Videos : Steaming Along Norway’s Coastline

NORWAY’S ENCHANTED COAST (Lippincott Enterprises, 53 minutes, 1993).

This 11-day cruise on the Hurtigruten, Norway’s Coastal Express run, sails year-round from Bergen northward around the North Cape to Kirkenes and returns. The 1,250-mile sea artery connects more than 30 towns and villages and carries mail, supplies and goods as well as passengers. Craggy cliffs rise from the sea, and magnificent fiords and lonely islands lure the curious traveler.

The video was filmed in the springtime and begins in Bergen with its cobbled streets, Hanseatic houses, museums and a lively fish market. Even in spring, snow is seen on the peaks and on northern shores.

Where port time allows, there are excursions into towns such as Alesund, Molde, Kristiansund and Trondheim.

The steamer also visits the Lofoten Islands dotted with picturesque fishing villages. Towns near the North Cape include Honningsvag, Vardo, Vadso and finally Kirkenes near the Russian border.

Between ports, the video examines the ship, its accommodations, meals and other amenities.

Tapes are available from Lippincott Enterprises, P.O. Box 1362, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93102; telephone (805) 962-0280. Price: $29.95 (plus tax and postage).

CRUISING TO BERMUDA (International Travel Films, 81 minutes, 1994).

Traveloguer Doug Jones provides a beautifully filmed, leisurely seven-day cruise to Bermuda, prefaced with a daylong tour of New York City, the embarkation point. Viewers also get a generous sample of shipboard activities and facilities. With tips on shopping, appropriate dress and local transportation, Jones has created an informative and entertaining package.

The overnight cruise docks at Hamilton, the very British capital where a tour includes the Maritime Museum, the Royal Dockyard complex, a crafts market and a submarine ride.

A visit west takes in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse for panoramic views of some of Bermuda’s lovely beaches and resorts. There’s also a trip across the “world’s smallest drawbridge” (just wide enough for a sailboat’s mast).

On the eastern tip of the island is historic St. George, where British colonists were shipwrecked in 1609 on their way to the Jamestown, Va., colony. Viewers wander the quaint, narrow alleys, King’s Square with its stocks and pillory and Ft. St. Catherine.

Other sites on the island are the beautiful Crystal Caves near Harrington Sound, a perfumery, exclusive Tucker’s Town and St. David’s Island.

Final scenes are of a colorful Labor Day celebration and parade.

Tapes are available from International Travel Films, P.O. Box 310, San Fernando, Calif. 91341; tel. (800) 622-0067. Price: $19.95 (plus tax and postage).

FULL CYCLE: A WORLD ODYSSEY (New & Unique Videos, 30 minutes, 1994).

In this abbreviated version of a two-hour video to be available this spring, Mark Schulze and Pat Mooney, a husband and wife mountain-biking pair, give viewers a glimpse of some of the world’s most challenging and beautiful mountain-biking trails.

The journey begins in their hometown, San Diego, heads to San Francisco, then to the rugged parklands of Utah.

The next stops are trails in Vancouver and Whistler’s Mountain in British Columbia.

In Costa Rica viewers visit San Jose and follow the cyclists over the trails of lush Corcovado National Park. In Great Britain there is a tour of London and a trail ride in Snowdonia National Park in northern Wales.

Scenic Switzerland includes a visit to Geneva and to quaint Zermatt for rides with the magnificent Matterhorn in the background.

Viewers next follow the cyclists to Australia for a tour of Adelaide, the trails of the Flinders Range and the Outback and a side trip to Kangaroo Island. Also in the South Pacific are trail scenes in Tahiti and Moorea.

India is the last stop and viewers visit exotic Delhi and Darjeeling, where they see the splendid Himalayas and attend the first annual Mt. Everest Bike Rally.

Tapes are available from New & Unique Videos, 2336 Sumac Drive, San Diego, Calif. 92105; tel. (619) 282-6126. Price: $19.95 (plus tax and postage.)

Videos appears monthly.