For our last morning, the skies were overcast, and we could already feel a little mugginess in the air.
When we settled in to Fagernes last night, we did so knowing that we were about 3 h from Oslo. But before going to Oslo, we wanted to find and visit two more stave churches. The first church was in Reinli, about 8 km off E16. This was an interesting church in that it did not have a steeple. The bell tower was an independent structure that formed the arch over the walkway to the church from the west. This single nave church with six posts set into the walls was built sometime during the 1200’s.
Our next stop was the church at Hedalen, about 12 km off the main road. This church was built sometime during the 1100’s with no interior masts.
With no more stave churches to see along this route, we continued on towards Oslo winding our way past deep valleys with treed and rocky sides. While different than the terrain yesterday, the countryside immediately north of Oslo is pretty too.
Before driving right into Oslo, we made one stop at Baerums Verk. From there, we successfully navigated our way to Ander’s and Ragnhild’s house, and let ourselves in. We emptied the rental car, and started getting organized to do a washing. It’s great to be back in Oslo with our friends, Anders and Ragnhild, and their family.
We plan to return the rental car to Sandvika tomorrow morning after we run a few errands.
We have traveled 5218 kms during the past 3 weeks. We’ve had a lot of safe driving, and our little Skoda Roomster has done us well.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
June 20 - Sognadal to Fagernes
We slept comfortably last night in Sogndal. During breakfast, we had a conversation with the owner, Erik. He noticed that John had Parkinson’s, and came over and introduced himself. It turns out that his brother has PD, and apparently had the ‘deep brain stimulation’ operation a few years ago at age 58 with good success.
With some additional ideas from Erik, we headed north along Sognefjorden. This fjord is the longest fjord in the world … ~204 kms. At its deepest, it is more than 1300 m deep, and the mountains along the margins rise to over 1700 m. Indeed, this is an impressive fjord!
We traveled north to Solvorn where we took the ferry across Sognafjorden to Urnes where we wanted to visit Norway’s oldest single nave stave church which was built about 1130 - 1150 with 16 columns.
By this point, you are probably wondering about our fascination with stave churches. These ‘wooden’ churches are over 900 years old, and a beautiful architecture. The churches were all built out of pine that was selected and dried standing, following a long and old Norwegian procedure. The main structural columns (staves) are about 40 cm in diameter, and stand 10 m or more tall. Many of the wall planks are 30-40 cm wide with a beautiful grain. All the wood is saturated with dried pine tar which has now hardened. The smell is wonderful, and wood grain and joinery fantastic. There are no structures like them anywhere else in the world. One really cannot see and enter a stave church without being awed by their beauty and their history. At one point, there were about 1000 stave churches in Norway. Now, only 28 remain. The remaining stave churches in Norway are an important contribution to the world’s cultural heritage.
From Urnes, we drove along a road that paralleled Lustrafjorden. The road was about the width of our car and we prayed that there were no ‘blue’ trucks to be encountered. There were few pull-outs to allow other vehicles to pass, so one proceeded carefully. Part way along this road, we stopped and hiked up through the trees to visit Feigfossen (200 m waterfall).
When we reached the head of Lustrafjorden, we rejoined Hwy 55 and proceeded along Solgnafjellsvegen from Skolden to Lom.
On the way up to the ‘plateau’, we came to Turtagro and turned south to drive across Tindevegen to Ovre Ardal … and back. Most of this route crossed an area that was about 90% covered in snow. To the north were 3 tall peaks: Fanaraken (2069 m), Skagastolstindane (2405) and Austabotntindane (2203 m) . By the time we had driven across the high plateau, down the other side to Ardalsfjorden, then back up and over the top, we were tired to ‘switch-backs’. There were simply too many to count.
Once again back on Hwy 55, we drove over the summit of Sognafjellsvegen, past a snow-covered landscape, frozen lakes and many spectacular snow-covered mountains that rose from 2000 to 2400 m. As we passed Billingen, we saw a training area for x-c skiers. There was defined loop track with many skiers obviously doing timed circuits. There were lots of vehicles at the hotel, including equipment serviced trucks, e.g., Madshus. This made us wonder if this was a training camp for the Norwegian x-c ski team. The weather was sunny, and relatively calm, so most of the skiers were wearing shorts (guys without shirts or just t-shirts, and gals with t-shirts or halter tops).
From the summit of the pass, we quickly descended into green-sided U-shaped valleys with the occasional large boulder field from talus slopes and cliffs. As the valley broadened we entered forest once again. Once we reached Lom, the valley had become relatively wide and flat, and faming was the main activity. It was interesting to note the change in farm buildings after leaving the high plateau area. The buildings now looked more like the ones that we had seen at the Oslo Folk Museum.
At Lom, we turned east onto Hwy 15 as far as Strondsaetnerghoe where we turned south onto Hwy 51. Again, we found ourselves climbing up through numerous switchbacks … this was getting tiresome … but the scenery was beautiful both in front and behind us. Once on top, we found a stark landscape. There was snow in every direction. There were snow-covered mountains on both sides of the road. The mountains rose to 1700 - 1800 m to the east, and up to 2400 m in Jotunheimen Nasjonalpark to the west. The road that we were on reached 1166 m near Bygdin. We passed a downhill ski area at Lemonjo and what looked like a x-c ski area at Ostre Slidre.
As we headed down the other side, we could distinctly see the snow-line below, and following that the tree-line. Next, we were driving through an area with many nice houses and cabins. We hadn’t expected this, but we now found ourselves in the town area of Beitostolen which is a popular downhill and x-c ski centre only a few hours from Oslo.
We eventually reached Fagernes in the evening, and decided that we had driven far enough today, and that it was close enough to Oslo for tomorrow’s drive.
With some additional ideas from Erik, we headed north along Sognefjorden. This fjord is the longest fjord in the world … ~204 kms. At its deepest, it is more than 1300 m deep, and the mountains along the margins rise to over 1700 m. Indeed, this is an impressive fjord!
We traveled north to Solvorn where we took the ferry across Sognafjorden to Urnes where we wanted to visit Norway’s oldest single nave stave church which was built about 1130 - 1150 with 16 columns.
By this point, you are probably wondering about our fascination with stave churches. These ‘wooden’ churches are over 900 years old, and a beautiful architecture. The churches were all built out of pine that was selected and dried standing, following a long and old Norwegian procedure. The main structural columns (staves) are about 40 cm in diameter, and stand 10 m or more tall. Many of the wall planks are 30-40 cm wide with a beautiful grain. All the wood is saturated with dried pine tar which has now hardened. The smell is wonderful, and wood grain and joinery fantastic. There are no structures like them anywhere else in the world. One really cannot see and enter a stave church without being awed by their beauty and their history. At one point, there were about 1000 stave churches in Norway. Now, only 28 remain. The remaining stave churches in Norway are an important contribution to the world’s cultural heritage.
From Urnes, we drove along a road that paralleled Lustrafjorden. The road was about the width of our car and we prayed that there were no ‘blue’ trucks to be encountered. There were few pull-outs to allow other vehicles to pass, so one proceeded carefully. Part way along this road, we stopped and hiked up through the trees to visit Feigfossen (200 m waterfall).
When we reached the head of Lustrafjorden, we rejoined Hwy 55 and proceeded along Solgnafjellsvegen from Skolden to Lom.
On the way up to the ‘plateau’, we came to Turtagro and turned south to drive across Tindevegen to Ovre Ardal … and back. Most of this route crossed an area that was about 90% covered in snow. To the north were 3 tall peaks: Fanaraken (2069 m), Skagastolstindane (2405) and Austabotntindane (2203 m) . By the time we had driven across the high plateau, down the other side to Ardalsfjorden, then back up and over the top, we were tired to ‘switch-backs’. There were simply too many to count.
Once again back on Hwy 55, we drove over the summit of Sognafjellsvegen, past a snow-covered landscape, frozen lakes and many spectacular snow-covered mountains that rose from 2000 to 2400 m. As we passed Billingen, we saw a training area for x-c skiers. There was defined loop track with many skiers obviously doing timed circuits. There were lots of vehicles at the hotel, including equipment serviced trucks, e.g., Madshus. This made us wonder if this was a training camp for the Norwegian x-c ski team. The weather was sunny, and relatively calm, so most of the skiers were wearing shorts (guys without shirts or just t-shirts, and gals with t-shirts or halter tops).
From the summit of the pass, we quickly descended into green-sided U-shaped valleys with the occasional large boulder field from talus slopes and cliffs. As the valley broadened we entered forest once again. Once we reached Lom, the valley had become relatively wide and flat, and faming was the main activity. It was interesting to note the change in farm buildings after leaving the high plateau area. The buildings now looked more like the ones that we had seen at the Oslo Folk Museum.
At Lom, we turned east onto Hwy 15 as far as Strondsaetnerghoe where we turned south onto Hwy 51. Again, we found ourselves climbing up through numerous switchbacks … this was getting tiresome … but the scenery was beautiful both in front and behind us. Once on top, we found a stark landscape. There was snow in every direction. There were snow-covered mountains on both sides of the road. The mountains rose to 1700 - 1800 m to the east, and up to 2400 m in Jotunheimen Nasjonalpark to the west. The road that we were on reached 1166 m near Bygdin. We passed a downhill ski area at Lemonjo and what looked like a x-c ski area at Ostre Slidre.
As we headed down the other side, we could distinctly see the snow-line below, and following that the tree-line. Next, we were driving through an area with many nice houses and cabins. We hadn’t expected this, but we now found ourselves in the town area of Beitostolen which is a popular downhill and x-c ski centre only a few hours from Oslo.
We eventually reached Fagernes in the evening, and decided that we had driven far enough today, and that it was close enough to Oslo for tomorrow’s drive.
June 19 - Fjaerland/Mundal to Sognadal
After a wonderful stay at the Fjaerlandsfjorden Hotel, we headed back north to Skei, past beautiful mountain reflections in the fjord, and then continued south along E39. The road wound its way along the shores of Jolstravatnet (lake). We turned off onto Hwy 13 at Moskog, and headed southeast towards Dragsvik (near Balestrand) on the north shore of Sognafjorden. This road was amazing too. It initially snaked around through treed hills, and then began climbing up to a mountain pass. Every time we felt that there couldn’t be more to see … there was! From the mountain pass, down we wondered until we reach the fjord.
Once we reached Dragsvik, we changed our planned route. Instead of traveling east towards Sogndal, we took the ferry across Sognafjorden to Vangsnes so that we could visit the Hopperstad stave church (1140) and the Hove stone church at Vik.
Once on this side of the fjord, we continued south along Hwy 13 over another mountain pass, Gronddalsfjeller. Near the summit of the snow-covered pass, we stopped for lunch at a look-out. Here, we were attacked by several ‘carnivorous, people and car-licking’ sheep. As Sherrill got out of the car, she was aggressively accosted by a mother sheep and her two lambs, looking for hand-outs. Sherrill tried to shoo them away, but to no avail. I went out to help and they came after me. When we tried getting back into the car, the sheep tried to nose their way in too. When we eventually got back into the car without them, the sheep initially just stood there eyeing us as we ate lunch, trying to ‘guilt’ us into giving them something, I.e., when you‘re sitting in small car, you‘re just about eye-to-eye with a full-grown sheep. This didn’t work, so they began to lick the car. It sounded like they were tearing bits off, so out I went again. Thankfully, other unsuspecting cars pulled into the roadside stop, and their distraction saved us. There were several sheep and their lambs going from car to car with the same routine. At one point, one couple got out of their car to look at the view, and left their car door open … wrong! One of the sheep just about made it inside their car, licking everything in sight, before the owners came scurrying back. And so, lunch was an event with both food and entertainment.
Once we reached the turnoff to Hwy 50, we turned onto familiar road! We had traveled along part of this road from Gundvagen - Stalheim - Voss by bus when we were on our way to Bergen on June 22nd. We were now headed in the opposite direction. The valley down into Gundvangen is narrow and steep-sided rocky cliffs with many waterfalls. At the turnoff to Gundvangen, we traveled through 12 km and 6 km tunnels, and a couple of kilometres on open road to reach Flam. These two tunnels were just a warm-up. After Flam, we went through 2 more tunnels to Autland, and through the 24.5 km Laerdal tunnel to Borhogi. Yes, ~25 km in the dark … the world‘s longest tunnel! To give drivers a little break from driving through such a long tunnel, there are three large rock chambers with special lighting. The bluish light in the white-painted chamber roof simulates filtered daylight through an opening in the tunnel. Along the tunnel floor, soft yellow light gives the impression of a rising sun. The intended effect is to give drivers the feeling that they‘ve driven through four ‘short‘ tunnels, instead of an extremely long one.
Once we in the sunlight again, we headed towards Borgund along E16. Along the way, we took a detour to see the old town site of Galdane along the Laerdalsolv River. The river here was a narrow gorge with many rapids and waterfalls. In the past, the only way to get up and downstream was along precariously constructed catwalks just a few metres above the fast-flowing turbulent waters of the river. These walkways are still there, but incomplete; just enough to give you a sense of what it must have been like to travel along the cliffed edges of the river. Yikes!
We continued along the old highway until we reached Borgund and the 1180 single nave stave church there. Two local young people gave us a tour, and answered our innumerable questions about the church and its history. It was great to hear these two young people talk with such great pride about their church, and about being baptised there (the last ones in the old church; there is now a new church right beside the old one). To our surprise, there was also an excellent museum about stave churches at Borgund (this was not mentioned in the tourist brochures and books).
As the sun had not yet set, we headed to Sognadal with a brief stop en route at the Kaupanger stave church (late 1100’s). This was indeed a long day, so we were ready for bed.
Once we reached Dragsvik, we changed our planned route. Instead of traveling east towards Sogndal, we took the ferry across Sognafjorden to Vangsnes so that we could visit the Hopperstad stave church (1140) and the Hove stone church at Vik.
Once on this side of the fjord, we continued south along Hwy 13 over another mountain pass, Gronddalsfjeller. Near the summit of the snow-covered pass, we stopped for lunch at a look-out. Here, we were attacked by several ‘carnivorous, people and car-licking’ sheep. As Sherrill got out of the car, she was aggressively accosted by a mother sheep and her two lambs, looking for hand-outs. Sherrill tried to shoo them away, but to no avail. I went out to help and they came after me. When we tried getting back into the car, the sheep tried to nose their way in too. When we eventually got back into the car without them, the sheep initially just stood there eyeing us as we ate lunch, trying to ‘guilt’ us into giving them something, I.e., when you‘re sitting in small car, you‘re just about eye-to-eye with a full-grown sheep. This didn’t work, so they began to lick the car. It sounded like they were tearing bits off, so out I went again. Thankfully, other unsuspecting cars pulled into the roadside stop, and their distraction saved us. There were several sheep and their lambs going from car to car with the same routine. At one point, one couple got out of their car to look at the view, and left their car door open … wrong! One of the sheep just about made it inside their car, licking everything in sight, before the owners came scurrying back. And so, lunch was an event with both food and entertainment.
