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Following my refreshing morning hike, I left Flåm behind and first set out to see the lookout point:
Stegastein. There is a tourist road to go around the tunnel, but of course it was closed above Stegastein due to snow and season. However, the lookout point was amazing! Aside from the first 36 hours, the weather was absolutely perfect. When i parked, there were only two other cars and five other people. The lookout is a pine and steel structure that extends out from the hillside so you have a full view of the
Aurlandsfjordand Aurlandsvangen below. I loved what looked like the interlocked connections. So, I got my initial view then waited until gradually the others had left and I had the whole place to myself! It was so lovely, words and pictures just cannot accurately capture it.
I then came back down the switchback road to head to my next roadtrip, which I was so looking forward to. First I had to go through the
Laerdal Tunnel, which is the longest tunnel in the world at almost 25 km. I had been through many tunnels during my roadtrip, and this was definitely the longest, but I did not
find it boring as some of the others - it had nice 'mood' lighting at various intervals, as well as markers showing how far you've come and how far is remaining. Most tunnels have the length posted just before you enter, so you generally know what is coming. I just found the tunnels an amazing part of the experience overall, and at times I was even excited. Oftentimes, you emerge onto a completely different landscape.
Speaking of, I went from fjords to a kind of open plain when I emerged. I would not say it was disappointing, but it was a bit jarring, especially as it was very sunny out. I quickly filled up with petrol (my first time this trip!) before stopping briefly at a cute wooden church along a side road. I did not stay too long as it seemed to be an active church in a small village and I caught a couple of people looking at me. 😊 I continued on and stopped at a few locations where they have some minor archaeological stops, including one where they had found combs that dated back hundreds of years. It was peaceful.
Going through another tunnel,
I get to the area of the
Borgund Stave Church. This is one of the most popular of the stave churches and I can see why. For one thing, it was actually open, as of a few days before 😊 It is also pretty easy to access, in a lovely setting, and is well maintained. I went into the museum to get my tickets, but I enjoyed the museum itself as it was pertinent to all the stave churches, not just this one. As mentioned in a previous blog, Peter Blix seemed to fuel the need to preserve the stave churches in Norway. Borgund was built in around 1180 and is the most well preserved and closest to its original form, which is where Blix took inspiration for Hopperstad. The museum showcases pieces of some of the churches as well as the history of the general construction.
Once you go from the museum, you walk across the street to the church, which includes its bell tower and the new church, built in the 19th century which is still in use. The bell towers are separate from the main church structure due to the weight and vibrations; this one is
the only remaining free-standing stave-built bell tower and was constructed in about 1300. The guide let me in and was on hand to answer questions. There are many impressive features showcased in and around the building. My first question was why it was the best preserved and he said that the gallery surrounding the main building was built just before the Black Death around 1350, so it provided some protection to the structure even when it was in disuse or people had other things to think about. The church has generally been in continuous use and was slightly altered following the Reformation, but the preservation society has reverted it back to its original form as much as possible. The staves (posts) all had faces carved at the top, including a couple of animals. St Andrew's cross makes an appearance as cross-bracing in the upper portion. The windows and doors are narrow as it was believed to limit or repel evil spirits from entering. The medieval crucifix was removed, but you can still see the outline on the wall. Outside, one its most prominent features are the dragon heads located on the roof edges, similar to those found on the prow
of Viking ships. The dragon heads are even seen within the vines on either side of the main entrance.
I could go on all day about this, but as said previously, I think I'll do a separate blog on the stave churches. In the meantime, I'll continue.
I had hoped to do some hiking and further exploring here, but if I was to see all the stave churches I could, I had limited time. Plus, still being the off season, many of the scenic roads were still closed, so that made my decision easier. The next stop was another stave church, but first I had to go through a few tunnels and more snow covered landscapes. Such a lovely drive with great weather. The next on my list was
Øye Stave Church, built in the late 12th century. The history on this was the most interesting I thought as it had originally been located on a flat area south of a lake which was prone to floods and high groundwater levels. This caused some of the coffins and other things to float. It was torn down in 1747 when I new church was built on higher ground close
by. In the 1930's, 156 pieces of the original structure were located under the new church floor; they decided to rebuild the old church in a close but slightly better location. Now, you have this lovely old structure with a beautiful backdrop in the valley.
