz and gardens, has a beautiful situation by
the Romsdal fjord, it is the capital of Møre and is surrounded
by 20 local counties. The Molde panorama from the Varden viewpoint,
407 meters above sea level, you can see the famous Molde panorama.
Here you look over the Sunnmøre mountains - townspeople claim you
can see 87 peaks - and half an hour away to the north are small fishing
villages which brave the worst of the west winds.
Molde Cathedral
During
the international Jazz Festival in July Molde really swings, but it
has rhythm all year round. The Romsdal museum, the Cathedral has a
large nave which seats 900 and was built in 1957 by architect Finn
Bryn and the nature park at Skaret are well worth a visit.
Molde
is part of a collection of islands and peninsulas sheltered from the
Norwegian Sea: its mild climate, green vegetation and rose gardens
earn it the name of the "Town of the Roses". The statue
of the Little Rose Seller stands in the market place and the busy
market place is alive with color, flowers, people and stalls which
sell everything from fruit and flowers to clothes and of course roses.
This pretty, easygoing town with its beautiful town
center is an excellent base for touring on fjord or road. It has
some of the most wonderful scenery, fjords, mountains and sea just
outside town
Molde panorama
Molde
has an outdoor museum - the Romsdalsmuseet one of Norway's biggest
folk museums, buildings and collections from the whole region which
includes the Hjertøya Fishery Museum - in a particularly beautiful
spot where the timber houses, national costumes and folk dancing seem
to fit in with the landscape. The museum's collection of
bunads showing the fine details of shawl, head dress, bodice,
jewelry and embroidered purse, is one of the most appealing. The Fishery
Museum, 10 minutes by boat from the market place, illustrates the
life of local fishing families over the past 100 years.
Molde Jazz Festival
Yet
there is little that is traditional about Molde's entertainment. The
modern stadium is well used, with all-year soccer ground located spectacularly,
by the sea, and the streets are often full of musicians, particularly
each year during the famous Molde International Jazz Festival ( many
free concerts: Tel: (00 47) 71 23 60 00), while another cultural highlight
is the annual literature festival, Bjørnson festival, International
literary festival (Tel: (00 47) 71 25 50 00), not forgetting the Blues
festival usually in February and the Children's culture festival in
Molde Theater (Tel: (00 47) 71 25 71 33. Music, folk music and jazz
festivals are on the program from April to September. There are also
fishing festivals, kite festivals, food festivals, Viking festivals,
theater performances and open-air historical plays, to name but a
few.
Molde Harbor
The
fish bite willingly and a day trip fishing is a wonderful way to spend
a few days especially as the boat returns to Molde harbor with a quay
side which is truly magnificent and a peaceful scenic place to end
the day.
There
are many attractions in and around Molde
and the surrounding countryside.
Molde Quay Side
Inland
the northern part of the county ends in a crisscross of fjords eating
into the islands and peninsulas which lead to Trollheimen, the "Home
of the Trolls", where the mountains reach nearly 1,600 meters.
This haunt of climbers and skiers is bounded by two important valleys,
Surnadalen and Sunndalen, with between them the tiny Todalfjorden.
Beside the last is the surprise of the Svinvik Arboret, beautiful
gardens with thousands of rhododendrons, conifers and other plants.
Despite the northern latitude, plants from all over the world grow
at Svinvik, owned and run today by the University of Trondenheim.
On
the way to Sunndalen along Road 70 from Kristiansund, you come to
Tingvoll (see above. Sunndalen is deep in the Nordmøre wilderness,
with narrow valleys between the mountain ranges forming sheltered
farming country which supplies grain for most of the county. At the
end of the fjord lies the industrial town of Sunndalsøra, once a mecca
for English "Salmon Lords".
Molde
Road
70 follows the course of the valley to Oppdal on the third side of
Trollheimen. On foot there are more energetic routes over the mountains,
with a mountain center in Innerdalen and ski lifts as well. The River
Driva is one of the most famous in a country of good salmon and trout
rivers, it debauches into the fjord and the surrounding mountains
are of breathtaking beauty - a magnificent area for walking, skiing
as well as fishing. Between the head of Sunndalen and Grødalen next-door
at Åmotan, the spectacular Jenstadjuvet (gorge) is the place where
five valleys and their watercourses meet in two furious waterfalls.
Grødalen has an oddity in Alfheim, a small hunting lodge from 1876
built in Scottish highland style by a scoot, Lady Arbuthnott, who
became something of the "laird" of the valley. Her old farm
at Elverhøy is now the Sunndal Museum.
Surndal
has another good salmon river, the Surna; side valleys lead up to
the heart of Trollheimen, and to sign posted trails from mountain
hut to mountain hut (hytter), in what seems like the top of the world.
At valley level, the road through Surnadal is the inland route out
of West Norway, straight on to the city of Trondheim, the gateway
to the north.
Thank
you for your time, I hope you have enjoyed a small sample of Møre
og Romsdal and that you will visit soon!
