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My Scandinavian Home Travel: The Hardanger Fruit Trail, Norway


It's not often you follow your nose on a trip but that's exactly what happened when I was invited to accompany Skandinavisk founder Shaun Russell and French perfumer Stéphane, on a scent discovery tour. The destination: Lofthus in the municipality of Ullensvang in the spectacular Hardanger region, a few hours east of Bergen, West Norway.  Known as the 'fruit basket' of Norway, the area boasts over 600,000 fruit trees which run in great lines from the lower slopes of the mountain plains with their crashing waterfalls and coniferous forests to the gentle, shimmering shores of the Søfjord below. The region inspired Skandinavisk's best-selling Fjord collection which is infused with  "joyous notes of woods and ripening orchards, wild berries, blackcurrants and raspberry flowers" and we were back to see if other fragrances might be born out of the area. I hope these pictures might also inspire you to 'check-in and breathe out' at Hotel Ullensvang and treasure a few days looking out over the blossoming fruit trees, Hardangervidda mountain plain and the magnificent Folgefonna glacier - it's a sight to behold.



"Fjordland is one of nature's greatest spectacles, a place where the mountains, the forests, the water, and the flora all come together, so as a source of inspiration it is hard to match." 
Shaun Russell. 






"We want to create the most authentic fragrance interpretations of the Nordic region. Only by visiting and experiencing it for oneself, can we recreate these natural moments." 
Shaun Russell.




Imagine getting married here?! Parts of Ullensvang Church date back to between 1250-1300! 

Our original Fjord fragrance was inspired by fjordland and the little-known fact that Hardanger is the 'fruit basket' of Norway, but there is always more than one way to interpret a region, so we want to explore further and see what else we could find."
Shaun Russell
We borrowed a wooden rowing boat from the hotel and took to the water. it got pretty hot out there - luckily there was a cool beer waiting at the hotel! I thought it was fascinating just how much the orchards looked like vineyards! 










In case you're feeling inspired to take in the wonderful scenery of the Hardanger region first hand, here are some tips I picked up along the way:

A Guide To Visiting The Hardanger Fruit Trail

When to go:
This part of the world is spectacular all year round but if you'd like to experience the fruit trails in blossom aim to be there around the last two weeks of May (this might vary).

How to get there:
  • Nearest airport - Bergen (149 km / 2.5 hours drive
  • Public transport: Bus from Bergen to Norheimsund and boat 'Teisten' to Lofthus (summer season only). Or Train from Bergen to Voss and then bus to Lofthus.
Where to stay:
Hotel Ullensvang

Things to do:
What to wear: 
- The temperature can fluctuate between baking hot and freezing cold within minutes, so layering is key! In spring / summer I would advise on taking jeans (or other hiking trousers), t-shirts, sweaters, hiking boots / trainers, shorts, sun hat, sunglasses, warm hat, fleece and a rain jacket.

Not ready to pack your bags just yet, but still inspired? You can pick up lush items from the Fjord Collection online.

Who knows? Perhaps there's a new fragrance just around the corner too. "We are already developing several ideas directly inspired by the visit while the memory is still fresh," Shaun tells me.

Watch this space!

I hope you enjoyed this Scandi-land travel post - a bit of a first on My Scandinavian Home! I'm curious to know if you think it would be interesting to see more posts like this in the future? As always, I'd love to hear your tips on places you've visited in Scandinavia and would love to recommend to others!

Niki

*This trip was paid for by Skandinavisk, all words and pictures are my own. 

LATEST COMMENTS:

  1. Oh,Yes please.Would love to see more posts like this.
    Stunningly beautiful!!

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    Replies
    1. It was an incredible place - I can so recommend visiting that part of the world! Happy to hear you'd like to see more Scandi travel posts :)

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  2. Another enthusiastic YES! Thank you, Niki. I would love to see more posts like this.

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    Replies
    1. Yay! Happy to hear! Scandinavian has so many beautiful locations that it can be hard to know where to start. I'm excited about sharing more of my future Scandinavian trips.

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  3. This post was a total treat! I love this part of Norway and thank you for sharing such gorgeous images with us!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Dianna! It's a trip I'll never forget!

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  4. Yes, more travel posts and tips please! Can you define "hot" in degrees Fahrenheit? Just in case I am there one day...I live in the Southwest US deserts and we KNOW hot! Many thanks for all the beauty and information.

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    Replies
    1. It sounds like it was nothing like the heat you're used to Jules - that particular day on the rowing boat it was 77 degrees Fahrenheit - and today in Sweden it was 86 - that's BAKING for us, we were all melting!

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  5. Replies
    1. Thank you. You'd love it there Jeska! It's so peaceful and the scenery is just mesmerising!

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