Once we reached the turnoff to Hwy 50, we turned onto familiar road! We had traveled along part of this road from Gundvagen - Stalheim - Voss by bus when we were on our way to Bergen on June 22nd. We were now headed in the opposite direction. The valley down into Gundvangen is narrow and steep-sided rocky cliffs with many waterfalls. At the turnoff to Gundvangen, we traveled through 12 km and 6 km tunnels, and a couple of kilometres on open road to reach Flam. These two tunnels were just a warm-up. After Flam, we went through 2 more tunnels to Autland, and through the 24.5 km Laerdal tunnel to Borhogi. Yes, ~25 km in the dark … the world‘s longest tunnel! To give drivers a little break from driving through such a long tunnel, there are three large rock chambers with special lighting. The bluish light in the white-painted chamber roof simulates filtered daylight through an opening in the tunnel. Along the tunnel floor, soft yellow light gives the impression of a rising sun. The intended effect is to give drivers the feeling that they‘ve driven through four ‘short‘ tunnels, instead of an extremely long one.
Once we in the sunlight again, we headed towards Borgund along E16. Along the way, we took a detour to see the old town site of Galdane along the Laerdalsolv River. The river here was a narrow gorge with many rapids and waterfalls. In the past, the only way to get up and downstream was along precariously constructed catwalks just a few metres above the fast-flowing turbulent waters of the river. These walkways are still there, but incomplete; just enough to give you a sense of what it must have been like to travel along the cliffed edges of the river. Yikes!
We continued along the old highway until we reached Borgund and the 1180 single nave stave church there. Two local young people gave us a tour, and answered our innumerable questions about the church and its history. It was great to hear these two young people talk with such great pride about their church, and about being baptised there (the last ones in the old church; there is now a new church right beside the old one). To our surprise, there was also an excellent museum about stave churches at Borgund (this was not mentioned in the tourist brochures and books).
As the sun had not yet set, we headed to Sognadal with a brief stop en route at the Kaupanger stave church (late 1100’s). This was indeed a long day, so we were ready for bed.
Monday, June 18, 2007
June 18 - Geiranger to Fjaerland/Mundal
When we awoke this morning, the tops of the peaks around Geiranger were shrouded in cloud, meaning that to drive out of the fjord, we would be driving up and through these clouds. We encountered the cloud ceiling at about 600 m, and were still in dense cloud at 1000 m when we went over the pass south of Geiranger. We were sure glad to have come up this way yesterday to see everything in sunshine.
As we headed down the other side of the pass, the cloud thinned, and the sun broke through at about 650 m. So down the other side we traveled until we reached first the Jostedalsbreen National Park Centre, and then on to Stryn on the north shore of Nordfjorden. From there, we headed around the head of the fjord and along the south shore to Olden. All around us were tall snow-capped mountains (1500 - 2100 m) that rose dramatically and majestically above the lush green farmlands surrounding the fjord.
At the head of the Oldedal Valley is Briksdalsbreen, a tongue of the Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap . The ice cap, mainland Europe’s largest, covers an area of almost 500 km2 and 400 m thick in places. With global warming, the toe of the glacier has retreated about 150 m during the past 10 years.
We stopped for lunch overlooking Nordfjorden just above Utvik in the bright sunshine. As we drove over Utvikfjellen towards Byrkjelo, the phone rang, just as we were passing a downhill ski area. It was Eric, so pulled over for a quick roadside chat.
On then, down a narrow U-shaped valley, Valedalen, with trees extending all the way up to the skyline. At Skei, we decided to head towards Fjaerland & Mundal to see the Boyabreen and Supphellebreen glacier tongues (part of Jostedalsbreen), and the Norwegian Glacier Museum. Until recently, both of the glacier tongues were quite easily accessible, but now, they too have retreated upwards several hundred metres, leaving a rocky and cliffed pathway that is inaccessible to most people. It was fun to see the rugged and extensively crevassed blue-green ice at the ends of the glacier tongues.
We should mention too that the lake valley that extends southeast from Skei is quite spectacular with its sheer rocky sides that appear to be eroding in sheets from the dome-like mountains. Along this section of highway, there are some tunnels, including one that is almost 7 km in length.
At this point, it suddenly dawned on us that it was early evening, and time to stop. The day had flown by. We decided to look for accommodation in the Fjaerland/Mundal area, and here we are for the night in a small hotel on the shores of Fjaerlandsfjorden, a north trending arm from Sognefjorden to the south.
And that ends what seems to have been our ‘glacier day’.
As we headed down the other side of the pass, the cloud thinned, and the sun broke through at about 650 m. So down the other side we traveled until we reached first the Jostedalsbreen National Park Centre, and then on to Stryn on the north shore of Nordfjorden. From there, we headed around the head of the fjord and along the south shore to Olden. All around us were tall snow-capped mountains (1500 - 2100 m) that rose dramatically and majestically above the lush green farmlands surrounding the fjord.
At the head of the Oldedal Valley is Briksdalsbreen, a tongue of the Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap . The ice cap, mainland Europe’s largest, covers an area of almost 500 km2 and 400 m thick in places. With global warming, the toe of the glacier has retreated about 150 m during the past 10 years.
We stopped for lunch overlooking Nordfjorden just above Utvik in the bright sunshine. As we drove over Utvikfjellen towards Byrkjelo, the phone rang, just as we were passing a downhill ski area. It was Eric, so pulled over for a quick roadside chat.
On then, down a narrow U-shaped valley, Valedalen, with trees extending all the way up to the skyline. At Skei, we decided to head towards Fjaerland & Mundal to see the Boyabreen and Supphellebreen glacier tongues (part of Jostedalsbreen), and the Norwegian Glacier Museum. Until recently, both of the glacier tongues were quite easily accessible, but now, they too have retreated upwards several hundred metres, leaving a rocky and cliffed pathway that is inaccessible to most people. It was fun to see the rugged and extensively crevassed blue-green ice at the ends of the glacier tongues.
We should mention too that the lake valley that extends southeast from Skei is quite spectacular with its sheer rocky sides that appear to be eroding in sheets from the dome-like mountains. Along this section of highway, there are some tunnels, including one that is almost 7 km in length.
At this point, it suddenly dawned on us that it was early evening, and time to stop. The day had flown by. We decided to look for accommodation in the Fjaerland/Mundal area, and here we are for the night in a small hotel on the shores of Fjaerlandsfjorden, a north trending arm from Sognefjorden to the south.
And that ends what seems to have been our ‘glacier day’.
June 17 - Geiranger and area
Geiranger and the surrounding parts of the West Norwegian Fjords became the first ‘nature site’ in Norway on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Natural Sites in 2005. That should tell you something about the scenery here. Thus, it was a tough decision to decide to stay 2 nights!
Today has turned out to be our day of ‘hairpin turns’. We estimate that we made our way around over 100 switchbacks, up and down.
We drove up and out of Geiranger, stopping first at a roadside turn-off that looked right down the valley to the fjord. These roads and the look-off points are not for anyone with a fear of heights. From here, we continued up through 20 hairpin turns to an elevation of 1034 m above sea level … well above the tree-line, and very definitely above the snow-line. Again, the road was narrow, and instantly brought memories of the Trollstigen road from yesterday. When a bus goes around a hairpin, up or down, it has to use the whole radius of the road. This means that you must give way to the ‘bigger’ more awkward vehicle and cross lanes when you meet a bus in a corner. The first time for this manoeuvre is a little daunting, but afterwards with that experience, it’s like a choreographed ballet of vehicles dancing along narrow rope.
At the top of the pass, we headed up another 20 odd hairpins to an elevation of 1500 m above sea level to the top of Dalsnibba. In some of the hairpin turns, the accumulated snow pack was about 2.5 m. From the top, we could see all the way back to Geiranger and the fjord. We could also see many of the hairpins below. Most of the adjacent peaks were at or around 1500 - 1600 m; several in the distance were up 1800 - 2000 m. And of course, there was snow everywhere, and the lakes were still frozen.
Back down the 20 or so switchbacks to a 1000 m, we continued along the main highway and drove part of the way to Lom. The main attraction along this road was the beautiful Otta River with its many rapids and falls glistening in the hazy sunlight.
Sounds a little dull having to travel along such good roads with such scenery. So, we turned around and headed back uphill to Grotli, and headed across the predominantly one-lane gravel road into Gamie Strynefjellsvegen. Along this road, we encountered snow banks over 4 m high, other cars, several dozen MG sport cars (MGA, MGB, TR7 and newer models), and a few RV‘s even though the road was not recommended for them. The eastern portion of this road is not open in the winter (not a surprise), but the western end is … a surprise! The reason is that there is a large downhill area at Tystigbreen which offers skiing during both summer and winter.
The Gamie Strynefjellisvegen owes its origin to tourists who traveled from one fjord to another back in the early 1900’s. By 1937, as many as 17,000 tourists who stayed on floating hotels in the fjords traveled across this area.
For a change, we headed down the other side of Strynefellet through 15 or more switchbacks until we reached Hwy 15, and down through another 9 hairpin turns to Folva. Since this is the route that we would be traveling tomorrow, we decided to head back to Geiranger, this time following the all-season road, Hwy 15. So, we drove back up the last 9 switchbacks, and through 3 tunnels totalling 10.5 km out of a distance of 12 km to the Geiranger turn-off, and back across the snowy pass at 1034 m near Dalsnibba, and down the 20-odd hairpin turns to our hotel at sea level. There were a lot more cars and buses on the road going back, and of course, many motorcyclists (not as many as yesterday though).
And so, here we are sitting in our hotel room after dinner looking down Geiranger Fjord. After being on a boat for an extended period, you tend to feel a rocking deck under foot for 24 hours or so after you’re back on dry land. I suspect that we will have to overcome the ‘switchback’ motion from today’s traveling as we head to bed. What a lot of ‘hairpin’ turns in one day!
The day finished with a surprise phone call from Kara. It was nice to be in touch just before heading to bed
Today has turned out to be our day of ‘hairpin turns’. We estimate that we made our way around over 100 switchbacks, up and down.
We drove up and out of Geiranger, stopping first at a roadside turn-off that looked right down the valley to the fjord. These roads and the look-off points are not for anyone with a fear of heights. From here, we continued up through 20 hairpin turns to an elevation of 1034 m above sea level … well above the tree-line, and very definitely above the snow-line. Again, the road was narrow, and instantly brought memories of the Trollstigen road from yesterday. When a bus goes around a hairpin, up or down, it has to use the whole radius of the road. This means that you must give way to the ‘bigger’ more awkward vehicle and cross lanes when you meet a bus in a corner. The first time for this manoeuvre is a little daunting, but afterwards with that experience, it’s like a choreographed ballet of vehicles dancing along narrow rope.
At the top of the pass, we headed up another 20 odd hairpins to an elevation of 1500 m above sea level to the top of Dalsnibba. In some of the hairpin turns, the accumulated snow pack was about 2.5 m. From the top, we could see all the way back to Geiranger and the fjord. We could also see many of the hairpins below. Most of the adjacent peaks were at or around 1500 - 1600 m; several in the distance were up 1800 - 2000 m. And of course, there was snow everywhere, and the lakes were still frozen.
Back down the 20 or so switchbacks to a 1000 m, we continued along the main highway and drove part of the way to Lom. The main attraction along this road was the beautiful Otta River with its many rapids and falls glistening in the hazy sunlight.
Sounds a little dull having to travel along such good roads with such scenery. So, we turned around and headed back uphill to Grotli, and headed across the predominantly one-lane gravel road into Gamie Strynefjellsvegen. Along this road, we encountered snow banks over 4 m high, other cars, several dozen MG sport cars (MGA, MGB, TR7 and newer models), and a few RV‘s even though the road was not recommended for them. The eastern portion of this road is not open in the winter (not a surprise), but the western end is … a surprise! The reason is that there is a large downhill area at Tystigbreen which offers skiing during both summer and winter.
The Gamie Strynefjellisvegen owes its origin to tourists who traveled from one fjord to another back in the early 1900’s. By 1937, as many as 17,000 tourists who stayed on floating hotels in the fjords traveled across this area.
For a change, we headed down the other side of Strynefellet through 15 or more switchbacks until we reached Hwy 15, and down through another 9 hairpin turns to Folva. Since this is the route that we would be traveling tomorrow, we decided to head back to Geiranger, this time following the all-season road, Hwy 15. So, we drove back up the last 9 switchbacks, and through 3 tunnels totalling 10.5 km out of a distance of 12 km to the Geiranger turn-off, and back across the snowy pass at 1034 m near Dalsnibba, and down the 20-odd hairpin turns to our hotel at sea level. There were a lot more cars and buses on the road going back, and of course, many motorcyclists (not as many as yesterday though).
And so, here we are sitting in our hotel room after dinner looking down Geiranger Fjord. After being on a boat for an extended period, you tend to feel a rocking deck under foot for 24 hours or so after you’re back on dry land. I suspect that we will have to overcome the ‘switchback’ motion from today’s traveling as we head to bed. What a lot of ‘hairpin’ turns in one day!
The day finished with a surprise phone call from Kara. It was nice to be in touch just before heading to bed
June 16 - Andalsnes to Geiranger
The first item on our morning agenda is to tackle the Trollstigen (Troll’s Ladder). This is an amazing road with 11 switchbacks and a 10% grade (1:12) that traverses a steep mountain side up to 858 m above sea level. The road was completed in 1936 after 8 years of work. To make the road even more interesting, most of it is single-lane, and tour buses and RV’s travel up and down the road. Part way up the road is the 180 m Stigfossen waterfall that comes down from above the roadway, flows under it and continues on downwards … wow! In some locations, the road had a low concrete wall for edging; most places only had large granitic boulders spaced every metre or so. On the other side of these impediments, it was straight down to the switchback below, or further.
We actually cheated and drove up and down Trollstigen the night before to check out the lighting before dinner. About the only time that the entire roadway would be in sunlight would likely be about 0200 in the morning … and we’re not that keen!
Today, there was bright sun and no clouds, initially. We first drove part way along E136 towards Dombas, then retraced our steps and headed up Trollstigen on Hwy 64.
We had lunch just below the summit in bright sunlight overlooking a mountain lake that was still partly frozen, and many snow-capped mountains that rose to 1600 - 1750 m. Behind us, more adventuresome individuals were climbing up the north-facing slopes with skins on their skis, and then skiing down in the spring corn snow. Some people were dressed in shorts.
From the summit of Trollstigen, we headed down the glaciated valley, and soon were back below the tree-line, but this time, there was something different about the farms in the valley bottoms. The main crop was strawberries! There was field after field of strawberry plants in bloom. Norway apparently produces some really wonderfully sweet strawberries due to the longer growing season at the higher elevations and latitude.
We wound our way down the valley to Valldal … at sea level on the shores of Nordalsfjorden. It was obviously a popular tourist spot given the many campsites (parked trailers) and cabins. Nearby was the Tafjorden power project with the spectacular Zakarias dam (96 m), and the Muldalfossen waterfall (200 m).
We crossed Nordalsfjorden from Linge to Eidsdalen, and got right back into heading upwards through hairpin after hairpin. Near the top of the pass on the north side, we saw two workers being supervised by two trolls … so we had to stop and photograph this unusual sight. The workers were in the last stages of repairing the inflow point for a penstock that fed into a tunnel to a power plant located in the mountain 250 m below. No wonder they have trolls supervising such complex work.
The road wound its way along a valley until we reach Ornevegen/Ornevingen at the upper edges of the Geirangerfjorden, 11 hairpins and 620 m below. We could see the town of Geiranger nestled into the head of the fjord at the base of 1500 m snow-capped mountains. And then, down we went … back and forth, back and forth, back and forth … 11 times until we reached the fjord. The Norwegians have no hesitation of building all-season roads wherever they need them … through mountains, up and down the steep sides of or under fjords. Without such roads into places such as Geiranger, the only means of access would be by water.
