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Published: July 20th 2014
This morning we had a later start with bags out by 7:45 and on the road by 8:45 after a similar breakfast buffet as the previous day.
On one of our first stops to stretch our legs, we were told that this might be a good place to get some Leftsa. It was just what Sharyn was looking for and it was very good. Then we were on our way, but not before 2 people came running up to us from an Insight Tour and had found out we were from Minnesota. They said they were from BRRRmidji. It was a brief exchange because we had to get on the road, but fun nonetheless.
We drove to the village of Lom where we were able to visit one of the largest and best preserved stave churches in Norway. A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in northwestern Europe. Originally, once more widespread, most of the surviving stave churches are in Norway. This particular church was originally a Christian church and built in the 12
th century. It has undergone some renovations and additions.
Due to the efforts of
Christian missionaries, Norway was gradually Christianized in a process starting at approximately 1000 and finished by 1150. Norwegians were part of the Catholic Church with the change to Protestantism in 1536. Even though approximately 80% of the country is Lutheran, very few people go to church on a regular basis. Pastors must travel between several parishes to hold services. After the Sunday service we gathered inside the church to hear about how the church was built and the different stages of renovation.
We had a little bit of time to explore the town and then it was back on the coach to drive via Sognefjellet, the highest mountain pass in Northern Europe known as the “roof of Norway,” through the dramatic Norwegian countryside past glaciers, pine forests as well as Galdhopiggen, Norway’s highest mountain in the Jotunheimen National Park. The scenery was stunning and we learned that 2 weeks ago there were torrential downpours that did quite a bit of damage and destroyed homes. Also, during the same tour 2 weeks ago, the sites we saw today were not visible due to weather. The weather here has been very unusual this week and as a matter of
fact, very unseasonably warm. The temperature was cool going over the mountains, but was quite a bit warmer when we got to our destination of Sogndal which is in the heart of the Fjords.
We arrived at about 5:00 and Sharyn and I went for a short walk before dinner, and then stopped at the bar to get a corkscrew so we could enjoy a glass of wine that we had purchased when at the airport. SKOL!!
After dinner we went back to our room to get ready for the following day which will be a long day with bags out again at 6:30 a.m.
Our driver is awesome and managed to maneuver our coach around curvy mountain roads with great skill.
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Deborah Fenton
non-member comment
Great photos
Sounds like a great tour xo