Water Highway

Same time as this one. The view is of the  Aurlandsfjord along the scenic route. Narrow mountain walls hiding the water route gives a mysterious feel of what lies beyond. However a water level riding this highway will tell you how wide this highway and how rough the serene waters are!

Blue Waters and Snow Capped Mountains

Images from Norway Trip. Driving a whole day will also not tire me in this country - drive, take a walk, drive, have a picnic, drive, enjoy sunset ... and you can just go on and on ...

The Sermon

Preikestolen - Pulpit rock was the hike I was looking forward to. It was as planned on the second day of our trip. My only concern was the 7.6km return hike with my 3 year old daughter - we did not have baby carrier and we knew the distance would be too much for her. But she surprised us by not only coming to the top but managing the return save the last 1.5kms.
At the top, it seemed the mountains, the cliff and the fjord below were giving the Sermon and the viewer at the Pulpit was consuming the divine landscape.

Valley of Flowers

All around us was orange color in Aurland. The spring-summer season was clearly making it mark in this region.

The Last House

We were taking an evening walk to Jostedalsbreen National Park Center which was close to our Cabin at Oppstryn. This lonely cabin and the long road caught my eye.  

Midst of Mountains

Home at foothills - we were in the on our way to Jostedalsbreen National park. The house was nested at the foothills and the scenery was just before the tunnel.

Good Bye

Geiranger to Hellesylt Ferry ride - It was a ride out of this world - narrow fjord with steep mountain slopes on both sides and numerous waterfalls forming a veil on the mountain sides, calm blue-green waters - that is the image I carry from this region. Looking back and saying good-bye - just one thought was crossing my mind, if ever I will be able to visit this place again ...

Lonely House

Route 13 towards Balestrand was like going into a Snow desert. Rarely we had any other vehicle to accompany or pass us. At places we could pass houses but all seemed deserted. All around the landscape was snow covered. Even the lakes were frozen - the only indication of it being a lake was flat snow as compared to undulating hills. These set of houses were besides Nystølsvatnet lake.

Road to the Mountains

When we reached Flam at about 10am, we got a reservation in the 2:30pm train. We got it changed to 4:30pm and went on towards Aurland and further on route FV243. The narrow single lane route passed by the sides of Aurlandsfjord and then climbed up to give very beautiful views of the fjord below. This picture is at Stagestein viewpoint.

The Bridge

One of the many bridges on E39 we took from Flesland to Stavanger. E39 is combination of Road, Tunnels, Bridges and Ferry routes.

The Wiggly Road

One of the attractions in Norway in our trip was to driving on Trollstigen. However this route was closed due to an avalanche just a week before. It was a huge disappointment for us. However during our course of the trip we had numerous occasions  to experience similar routes. This one is on Rv13 going down towards Balestrand.

Calm

Our starting point for the day was Gaupne from where we visited various glaciers of the Jotunheimen National Park. Our next stop was Geirenger via route 51-15-65. It was nearly 6pm when we reached junction of 15-65. At this junction we saw that route 65 was closed and it was covered with snow. The alternate route via Stryn-Hellesylt-Geiranger seemed too long at this late hour which involved one ferry crossing as well. So called up our campsite and cancelled the booking for the day. We got a campsite along our way at Oppstryn. This view was just across Oppstrynsvatn.

Latefossen

The whole of Norway seems to be like a big national park. Latefossen was one of the many waterfalls but was very close the road. Getting out of the car we were greeted with mist blowing from this waterfall.

Place to Rest

It was late when we reached our destination for the night. The camping place at Gudvangen, was nested in midst of mountains. Even at 8pm the mountain peaks reflected the golden sunlight. It was an experience to sleep in our small cabin with slight waterfall sound in the background and looking at mountain peak through the window. Even at 2pm in the night I did not need a torch to find the restroom in the campsite.

Fairyland

From the time I first saw the pictures of Geiranger, I was restless to get there. This place just seemed to out of fairy tales - snow-capped mountains just dropping into still water below, numerous waterfalls along the mountain sides and yes a huge cruise ship reaching to the village. Our experience at the place was just what we had seen. No wonder this place is in the world heritage list.

Tranquil

Gaupnefjorden along the Sognefjellet scenic route. Even during noon the fjord was clear and free of any waves providing a very peaceful place for a short lunch break.

Blue Arrow

Driving in Norway was an experience in itself.  After our stay at Gudvagen, we had planned to drive to Flam via the Aurlandsfjellet scenic route. However the high pass was closed due to snow and we had to return and make our journey through  Lærdalstunnelen. the longest tunnel in the world, which is 24.5 kms. The dark tunnel long was made alive by this blue light in one of the bigger sections of the tunnel. 

Flam from Flamsbana

Flam valley view from Flamsbana. It was late May2012 when we visited Norway. Taking a ride in this historic railway takes about 60mins one way. The route passes through some dramatic scenery with lots of waterfalls.