Norway visit- suggestions?

Hi guys, sadly after more than a year of trying under the most difficult circumstances, my 21 year marriage is ending.
I have decided that next year I am going to do something for myself I have always wanted - to visit Norway.
Money, as always is a factor; also I don't know exactly what type of holiday I want.
Although I am sure I would enjoy a cruise, I think I would enjoy more a cabin in some woods with plenty of hiking trails around, but not too far from some civilization and history, preferably some military history (1940).
I am leaning towards the Bergen/Sognefjord area.
I don't speak any Norwegian, although if this looks like happening I will learn some. I am fit (50 years old) and will be on my own so don't mind roughing it , it is more about the experience for me.
Would this sort of holiday be more or less expensive than a cruise?
Also, does any company perhaps do a week long hiking trek with nightly stops in cabins or small hotels/hostels?
Any suggestions or help will be greatly appreciated.

Well, I can only try to "sell" my area - the Stavanger region
Sola airport is located by the Hafrsfjord, where Norway was "gathered" in a huge battle in 872. There are a couple of mouments comemmorating that event, among them three huge swords put into the rock in Møllebukta.

Sola airport was the first airport taken by german paratroopers, an event which is nicely presented at the very nice war museum; Rogaland Krigshistoriske museum close by. They present the whole regeions war history, especially when it comes to motordriven hardware. Even closer to the airport is the Flyhistorisk museum Sola, with avaiation history, the third biggest in Norway.

To explore the fjords this is a paradise. You can even do it by bike. Take the ferry in Lysefjorden, in my eyes one of the most pretty in Norway. The ferrry is like tourist bus, stops at various interesting sites and the captain guides all along the trip. In the end of the fjord, Lysebotn, you ride your bike off and now starts the hard work. You say you are fit... The climb up to the top is long, winding and scenic, with a 360 degree climbing tunnel, before you reach the top where the restaurant and tourist trap; "Eagles nest" is situated. From here you can walk to Kjerag, a fantastic site, one of the most famous basejumping sites in the world. On your ride back to Stavanger you can go by Gloppedalsura, Northern Europes biggest scree/gathering of boulders. Here there were heavy fighting during WWII, and the germans were stopped for a day or so. From there it's a pretty smooth bikeride back to Stavanger/Sola. To make it easier, you could rent a car.

There are plenty of campinggrounds in the area. One, by Ølberg, just southwest of the airport, is very sceninc by the beach. There are some german installations in the area. A bit further south is the big Vigdel fort, also german, fairly well preserved.

If you want to do more trecking in the mountains there are numerous tracks to follow, with cheep cabins to stay overnight, either in guided groups or alone. Contact these guys for more information on this:
http://www.stavanger-turistforening.no/activity.php?fo_id=250

Well, that was a bit.
Let me know if I can help any further.

LYSEFJORDEN
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=no&rlz=1R2GPEA_no&biw=1259&bih=677&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=lysefjorden&oq=Lysef&aq=0&aqi=g5&aql=undefined&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=175453l178797l0l9l8l1l0l0l0l250l1108l1.4.2l7

KJERAG
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kjeragbolten&hl=no&rlz=1R2GPEA_no&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ehIQTrSRBYnKtAb3_MCNDw&ved=0CBoQsAQ&biw=1259&bih=677

Tourist info:
http://www.stavangertravel.com/trip/gloppedal.cfm

I agree in full with Cutstone's comments. The west coast is stunning.

Stavanger, Bergen, Voss, Aandalsnes & Molde are beautiful places to visit. And as for the fjords...awesome: Sogne, Geiranger, Romsdalfjord can only be described as beauty beyond words. Inland - Lillehammer to Aandalsnes and Molde via the Gudbransdal valley is something very special. Might be worth considering the train as it would be one hell of a bike ride! Public transport in general is much better than the UK.

The down side: cost - everything to the average Brit seems expensive (unless you are a banker!), but you can shop around and get reasonably priced deals. Try Trip advisor for help. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ The small pension (guesthouses) can be very reasonable. To help with the food aspect I take packs of cereal bars and water - helps stave off the hunger pans. Supermarkets are good, but not the size of Asda/Tesco - more like our Co-Ops.

Language: most Norwegians speak English very well, but I try to speak the language if I can (I normally get answered in English, but it doesn't matter - I obviously stand out like a sore thumb!). I have found this book quite useful for learning:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Norwegian-2210-Minutes-Day-22-Day/dp/1931873089

There are some terrific sites WW2 sites. Kvarven Fort at Bergen being one of my favourites, but there are many others dotted around. Here's another - http://www.visithaugesund.no/en/Product/?TLp=348828. For Norwegian history then Bergen is a good a place as any for some classic buildings on the Brygge. Molde has a very nice folk musuem in the form of a small village. Lillehamme has Maihaugen - and it's stunning!

I hope the above helps a little - have a fantastic time and enjoy all what Norway has to offer, which is huge.

Cheers

Bob

Hi
You have already received several very good propositions, so I will only give you one more:
As a tourist with special interests in WW2 history the Rjukan area is a must. Here you can see and visit the actual spots where the historic events took place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage

If you also are in for a cold war “monument”, the Gausta rail is a spectacular construction

http://www.visitrjukan.com/index.php?c=13&kat=Home

mvh hoh

P.S. And if you visit the Haugesund-area, don't miss this fine museum:
http://arquebus.no/?lang=en

Thank you so much guys, I will check out all your links and suggestions for sure, but Cutstone your " sales pitch" was certainly very tempting indeed.

I did my military service in "Sola Antit Aircraft Batallion" 12 months at Bardufoss, but all later exercises at the Sola/Stavanger area. I very much support the view that the Sola area are interesting. Even old French tanks from WWI burried in the ground as fixed artillery points.

Like I said, let me know if I can help any further let me know.
I'm on the board of the war museum, so I'm pretty shure we'll get you a showing there.
I said you could ride a bike from the bottom of Lysefjorden, but then I guess you should have som exercise
This is the road to the top. [url] http://travel.zerogdesigns.com/images/96/lysebotn2.jpg [/url]
There is actually a bike race that starts at the bottom and then rides to the top. You will be climbing from 0 meters above the sea to 932 meters in only 1.5 kilometer.
But, if you rent a car everything can be viewed in a day.
Atle

Hmm
As a Moderator I should be neutral, but (lets hope Kurt doesnt read this) the real Norway for even tourists is the North of Norway. I suggest Bodø or Narvik).

B

By my view, Bodø has nothing of interest concerning WWII. Narvik however is a gemstone. From my three years in Nordland, I very much appriciated every meeting held in Narvik. Then I could go a day in advance and take a holiday to visit WWII sites. There is a saying in Norway: En messe verdt. Worthy of a mass, directly translated. Narvik is such a spot.