Alesund: A Beautiful Sea Port in Norway

Ålesund (help·info) is a city and municipality in the county of Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Jugendstil architecture.

Ålesund was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Borgund was merged with Ålesund January 1, 1968. Sula was separated from Ålesund January 1, 1977. Ålesund received city rights in 1848. It is the administrative center as well as the principal shipping city of the Sunnmøre district. The Ålesund agglomeration has a population of 45,299.

Ålesund has one of the largest and important fishing harbors in Norway. The town's fishing fleet is one of the most modern in Europe. Ålesund and surroundings also has a large furniture industry. Some well-known household items are manufactured here. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ålesund was one of the chief stations of the herring fishery business.

To the east of Ålesund lies the village of Sykkylven. The Ekornes factory, producing furniture such as the StressLess chair. Håhjem, another village near Ålesund, contains the headquarters of the Stokke company. Ålesund is also one of the harbours at which the Hurtigruten arrives two times per day.

credited to wikipedia

Most amazing place in Norway - ...Pulpit Rock

Pulpit Rock or Preikestolen, Prekestolen in Norwegian, is one of the areas most profound turist attractions. This natural rock formation with a 25 meter squared plateau stands 604 meters above the sea. Thousands of tourists visit the Rock every year. The trip takes about two hours by foot, but the rock formation can also be enjoyed from the sea by boat. The original name of the rock formation is "Hyvlatonnå" - which means the tooth of a woodplane. Todays name could have its origin in the shape or possibly be due to that it might have been a place of sacrifice