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Off-the-Beaten-Path: Tønsberg, Norway
Maybe you've already seen the big port cities flanking the coasts of Norway; maybe you've already taken a fjord cruise and driven the Troll's Road; maybe you've already wandered to the northern cities and seen the midnight sun--so where do you go when you feel like you've already "done Norway"?
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Runde Bird Island, Norway
Runde makes you feel like you're at the very edge of the world, with the deep blue ocean clamoring at your feet. You can almost imagine what it must have felt like to be an explorer discovering a new land. Come for the birds, come for the adventure, come for the surprises, and come for the views.
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Bergen, Norway
Bergen is a fairytale city. And it absolutely is--but it's also a fishy city, a rainy city, a historic city, and a colorful city.
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Bryggen i Bergen, Norway
Poised at the convergence of Norway's majestic western fjords and the wild, blue Atlantic ocean, Bergen, Norway's "second city," is straight out of a fairytale.
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Cherry Blossoms and Chimney Cakes at Niagara-on-the-Lake
The Hungarian chimney cakes, or kürtőskalács in Hungarian, from Budapest Bake Shop, are one of my favorite things I've ever eaten. A chimney cake is a pastry made from raised dough which is then wrapped around a spit and baked. The cakes can have any fillings, from sweet to savory. We devoured the cinnamon and walnut chimney cakes. The owners of the bakery told us that the recipe they use is over 300 years old.
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Hiking the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park
When I was young, I oftentimes imagined what it would be like to live in Rivendell, the sanctuary of the Elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a refuge in times of trouble, an outpost of aid and friendship, and a bounty of history and folklore. Blessed by magic and peace, Rivendell is a place saturated with the kind of ancient, otherworldly beauty that only an immortal race could build.
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Red Rocks, Colorado
Ten miles west of Denver and six thousand feet above sea level, an open-air amphitheater sits cradled between several slabs of bright red rocks. The aptly-named concert venue, Red Rocks, has space enough to hold over 9,000 people. It is known internationally as the only naturally-occurring, acoustically-perfect concert venue in the world.
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Whistler, Canada
Whistler is famous for alpine skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and for being the host for the 2010 Winter Olympics (along with Vancouver).
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That Wanaka Tree, New Zealand
Wanaka is known for many things: it’s a gorgeous ski resort in winter and a lakeside oasis in the summer, as it is home to NZ’s fourth largest lake, Lake Wanaka. When we arrived in Wanaka, however, my goal was to see one thing:
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Hokitika Gorge, New Zealand
The water truly was this gorgeous stunning color, made milky by a combination of glacial runoff and the sediment of the rocks and stones found in the gorge. It was a mesmerizing pool of beauty.
