Aalesund is a seaport of about 43,00 people noted for its art nouveau architecture. We walked to the town to see what we could see. During our explorations we came across a really good antique store with an eclectic mix of modern and antiques. There was some really good 19th and 20th century Norwegian art work, clocks, lamps, Russian icons and beautiful enamel work and jewelry both antique and modern. Nils, the owner, spent a lot of time with us talking about art and his shop. I bought Laura two necklaces, one antique and the other modern, for her birthday.

Afterwards we ate next door in a coffee shop owned by Nils’ girlfriend. We had really fresh salmon and cappuccino.

After lunch we got on a hop-on bus and went to the Sunmore Viking museum, unfortunately descriptions of most of the displays were only in Norwegian though it wasn’t too difficult to tell what they were about.

After that we got back on the bus and went up to the Fjellstua viewpoint high above the city with great views of Aalesund and the surrounding mountains. The road was very narrow and steep with numerous hairpin turns. The ride up made Laura so nervous that we walked down — some 450 steps.