Once in Geiranger, we settled into a hotel and dinner, both of us feeling a little weary.
We actually cheated and drove up and down Trollstigen the night before to check out the lighting before dinner. About the only time that the entire roadway would be in sunlight would likely be about 0200 in the morning … and we’re not that keen!
Today, there was bright sun and no clouds, initially. We first drove part way along E136 towards Dombas, then retraced our steps and headed up Trollstigen on Hwy 64.
We had lunch just below the summit in bright sunlight overlooking a mountain lake that was still partly frozen, and many snow-capped mountains that rose to 1600 - 1750 m. Behind us, more adventuresome individuals were climbing up the north-facing slopes with skins on their skis, and then skiing down in the spring corn snow. Some people were dressed in shorts.
From the summit of Trollstigen, we headed down the glaciated valley, and soon were back below the tree-line, but this time, there was something different about the farms in the valley bottoms. The main crop was strawberries! There was field after field of strawberry plants in bloom. Norway apparently produces some really wonderfully sweet strawberries due to the longer growing season at the higher elevations and latitude.
We wound our way down the valley to Valldal … at sea level on the shores of Nordalsfjorden. It was obviously a popular tourist spot given the many campsites (parked trailers) and cabins. Nearby was the Tafjorden power project with the spectacular Zakarias dam (96 m), and the Muldalfossen waterfall (200 m).
We crossed Nordalsfjorden from Linge to Eidsdalen, and got right back into heading upwards through hairpin after hairpin. Near the top of the pass on the north side, we saw two workers being supervised by two trolls … so we had to stop and photograph this unusual sight. The workers were in the last stages of repairing the inflow point for a penstock that fed into a tunnel to a power plant located in the mountain 250 m below. No wonder they have trolls supervising such complex work.
The road wound its way along a valley until we reach Ornevegen/Ornevingen at the upper edges of the Geirangerfjorden, 11 hairpins and 620 m below. We could see the town of Geiranger nestled into the head of the fjord at the base of 1500 m snow-capped mountains. And then, down we went … back and forth, back and forth, back and forth … 11 times until we reached the fjord. The Norwegians have no hesitation of building all-season roads wherever they need them … through mountains, up and down the steep sides of or under fjords. Without such roads into places such as Geiranger, the only means of access would be by water.
Once in Geiranger, we settled into a hotel and dinner, both of us feeling a little weary.
Friday, June 15, 2007
June 15 - Trondheim to Andalsnes
After a second comfortable night in Are’s flat…complete with handmade, trendy, black and white curtains by Are … we headed out of Trondheim on E6, in search of E39 to Kristiansund. Thanks again Are for allowing us to enjoy your place for a couple of nights. It was a great place to slow our pace down a little .
We timed our departure perfectly from Trondheim, and missed the morning rush-hour. We headed south on E6 with a mixture of sun and cloud, and successfully found the turn-off to E39. We quickly left the farmlands behind, and were soon winding our way through mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. The first part of the E39 was on brand new highway with wide roads and new tunnels. The weather became unsettled for the rest of the morning … sun, clouds and rain.
As we approached Orkanger, the toll road portion of E39 ended, and whoops, we found ourselves in the wrong lane with regard to paying the toll … or not paying. We should have been in the ‘manual’ lane, but found ourselves in the ‘automatic’ lane. At the time, we were following a large truck, so could not see the toll lanes coming at us until it was too late, and there was no where to turn around safely and try again. We’re not sure what happens for missing a toll.
Once we got past Orkanger, the road really began to twist and turn, and basically became one-lane with periodic pull-offs to allow traffic to pass each other. The winding road clung to the edges of Vinjefjorden from Vinjeora to Halsa. There were many small farms with big houses along the side where the road was located. The other side of the fjord was cliffed. The rounded hills on either side of the fjord rose up to 600 - 1000 m with mostly spruce covered lower slopes.
We had a close call with a ’BIG BLUE’ truck along this road. As we came around a blind corner, traveling quite slowly on our side of the road, a large truck came barrelling around the corner well into our lane. We headed towards the guard-rail (as close as we dared), applied the brakes hard, held our breathe and hoped that the truck would find its way by. We’re not sure how the truck missed us. It was so close that we were sure that the truck had touched us, but we couldn’t find a mark on the car. As the truck roared past, he almost lost control into the rock cliffs on his side of the road, but kept on going. Whew, that was too close!
The road eventually became a little wider, and we relaxed somewhat until we reached the ferry from Halsa to Kanestraum. E39 eventually connected with Hwy 70 to Kristiansund, including a long tunnel of 5+ kms under Freifjorden. Kristiansund seemed quite busy, so we decided to press on. We caught the ferry across to Bremsnes, took a right turn out to a rocky headland near Sveggen and found a nice spot for lunch. We could see the lighthouse at Grip in the distance.
Back on the road again, we headed west along the ‘Atlantic Road’, Hwy 64, to Farstad, Bud, Elneswagen and Molde. Along this stretch of coastline, the coastal plain was well used for farming. The adjacent mountains rose to 900 m most with their summits in the clouds, about 1-2 km from the shoreline. The ‘Atlantic Road’ is a sinuous highway that connects one small rocky island to another by a series of beautifully curved bridges. Strong tidal currents and maelstroms were evident in the channels separating the islands. This road has to be spectacular during a storm off the sea because it is so exposed to the North Atlantic.
Bud was a pretty little town with a nice harbour at the end of Hwy 664. One of the things that we’ve noted along the way is the extent to which Norwegians disperse their industries and businesses. While some businesses are concentrated in larger centres, such as Elnesvagen and Molde, even the small towns seem to have important businesses, e.g., Bud had a BMW dealership, and a bus servicing depot. As a result, both small and larger towns seem to prosper.
From Molde, we headed south along Hwy 64 to Andalsnes via a 3 km tunnel under Fannefjorden and a ferry across Langfjorden. This is where we settled for the night at the base of the Romsdal Alps with cloud and snow-capped peaks over 1800 m, not far from the famous Trollstigen (Troll’s Ladder), but more on this tomorrow. By the end of the afternoon, the weather had improved … mostly sunshine with a few clouds, but still a cool breeze from the sea.
It’s good to have internet access again. When we don’t, we begin feeling out of touch with everyone.
We timed our departure perfectly from Trondheim, and missed the morning rush-hour. We headed south on E6 with a mixture of sun and cloud, and successfully found the turn-off to E39. We quickly left the farmlands behind, and were soon winding our way through mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. The first part of the E39 was on brand new highway with wide roads and new tunnels. The weather became unsettled for the rest of the morning … sun, clouds and rain.
As we approached Orkanger, the toll road portion of E39 ended, and whoops, we found ourselves in the wrong lane with regard to paying the toll … or not paying. We should have been in the ‘manual’ lane, but found ourselves in the ‘automatic’ lane. At the time, we were following a large truck, so could not see the toll lanes coming at us until it was too late, and there was no where to turn around safely and try again. We’re not sure what happens for missing a toll.
Once we got past Orkanger, the road really began to twist and turn, and basically became one-lane with periodic pull-offs to allow traffic to pass each other. The winding road clung to the edges of Vinjefjorden from Vinjeora to Halsa. There were many small farms with big houses along the side where the road was located. The other side of the fjord was cliffed. The rounded hills on either side of the fjord rose up to 600 - 1000 m with mostly spruce covered lower slopes.
We had a close call with a ’BIG BLUE’ truck along this road. As we came around a blind corner, traveling quite slowly on our side of the road, a large truck came barrelling around the corner well into our lane. We headed towards the guard-rail (as close as we dared), applied the brakes hard, held our breathe and hoped that the truck would find its way by. We’re not sure how the truck missed us. It was so close that we were sure that the truck had touched us, but we couldn’t find a mark on the car. As the truck roared past, he almost lost control into the rock cliffs on his side of the road, but kept on going. Whew, that was too close!
The road eventually became a little wider, and we relaxed somewhat until we reached the ferry from Halsa to Kanestraum. E39 eventually connected with Hwy 70 to Kristiansund, including a long tunnel of 5+ kms under Freifjorden. Kristiansund seemed quite busy, so we decided to press on. We caught the ferry across to Bremsnes, took a right turn out to a rocky headland near Sveggen and found a nice spot for lunch. We could see the lighthouse at Grip in the distance.
Back on the road again, we headed west along the ‘Atlantic Road’, Hwy 64, to Farstad, Bud, Elneswagen and Molde. Along this stretch of coastline, the coastal plain was well used for farming. The adjacent mountains rose to 900 m most with their summits in the clouds, about 1-2 km from the shoreline. The ‘Atlantic Road’ is a sinuous highway that connects one small rocky island to another by a series of beautifully curved bridges. Strong tidal currents and maelstroms were evident in the channels separating the islands. This road has to be spectacular during a storm off the sea because it is so exposed to the North Atlantic.
Bud was a pretty little town with a nice harbour at the end of Hwy 664. One of the things that we’ve noted along the way is the extent to which Norwegians disperse their industries and businesses. While some businesses are concentrated in larger centres, such as Elnesvagen and Molde, even the small towns seem to have important businesses, e.g., Bud had a BMW dealership, and a bus servicing depot. As a result, both small and larger towns seem to prosper.
From Molde, we headed south along Hwy 64 to Andalsnes via a 3 km tunnel under Fannefjorden and a ferry across Langfjorden. This is where we settled for the night at the base of the Romsdal Alps with cloud and snow-capped peaks over 1800 m, not far from the famous Trollstigen (Troll’s Ladder), but more on this tomorrow. By the end of the afternoon, the weather had improved … mostly sunshine with a few clouds, but still a cool breeze from the sea.
It’s good to have internet access again. When we don’t, we begin feeling out of touch with everyone.
June 14 - Trondheim
We slept well, and were not aware of the rain and hail that fell during the night. The morning was cloudy with some sun, and a cool 10 degrees.
Sherrill contacted another Norwegian friend, Marit, whom she had met in St. John’s. We met Marit at the shopping centre in the Nedre Elvehavn area. We then walked through some narrow cobblestone streets of an old part of the city. And then, it was up the hill to Kristianstenfestning, the old fort that overlooked the city from the southeast.
We walked from there back to the city centre so that we could visit an information centre, and see some of the old buildings and statues there, including one of the King‘s royal residences, Stiftsgarden, the largest wooden palace in Scandinavia which was built between 1774-1778.
Marit invited us back to her apartment for a pleasant lunch and visit until mid-afternoon.
We retraced our steps to Are’s apartment for a late afternoon rest. After last night’s dinner, we decided that home cooking was a good idea, so headed to a nearby grocery story to decide on what to have tonight. And so, here we are comfortably settled into Are’s apartment for one more night before heading further south and west to Kristiansund - Molde, and the western fjords for our last week before returning to Oslo.
As we’ve driven south we’ve seen many signs in Norwegian, some of which we could guess what they meant, while others, we didn’t have a clue. One sign that we had seen frequently around Tromso was ‘gravlund’. We weren’t sure what this meant, but it seemed that every time that we saw such a sign there seemed to be gravel pits nearby, we assumed that it meant ‘gravel pit’. This is not the case. It actually means ‘cemetery’! So just when we thought that we were picking up some interesting Norwegian words … ! The moral of this is, ‘Buy a Norwegian - English dictionary even when you know that most Norwegians speak English really well!’ We bought one today. J
Sherrill contacted another Norwegian friend, Marit, whom she had met in St. John’s. We met Marit at the shopping centre in the Nedre Elvehavn area. We then walked through some narrow cobblestone streets of an old part of the city. And then, it was up the hill to Kristianstenfestning, the old fort that overlooked the city from the southeast.
We walked from there back to the city centre so that we could visit an information centre, and see some of the old buildings and statues there, including one of the King‘s royal residences, Stiftsgarden, the largest wooden palace in Scandinavia which was built between 1774-1778.
Marit invited us back to her apartment for a pleasant lunch and visit until mid-afternoon.
We retraced our steps to Are’s apartment for a late afternoon rest. After last night’s dinner, we decided that home cooking was a good idea, so headed to a nearby grocery story to decide on what to have tonight. And so, here we are comfortably settled into Are’s apartment for one more night before heading further south and west to Kristiansund - Molde, and the western fjords for our last week before returning to Oslo.
As we’ve driven south we’ve seen many signs in Norwegian, some of which we could guess what they meant, while others, we didn’t have a clue. One sign that we had seen frequently around Tromso was ‘gravlund’. We weren’t sure what this meant, but it seemed that every time that we saw such a sign there seemed to be gravel pits nearby, we assumed that it meant ‘gravel pit’. This is not the case. It actually means ‘cemetery’! So just when we thought that we were picking up some interesting Norwegian words … ! The moral of this is, ‘Buy a Norwegian - English dictionary even when you know that most Norwegians speak English really well!’ We bought one today. J
June 13 - Bronnoysund to Trondheim
Both yesterday and last night, we saw the north and south bound Hurtigruten ships stop in Bronnoysund. This is a daily occurrence, and a reminder about how important the coastal ferries are to the many communities along the coastline.
As we continued south along Highway 17, the valleys gradually became broader, and the hills lower and more rounded (500 m). We noted too that the birch forests to the north were replaced by predominantly spruce. There were many beautiful lakes, and of course, many hyttes.
It was clear that farming was becoming more important as we headed south. There were broad rolling green fields, and we started seeing herds of cows and cattle. The farms looked prosperous, and most of them seemed to have a large 2-story house with 10-12 windows on one side (presumably the other side too). After speaking to someone, we were told that the large houses were where whole families used live, i.e., grand parents, parents, children, etc. This is not necessarily the custom now.
The weather today was variable … sun, cloud, or a bit of both … drizzle … light rain … wind … heavy rain … hail. I think that we had a bit of just about everything today, except snow.
At Steinkjer, we had our first glimpse of Beitstadfjorden, and about 20 minutes later, we were looking out over Trondheimfjorden. The latter is indeed a large fjord. It measures about 70 km long, and 5-20 km wide, and is separated from the Norwegian Sea by a 25-30 km channel that is a few kilometres wide.
And so as we travelled across rolling farm lands, and past many small communities, we arrived in Trondheim at the peak of rush-hour … 1530! With only our highway map, and small map of the downtown area in our Lonely Planet book, we managed to navigate our way to the train station. The interesting and exciting parts of using such maps is not having all of the streets named, or knowing which ones are one-way in which direction. This of course was our first time driving in a big Norwegian city with bus-taxi lanes.
Ander’s and Ragnhild’s son, Are, attends university in Trondheim. Since he is now in Oslo, he generously offered us the use of his flat which is situated right in the city centre near the water front, and adjacent to the Nidelva River. Are’s girlfriend, Lina, met us at the train station on her bike. While Lina went with Sherrill in the car to the apartment, John rode Lina’s bike.
We were very well taken care of by Lina. She got us settled into the apartment, and made numerous suggestions about where to go and what we might see in Trondheim during our stay.
