After three trips to Norway in two years, I don’t just dig this little Scandinavian country, I respect it. For the last five or six years, Norway has been investing in a new adventure industry, seeding infrastructure and supporting fledgling outfitters, and sprucing up its already beautiful lands.

In 2005, Norway began building “national tourist routes” along its particularly scenic areas, laying down quality standards for the roads to retain this status, and constructing more than 100 rest areas. But these aren’t your typical grungy, institutionalized pullouts: Norway commissioned architects to design structures, ramps, porches, overhangs, and other very cool and often subtle enhancements to the landscape. It’s your Kodak moment delivered with thought, consideration, and whimsy.

Tagged as: europe