Heading south we went to Verens Ende at Faerder National Park. This is a picturesque old lighthouse on the west coast of the Oslo Fjord.Most of the Faerder NP is protected sea but we could walk along the shore. Gorgeous weather today made this a perfect outing.We even watched this jellyfish pulsate around the coast.This beach and marina looked like The Perfect Lunch Spot!The Vestfold County Museum in Tonsberg had an amazing recovered Viking ship as well as a replica seen through the window. It also told of the whaling history of this area.This is a Blue Whale – the largest animal ever known to live on earth. Massive!Tonsberg is Norway’s oldest town and we visited the remains of the Castle. This structure seems typically Norwegian – we have seen many similar ones in the countryside.A replica of the Viking Gokstad Ship is underway in downtown Sandefjord. It all begins with the perfect tree, aged to perfection before it is split to size with the same tools the Vikings would have used.You can see some planks slit in the foreground and the size of this operation to reconstruct a replica of the Gokstad Ship. Four Viking Ships have been found in this area of the West Olso Fjord (Vestfold) and they are proud of this sea heritage.Borre NP preserves Viking Burial Mounds and is overseen by this Rune Stone. The carvings have been painted to make them more visible.Midgard Viking Center is next to Borre NP. Besides an interesting museum they have recreated a Viking Long House area through these gates.This long house is based on archeology finds to similar dimensions and what is known about the construction.The details similar to the Stave churches which were built later.A staff person dressed as a Viking told us some history and kept the long house warm with an expertly built fire. The more important you were the closer to the fire you sat. A long house was for community, government, and religious activities.The columns all tell different stories. The Vikings as warriors with their shields that went on long voyages and conquests.And they all reported to The Red Maiden…
The Hardanger suspension bridge is the longest tunnel to bridge to tunnel in the world. It is the longest suspension bridge in Norway and one of the longest in the world.There is a viewing area so you can see the bridge disappear into a tunnel. This bridge is longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. Impressive.There is a pedestrian/bike tunnel as well to access going across the bridge.Blue sky. A fun bridge to experience. These supports are both on land, not in the fjord.Nicely designed cable supports. That is all that is holding up this roadway?How lucky we were to see this beautiful rainbow cross the bridge as well.This is the Hardanger Tunnel Roundabout. There is a roundabout in the tunnel. Really – there is a roundabout in the tunnel. This looks like a movie set out of Mission Impossible!Heading towards Bergen we stopped in the town of Kinsarvik and saw this double rainbow.Back at Saebo cabin we saw yet another rainbow, now over Eidfjordvatnet. A magical day.
Saebo Camping on Eidfjordvotnet is a perfect spot to watch the world go by!Our Saebo Camping Cabin is the larger one in the center.It is very close to Hardangervidda National Park.The trail we took is well marked with red ‘T’. There were some cabins here – how fun that would be to hike to this spot for the night.Getting us located on Locus Maps. This app has been so helpful in all our navigation. We loaded all of Norway for free.Great views!Great fall colors!Detail of those wonderful colors and textures.Amazing variety of lichens and moss.Even a comfy rock for a picnic lunch!And back to Saebo Camp to enjoy the fjord lake: Deep breath. Exhale. All is well.
We have no idea what to expect as we head out to visit the Vøringsfossen waterfall along Norwegian Scenic Route Hardangervidda – a few miles from our Saebo cabin.This is the Vøringsfossen!This puts it in perspective to the huge size. And see the bridge over my shoulder?That bridge is this magnificent pedestrian crossing!We are pretty much speechless to see such an engineering feat.Imagine building this. Imagine designing this. A 47 meter span equals 154 feet, which is like a 14 story tall building – and is equally that tall of a waterfall into the canyon below.The underside is equally interesting.2 stairways on each side lead to a center portion.A dizzingly viewpoint.Getting up close to the spray from the upper part of the Vøringsfossen.The Pretzel Tunnel, that the car climbed between the falls and eidfjord, replaced the old switchback road. Why not?
Happy Autumn Equinox! A kaleidoscope of changing colors invites us to explore.Our first stop on the Aurlandsfjellet Snow Road is a waterfall which is being guarded by this sheep: Baaa baaa ra!A powerful amount of water makes this an enjoyable wander.Wow. The overlook called Vedahaugane is spectacular today.Coming out of the “Bear’s Den” art exhibit, looking for a meal. VedahauganeLooking the other direction it is blanketed with red on the Aurlandsfjellet Snow RoadNo snow today!Several nice lakes as the clouds move in.Is that a canyon? Or is there a fjord ahead?The fjord view point Stegastein. What a fun way to end our travel across the Snow Road.The view of the fjord and Aurland. Flam is around the bend where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.
