NORWAY

NORWAY: PHOTOS AND TRIP REPORT

Here below some of the most fascinating photos from Norway. Together with the photogallery, you will find a funny and interesting trip report full of info and anecdotes describing the whole travel itinerary. If you haven't read them yet, check out all travel info and precise itinerary here: www.wildtrips.net/norway.htm.

NORWAY TRIP REPORT AND PHOTOS

Norway may, and perhaps should, be the destination for a long, roving vacation. This country offers wild sweeping views and thousands of miles of winding roads that climb over mountains and along fjords. However, a convenient long weekend is enough to take a tasty bite to Norwegian beauty.
In Oslo we picked up our rental car and we headed immediately towards north-west, in search of wild landscapes and other good-looking stuff. Our first destination was Flaam, a small village by the Aurland Fjord.
We drove through attractive highlands on beautiful roads with little traffic. We met semi-frozen lakes and dense forests. We soon realized that traveling in the Norwegian nature was a real pleasure.

We arrived at Flaam, the first destination of our travel itinerary, in the evening and there we spent the night in a simple bungalow we had previously booked. The hotel rooms are expensive in Norway (as much as everything else) so it is advisable to book the cheapest beds with due notice. The simple hut where we slept, with no bathroom, costed over 80 Euros per night.

(The restrooms of the campground were about fifty yards away from our bungalow. By night, after a shower, we had to run wet from the toilets to our shed. Temperature was about 6 degrees, so we got eight or nine colds per shower. Then we found a simple solution to our problem: by using water at boiling-temperature, we got some first-degree burns, but we were still hot when we reached our bungalow!)
In the end, sleeping in the campsite was an acceptable solution, but eating proved to be even more difficult. We realized that the nightlife of Flaam was non-existent. At 9 pm the only place open was a deserted bar, which was about to close anyway. We entered quickly and we spent 10 Euros each for a sleazy tuna fish sandwich and a beer. Open restaurants were only in our dreams. I can partially justify Norwegians because it was not high season yet.
The next day all the suffering was paid off. Flaam was in fact in a fantastic location at the bottom of a branch of the Aurlandsfjorden.

It was strange to think that we were on the sea even if the open sea was about 150 km far as the crow flies. (Don’t you believe me? Well, it seems strange indeed. But trust me, or just check on a map: the Aurlandsfjorden is part of the Sognefjord, one of the longest in the world at over 200 kilometers.)

It was possible to have a one day tour of that part of Norway by using public transports. The trip began by boat from Flåm to Gudvangen, a village located at the bottom of another branch of the Aurland Fjord. Along the fjord we saw mountains, waterfalls and picturesque villages. It was an amateur photographer’s paradise: in order to take a good picture, it was sufficient to point the camera in a random direction and shoot.

Once in Gudvangen we bought the tickets for the bus that took us to Voss through 45 kilometers of scenic route. Compared to the tiny villages we had seen until that moment, Voss was a real town, in a beautiful location on the lake.

From Voss our tour went on by train to Myrdal, across fascinating snowy highlands. Myrdal was the smallest village you can imagine. It was practically uninhabited, still covered by impressive amounts of snow. It seemed to be in Siberia, or perhaps in Norway.

The station in the mountains is used mostly for tourism as from Myrdal an antique rack railway carries visitors directly to Flaam.
Before mounting on the train we had a walk around town. There were walls of snow, a small river and then some more snow. Then we entered an enchanting wood of conifers.

The rack railway journey to Flaam was the last part of that extraordinary day of contemplation. The train stopped in some scenic spots, giving tourists the time to photograph waterfalls and mountains. Finally we were back at the campsite, where we got into the car and we drove towards Aurland, a small town not far from Flaam, looking for a place where to dine. Before feeding ourselves, however, we found a beautiful vantage point on the fjord, where we took some nice photos.

In Aurland we found a real restaurant, where we had a steak which was definitely better than the tuna sandwiches of the previous night.
The next day we drove to Bergen, Norway second largest city. The picturesque houses facing the bay, with tree-covered hills behind them, make Bergen a wonderful destination. Moreover, the fish market offers fresh seafood at good prices.

We stayed at the “CITYBOX”, an "automatic" hostel with no staff: when you enter, you pass the credit card and the door becomes open. We spent 100 Euros for a triple room. The interior design was very functional, so that we could not lose the feeling of sleeping in a box.
Bergen was a real city, with a social life. In the evening we found not just a restaurant, but also a bar with live music.
The following morning we left again the civilization and by driving through pleasant countryside we headed towards Eidfjord. Along the road we admired the Ulvik Fjord, so narrow that it looked like a lake

Then we found farms in scenic locations, five-hundred-feet-high waterfalls (Voringfoss) and frozen lakes.

Eidfjord is a village on the shores of a fjord (obviously), with pretty, colorful houses. While visiting the nearby Kjeasen farm, which is strongly recommended as it is an amazing viewpoint, the sun had made us believe that also in Norway something like warm weather could exist. However, in the evening it was freezing again and our walk in Eidfjord was pretty fast. Still, we couldn’t complain: during those four days of vacation we had been lucky with the weather: long sunny spells, some fast clouds and a one-hour drizzle.

We had dinner in a restaurant run by a Dutchman who, for some reason, had moved to Eidfjord. He prepared us some pancakes. In the meantime, through the windows of the tavern we were watching some huge flocks of birds flying around and playing and swapping places on the trees. It was an entertaining show, incomprehensible for us, but still much more interesting than what's usually on TV.

The pancakes were surprisingly good, as well as very fat.
The next day we left Eidfjord and we were destined to leave Norway as well. At the end of our travel itinerary we had a 6-hour drive to Olso: also this time it wasn't boring at all, as we crossed highlands covered with snow and we passed along lakes and forests. We also had the opportunity to admire the Stavkirke, a wooden church whose shape is really original.

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