Norway's seaside special

"Many a sleepless night my thoughts and dreams go to Kragero. To my daily walks over the hill behind Kragero. Up where the wind blew in from the sea. Behind me the fragrant pines, out there the waves breaking over the skerries... My regards to Kragero, the pearl of coastal towns".

"Many a sleepless night my thoughts and dreams go to Kragero. To my daily walks over the hill behind Kragero. Up where the wind blew in from the sea. Behind me the fragrant pines, out there the waves breaking over the skerries... My regards to Kragero, the pearl of coastal towns".

Thus wrote Edvard Munch, Norway's best-known artist, about his favourite seaside location. Situated on the south-east coast, Kragero inspired the artist responsible for haunting and iconic pictures such as The Scream, to paint beautiful winter landscapes. Munch, like the artists who have come to Kragero before and after him, was captivated by the town and its surrounds.

When he stayed here at the beginning of the 20th century, Munch could not have foreseen that his "pearl" was to become a favourite holiday destination for Norwegians. A century later, this is where Oslo and its suburbs escape to when the sun shines, seeking not the sombre winter scenes of his paintings, but the optimism of summer. In two and a half hours city dwellers are in the middle of forests, fjords and a fretted coastline of islands, bays and coves.

Unlike Munch, though, Kragero is barely known outside Norway. It is tucked away in a corner of a sparsely populated country of 4.5m people. Norwegians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world - oil has made them very rich - they don't need to attract foreigners here.

I have spent three of the past five summers in the area. On each visit I have taken a different route to southern Norway and Kragero, giving me three very different perspectives on the town.

On my first trip, in 1999, I drove from the west to the east coast of Norway via Oslo. I then headed as far south as it's possible to go, catching the ferry from Kristiansand back to Newcastle. Most of this journey comprises standard awesome landscapes. The benign beauty of the south-east coast looks tame in comparison - which is why, perhaps, it is an ideal spot for a summer holiday. On this eastern side of the country the climate is sunnier and drier, the waters warmer, the short coastline more sheltered than in the west.

In front of the town lie 500 islands and skerries on which are built thousands of summer cottages and houses ingeniously wedged between rocks, beaches and bays. During the day there is a constant buzz of boats on the fjords - a buzz that continues into the long evenings when every other house appears to be having a barbecue of shrimps, crabs, and the ubiquitous polse, Norway's hotdog. And it doesn't matter what the temperature of the water is, the hardiness of the Norwegian always wins through - around every corner are white-blonde children diving in the fjords as their parents sit by soaking up the much longed-for sun. There's plenty to do around here: water sports, fishing, sailing, hiking and cycling are all on offer.

It's fascinating to see this wealthy nation on holiday. Norwegians take vacationing seriously; the government encourages them to. Everyone is entitled to five weeks paid holiday a year, and is given a tax break in December and June to provide extra cash for these hols. Most take their summer holiday during the same three weeks in July, known as the fellesferie. This is when the evenings are long and when, traditionally, all the factories used to shut up shop. It is also when the second home kicks in: for Norwegians, the summer cottage or mountain chalet are very effective ways of capitalising on their stunning scenery and long holidays.

You see all this when you take the ferry out to Jomfruland. At 10km long and up to 600m wide, it is the largest of the islands in this archipelago and also the furthest from the mainland. Its long, thin shape protects many of the other islands from the harsher elements of the Skagerrak. Described as "a bit of Denmark which drifted up", Jomfruland's vegetation is very different from that of the other islands: flatter, greener, with a deciduous forest in the middle, it is a very gentle setting compared to the feisty rockiness of the surrounding area.

In the summer of 2002 I visited Kragero again, this time arriving at the town from the opposite direction. My journey started at Kristiansand and I headed north up the east coast. During my fortnight's stay it rained continuously. The fjords, coves and beaches were not really an option, so, seeking refuge in the various towns along the Riviera, I had the opportunity to compare and contrast Kragero with its coastal neighbours.

Most of the towns along the Skagerrak shoreline share similar histories - 17th-century timber ports which went on to become 18th-century shipbuilding centres. Kragero was one of the most prosperous. With a sheltered harbour, it was well protected from invaders. At Fort Gundersholmen are the cannons which made the British frigate Tartar retreat during the Napoleonic Wars. It was this fort which the local tourist guide proudly claims kept "the English Navy and other pirates" at bay.