Sunshine! This Kvinnafossen waterfall was a delight on our way to the ferry.We got the Sogneflorden Ferry from Hella to Balestrand.Still some low clouds over the Gaularfjellet Scenic Route…Interesting to watch them but we hope the views we are coming to see are not in the clouds.Waiting for the sun to break through, we strolled along the fjord in Balestrand to the Viking Burial Mounds and found them guarded by this statue of King Bele.Ooohhh Wow! Did you see that reflection? Stop the car!Or how about this one? Surreal.The highway engineer that designed this road in the 1930’s said that a good road is 10x better than a bad road, and a bad road is 100x better than no road!We took these hairpin turns to climb up the valley on the Gaularfjellet Scenic Route. We have a view!!!The clouds are still playing around at the Utsikten Viewing Platform…. But that makes it a bit more mysterious.Isn’t this spectacular! The Gaularfjellet Scenic Route basically follows the Gaula River – this looks like an oil painting.The Likholefossen has this very cool pedestrian bridge so you can be right over the waterfall.Like this. The sound is deafening – it is a bit of sensory overload with the sun and fall colors. Soooo much water!And on the other side is a picture perfect wetlands. Really it looks like this – can you believe it? We feel so lucky for a pleasant sunny day.As we ferried back across the Sogneflorden we wondered: Is that the Loch Ness Monster in the water?
Along the Sognefjord are some amazing waterfalls – some even have names like Asofossen.At an overlook we see the village of Fortun and the massive Asofossen in the hill beyond, which names the river that flows through the valley. This is the beginning of 10 hairpin turns and as per Rick Steves “Treat Each Turn As If It Were Your Last!”Wait! Stop the car! Luckily there was a pullover we could walk back across the bridge and take this photo of an unnamed waterfall with 3 snow covered mountain peaks in the background.There you go…three peaks in Jotunheimen National Park.The roads are all one lane with some passing pullovers so a bit stressful driving. Quoting Rick Steve again ” Tell your passenger to scream only when we hit something”. Ha! We climbed the valley of Jotunheimen NP on the scenic Sognefellet National Tourist Route.The Nedre Oscarshaug viewing platform allows you to move the glass panels to line up with the mountain you are looking at to identify it. Very fun. The temperature has now dropped to chilly 3 degrees at around 1200 meters elevation. (37 degrees at 4,000′ above fjord/sea level)A bit different day than when we toured part of the park on the east side from Lom. Our blog entry from first of September.We hung out at a parking area to eat our lunch and watch the clouds.We turned around at this lake area as the clouds were moving in.We were glad we could have such beautiful tundra under our feet.Really happy to be on top of the world here in Jotunheimen National Park.
We are tucked into a cozy apartment on Amla Bay near Kaupanger (Sognejorden) for 5 nights.We are the middle small green building, second floor. Nedre Amla are 6 attached homes that resemble the old fishing villages. Our owner has created an apartment above his garage for his visiting family and to share with travelers like us.This is our view across the fjord towards Kaupanger from the dining/living room. Nice – more reflections!Should we do the high dive? Let’s just view the sunset for now……Great end to a rainy day.Kaupanger has a nice Stave Church on a gorgeous site that was a pleasant 1.5 mile walk along Amla Bay from our apartment but there is a more famous one nearby.We took a 15 minute ferry just a bit north across the fjord to Urnes or Orneset on a clear morning.The Urnes Stave Church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Only Norwegian Stave Churches (28 out of 1,300) have survived so they are a unique contribution to world cultural heritage.We got a tour inside to see the original 1130 construction as well as some of the “drunken” modifications from 1662, which sawed off a main support stave (column) so these diagonals were placed to keep the building from collapsing. Medieval chandelier on left hangs from ceiling.Original carvings at the column capitals. The pulpit was added in 1690 by a wealthy benefactor.The chancel extension and decoration from around 1601. At the foot of Christ on the cross is a skull and crossbones which represent that Adam is dead as Christ is resurrected as the son of god. Mary and St John as the grieving witnesses – the scene of Golgotha.The wood siding and shingles are covered with a tar and coal mixture for waterproofing. It also gives the churches the characteristic black patina as well as makes them highly flammable – that’s why so few stave churches have survived through the ages.Looking out the front door, across the graveyard, and the fjord beyond – all now vivid with moisture.
