You want a European summer that doesn’t feel like a theme park queue. No selfie stick jostling in front of the Eiffel Tower. No 45-minute wait for a gondola in Venice. No 12-euro beer in Mykonos. I spent last June visiting five countries most travelers skip. I paid for everything myself. No press trips, no…

I spent three summers driving Norway. First trip was a mess — booked hotels in advance, stuck to the E6, missed everything that matters. Second trip I figured out the ferry system. Third trip I stopped planning and just drove. Here’s what I learned: a Norway summer road trip is the only way to see…