The vibrancy of Kragero's small town centre sets it apart from the contained energy of its neighbours. Arrive early in the morning and you feel an anticipation for the day ahead: old men on street corners are already playing away on their fiddles vying for the tourist's krone, the town square is beginning to fill up and the bakery is doing a brisk breakfast trade in rosinboller - a type of currant bun very popular here. As the day progresses the place becomes nicely crowded with buskers, visitors, locals, cars and shops all jostling for space along its narrow lanes.

Some of the houses and streets seen in Munch's pictures still remain, and there is a statue at the spot where he painted a sunrise over the fjord. Entitled The Sun, it is an image of the spectacular winter sunrise seen only in this eastern part of Norway. (In most of the country the sun rises over land and sets in the sea). In winter, when the sun is much lower in the sky than in summer, it reflects differently on the water. The result is a horizon filled with the most opulent shades of orange, purple and pink.

In the centre of the town is the childhood home (now a museum) of another noted Norwegian artist: Theodor Kittelsen. Known as "the father of the troll", he gave the nation's trolls their face and form when he illustrated a collection of folk tales in 1883. Of Kragero he wrote, "There were tales in every corner and nook in my native town". Locals claim the inspiration for some of his more grotesquely ugly characters came from elsewhere. Last summer there was little rain; Norway shared in the very hot weather the rest of Europe was basking in. This time there was relatively little driving on my trip, because I flew to the airport that Ryanair calls "Oslo" yet which turns out to be a distant 60 miles from the Norwegian capital. But Kragero is just 40 miles in the opposite direction, making "the pearl of all coastal towns" implausibly easy to reach from Stansted and Prestwick.

OTHER SCANDIC HOTSPOTS

Motala, Sweden

On the map, this superb, low-key family resort looks a little challenged. Not only is it the same latitude as Caithness in the far north of Scotland - it is also 75 miles from the nearest sea. Fortunately, Sweden's brief summer shines benignly on Lake Vattern, a stripe of freshwater on the south of the country that becomes implausibly warm by the middle of August. The beach gets crowded, in a civilised sort of way, with day-trippers from the nearby industrial towns of Norrkoping and Linkoping. But during the long, lingering evenings you can feel the serenity return - or head downtown to the Benny Hill Pub. Thanks to the relentless rise of no-frills flying, Lake Vattern and its main town are easy to reach; fly to Skavsta ("Stockholm South" on Planet Ryanair) and travel on by bus and train.

By Simon Calder

Skagen, Denmark

For another geographical muse, only a ferry ride from Norway, visit the northernmost point of the European continent. One of Edvard Munch's teachers, Christian Krogh, was inspired here, and at the Skagens Museum (00 45 98 44 64 44, www.skagensmuseum.dk/uk) you can see the largest exhibition of his Skagen-work between now and 6 June. If the fine arts can't tempt you, perhaps the rawness of the nature can. Skagen is renowned for the rough sea and harsh winds - resulting in constantly moving sand dunes, one stretch of which is 2km long and 1km wide. Now where did you leave that towel?

By Oliver Mann

TRAVELLER'S GUIDE

GETTING THERE

Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted and Prestwick to Torp; fares in May are typically £70-£90 return - much more if you book late for popular flights, sometimes less if you book an internet special. From Torp, the onward journey is a little complicated if you do not have a car. Take a cab for about five minutes to the bus stop on the E18 highway (tell the driver that you are going south for Kragero). You will need to catch two buses, but the second will pick up from where the first drops you off. Call Mett Bus 00 47 35 91 28 00 for more details. The trip takes about two hours, and the cost is about Kr 200 (£16). By sea, DFDS Seaways (01255 241234; www.dfdsseaways.com) sails twice a week in summer from Newcastle to Kristiansand, 60 miles by road from Kragero.

STAYING THERE

Victoria Hotel, on the waterfront (00 47 35 98 75 25; www.aco.no), has double rooms from 950-1,150Kr (£76-£92) including breakfast. At the youth hostel at Vandrerhjem (00 47 35 98 57 00), 20km from town on Highway 38, a double room with breakfast costs 850Kr (£68).

MORE INFORMATION

Norwegian Tourist Board: 0906 302 2003 (50p per minute); www.visitnorway.com; Southern Norway Tourist Board: 00 47 11 90 00; www.infosor.no; Kragero Tourist Office: 00 47 35 98 23 88; www.visitkragero.no

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