We decided to walk through the older parts of the city before supper to take advantage of the sunshine, and to get some exercise. The walk allowed us to scout out some restaurants, but we eventually decided that a home-cooked meal was more appealing. So, we headed over to the grocery store at Solsiden and picked up some salmon, potatoes, salad, and of course, ice cream. In this part of Trondheim, the shopping area has been developed using many old buildings from a ship building industry long since closed intermixed with some new buildings, and many new apartments. The old dockyard area is interesting with some of the old cranes, and a dry-dock still in place. You can walk along the water front here, and back across to the city centre via a pedestrian bridge.
Many of the old warehouse buildings along the river have been converted to apartments, or businesses. In some cases, the old buildings were torn down to be replaced by new ones that still resemble the old warehouse architecture. The downside of all these old buildings is that they are over 100 years old, made of wood and less than a metre apart i.e., very vulnerable to fire. For example, on May 17 this year, just a few weeks ago, there was just such a fire in one of the old buildings. The result was damage to 3 buildings.
Trondheim’s roots go back to King Olav Tryggvason of Viking fame who founded the city in 997.
And so, after another day of safe travels, a wonderful dinner at home and a little trip planning for the next week, we crashed for night.
As we continued south along Highway 17, the valleys gradually became broader, and the hills lower and more rounded (500 m). We noted too that the birch forests to the north were replaced by predominantly spruce. There were many beautiful lakes, and of course, many hyttes.
It was clear that farming was becoming more important as we headed south. There were broad rolling green fields, and we started seeing herds of cows and cattle. The farms looked prosperous, and most of them seemed to have a large 2-story house with 10-12 windows on one side (presumably the other side too). After speaking to someone, we were told that the large houses were where whole families used live, i.e., grand parents, parents, children, etc. This is not necessarily the custom now.
The weather today was variable … sun, cloud, or a bit of both … drizzle … light rain … wind … heavy rain … hail. I think that we had a bit of just about everything today, except snow.
At Steinkjer, we had our first glimpse of Beitstadfjorden, and about 20 minutes later, we were looking out over Trondheimfjorden. The latter is indeed a large fjord. It measures about 70 km long, and 5-20 km wide, and is separated from the Norwegian Sea by a 25-30 km channel that is a few kilometres wide.
And so as we travelled across rolling farm lands, and past many small communities, we arrived in Trondheim at the peak of rush-hour … 1530! With only our highway map, and small map of the downtown area in our Lonely Planet book, we managed to navigate our way to the train station. The interesting and exciting parts of using such maps is not having all of the streets named, or knowing which ones are one-way in which direction. This of course was our first time driving in a big Norwegian city with bus-taxi lanes.
Ander’s and Ragnhild’s son, Are, attends university in Trondheim. Since he is now in Oslo, he generously offered us the use of his flat which is situated right in the city centre near the water front, and adjacent to the Nidelva River. Are’s girlfriend, Lina, met us at the train station on her bike. While Lina went with Sherrill in the car to the apartment, John rode Lina’s bike.
We were very well taken care of by Lina. She got us settled into the apartment, and made numerous suggestions about where to go and what we might see in Trondheim during our stay.
We decided to walk through the older parts of the city before supper to take advantage of the sunshine, and to get some exercise. The walk allowed us to scout out some restaurants, but we eventually decided that a home-cooked meal was more appealing. So, we headed over to the grocery store at Solsiden and picked up some salmon, potatoes, salad, and of course, ice cream. In this part of Trondheim, the shopping area has been developed using many old buildings from a ship building industry long since closed intermixed with some new buildings, and many new apartments. The old dockyard area is interesting with some of the old cranes, and a dry-dock still in place. You can walk along the water front here, and back across to the city centre via a pedestrian bridge.
Many of the old warehouse buildings along the river have been converted to apartments, or businesses. In some cases, the old buildings were torn down to be replaced by new ones that still resemble the old warehouse architecture. The downside of all these old buildings is that they are over 100 years old, made of wood and less than a metre apart i.e., very vulnerable to fire. For example, on May 17 this year, just a few weeks ago, there was just such a fire in one of the old buildings. The result was damage to 3 buildings.
Trondheim’s roots go back to King Olav Tryggvason of Viking fame who founded the city in 997.
And so, after another day of safe travels, a wonderful dinner at home and a little trip planning for the next week, we crashed for night.
June 12 - Nesna to Bronnoysund
With 3 more ferry crossings, we headed south past Sandnessjoen and eventually to Bronnoysund. We were fortunate to leave the rain behind as we drove south along the shoreline. The mountains become distinctively rounded and much lower in height, now reaching only up to 750 m, and more typically only 500 m or less around Bronnoysund.
We headed to Mount Torghatten, just a few kilometres south of Bronnoysund, where we climbed up several hundred metres along a rocky trail to see the famous ‘hole in the rock’. The hole is 160 m long, 35 m high and 15-20 m wide, an unusual weathering phenomena in the local granites and gneisses. Legend claims that the Horseman’s arrow made the hole. We weren’t able to find out who the ’horseman’ was or when he loosed his arrow at the mountain. The view from the top in both directions was great, and very much worth the hike.
Tonight, we’re in Bronnoysund. It’s cool outside, but the sun is shining, and that is great.
As we head to bed, the western horizon has heavy black clouds. We’re wondering what the weather will be tomorrow.
We headed to Mount Torghatten, just a few kilometres south of Bronnoysund, where we climbed up several hundred metres along a rocky trail to see the famous ‘hole in the rock’. The hole is 160 m long, 35 m high and 15-20 m wide, an unusual weathering phenomena in the local granites and gneisses. Legend claims that the Horseman’s arrow made the hole. We weren’t able to find out who the ’horseman’ was or when he loosed his arrow at the mountain. The view from the top in both directions was great, and very much worth the hike.
Tonight, we’re in Bronnoysund. It’s cool outside, but the sun is shining, and that is great.
As we head to bed, the western horizon has heavy black clouds. We’re wondering what the weather will be tomorrow.
June 11 - Glomfjord to Nesna
When we awoke this morning, there was a change. The soothing sounds of the nearby stream that had lulled us to sleep were the same, but they masked the sound of rain this morning. Nevertheless, we jumped into the car and continued our drive southwards.
In speaking with the hotel staff at the Glomfjord Hotel, we learned a little of the significance of the hydro power plant located nearby, and its connection to the Svartisen Glacier. Work on the original power house at Fykan, a massive and proud stone structure, was started in 1912 and completed in 1920. It must have been quite a challenge to build this plant in such difficult terrain, particularly the penstock pipelines down the mountainside from the Svartisen reservoir. Everything had to be carried on the backs of the workers 700 m up the mountainside, apparently often with loads of up to 50 kg. The presence of abundant and inexpensive power attracted industry, and Glomfjord became an industrial centre before WWII.
During WWII, small group of allies trekked across mountains from two fjords further south to stop power generation to German industry. Only 4 of the allies survived, but their mission was successful. There is now a high mountain trail called the ‘Saboteur Route’ from Fjellveien to Nedre Navervann, including “The Steps” … all 1127 of them. The weather conditions and our timeline did not permit us to explore this historical route.
To get to the old power plant, you take a right turn part way through one of the tunnels on Highway 17, i.e., interesting to find an intersection in the middle of a tunnel.
After the war, the old power plant was repaired. It continued producing power for industry until 1998 when a new plant was completed. The new plant was built a little further south in Holandsfjord in the centre of a mountain. Water is fed to the plant from two large rock fill dams with impermeable cores of asphalt concrete. The Storglomass dam is 128 high and 820 m long; the Hotmass dam is 60 m high and 380 m long. Additionally, the new power plant is fed by 45 tunnels through the adjacent mountains to collect water from each of the nearby watersheds that are supplied by the Svartisen Glacier, a drainage area of about 554 km2. The Storglomvann reservoir holds almost 3.5 billion m3. Annual production is 2170 Gwh (million kilowatt hours).
We had an exciting drive up to the larger dam along a side road that took us up through many twists and turns, and through two unpaved tunnels well above the snow and tree line. The road inside the second tunnel was so steep that we needed to use 2nd gear all the way through it. We were unable to reach the smaller dam because the road was still buried in winter snow.
The skies were gray, and the rain was COLD as we darted in and out of the car to grab a photo here and there. We arrived at the Svartisen Glacier info centre in these weather conditions, and here we had to decide whether or not it was worth taking the boat trip and hike to the glacier. Visibility was not particularly good. In the end, we decided that we were here, and that we should ‘just do it’. The boat ride over was warm and comfortable, and it generally only drizzled during out walk to the glacier centre. After drying out over a snack of Norwegian pancakes with strawberry sauce and sour cream, we began hiking back to the boat in the pouring rain. Fortunately, we did not get too far before being picked up by a service truck that was going down to meet the boat. We did get to see the lower half of the Svartisen Glacier through the rain and clouds, and we did enjoy our Norwegian pancakes … it was worth the trip across the fjord.
After 7 more tunnels, including one that was 7.6 km long, 2 ferry crossings, and many up, downs and twists, we reached Nesna. With the weather as it was, we could only catch glimpses of the scenery. According to the map, we were passing mountains that were 900 to 1500 m high lost high into the clouds. A lot of the land along the coastline was devoted to farming, so it was interesting to see how land use was optimized from the shoreline to the lower slopes of the mountains. During our ferry crossing Jektvika to Kilboghamn, we re-crossed the Polarsirkelen, Arctic Circle, this time heading south.
The last part of a day’s journey took us over a pass in the clouds with visibility of only 100 m, and strong winds, before we descended to Nesna and found a place to stay.
The highlight of the day was a surprise phone call from our son, Eric.
In speaking with the hotel staff at the Glomfjord Hotel, we learned a little of the significance of the hydro power plant located nearby, and its connection to the Svartisen Glacier. Work on the original power house at Fykan, a massive and proud stone structure, was started in 1912 and completed in 1920. It must have been quite a challenge to build this plant in such difficult terrain, particularly the penstock pipelines down the mountainside from the Svartisen reservoir. Everything had to be carried on the backs of the workers 700 m up the mountainside, apparently often with loads of up to 50 kg. The presence of abundant and inexpensive power attracted industry, and Glomfjord became an industrial centre before WWII.
During WWII, small group of allies trekked across mountains from two fjords further south to stop power generation to German industry. Only 4 of the allies survived, but their mission was successful. There is now a high mountain trail called the ‘Saboteur Route’ from Fjellveien to Nedre Navervann, including “The Steps” … all 1127 of them. The weather conditions and our timeline did not permit us to explore this historical route.
To get to the old power plant, you take a right turn part way through one of the tunnels on Highway 17, i.e., interesting to find an intersection in the middle of a tunnel.
After the war, the old power plant was repaired. It continued producing power for industry until 1998 when a new plant was completed. The new plant was built a little further south in Holandsfjord in the centre of a mountain. Water is fed to the plant from two large rock fill dams with impermeable cores of asphalt concrete. The Storglomass dam is 128 high and 820 m long; the Hotmass dam is 60 m high and 380 m long. Additionally, the new power plant is fed by 45 tunnels through the adjacent mountains to collect water from each of the nearby watersheds that are supplied by the Svartisen Glacier, a drainage area of about 554 km2. The Storglomvann reservoir holds almost 3.5 billion m3. Annual production is 2170 Gwh (million kilowatt hours).
We had an exciting drive up to the larger dam along a side road that took us up through many twists and turns, and through two unpaved tunnels well above the snow and tree line. The road inside the second tunnel was so steep that we needed to use 2nd gear all the way through it. We were unable to reach the smaller dam because the road was still buried in winter snow.
The skies were gray, and the rain was COLD as we darted in and out of the car to grab a photo here and there. We arrived at the Svartisen Glacier info centre in these weather conditions, and here we had to decide whether or not it was worth taking the boat trip and hike to the glacier. Visibility was not particularly good. In the end, we decided that we were here, and that we should ‘just do it’. The boat ride over was warm and comfortable, and it generally only drizzled during out walk to the glacier centre. After drying out over a snack of Norwegian pancakes with strawberry sauce and sour cream, we began hiking back to the boat in the pouring rain. Fortunately, we did not get too far before being picked up by a service truck that was going down to meet the boat. We did get to see the lower half of the Svartisen Glacier through the rain and clouds, and we did enjoy our Norwegian pancakes … it was worth the trip across the fjord.
After 7 more tunnels, including one that was 7.6 km long, 2 ferry crossings, and many up, downs and twists, we reached Nesna. With the weather as it was, we could only catch glimpses of the scenery. According to the map, we were passing mountains that were 900 to 1500 m high lost high into the clouds. A lot of the land along the coastline was devoted to farming, so it was interesting to see how land use was optimized from the shoreline to the lower slopes of the mountains. During our ferry crossing Jektvika to Kilboghamn, we re-crossed the Polarsirkelen, Arctic Circle, this time heading south.
The last part of a day’s journey took us over a pass in the clouds with visibility of only 100 m, and strong winds, before we descended to Nesna and found a place to stay.
The highlight of the day was a surprise phone call from our son, Eric.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
June 10 - Tranoy to Glomfjord
We did not stay up to see the ‘midnight’ sun. The sun set into the clouds behind the Lofotens, and that was that. Being this far north of the Arctic Circle though, it still does not get dark at night.
In the morning, the sun was there with a few broken clouds, and with an easterly wind, the air temperature was a little warmer. Marina made us a wonderful breakfast. We ate this while gazing out to the tall mountains on the eastern horizon. Before leaving, Marina took us on a tour of the lighthouse … right to the top, and outside on to the catwalk. We took our time viewing the panoramic scenery, trying to soak everything into our minds and souls. What a wonderful place this has been. We were lucky that our original booking had to be changed, allowing us to find and stay at the Tranoy Fyr, the Tranoy lighthouse.
Stig-Andre apparently rents the lighthouse from the state, allowing he and his family to run their restaurant and accommodations. So with this arrangement, it is the government’s responsibility to repair the bridge out to the lighthouse. It’s expected that the whole bridge will be replaced by the end of summer. In its present state, many potential customers are not enticed to take the boat ride or more arduous route through the bridge repairs.
After farewells to Marina and Stig-Andre, we were taken ashore in the motor boat. We headed east until we connected with the major north - south highway, E6, where we turned south. Again, the roads are excellent.
As we left the rolling coastal topography with many trees, and rounded hills, we climbed steadily into the mountains. The mountains around quickly rose to 1000 - 1500 m. We drove up through the leafy forests, and soon were above the tree-line and close the snow-line where there was only scrub brush, lichen and lots of rock. The rocky mountain slopes were impressive with their shear cliffs and varied profiles. Many of the cliff faces looked as if they had had layers removed like an onion, a characteristic weathering pattern for some granite intrusive. So, up and down and around we drove on twisting roads through this kind of terrain.
As we were motoring along enjoying the scenery, we were caught and passed by about a dozen BMW motorcyclists. It was the perfect road for touring … lots of twists and turns in the road. Our minds quickly wandered to wishing that we had our bikes with us to enjoy such a road. By the end of the day, we’d probably seen close to 100 motorcycles, i.e., there were as many bikes as cars.
By noon, we had gone through more than14 tunnels, totalling about 19 kms. The longest tunnel was almost 5 km in length. Some tunnels were flat, others climbed or descended, and most were curved. If we weren’t in a tunnel, we were cruising along the edges of the mountains and fjords on what seemed like a rock ledge, or snaking along the valley bottoms beside bubbling streams and cascading waterfalls.
