Blogs from Western Norway, Norway, Europe - page 15

This post includes a 2.5 hour ferry trip on a fjord, train ride up high and drive from Aurland to Solvern. All this in one post, while Preikestolen alone consumed two posts. Does that give you any sense of the quality of the scenery between them? Oh well, Waterfalls have become a bit old hat and the fjord cruise had one, two or even three around every turn. With that said this is the most beautiful country we have visited. Fjords with the mountains reaching down to the water's edge, waterfalls of all sizes, grassy slopes with sheep sometimes and other times villages hanging on the hillsides. Often running streams with crystal clear water with an occasional person fishing. We think Will and Joe Hulsey would like to fish here.... read more

Hello Everyone We have had a eventful day,picking up the Flåm Railway journey from Flåm. The Railway took 4 yrs to build in the 1920s and runs all year round,it is 20 km long with an ascent/descent of 865 m through 20 tunnels,which were hand dug.It is one of the steepest non rack railways in Europe on a gradient of 1.18. Also there is amazing views on both sides of train,also a fantastic waterfall. In the afternoon we left Flåm and boarded the express boat to Bergen,it takes 5hrs we went along The Sognefjord which is the longest Fjord in Norway on the UNESCO world heritage list,it was a fun trip and great views,arrived at 9pm in Bergen. We are here for 2nights Thanks again for travelling with us KS... read more

Here we have our drive from Bergen to Aurland, and a couple of pictures around our guesthouse. The day is simply beautiful, at least after we leave the fully overcast skies of Bergen (remember, they only have one in six sunny days). Our route, of course, follows the fjords with innumerable tunnels-the longest seven miles. Building roads here is not cheap and many incorporate a toll. They are very efficient in collecting tolls; simply register your tag with their toll website and it occurs automatically, even painlessly...until the credit card bill comes due. Our drive passes a number of waterfalls; we are sure we missed many more, but we will send the ones we liked the most. Hope you like them as well. The fjords have waterfalls around most every corner. Finally, we have a very ... read more

So, as we suggested we elect to separate the journey up to the Pulpit Rock from the actual tabletop rock itself. Here we go-departure from our fjord-side apartment occurs a bit after 9am with temperature in the 50's and overcast skies. We lament a bit the weather, yet later will be quite pleased it is neither warm nor sunny. Bird confirms the trek begins at 9:23 as we observe essentially everyone wearing coats, warm hats etc. Are we missing something, the high should be sixty or so (at least at a coastal town two hours to the west), and we are attired in summer weight pants and short sleeve shirts. We do have light raincoats tucked away in a backpack. Undaunted, we confidently strike out. The grade quickly becomes rather steep but even, and our pace ... read more

Bonjour à tous, Je vous avait dit hier au soir que je parlerais un peu de Bergen. Bergen est la deuxième ville de Norvège avec 275 000 habitant, c’est une ville portuaire, egalement deuxième port de Suède, où tous les Bateaux de croisière qui font les fjords fond escale, plus de 150 000 passagers y débarquent chaque année. C’est le port d'attache du Statsraad Lehmkuhl, l’un des plus grands trois-mâts du monde. (voir photo). Le marché au poisson est le point central de la ville où l’on peux trouver des sandwiches au crabe ou à la baleine. Je me suis contenté de goûter un bout de saucisson à la baleine, pas mauvais du tout, sans en acheter, pour ne pas encourager cette chasse. C’est ici que nous avons mangé hier au soir. Du flétan pour Marianne, ... read more