I then visited the
Høre Stave Church, located a bit off the main road, E16. This church had a gorgeous setting, kind of perched up in the hills and you could see it from many vantage points. It was also a dark brown color and had a bit of red accent to it. It was built 100 years after the original church construction, in about 1179, with some graves located beneath the church floor, which provides further evidence of the earlier church. It has been renovated many times over the centuries, including in 1822 and then again the mid 20th century, which revealed hundreds of coins dating from the mid-11th century.
Next on my list was
Lomen Stave Church. This one had a beautiful location and I loved the color of the wood. You had to park down the hill and walk up the steep road and through a kind of alley between
privately own buildings. However, it was a pretty walk with views of the overall valley, though it meant it was hard to get a nice full picture of it. Built in about 1200, it seems like this church was one of the last to fall into major deterioration, with leaking roof and capacity cemetery in the early 20th century, when the new church and cemetery were founded about 1.75 km away. Without heating or electricity, they decided to restore it to keep as a museum and it is still used for weddings and baptisms.
Each of these churches had a nice board describing not only the individual church itself, but also the areas of interesting along the historic tourist route. So, one of my next stops was the Slidre Stone Church, or,
Slidredomen. It was right along the main road and it was just gorgeous. I stopped to try to get some good photos, but it did seem to be in use at the time and I definitely did not want to disturb anyone. The church dates to about 1170 and its stone walls are about 5-6 feet thick. Yes, feet! I love the exterior with its grey and
brown blocks seemingly perfectly placed. It is probably the prettiest of all the churches I saw this trip!
My final stop of the day was also along the main road.
Ulnes kirke is a stone church built in around the year 1265 in the long church design. I did not get to go too close, but it was lovely from afar. One interesting bit of history was that two brothers from Ulnes, one a woodcarver and the other a painter, set sail to America in the 1840's and were caught in a storm in the North Sea. They prayed to God and promised if they survived they would donate a beautiful gift to their home church. Their lifeboat came to rest in the Netherlands, and they continued to Germany where they spent three years as apprentices to a master craftsman and studied alterpieces. They went back home and donated an alterpiece, which has a pull-string allowing the Three Holy Kings to revolve around Maria and the child, and is the only one ifs kind in Norway. The brothers then traveled safely to America.
I continued on to the town of Fagernes, which was surprisingly hopping. It looks to
be a bit of a local tourist city with many outdoor activities, as part of the Valdres National Park. I say local because they seemed surprised to talk to me in English, which was definitely not as good as the other places I had visited. And they were not overly friendly either. It was fine. I was just there for one night, staying at the
Scandic Valdres. They had a limited food menu, but the hotel was quite nice with amazing views. The road outside my window was quite loud though.
I had a nice typical buffet breakfast before checking out and continuing the last few hours of my road trip.
Next stop was
Reinli Stave Church. This church was most likely built on the site of a previous pagan temple followed by a simple wood church. It was probably built around in the late 13th century, but it is not clear, and has most likely gone through many early renovations. In 1965, the new chapel was built adjacent to it and the stave church was saved as a museum.
The final church I visited was the Hedal, or
Hedalen Stave Church (not to be confused with
the Heddal Stave Church from my first day). Hedalen was built after the year 1160, based on the dendrochronology. However, it was abandoned following the Black Death due to the high mortality figures in this area. In the 16th century, people returned to using this church, remodeling and restoring it in 1699 and other times afterwards. I did not get to see the interior, but like most others it was in a lovely location.
Then it was time to get to the airport. It was super easy to return my rental car - I really loved my volvo this trip, even if it did occasionally take some getting used to! I waited for my flight to Reykjavik, getting a simple lunch. I got a window seat on my flight and an empty middle seat, so it was nice. What was even more amazing was flying over some of the places I had visited this trip. Flam was extremely easy to identify, and I even saw the snow landscape and mountain pass I had traveled on my way from Bergen to Flam. So cool. I would definitely love to visit Norway again! Next time, I could do with some hiking
and maybe further north.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Hiking in Norway...
I love the theme of your trip...to visit stave churches. You mentioned wanting to hike in Norway, perhaps further north. I highly recommend walking the St. Olavsleden pilgrim trail from Sweden to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, which I did in 2017. You can start at the Swedish border to make the hike easier to do in a week.