As we approached Fauske, we descended to sea level, and took the turn-off towards Bodo (Hwy 80), and traveled east to Loding. Here, we turned south onto the coastal highway, Kystriksveien (Hwy 17, Bodo to Steinkjer).
Our first stop was at the ‘Saltstraumen’. Every 6 h, 400 cubic metres of water flow through a 150 m wide and 3 km long channel between Saltfjorden and Skjerstadfjorden at speeds of up to 20 knots. We were there midway through the ebbing tide. There was pronounced ebb-dominated flow down the centre, and turbulent remnants of the last flooding tide still trying to fight upstream around the margins of the channel. There was no problem in seeing the location of the eddy line.
We continued south along the coastal highway on a narrow coastal plain with the mountains rising abruptly to our left (500 - 1000 m). The sun disappeared behind cloud, and by this point in the day, there was a cold wind off the sea. The clouds piled up on the mountains, often creating a halo around the taller peaks.
The road continued to wind up, down and around through many small towns until we reached Ornes. We had stopped here on the way north aboard the Nordlys. We were unsuccessful finding a place to stay, so we continued on to Glomfjord where we had success.
Our room looks towards the cloud capped rocky cliffs, and there is the soothing sound of a stream as it heads to its nearby destination. Dinner was ‘stekt torskefilet med tomat og champignon‘ (fried cod). Dessert was ‘pannekake med is og jordbaesaus’ (Norwegian crepes with ice cream and strawberry sauce). What a way to go!
And so, another day comes to a close in our continuing ‘Norse Saga’.
In the morning, the sun was there with a few broken clouds, and with an easterly wind, the air temperature was a little warmer. Marina made us a wonderful breakfast. We ate this while gazing out to the tall mountains on the eastern horizon. Before leaving, Marina took us on a tour of the lighthouse … right to the top, and outside on to the catwalk. We took our time viewing the panoramic scenery, trying to soak everything into our minds and souls. What a wonderful place this has been. We were lucky that our original booking had to be changed, allowing us to find and stay at the Tranoy Fyr, the Tranoy lighthouse.
Stig-Andre apparently rents the lighthouse from the state, allowing he and his family to run their restaurant and accommodations. So with this arrangement, it is the government’s responsibility to repair the bridge out to the lighthouse. It’s expected that the whole bridge will be replaced by the end of summer. In its present state, many potential customers are not enticed to take the boat ride or more arduous route through the bridge repairs.
After farewells to Marina and Stig-Andre, we were taken ashore in the motor boat. We headed east until we connected with the major north - south highway, E6, where we turned south. Again, the roads are excellent.
As we left the rolling coastal topography with many trees, and rounded hills, we climbed steadily into the mountains. The mountains around quickly rose to 1000 - 1500 m. We drove up through the leafy forests, and soon were above the tree-line and close the snow-line where there was only scrub brush, lichen and lots of rock. The rocky mountain slopes were impressive with their shear cliffs and varied profiles. Many of the cliff faces looked as if they had had layers removed like an onion, a characteristic weathering pattern for some granite intrusive. So, up and down and around we drove on twisting roads through this kind of terrain.
As we were motoring along enjoying the scenery, we were caught and passed by about a dozen BMW motorcyclists. It was the perfect road for touring … lots of twists and turns in the road. Our minds quickly wandered to wishing that we had our bikes with us to enjoy such a road. By the end of the day, we’d probably seen close to 100 motorcycles, i.e., there were as many bikes as cars.
By noon, we had gone through more than14 tunnels, totalling about 19 kms. The longest tunnel was almost 5 km in length. Some tunnels were flat, others climbed or descended, and most were curved. If we weren’t in a tunnel, we were cruising along the edges of the mountains and fjords on what seemed like a rock ledge, or snaking along the valley bottoms beside bubbling streams and cascading waterfalls.
As we approached Fauske, we descended to sea level, and took the turn-off towards Bodo (Hwy 80), and traveled east to Loding. Here, we turned south onto the coastal highway, Kystriksveien (Hwy 17, Bodo to Steinkjer).
Our first stop was at the ‘Saltstraumen’. Every 6 h, 400 cubic metres of water flow through a 150 m wide and 3 km long channel between Saltfjorden and Skjerstadfjorden at speeds of up to 20 knots. We were there midway through the ebbing tide. There was pronounced ebb-dominated flow down the centre, and turbulent remnants of the last flooding tide still trying to fight upstream around the margins of the channel. There was no problem in seeing the location of the eddy line.
We continued south along the coastal highway on a narrow coastal plain with the mountains rising abruptly to our left (500 - 1000 m). The sun disappeared behind cloud, and by this point in the day, there was a cold wind off the sea. The clouds piled up on the mountains, often creating a halo around the taller peaks.
The road continued to wind up, down and around through many small towns until we reached Ornes. We had stopped here on the way north aboard the Nordlys. We were unsuccessful finding a place to stay, so we continued on to Glomfjord where we had success.
Our room looks towards the cloud capped rocky cliffs, and there is the soothing sound of a stream as it heads to its nearby destination. Dinner was ‘stekt torskefilet med tomat og champignon‘ (fried cod). Dessert was ‘pannekake med is og jordbaesaus’ (Norwegian crepes with ice cream and strawberry sauce). What a way to go!
And so, another day comes to a close in our continuing ‘Norse Saga’.
June 9 - Svolvaer to Tranoy
We took the 0900 ferry from Svolvaer to Skutvik, a 2 h journey on flat seas past the islands of Skrova and Litlmolla. The morning dawned bright and sunny, but clouded over a little as we crossed on the ferry. The Lofoten ‘wall’ (750 - 1161 m) stretched behind us from southwest to northeast, and the coastal ranges (1100 - 1300 m) spanned the horizon in front of us.
Once we landed at Skudvik on the peninsula of Hamaroya (Ofoten), we headed north to Hamsund and out to Buvag and Kjakkelmarka. From the latter, we could we the Tranoy Lighthouse to the north where we would be spending the night. The shoreline here was very rocky with little vegetation. We could have been somewhere in Newfoundland.
Back out to the highway, we drove north through richly vegetated and rounded hillsides (250 - 500 m) around the shores of several fjords (e.g., Kaldvagfhorden, Presteidfjorden) as far as the ferries at Bognes (one to Skardberget; the other to Lodingen Ladik to the north across the Vestfjorden. The road was excellent as it twisted up, down and around the shoreline … fun to drive. Sherrill drove going north; John had his turn on the return trip south.
There was a cool breeze from the west, particularly near the shoreline, but temperatures felt comfortably warm in the bright sun. Once we reached Skutvik, the skies were mostly clear.
We headed to Tranoy, and drove past Edvardushus where we had originally planned to stay tomorrow night. It was a very pleasant looking older house situated in a quiet area with lots of trees, not too far from the sea. Temperatures felt quite warm (t-shirts) in this sheltered area. We back-tracked to the side road that led to the Tranoy Lighthouse, and arrived there mid-afternoon. What a sight as we headed down the road to see the lighthouse perched on a rounded rocky island with the Lofoten Mountains stretching across the horizon behind it.
To get to the lighthouse, you can either phone across and someone will come and pick you up by boat (30 m distance), or you can walk along the ~100 m concrete ‘bridge’. The bridge currently has a couple of sections missing &/or under serious repair, i.e., not as straight-forward a way to get there as you might think. Many people opt for the short boat ride, rather than climbing up and down ladders, and darting across concrete slabs and around repair equipment with the water visible between their legs about 2-3 m below. Once at the lighthouse, we met Stig-Andre, his wife, Marina, and Stig-Andre’s son, Marcus. The building in which we are staying was built in 1864. The accommodation is simple, and a little rough, but this suits us just fine. It feels comfortable, the view is great in all directions, and the hospitality was great.
There is a tall metal tower painted predominantly red with one broad white stripe mid-way up the tower, and five out buildings. The tower was relocated here from the Lofoten Islands in 1936. In the past, 4 families looked after the lighthouse from late August to early April (i.e., the dark months). Each family would work in eight hour shifts for 3 weeks, then get a week off. During the summer months, only 3 families were needed, given the extended daylight hours.
After a visit with our hosts, we headed back across the challenges of the bridge access, and hiked around one of the adjacent headlands with cameras in hand. We were not able to hike around the lighthouse because there are many nesting birds that shouldn’t be disturbed.
The lighthouse has served food for many years, but has only provided overnight accommodation within the last 4 years. The building closest to the land is used as a restaurant/meeting area. The excellence of the cuisine prepared by Stefan is apparently well known. People, locals and others from away, apparently come just for the sea food cuisine. We had a wonderful dinner sitting by a large window … Sherrill says that it was a ‘great’ dinner. During dinner, 3 kayakers passed by. We sure wished that we had our kayaks with us at this point. Between cups of coffee after dinner, Marina called out that there were some pilot whales passing nearby. There were 30-40 of them. After our 2nd cup of coffee, we headed to our room to just relax ,and to enjoy the peace and quiet of this special place.
Sherrill wants to stay up tonight to see the ‘midnight’ sun. We’ll have to see whether we do this or not because the horizon over the Lofotens has clouded in. At this latitude and time of year, the sun apparently is only out of sight behind the mountains for 10-15 minutes.
Once we landed at Skudvik on the peninsula of Hamaroya (Ofoten), we headed north to Hamsund and out to Buvag and Kjakkelmarka. From the latter, we could we the Tranoy Lighthouse to the north where we would be spending the night. The shoreline here was very rocky with little vegetation. We could have been somewhere in Newfoundland.
Back out to the highway, we drove north through richly vegetated and rounded hillsides (250 - 500 m) around the shores of several fjords (e.g., Kaldvagfhorden, Presteidfjorden) as far as the ferries at Bognes (one to Skardberget; the other to Lodingen Ladik to the north across the Vestfjorden. The road was excellent as it twisted up, down and around the shoreline … fun to drive. Sherrill drove going north; John had his turn on the return trip south.
There was a cool breeze from the west, particularly near the shoreline, but temperatures felt comfortably warm in the bright sun. Once we reached Skutvik, the skies were mostly clear.
We headed to Tranoy, and drove past Edvardushus where we had originally planned to stay tomorrow night. It was a very pleasant looking older house situated in a quiet area with lots of trees, not too far from the sea. Temperatures felt quite warm (t-shirts) in this sheltered area. We back-tracked to the side road that led to the Tranoy Lighthouse, and arrived there mid-afternoon. What a sight as we headed down the road to see the lighthouse perched on a rounded rocky island with the Lofoten Mountains stretching across the horizon behind it.
To get to the lighthouse, you can either phone across and someone will come and pick you up by boat (30 m distance), or you can walk along the ~100 m concrete ‘bridge’. The bridge currently has a couple of sections missing &/or under serious repair, i.e., not as straight-forward a way to get there as you might think. Many people opt for the short boat ride, rather than climbing up and down ladders, and darting across concrete slabs and around repair equipment with the water visible between their legs about 2-3 m below. Once at the lighthouse, we met Stig-Andre, his wife, Marina, and Stig-Andre’s son, Marcus. The building in which we are staying was built in 1864. The accommodation is simple, and a little rough, but this suits us just fine. It feels comfortable, the view is great in all directions, and the hospitality was great.
There is a tall metal tower painted predominantly red with one broad white stripe mid-way up the tower, and five out buildings. The tower was relocated here from the Lofoten Islands in 1936. In the past, 4 families looked after the lighthouse from late August to early April (i.e., the dark months). Each family would work in eight hour shifts for 3 weeks, then get a week off. During the summer months, only 3 families were needed, given the extended daylight hours.
After a visit with our hosts, we headed back across the challenges of the bridge access, and hiked around one of the adjacent headlands with cameras in hand. We were not able to hike around the lighthouse because there are many nesting birds that shouldn’t be disturbed.
The lighthouse has served food for many years, but has only provided overnight accommodation within the last 4 years. The building closest to the land is used as a restaurant/meeting area. The excellence of the cuisine prepared by Stefan is apparently well known. People, locals and others from away, apparently come just for the sea food cuisine. We had a wonderful dinner sitting by a large window … Sherrill says that it was a ‘great’ dinner. During dinner, 3 kayakers passed by. We sure wished that we had our kayaks with us at this point. Between cups of coffee after dinner, Marina called out that there were some pilot whales passing nearby. There were 30-40 of them. After our 2nd cup of coffee, we headed to our room to just relax ,and to enjoy the peace and quiet of this special place.
Sherrill wants to stay up tonight to see the ‘midnight’ sun. We’ll have to see whether we do this or not because the horizon over the Lofotens has clouded in. At this latitude and time of year, the sun apparently is only out of sight behind the mountains for 10-15 minutes.
Friday, June 8, 2007
June 8 - Sakrisoy to Svolvaer
We were up for an early start today to begin our drive north to Svolvaer. We really enjoyed our stay at the rorbuer in Sakrisoy. What a neat experience to have.
This morning dawned with a few clouds and cool winds from the north, but still lots of sunshine.
As we traveled along E10, we stopped at Ballstad, a working port, and had a quick tour around there. We then went to the Lofotr Vikingmuseet at Borg. Here there was an impressive reconstruction of the largest chieftain house found dating back to the Viking Age. The longhouse includes a banquet hall, a living area and an exhibition area. The living area included a very early replica of a wood lathe that was operated by foot pedal attached to a cylinder and using a tensioned tree branch overhead. The museum also had a copy of the Godstad ship that docked just as we arrived with a group of school kids aboard doing the rowing.
Next stop was Stamsund for a quick look. This was one of the ports that we had stopped at when we were on the Nordlys (Hurtigruten). From here we wound along the shoreline road back to the main highway, and on to Henningsvaer. Most places were unfortunately closed (we are just a little bit ahead of the season), so we decided to push on to Svolvaer where are staying tonight.
This puts us one day ahead of our schedule, and that’s okay. We’ve decided to make the ferry crossing to Stukvik tomorrow, and instead of staying at Edvardushus, we will be staying at the Tranoy Lighthouse - Kystoppleveiser tomorrow night.
Dinner tonight was at “Borsen Spiseri”, a local fish restaurant. It is housed in an old warehouse that was built in 1825. The “catch of the day” was halibut and was delicious.
As we sit in our hotel room overlooking the harbour at Svolvaer, the skies are cloudless … amazing. And to add to our view, the Nordlys just sailed into port right on schedule as she heads back north to Kirkenes, just as she did when we were aboard.
Today is Ragnhild’s birthday … so Happy Birthday!
This morning dawned with a few clouds and cool winds from the north, but still lots of sunshine.
As we traveled along E10, we stopped at Ballstad, a working port, and had a quick tour around there. We then went to the Lofotr Vikingmuseet at Borg. Here there was an impressive reconstruction of the largest chieftain house found dating back to the Viking Age. The longhouse includes a banquet hall, a living area and an exhibition area. The living area included a very early replica of a wood lathe that was operated by foot pedal attached to a cylinder and using a tensioned tree branch overhead. The museum also had a copy of the Godstad ship that docked just as we arrived with a group of school kids aboard doing the rowing.
Next stop was Stamsund for a quick look. This was one of the ports that we had stopped at when we were on the Nordlys (Hurtigruten). From here we wound along the shoreline road back to the main highway, and on to Henningsvaer. Most places were unfortunately closed (we are just a little bit ahead of the season), so we decided to push on to Svolvaer where are staying tonight.
