But life wasn't always a picnic on the fjord. The Norwegian Folk Museum takes us back to a day when life was more of a struggle. It displays 150 traditional buildings brought here from all corners of the country and reassembled in this sprawling park.

The museum is alive with people demonstrating slices of folk life. Smartly crafted log construction and sod roofs were well-designed for the long, cold winters. Stepping inside, you get a tasty example of life back then. These women are making the old-fashioned lefse.

Christianity came to Norway back in Viking times. Builders employed their expert woodworking skills — evident in their shipbuilding — to make fine wooden stave churches. They're named for the staves, or upright posts, upon which they're built. While commonplace in 12th-century Norway, only a few of these churches survive.

And every hour through the day, a crowd gathers at this farm hamlet from the northern region of Telemark to enjoy folk music and dance. With the very strict social constraints of centuries past, folk dances were an acceptable way for boys and girls to flirt and strut their stuff.