Geiranger is a tiny little town; there are only around 250 permanent residents, although it’s a major tourism center for the fjords. Like the rest of the fjords, this is a landscape carved by glaciers thousands of years ago; the fjords are actually inlets that flooded with seawater when the ice retreated. Until the dawn of tourism, life revolved around farming the high pastures, and you can still see a couple of old farms seemingly hanging off the cliff edges.

Norwegians living in remote areas like this have a deep connection to nature and generally live a very healthy, outdoor life, hiking and cycling in summer and skiing in winter. Midsummer is celebrated for the nearly 24 hours of daylight, while in winter, a sense of koselig, or “coziness,” is invoked with blazing fires, candles, soft light, hot drinks, and comfort food.