This puts us one day ahead of our schedule, and that’s okay. We’ve decided to make the ferry crossing to Stukvik tomorrow, and instead of staying at Edvardushus, we will be staying at the Tranoy Lighthouse - Kystoppleveiser tomorrow night.
Dinner tonight was at “Borsen Spiseri”, a local fish restaurant. It is housed in an old warehouse that was built in 1825. The “catch of the day” was halibut and was delicious.
As we sit in our hotel room overlooking the harbour at Svolvaer, the skies are cloudless … amazing. And to add to our view, the Nordlys just sailed into port right on schedule as she heads back north to Kirkenes, just as she did when we were aboard.
Today is Ragnhild’s birthday … so Happy Birthday!
June 7 - Moskensoya & Flakstadoya, Lofoten Islands
We’ve had an easy day today, as we headed out into the clear sunny skies. We enjoyed staying at the Sakrisoy Rorbua accommodation. After coffee and a Norwegian waffle, we headed to the local Co-op to pick up some groceries, i.e., food for lunches.
We nosed around Reine, taking a few pictures, then headed to A. We hiked out to a small headland so that we could look southwest towards the distant island clusters of Vaeroy and Rost. All but the mountain peaks were lost in fog. When the cold dry air moving south from the Norwegian Sea meets the warm moist air moving north from Vestfjorden, it creates sea fog that envelopes the lower elevations of these offshore islands. This same fog fingered into the numerous valleys across the Lofoten Islands.
We then drove north to Sund. This community is an old fishing hamlet with an interesting museum of old boat engines, some of which still run. Here, we watched a blacksmith craft small cormorants from steel using his forge, old presses and hammers.
Next stop was Nusfjord. This old village is being restored to preserve original construction customs. There is currently a mixture of buildings, some of which were used by fishermen during the winter fishing season over 100 years ago. Many of the buildings are still being renovated.
At Vitken, we visited a glass blowing and pottery studio. The architecture of both studios was quite modern and innovative. The glass art was indeed ‘art’. No two pieces were alike. The various shapes and colours were an amazing statement of creativity and design.
After quick stop at Nesland, we headed back to our rorbuer. Instead of going out for dinner, Sherrill cooked salmon, potatoes and veggies that we purchased at the nearby fish store. What a delightful feast!
Tonight, we’re doing postcards, and updating the trip log for the next time that we have access to internet. It is 23:00 and all is calm in the harbour outside our window as we head to bed.
We nosed around Reine, taking a few pictures, then headed to A. We hiked out to a small headland so that we could look southwest towards the distant island clusters of Vaeroy and Rost. All but the mountain peaks were lost in fog. When the cold dry air moving south from the Norwegian Sea meets the warm moist air moving north from Vestfjorden, it creates sea fog that envelopes the lower elevations of these offshore islands. This same fog fingered into the numerous valleys across the Lofoten Islands.
We then drove north to Sund. This community is an old fishing hamlet with an interesting museum of old boat engines, some of which still run. Here, we watched a blacksmith craft small cormorants from steel using his forge, old presses and hammers.
Next stop was Nusfjord. This old village is being restored to preserve original construction customs. There is currently a mixture of buildings, some of which were used by fishermen during the winter fishing season over 100 years ago. Many of the buildings are still being renovated.
At Vitken, we visited a glass blowing and pottery studio. The architecture of both studios was quite modern and innovative. The glass art was indeed ‘art’. No two pieces were alike. The various shapes and colours were an amazing statement of creativity and design.
After quick stop at Nesland, we headed back to our rorbuer. Instead of going out for dinner, Sherrill cooked salmon, potatoes and veggies that we purchased at the nearby fish store. What a delightful feast!
Tonight, we’re doing postcards, and updating the trip log for the next time that we have access to internet. It is 23:00 and all is calm in the harbour outside our window as we head to bed.
June 6 - Stokmarknes to A (Lofoten)
We wanted to catch a relatively early ferry across to the Lofoten Islands, so we were in good time so that we could first drive around the southwest end of Langoya. Although it was alittle hazy looking south into the sun, the distant Lofoten mountains looked impressive as we drove through the farmlands surroundings the margins of Hadseloya.
The Melbu to Fiskebol ferry had quite a roll, even though the seas were calm. We decided that it could be a really interesting ride on a rough day! The ferry is currently the only way for vehicular traffic to reach the Lofotens. By this fall, a new road should be completed which will make it easier to get on and off the islands, and no doubt, will increase the traffic on Lofoten‘s narrow twisting roads.
At Fiskebol, we immediately turned off the main highway, and headed west along the north shore of Austvagoya (the eastern-most district of the Lofotens) through Sanden, Delp, Laukvika, Matmora, Eidet and Vestpollen.
After seeing such a mountainous vista of the Lofotens on the horizon as we approached, we were surprised to find this part of the island to be so flat. There were numerous, prosperous looking farms just west of Fiskebol. As we headed west, the farming diminished, and the number of hyttes increased.
The view heading into Vestpollen was spectacular as we approached the snow-capped mountains of the Lofoten ‘wall’. John took a ‘couple’ of pictures here!
We reconnected with the main highway, E10, and had lunch overlooking the fjord just east of Leknes in the bright sun. We drove past Svolvaer, but having heard so much about Henningsvaer, we couldn’t resist stopping for a quick look, and you guessed it, more pictures. We eventually carried on through Leknes, and through a tunnel that passes under one of the many inter-island channels. Most of the Lofoten islands are interconnected by elegant sweeping bridges. As we approached Leknes, we were amazed to be driving down the axis of a broad, extensively farmed, valley several kilometres wide. Again, Lofoten is usually remembered for its spectacular mountains that rise 750 to over 1000 m above sea level. No one ever mentions the farming, and the sheep.
As we drove, we could see that the large fog bank from the Norwegian Sea to the north was pushing its way into the valleys and fjords of Lofoten. In places, the fog flowed over and around the hills and fingered down the valleys, leaving the mountain tops in the brilliant sunshine above.
We made another quick stop at Sund, a small fishing village; the lighting was good.
Everywhere we looked, there was rack after rack (fish flakes) loaded with drying cod (stockfish). The Lofotens apparently supply 85% of the world’s market for stockfish, much of which goes to Italy. The cod which is caught during the winter season is dried in racks for 2-3 months before being stacked on pallets. The climate is surprisingly dry here so perfect for this process which has been practised since the early days of Viking exploration.
We arrived at A, the end of the twisting, cliff-hugging road down the length of the Lofotens. We were tired, particularly our eyes, because had seen so much marvellous scenery today. It was almost too much to take in. There was WOW scenery at every corner!
We managed enough rational thought and decision-making to pick a nice rorbua at Sakrisoy, just north of Reine. A ‘rorbua’ (ror = rowing a fishing boat; bu = to live or stay) is the name for accommodation used by fishermen during the 1800’s when they came from all over to fish the waters around the Lofotens. Today, many of the old rorbua have been rebuilt for tourist accommodation.
We had supper in Hamnoy. Sherrill had a ‘large’ plate of ‘large’ cod tongues (dedicated to Sue). John had a traditional Norwegian dinner called Boknafisk (reconstituted ‘klipfish’ (partially dried for only two weeks), boiled with potatoes, carrots, etc.). Dessert was another traditional dish … tapioca pudding with chocolate, ice cream and berry sauce. We both rolled home to bed in the blazing midnight sun.
The Melbu to Fiskebol ferry had quite a roll, even though the seas were calm. We decided that it could be a really interesting ride on a rough day! The ferry is currently the only way for vehicular traffic to reach the Lofotens. By this fall, a new road should be completed which will make it easier to get on and off the islands, and no doubt, will increase the traffic on Lofoten‘s narrow twisting roads.
At Fiskebol, we immediately turned off the main highway, and headed west along the north shore of Austvagoya (the eastern-most district of the Lofotens) through Sanden, Delp, Laukvika, Matmora, Eidet and Vestpollen.
After seeing such a mountainous vista of the Lofotens on the horizon as we approached, we were surprised to find this part of the island to be so flat. There were numerous, prosperous looking farms just west of Fiskebol. As we headed west, the farming diminished, and the number of hyttes increased.
The view heading into Vestpollen was spectacular as we approached the snow-capped mountains of the Lofoten ‘wall’. John took a ‘couple’ of pictures here!
We reconnected with the main highway, E10, and had lunch overlooking the fjord just east of Leknes in the bright sun. We drove past Svolvaer, but having heard so much about Henningsvaer, we couldn’t resist stopping for a quick look, and you guessed it, more pictures. We eventually carried on through Leknes, and through a tunnel that passes under one of the many inter-island channels. Most of the Lofoten islands are interconnected by elegant sweeping bridges. As we approached Leknes, we were amazed to be driving down the axis of a broad, extensively farmed, valley several kilometres wide. Again, Lofoten is usually remembered for its spectacular mountains that rise 750 to over 1000 m above sea level. No one ever mentions the farming, and the sheep.
As we drove, we could see that the large fog bank from the Norwegian Sea to the north was pushing its way into the valleys and fjords of Lofoten. In places, the fog flowed over and around the hills and fingered down the valleys, leaving the mountain tops in the brilliant sunshine above.
We made another quick stop at Sund, a small fishing village; the lighting was good.
Everywhere we looked, there was rack after rack (fish flakes) loaded with drying cod (stockfish). The Lofotens apparently supply 85% of the world’s market for stockfish, much of which goes to Italy. The cod which is caught during the winter season is dried in racks for 2-3 months before being stacked on pallets. The climate is surprisingly dry here so perfect for this process which has been practised since the early days of Viking exploration.
We arrived at A, the end of the twisting, cliff-hugging road down the length of the Lofotens. We were tired, particularly our eyes, because had seen so much marvellous scenery today. It was almost too much to take in. There was WOW scenery at every corner!
We managed enough rational thought and decision-making to pick a nice rorbua at Sakrisoy, just north of Reine. A ‘rorbua’ (ror = rowing a fishing boat; bu = to live or stay) is the name for accommodation used by fishermen during the 1800’s when they came from all over to fish the waters around the Lofotens. Today, many of the old rorbua have been rebuilt for tourist accommodation.
We had supper in Hamnoy. Sherrill had a ‘large’ plate of ‘large’ cod tongues (dedicated to Sue). John had a traditional Norwegian dinner called Boknafisk (reconstituted ‘klipfish’ (partially dried for only two weeks), boiled with potatoes, carrots, etc.). Dessert was another traditional dish … tapioca pudding with chocolate, ice cream and berry sauce. We both rolled home to bed in the blazing midnight sun.
June 5 - Harstad to Stokmarknes (Vesteralen)
From Harstad, we continued west along Highway 83, travelling through beautifully rolling countryside with many farms. We took the ferry from Reynes to Flesnes to cross Gullesfjorden. We eventually rejoined E10, and crossed another impressive bridge to Sortland on Hadsefjorden. We had stopped here on our journey north aboard the Hurtigruten.
Our plan for today was to visit Vesteralen, or specifically Langoya. Somewhere along the way, we had been led to believe that the countryside here would be relatively flat, and not as interesting as the Lofoten Islands. We must not have heard right. While the mountain elevations are only 450 to 750 m, the snow-capped mountains were quite impressive poking through the clouds into the sunlight.
With our map in hand, we explored along several roads off the main highway, e.g.,
- from Froskeland north to Myre, and then to Nyksund and Sto
- from Krakberget north to Utskor
- from Rise north to Malnes, Nykvag and Hovden
Nyksund is an abandoned fishing village that is attempting to come back as a possible tourist and summer destination. As in Newfoundland (circa 1958 - 1962), there was a government relocation program here in 1970 to close outports, and move people to centralized population centres. Nyksund was abandoned at this time. The 35+ years since then has not been kind to many of the buildings. It’s a relatively long drive into Nyksund along a narrow gravel road, and the reconstruction has struggled due to the lack of funds. It will likely be a few year before Nyksund is fully restored.
Sto is a distinctive fishing village located at the northern tip of one of the many peninsulas on Langoya. On one of the distant islands, an old lighthouse can be seen. We ate lunch by the old church, looking out over the turquoise sea past beautiful white sandy beaches and rocky skerries.
Utskor was another abandoned fishing village that has been reoccupied by summer residents. On the way into Utskor, we drove past an active plant after winding our way up and down through a twisting mountain pass. We’ve driven by many such plants, and all seem to be well kept and active, likely associated with salmon farming and the winter cod fishery. It’s great to see so much employment coming from the sea after so many generations of fishing. Apparently, Norway has severely regulated their fishing for many years to ensure the future viability of this industry.
Hovden was another active fishing community with thousands of cod drying on the racks.
Further west, we found more white sandy beaches near Straume, and many small farms. When we couldn’t find the ferry marked on the map from Guvag to Stokmarknes, we then retraced our steps around Langoya to Sortland, and on to Stomarknes. Here, we crashed for the night in a relatively expensive, but very average hotel, the only one in town. Our dinner aboard an old whaling ship was also interesting, i.e., we had our first taste of stockfish (reconstituted dried cod).
Overall, we were very impressed by the rugged beauty of the northern shores of Langoya. The mountains poking through the clouds, the white sandy beaches and turquoise inshore waters, the abandoned outports, the fish farming and numerous active flakes, the farms in the valleys and along some shorelines, and the sheep were some of the day’s highlights.
Our plan for today was to visit Vesteralen, or specifically Langoya. Somewhere along the way, we had been led to believe that the countryside here would be relatively flat, and not as interesting as the Lofoten Islands. We must not have heard right. While the mountain elevations are only 450 to 750 m, the snow-capped mountains were quite impressive poking through the clouds into the sunlight.
With our map in hand, we explored along several roads off the main highway, e.g.,
- from Froskeland north to Myre, and then to Nyksund and Sto
- from Krakberget north to Utskor
- from Rise north to Malnes, Nykvag and Hovden
Nyksund is an abandoned fishing village that is attempting to come back as a possible tourist and summer destination. As in Newfoundland (circa 1958 - 1962), there was a government relocation program here in 1970 to close outports, and move people to centralized population centres. Nyksund was abandoned at this time. The 35+ years since then has not been kind to many of the buildings. It’s a relatively long drive into Nyksund along a narrow gravel road, and the reconstruction has struggled due to the lack of funds. It will likely be a few year before Nyksund is fully restored.
Sto is a distinctive fishing village located at the northern tip of one of the many peninsulas on Langoya. On one of the distant islands, an old lighthouse can be seen. We ate lunch by the old church, looking out over the turquoise sea past beautiful white sandy beaches and rocky skerries.
Utskor was another abandoned fishing village that has been reoccupied by summer residents. On the way into Utskor, we drove past an active plant after winding our way up and down through a twisting mountain pass. We’ve driven by many such plants, and all seem to be well kept and active, likely associated with salmon farming and the winter cod fishery. It’s great to see so much employment coming from the sea after so many generations of fishing. Apparently, Norway has severely regulated their fishing for many years to ensure the future viability of this industry.
Hovden was another active fishing community with thousands of cod drying on the racks.
Further west, we found more white sandy beaches near Straume, and many small farms. When we couldn’t find the ferry marked on the map from Guvag to Stokmarknes, we then retraced our steps around Langoya to Sortland, and on to Stomarknes. Here, we crashed for the night in a relatively expensive, but very average hotel, the only one in town. Our dinner aboard an old whaling ship was also interesting, i.e., we had our first taste of stockfish (reconstituted dried cod).
