By Janet Groene

Scenery stuns. Miles of jagged coastline are pierced with fjords that probe for miles between mile-high mountains. Snow can be seen on some peaks all year, yet the harbors, warmed by the Gulf Stream, do not freeze. Much of Norway’s history has been shaped by these waters. Vikings sailed out of their sheltered ports for centuries and, because they are ice-free, the harbors were a valued war prize during World War II.

As an overnight passenger on a coastal voyage, you combine elements of a cruise with the features of a freight boat, and that’s part of the fun. They call it the Hurtigruten (HUR-teeg-rou-ten), which means fast routes. One day, the lounge holds only a scattering of other overnight passengers like yourself. The next, it’s filled with Norwegian college students going home for the weekend or middle-schoolers on a field trip to the next fjord. The swirl of action goes on around the clock, with five and six ports of call a day. Most stops are too short for you to venture far from the ship, but it’s fascinating to watch as goods, cars and people load and unload in each village. You’re here for the fjord scenery, not duty-free shopping and shore excursions.

Ships stop long enough in major cities, such as Tromso, Trondheim and Kirkenes, for side trips lasting several hours. You can visit the famous cliff known as North Cape, Ringve Museum with its collection of very old musical instruments, and Nidaros Cathedral, founded in A.D. 1070. At Alesund, you’ll see a hotel where guests can fish from their bedroom windows. In the north, you’ll walk to the edge of the Russian border to buy gaily decorated dolls and mingle with the Sami people, who still count their wealth in reindeer.

Planes from the U.S. land in Oslo, where it takes at least four or five days to see the highlights. Start with one of the boat or bus tours to get your bearings, then use public transportation to get to museums and attractions. It’s frequent, easy to figure out, and free if you buy the Oslo Card, which also buys free or discounted admission to most points of interest. See centuries-old ships at the Viking Ship Museum, Thor Heyderdahl’s papyrus raft at the Kon Tiki Museum, the polar vessel Fram, and the first ship to transit the Northwest Passage, the stout little Gjoa. They’re all in the area known as Bygdoy. Make a day of it.

See the ski jump at Holmenkollen. It’s so immense that people come all year just to gawk, eat at the restaurant and ride the virtual ski jump. Qualified skiers can try the jump in winter. The city’s largest park is built around more than 600 life-size sculptures by Gustav Vigeland, plus acres of lawn and fountains and an entire museum devoted to his works.

Spend an entire day at the Norwegian Folk Museum to see furnished buildings from all eras and all parts of the country, plus a stave church dating to 1200. The city’s fortress is the Akershus, dating from 1299. You can easily spend another full day taking photographs from the ramparts, watching the Changing of the Guard daily at 1:30 p.m., and touring the Resistance Museum deep in its underground tunnels. It eloquently tells the story of Norway’s heroism during the Nazi occupation. Also see the Domkirke, or cathedral, built in 1697, and the Old Aker Church, still in use today, built in 1100. Animals from around the world are seen at the Zoological Museum, which is of special interest for its Arctic flora and fauna.

From Oslo, it’s a 6-hour train trip across snow-crowned mountains to Bergen, where you will board the ship. Most visitors opt for the “Norway in a Nutshell” side trip, which leaves the train and proceeds by bus and boat through eye-popping fjord and mountain scenery, ending in Bergen in time for a late dinner.

Allow a few days to see this city, too. Its heart is the harbor, where a market has been a daily tradition for 900 years. Locals still come here to buy fresh fish, but there are also booths filled with souvenirs and sweaters. Take the guided walking tour of the Bryggen through centuries-old wooden buildings and alleys that were a major trading center for the Hanseatic League. It’s only a short walk to St. Mary’s Church, a 12th-century relic that is Bergen’s oldest building. Not far away, Hakon’s Hall was the city’s political center from 1247 to 1261. Then tour Rosenkrantz Tower, once a fort and royal residence. It’s a workout to scramble up and down its steep, tightly spiraled stone staircases, so skip it if you’re out of shape.

Old Bergen has been restored as the 19th-century market town it once was, and Americans of Norwegian ancestry love peeking into parlors furnished exactly as they were when their ancestors lived here. An original 1150 stave church, restored after a fire in the 1990s, stands at nearby Fantoft. Tour the lakeside home of composer Edvard Grieg, the aquarium with its impressive collection of North Sea seals and penguins, and the Horda Museum, where 20 buildings re-create Norwegian rural life of a bygone era.

The voyage takes you north to the Arctic Circle, which calls for ceremony. Greenhorns who have not been this far north must face King Neptune, who stuffs ice cubes down their backs. It’s hilarious, and ends with a round of brandy to warm up everyone again. It’s one of the few entertainments on board. There’s a library and card room, but no entertainers, movies or television.

Stay on after the voyage for as long as you can. Rent a car to explore the back roads, watch for reindeer, and hike the tundra in a world of rushing waterfalls and massive mountains. At Kirkenes, where there’s a good choice of modern, comfortable hotels, dine on tenderloin of reindeer at Vin and Vilt. Hang out by day in the local square and in the evening at the Ritz, where the pizza is world class.

Drive to Sami settlements at Kautokeino and Karasjok. Both have impressive museums filled with artifacts that portray a life that was once completely dependent on reindeer. Today, they’re herded with snowmobiles, but their migrations, branding and care are still a part of everyday Sami life. Book a stay at a mountain fjellstue, or guest lodge, to fish, hike or pick blueberries and cloudberries in a wilderness like no other.

Norway is one of the most sparsely-populated countries in Europe, a place to lose yourself under a sky that shines all night in midsummer and is streaked in winter with nature’s fireworks, the aurora borealis. For nature, unique culture, history, and for a cruise unlike any other, do Norway your way.