With its rich history, Dutch occupation, and Nordic influence, Norway has a host of not-so-common things that one can do. A quiet historical town, a fortress on an island, a village with the world’s oldest canning factory happen to be some of them.

On 9 April 1940, a fortress located on an island in Norway fired torpedoes that sank the German heavy cruiser the Blücher. This gave Norway’s King Haakon VII and the Government time to escape to London from where they would continue to fight the Nazis. The island today has turned into a beautiful museum and narrates the story of the fortress and the forces of the Coast Artillery.

A quiet, warm city with deep historical roots, Fredrikstad, meanwhile is the best-preserved fortress in Scandinavia. With small cafés, little museums, warm people, and, of course, a beautiful city center, just 80 miles outside of Oslo, it makes for a beautiful day trip. Another day trip worth your while is to the tiny town of Stavanger, famous for its sardine canning factories. With most factories shut now, one can still witness canning at the Norwegian canning Museum – and, if one happens to be there on a Sunday you can also sample freshly fired sardines which continue to be canned there.