Overall, we were very impressed by the rugged beauty of the northern shores of Langoya. The mountains poking through the clouds, the white sandy beaches and turquoise inshore waters, the abandoned outports, the fish farming and numerous active flakes, the farms in the valleys and along some shorelines, and the sheep were some of the day’s highlights.
Monday, June 4, 2007
June 4 - Tromso to Harstad
We were up in good time for breakfast at 0700, then checked out of the Amalie Hotel. It was a comfortable place to stay right in the centre of Tromso and near the water front.
Our first quick stop was to the clinic at the university. Sherrill had a tumble at Nord Kapp last Thursday, scraping and bruising her left side. When she woke yesterday, her ribs felt more painful, and then again today. After seeing a doctor, he confirmed that she injured a rib, and that it would take time to mend itself. Sherrill is fine, but it is uncomfortable for her to laugh or cough … she is still comfortable eating ice cream though!
We were headed out of Tromso by 0940, and arrived in Harstad by mid-afternoon, just in time to catch the information centre before they closed (still not on summer hours until mid-June).
The roads south along E8, E6 and 83 were excellent. As we headed out of Tromso, we left behind vistas of snow-capped mountains with calm, blue fjord waters with abstract reflections. The fjord views were soon replaced with more spectacular mountains (1200 - 1500 m) with green valley bottoms. In the bottom of the valleys, most of the small birch trees are in full leaf. With backlighting, the lime green of the new spring leaves was pretty. As we gained elevation, we eventually reached the tree-line where the even smaller birch trees were only beginning to bud. Above this level, there was still lots of snow.
We found another great lunch spot. This time we sat at a quiet roadside picnic area alongside a pretty river lined with newly leafed birch trees, and of course, snow-capped mountains beyond. All through this area, we saw many military vehicles that were obviously involved in manoeuvres.
The view looking downward and seaward along Grafengen Fjord was particularly beautiful, from the snow-capped mountains to the farm lands around the shorelines to the sparkling blue waters of the fjord. The vista coming down the hill towards Evenskjer and Steinsland was also great.
Finding things to take pictures of is not the challenge, but finding safe places to stop is. The roads typically have no shoulders, and road-side pull-offs at the right point are few. Sherrill often drops John off along the road so that he can scramble around trying to find a location for a good shot. Meanwhile, Sherrill drives ahead to find safe place to turn around. John then tries to dive back into the car as Sherrill comes flying back. We’re sure that you can visualize this somewhat comical routine. We wonder what the Norwegians think!
Before settling in to a Harstad Hotel for the night, we stopped at Trondenes Kirke. It is a stone structure that dates from around 1250 when it replaced the original wood structure that was build one hundred years earlier.
When we left Tromso this morning it was cloudy but as we headed south, we drove back into clear sunny skies and shirt sleeve temperatures. We are lucky indeed!
Our first quick stop was to the clinic at the university. Sherrill had a tumble at Nord Kapp last Thursday, scraping and bruising her left side. When she woke yesterday, her ribs felt more painful, and then again today. After seeing a doctor, he confirmed that she injured a rib, and that it would take time to mend itself. Sherrill is fine, but it is uncomfortable for her to laugh or cough … she is still comfortable eating ice cream though!
We were headed out of Tromso by 0940, and arrived in Harstad by mid-afternoon, just in time to catch the information centre before they closed (still not on summer hours until mid-June).
The roads south along E8, E6 and 83 were excellent. As we headed out of Tromso, we left behind vistas of snow-capped mountains with calm, blue fjord waters with abstract reflections. The fjord views were soon replaced with more spectacular mountains (1200 - 1500 m) with green valley bottoms. In the bottom of the valleys, most of the small birch trees are in full leaf. With backlighting, the lime green of the new spring leaves was pretty. As we gained elevation, we eventually reached the tree-line where the even smaller birch trees were only beginning to bud. Above this level, there was still lots of snow.
We found another great lunch spot. This time we sat at a quiet roadside picnic area alongside a pretty river lined with newly leafed birch trees, and of course, snow-capped mountains beyond. All through this area, we saw many military vehicles that were obviously involved in manoeuvres.
The view looking downward and seaward along Grafengen Fjord was particularly beautiful, from the snow-capped mountains to the farm lands around the shorelines to the sparkling blue waters of the fjord. The vista coming down the hill towards Evenskjer and Steinsland was also great.
Finding things to take pictures of is not the challenge, but finding safe places to stop is. The roads typically have no shoulders, and road-side pull-offs at the right point are few. Sherrill often drops John off along the road so that he can scramble around trying to find a location for a good shot. Meanwhile, Sherrill drives ahead to find safe place to turn around. John then tries to dive back into the car as Sherrill comes flying back. We’re sure that you can visualize this somewhat comical routine. We wonder what the Norwegians think!
Before settling in to a Harstad Hotel for the night, we stopped at Trondenes Kirke. It is a stone structure that dates from around 1250 when it replaced the original wood structure that was build one hundred years earlier.
When we left Tromso this morning it was cloudy but as we headed south, we drove back into clear sunny skies and shirt sleeve temperatures. We are lucky indeed!
June 3 - Lyngen Alps
Headed south out of Tromso on Highway E8 to Fagernes, and across to Breivikeidet on Highway 91, a broad u-shaped valley with many hanging valleys and waterfalls. We crossed Ullsfjorden by ferry, and drove along the north shore of the steep-sided fjord called Kjosen. After stopping for photos, we arrived in Lyngseidet just in time to see our next ferry head off around the corner across Storfjorden.
With some available time until the next ferry, we explored north along a small road to the community of Koppangen. What a beautiful little spot nestled at the head of cove with the snow-capped Lyngen Alps as a backdrop.
The ferry crossing to Olderdalen was uneventful … quite calm, and a bit overcast. Behind us, the Lyngen Alps rose up through the haze created by high cirrus clouds (i.e., not the best lighting to capture these mountains). We drove south along the east shore of Storfjorden on Highway E8. We found a lovely lunch spot along the shoreline, perched on a knob of rock. The north - south view to the west was the Lyngen Alps rising 1500 - 1833 m above sea level.
We reached the end of the fjord, then traveled inland to Nordkjosbotn on E6, then back to Tromso along E8, paralleling Balsfjorden. Beautiful snow-capped mountains (800 - 1400 m), and lush green fields and birch forest lined valley bottoms and shorelines.
After dinner and checking e-mails, we headed to bed relatively early.
With some available time until the next ferry, we explored north along a small road to the community of Koppangen. What a beautiful little spot nestled at the head of cove with the snow-capped Lyngen Alps as a backdrop.
The ferry crossing to Olderdalen was uneventful … quite calm, and a bit overcast. Behind us, the Lyngen Alps rose up through the haze created by high cirrus clouds (i.e., not the best lighting to capture these mountains). We drove south along the east shore of Storfjorden on Highway E8. We found a lovely lunch spot along the shoreline, perched on a knob of rock. The north - south view to the west was the Lyngen Alps rising 1500 - 1833 m above sea level.
We reached the end of the fjord, then traveled inland to Nordkjosbotn on E6, then back to Tromso along E8, paralleling Balsfjorden. Beautiful snow-capped mountains (800 - 1400 m), and lush green fields and birch forest lined valley bottoms and shorelines.
After dinner and checking e-mails, we headed to bed relatively early.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
June 2 - Sommaroy & Gratfjord, Tromso Area
Another day of hardship … bright sunshine and shirt-sleeve temperatures. We had a good breakfast at the hotel, then headed south around the end of Tromso Island and over towards the airport. On the way, we saw dozens of kayakers from the local club getting ready to launch onto the calm waters of Sandnessundet (west side of Tromso). Our destination was Sommaroy on the island of Kvaloya. Here there were wonderful sandy beaches made up mostly of broken shells, and lots of summer hyttes along the shorelines. With the great weather, it seemed that everyone was out to their hyttes, opening them up and airing things out. There were also many people camping or picnicking along the shores. As we drove through some passes, we saw diehards getting their packs ready to climb upwards to do some skiing.
We eventually ended up at Gratfjord via Tromvik. Here, we dozed in the sun, and simply enjoyed the quiet, and the mountain - fjord scenery.
Many of the areas around the fjord shores are used for subsistence farming, and hyttes. It seems that everyone must have a hytte, and this is where they head for quiet times with family during weekends and holidays. The hyttes are neat and well maintained. Some appear to be very old, while others are quite new. There are lots of small boats, but the focus is clearly on recreation, i.e., there is no inshore fishery and the type of boats that normally go with this kind of fishing. When you see a fishing boat, it is a large trawler, capable of going a long way offshore for extended periods. One thing that is not clear to us is where everyone works, and at what, to support the kind of rural housing that we’ve seen all along the coast. We’ll have to ask.
We eventually ended up at Gratfjord via Tromvik. Here, we dozed in the sun, and simply enjoyed the quiet, and the mountain - fjord scenery.
Many of the areas around the fjord shores are used for subsistence farming, and hyttes. It seems that everyone must have a hytte, and this is where they head for quiet times with family during weekends and holidays. The hyttes are neat and well maintained. Some appear to be very old, while others are quite new. There are lots of small boats, but the focus is clearly on recreation, i.e., there is no inshore fishery and the type of boats that normally go with this kind of fishing. When you see a fishing boat, it is a large trawler, capable of going a long way offshore for extended periods. One thing that is not clear to us is where everyone works, and at what, to support the kind of rural housing that we’ve seen all along the coast. We’ll have to ask.
Friday, June 1, 2007
June 1 - Kirkenes to Tromso
We awoke to a very different day. It was still alittle cool, 90, but broken cloud with sunshine, and the winds were gentle.
After revisiting some of the local overlooks, and photographing the odd reindeer, we made our way to the airport which is just a few kilometres east of Kirkenes along Highway E6. We boarded our 70 minutes flight to Tromso alittle after noon, and headed southwards under almost clear skies. As we neared Tromso, we flew over the Lyng Alps with peaks ranging from 1300 to 1833 m above sea level. The weather over Tromso was cloudless! What a sight!
We visited Hertz at the Tromso airport, and picked up our rental car for the next 3 weeks, a Skoda Roomster 5D (diesel); something new for us. With a quick check of the city map, we headed across Tromso island and crossed the bridge to the east side of the fjord without major mishap. From here, we went up Fjellheisen, the local cable car, which overlooks the city and area from an elevation of 420 m. The skies were clear and sunny, and the winds cool, but gentle. Wow, what a sight! There were half a dozen para-gliders soaring by above the edges of the cliff.
We found the Amalie Hotel in downtown Tromso with no problem, and checked in late afternoon. After a short walk around the downtown area, we had a light dinner at the hotel, then went searching for some ice cream. With the bright sun in the early evening, it felt like we should be doing more, but one has to remember that bright sunshine doesn`t necessarily mean `daytime`, i.e., it could mean bedtime. So, we headed back to the hotel to catch up on our trip notes. We haven`t had consistent access to the internet since leaving Oslo, so we upload our notes when we can.
Its now 2300, and it is still bright outside, but to bed.
After revisiting some of the local overlooks, and photographing the odd reindeer, we made our way to the airport which is just a few kilometres east of Kirkenes along Highway E6. We boarded our 70 minutes flight to Tromso alittle after noon, and headed southwards under almost clear skies. As we neared Tromso, we flew over the Lyng Alps with peaks ranging from 1300 to 1833 m above sea level. The weather over Tromso was cloudless! What a sight!
We visited Hertz at the Tromso airport, and picked up our rental car for the next 3 weeks, a Skoda Roomster 5D (diesel); something new for us. With a quick check of the city map, we headed across Tromso island and crossed the bridge to the east side of the fjord without major mishap. From here, we went up Fjellheisen, the local cable car, which overlooks the city and area from an elevation of 420 m. The skies were clear and sunny, and the winds cool, but gentle. Wow, what a sight! There were half a dozen para-gliders soaring by above the edges of the cliff.
We found the Amalie Hotel in downtown Tromso with no problem, and checked in late afternoon. After a short walk around the downtown area, we had a light dinner at the hotel, then went searching for some ice cream. With the bright sun in the early evening, it felt like we should be doing more, but one has to remember that bright sunshine doesn`t necessarily mean `daytime`, i.e., it could mean bedtime. So, we headed back to the hotel to catch up on our trip notes. We haven`t had consistent access to the internet since leaving Oslo, so we upload our notes when we can.
Its now 2300, and it is still bright outside, but to bed.
May 31 - Berlevag, Batsfjord, Vardo, Vadso, Kirkenes
We slept well, but did manage to peak out the window from time to time to see which port had made. At Vardo, in the low sunlight, Sherrill went out on deck, with clothes on over her PJ’s, to photograph some of the sights. Vardo played an important part in NATO’s early warning defences during the Cold War. Fishing and fish processing are the town’s staple industries.
We carried on under darkening skies, and increasingly cold northerly winds, arriving in Kirkenes at 1000. This was the end of our Hurtigruten trip. The trip north was wonderful!! It is difficult to find the words to describe the sights during the voyage, and we’re not sure that our photographic images will adequately depict what we saw. However, we have lots of beautiful mental images.
How cold was it in Kirkenes? It was +30 and the wind was just howling. The sea was awash with white caps and spray. It was COLD!!! Thankfully, Europcar met us at the dock with our black VW Polo rental car (clunker). While checking out some of the local lookout points, we were introduced to some of the indigenous population of Kirkenes who were grazing along the roadsides, and who were found periodically crossing the streets. It was surprising to see so many reindeer in town; it reminded us of the elk in Banff and Jasper. We checked into the Rica Hotel which sits up on the hill overlooking the town and the fjord. In the past iron ore was the financial cornerstone of Kirkenes, but this ended in 1996. In 1944, when the town was destroyed by the retreating German army, the 2000 residents sought refuge in the nearby mine shafts.
From here, we traveled south, then east along Highway E105 towards Murmansk. After reading the signs at the Russian boarder, we stopped there, and no further east. Its fascinating to stand so close to the Russian border thinking about current and past relationships, and how much tension the border creates. There were numerous signs with warnings about not randomly crossing the border, and not taking photographs into Russia or of the border entry points with 200 mm or longer lenses. In several instances, the Norwegian - Russian border was right along side on which we were driving, i.e., step out of the car and into the ditch, or into a boat, and you were in Russia.
The landscape in the area east of Kirkenes was hard and harsh. Any trees were small stunted, twisted birch. There was lots of snow, and rocky cliffs. Many of the lakes were still frozen. Spring has not yet arrived.
We drove south along Highway E6 to the small town of Neiden where crossed raging set of rapids in the Munkelva River and visited a stave church.
To end our day, we savoured a dinner of local salmon in the hotel dinner room overlooking the town of Kirkenes.
We carried on under darkening skies, and increasingly cold northerly winds, arriving in Kirkenes at 1000. This was the end of our Hurtigruten trip. The trip north was wonderful!! It is difficult to find the words to describe the sights during the voyage, and we’re not sure that our photographic images will adequately depict what we saw. However, we have lots of beautiful mental images.
How cold was it in Kirkenes? It was +30 and the wind was just howling. The sea was awash with white caps and spray. It was COLD!!! Thankfully, Europcar met us at the dock with our black VW Polo rental car (clunker). While checking out some of the local lookout points, we were introduced to some of the indigenous population of Kirkenes who were grazing along the roadsides, and who were found periodically crossing the streets. It was surprising to see so many reindeer in town; it reminded us of the elk in Banff and Jasper. We checked into the Rica Hotel which sits up on the hill overlooking the town and the fjord. In the past iron ore was the financial cornerstone of Kirkenes, but this ended in 1996. In 1944, when the town was destroyed by the retreating German army, the 2000 residents sought refuge in the nearby mine shafts.
From here, we traveled south, then east along Highway E105 towards Murmansk. After reading the signs at the Russian boarder, we stopped there, and no further east. Its fascinating to stand so close to the Russian border thinking about current and past relationships, and how much tension the border creates. There were numerous signs with warnings about not randomly crossing the border, and not taking photographs into Russia or of the border entry points with 200 mm or longer lenses. In several instances, the Norwegian - Russian border was right along side on which we were driving, i.e., step out of the car and into the ditch, or into a boat, and you were in Russia.
The landscape in the area east of Kirkenes was hard and harsh. Any trees were small stunted, twisted birch. There was lots of snow, and rocky cliffs. Many of the lakes were still frozen. Spring has not yet arrived.
We drove south along Highway E6 to the small town of Neiden where crossed raging set of rapids in the Munkelva River and visited a stave church.
To end our day, we savoured a dinner of local salmon in the hotel dinner room overlooking the town of Kirkenes.
May 30 - Hammerfest, Havoysund, Honningsvag, Nordkapp, Mehamn
Hammerfest was our first port of call this morning. We didn’t stop long enough to go exploring but we did find out that it has long been considered one of the most northerly towns at 700 39’ 48” … on a par with the northernmost point of Alaska and the centre of Greenland. Hammerfest has the Gulf Stream though so it has been a thriving fishing port over the years. Currently, local hopes are pinned to the oil and gas industry. To the northwest is the oilfield of Snovit and the gas fields of Albatross and Askeladden. Eventually oil and gas will be transported by sea to customers in mainland Europe.
The highlight of this day was our arrival at Honningsvag, the capital of the North Cape. It is fairly small with about 2500 inhabitants. With its excellent harbour, 4000 to 5000 ships call at Honnigsvag each year. They of course bring trade and industry to the area. As with many villages and towns in northern Norway, they were left razed when the Germans retreated at the end of the Second World War. In Honnigsvag, only the church remained. Apparently the German General there had a particular fondness for the organ in the church as he used to play on it.
The excursion from the ship on this day was to Nordkapp or the North Cape. As we travelled by bus, we climbed constantly and while en route crossed over the 71st parrallel, past an airport, a camp site, a youth hostel and a Sami camp. There were beautiful views of the fjords around the cape area and we were extra fortunate as we had brilliant sunshine and a relatively warm day. Our guide made certain that we knew how lucky we were telling us that a few days earlier it has snowed!
Nordkapp was given its name by Richard Chancellor, a British seafarer who in 1553, was searching north of Siberia for the Northwest Passage to India. The plateau, which is marked by a large globe statue, rises 307 m above sea level so the view from there is spectacular. North Cape is just over 2000 km from the North Pole and is Europe’s most northerly point of land. At Nordkapp Hall, there was an excellent widescreen video showing the four seasons at the cape.
A highlight of this excursion was seeing numerous reindeer grazing on the sub-Arctic landscape at the side of the road. Didn’t see Rudolph though, but wondered whether or not we had seen Prancer and Dancer!
We stopped at a Sami camp where we saw Sami’s in their traditional clothing, and examples of their tepee-like shelters which are used when they travel.
As the day ended, our weather began to change. The winds swung around to the north, and got very cold. Dark clouds scudded across previously sunny skies. Dinner was spent once again with our table-mates, Yvonne and Heintz. Conversation in French - German - English has been a challenge at times, but lots of fun too … thank goodness Heintz spoke enough English to help us through some of the translations.
The evening ended with a request from the crew for us to go out on deck, white towels in hand, to salute one of the south-bound sister-ships as she went by. The passengers on the other ship did the same. We headed to bed and to sleep as the ship rolled back and forth.
The highlight of this day was our arrival at Honningsvag, the capital of the North Cape. It is fairly small with about 2500 inhabitants. With its excellent harbour, 4000 to 5000 ships call at Honnigsvag each year. They of course bring trade and industry to the area. As with many villages and towns in northern Norway, they were left razed when the Germans retreated at the end of the Second World War. In Honnigsvag, only the church remained. Apparently the German General there had a particular fondness for the organ in the church as he used to play on it.
The excursion from the ship on this day was to Nordkapp or the North Cape. As we travelled by bus, we climbed constantly and while en route crossed over the 71st parrallel, past an airport, a camp site, a youth hostel and a Sami camp. There were beautiful views of the fjords around the cape area and we were extra fortunate as we had brilliant sunshine and a relatively warm day. Our guide made certain that we knew how lucky we were telling us that a few days earlier it has snowed!
Nordkapp was given its name by Richard Chancellor, a British seafarer who in 1553, was searching north of Siberia for the Northwest Passage to India. The plateau, which is marked by a large globe statue, rises 307 m above sea level so the view from there is spectacular. North Cape is just over 2000 km from the North Pole and is Europe’s most northerly point of land. At Nordkapp Hall, there was an excellent widescreen video showing the four seasons at the cape.
A highlight of this excursion was seeing numerous reindeer grazing on the sub-Arctic landscape at the side of the road. Didn’t see Rudolph though, but wondered whether or not we had seen Prancer and Dancer!
We stopped at a Sami camp where we saw Sami’s in their traditional clothing, and examples of their tepee-like shelters which are used when they travel.
As the day ended, our weather began to change. The winds swung around to the north, and got very cold. Dark clouds scudded across previously sunny skies. Dinner was spent once again with our table-mates, Yvonne and Heintz. Conversation in French - German - English has been a challenge at times, but lots of fun too … thank goodness Heintz spoke enough English to help us through some of the translations.
The evening ended with a request from the crew for us to go out on deck, white towels in hand, to salute one of the south-bound sister-ships as she went by. The passengers on the other ship did the same. We headed to bed and to sleep as the ship rolled back and forth.
May 29 - Harstad, Skjervoy, Tromso
We have discovered on this trip that it is sometimes difficult to get your sleep! There are just too many things to see, even at night because it is daylight all the time now. One doesn’t want to miss seeing anything that we are sailing by.
After waking up a few times in the night to peek out our window, we got up for the day around 06:30 as we docked in Harstad. This is a town of 23,000 inhabitants. It is located near Norway’s largest cluster of islands. In the past it flourished with the harvesting of herring. Now, the sea still provides much activity to the town but the fertile farming communities to the west and north also provide produce-based products to the economy. It is known for growing some of the northernmost strawberries that are apparently very flavourful when harvested in August. Our stop here was not too long so we did our looking from the ship. As we sailed out of the harbour we were able to see the Trondenes Church dating from around 1250. It was probably the most important Roman Cathoic Church in northern Norway.
Mid-morning on board the ship, the crew held a “Polar Baptism” for anyone who was crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time. It was quite a bit of fun as you can imagine. Held on the open deck at the stern of the ship, King Neptune paid a visit and then the crew set about ladling cold water with ice cubes over each participant’s neck, making sure some got past the collar! This was followed with a wee drink of schnapps and later certificates delivered to our doors. Since this was Sherrill’s first crossing of the Arctic Circle, she had to bow to the wishes of King Neptune … b-r-r-r-r! Meanwhile, John enjoyed this photo op.
Throughout the morning, we passed scenic islands, hearing about bits of their history as we made our way to Tromso. We docked in Tromso about 12:00 and headed off on our tour of the city. Our first stop was to Polaria, an adventure centre with Arctic, Antarctic and Barents Sea themes. It was very well done with a marvellous wide-screen video presentation about Sptizbergen. A real treat was seeing some several bearded seals work with their trainers. As the bus drove us through several parts of the city, we felt that Tromso has a really interesting feel about it. It has quaint parts, cosmopolitan aspects with its university and students, and also some new parts that were exciting and inspiring. The Arctic cathedral, our last stop, is an example of the “new”. It is designed to symbolize the dark period and the northern lights. As we looked at it in the sunlight, it was difficult to imagine that each year Tromso is in darkness for about 3 months. We were treated to some wonderful organ music while in the cathedral too. All in all, we found Tromso fascinating and look forward to exploring further in a few days time on our return.
Our day was topped off with a feast of reindeer at dinner on board the ship. We had been served this on two occasions since arriving in Norway and it is delicious. We perhaps haven’t mentioned the meals on the Hurtigruten, but they have been good and something new each day…not to mention the wonderful array of breads and cheeses.
This night, as we headed to bed, it wasn’t dark at all!!! The sun didn’t dip below the horizon ... it truly is the time of the midnight sun.
After waking up a few times in the night to peek out our window, we got up for the day around 06:30 as we docked in Harstad. This is a town of 23,000 inhabitants. It is located near Norway’s largest cluster of islands. In the past it flourished with the harvesting of herring. Now, the sea still provides much activity to the town but the fertile farming communities to the west and north also provide produce-based products to the economy. It is known for growing some of the northernmost strawberries that are apparently very flavourful when harvested in August. Our stop here was not too long so we did our looking from the ship. As we sailed out of the harbour we were able to see the Trondenes Church dating from around 1250. It was probably the most important Roman Cathoic Church in northern Norway.
Mid-morning on board the ship, the crew held a “Polar Baptism” for anyone who was crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time. It was quite a bit of fun as you can imagine. Held on the open deck at the stern of the ship, King Neptune paid a visit and then the crew set about ladling cold water with ice cubes over each participant’s neck, making sure some got past the collar! This was followed with a wee drink of schnapps and later certificates delivered to our doors. Since this was Sherrill’s first crossing of the Arctic Circle, she had to bow to the wishes of King Neptune … b-r-r-r-r! Meanwhile, John enjoyed this photo op.
Throughout the morning, we passed scenic islands, hearing about bits of their history as we made our way to Tromso. We docked in Tromso about 12:00 and headed off on our tour of the city. Our first stop was to Polaria, an adventure centre with Arctic, Antarctic and Barents Sea themes. It was very well done with a marvellous wide-screen video presentation about Sptizbergen. A real treat was seeing some several bearded seals work with their trainers. As the bus drove us through several parts of the city, we felt that Tromso has a really interesting feel about it. It has quaint parts, cosmopolitan aspects with its university and students, and also some new parts that were exciting and inspiring. The Arctic cathedral, our last stop, is an example of the “new”. It is designed to symbolize the dark period and the northern lights. As we looked at it in the sunlight, it was difficult to imagine that each year Tromso is in darkness for about 3 months. We were treated to some wonderful organ music while in the cathedral too. All in all, we found Tromso fascinating and look forward to exploring further in a few days time on our return.
Our day was topped off with a feast of reindeer at dinner on board the ship. We had been served this on two occasions since arriving in Norway and it is delicious. We perhaps haven’t mentioned the meals on the Hurtigruten, but they have been good and something new each day…not to mention the wonderful array of breads and cheeses.
This night, as we headed to bed, it wasn’t dark at all!!! The sun didn’t dip below the horizon ... it truly is the time of the midnight sun.
May 28 - Bronnoysund, Sandenessjoen, Nesna, Ornes, Bodo, Stamsund, Svolver
Since we were still up at midnight, we stayed up to see the island of Torget and the town of Bronnoysund. The ship nosed into the narrow channel shortly after midnight, and then prompty did a 360 degree turn within its length so that it could parallel park with the port side to the dock. Once passengers and cargo were exchanged, we did another 360 turn and headed north across Vegafjorden.
Sunrise was about 0200, so it only out of sight beyond the distant clouds and islands for a few hours. It was more that twilight all night long, i.e., it never really got dark.
We arrived in Sandnessjoen at 0340 and Nesna at 0525. All along the coast are snow capped peaks that range from 600 to over 1100 metres above sea level. About an hour before reaching Ornes, we transferred the passengers that were taking the Svartisen Glacier excursion to a Fjord 1 catamaran.
At 0728, we crossed the Arctic Circle near Hestmann Island. We arrived at Ornes at 0900. As we passed the area with the Svartisen Glacier, the snow-capped peaks to the east rose to 1600 metres.
From here, we snaked our way around islands, and through channels, again passing many impressive peaks until we reached Bodo at 1230. We could see Lofoten in the distance to the north, still 4 hours away by ship.
After a short walk around Bodo to stretch our legs, we headed back to ship to download images, and try checking e-mail.
After leaving Bodo, we charged into strong cold headwinds as we rounded Landegode (803 m) and the lighthouse on its northern corner, and headed north-north-west towards Lofotveggen, a ‘wall’ of rock formed by a prominent chain of islands that rise up to 1000 metres along a length of about 60 km. The Steigen Mountains are to the northeast.
After crossing Vestfjorden, we had brief stops at Stamsund and Svolvaer with the spectacular Lofoten Mountains as a backdrop. From there, we headed into the 2 km long Trollfjorden which starts off at 100 m wide and narrows. The ship went up this, then turned around within its length … truly amazing! While we viewing the sights, a troll wandered around the ship to everyone’s delight. So as the sun began to set, we cruised northeast along Raftsundet, a narrow channel that cuts across the eastern end of Lofoten.
We stayed up for awhile taking pictures of the midnight sun sky, and then headed to bed in the early morning. It was light … no darkness at all!!!
Sunrise was about 0200, so it only out of sight beyond the distant clouds and islands for a few hours. It was more that twilight all night long, i.e., it never really got dark.
We arrived in Sandnessjoen at 0340 and Nesna at 0525. All along the coast are snow capped peaks that range from 600 to over 1100 metres above sea level. About an hour before reaching Ornes, we transferred the passengers that were taking the Svartisen Glacier excursion to a Fjord 1 catamaran.
At 0728, we crossed the Arctic Circle near Hestmann Island. We arrived at Ornes at 0900. As we passed the area with the Svartisen Glacier, the snow-capped peaks to the east rose to 1600 metres.
From here, we snaked our way around islands, and through channels, again passing many impressive peaks until we reached Bodo at 1230. We could see Lofoten in the distance to the north, still 4 hours away by ship.
After a short walk around Bodo to stretch our legs, we headed back to ship to download images, and try checking e-mail.
After leaving Bodo, we charged into strong cold headwinds as we rounded Landegode (803 m) and the lighthouse on its northern corner, and headed north-north-west towards Lofotveggen, a ‘wall’ of rock formed by a prominent chain of islands that rise up to 1000 metres along a length of about 60 km. The Steigen Mountains are to the northeast.
After crossing Vestfjorden, we had brief stops at Stamsund and Svolvaer with the spectacular Lofoten Mountains as a backdrop. From there, we headed into the 2 km long Trollfjorden which starts off at 100 m wide and narrows. The ship went up this, then turned around within its length … truly amazing! While we viewing the sights, a troll wandered around the ship to everyone’s delight. So as the sun began to set, we cruised northeast along Raftsundet, a narrow channel that cuts across the eastern end of Lofoten.
We stayed up for awhile taking pictures of the midnight sun sky, and then headed to bed in the early morning. It was light … no darkness at all!!!
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