While aboard the Queen Mary 2 the previous month, we met some people whose next travel plans involved another Cunard cruise, this time to Norway. We immediately decided that was a great idea and inquired with the ship's booking agent about booking our passage too. While they didn't actually laugh at us, they were incredulous that we were trying to book something last minute (who knew). They put us on a waiting list and sent us on our merry way. However, it didn't take long for us to decide that we didn't need a cruise ship to see Norway. So, we decided to fly in, rent a car and have a week-long road trip. While I agree that the views were probably better from sea, we thoroughly enjoyed our road trip!
We flew from Amsterdam into Oslo. The Oslo airport is located about 45-minutes north of the city and our flight arrived too late in the evening to pick-up our rental car. So, we booked a hotel by the airport for the night. The next morning, we enjoyed the hotel's free breakfast buffet which was the most elaborate either of us had ever encountered. Fat and happy, we grabbed the bus back to the airport, picked-up our car and started our next journey. As were already north of town, we decided to continue northwest and made our first stop the adorable city of Flam. We wandered around the small town admiring the beautiful fjord and architecture. Not much sooner than we arrived, however, it started spitting rain. So, we found a local brewpub in which to take shelter and checked out their beer brewing abilities.
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We liked the town so much, we decided to stay. Well, we were unable to
find a last minute room for the night in Flam but we managed to book one that said it was an hour
away. The drive ended up being closer to two hours as most of the roads were incredibly
narrow and windy making it was difficult to maintain the posted speed limit. The roads were fun to drive and the views breathtaking, making the drive was
absolutely worth the effort. We drove along the fjords to the
Kvam region. Our Airbnb sat atop a hill in the beautiful countryside with
an amazing view of the fjords. However, it was getting late so we mostly just
fixed ourselves a bite to eat and fell deeply
asleep. The next morning, we awoke to the amazing view of the sun
lighting up the water and took a walk down the hill to get a closer look.
The sound of sheep bells in the background along with wonderful smell of the
countryside made the walk perfect. Since we'd arrived late and were told
the house was open, we didn’t meet our hosts (Meta and her husband whose name
we've forgotten) until we were packing the car to leave. They were such friendly people and offered us fresh vegetables from their garden and even let me cut some of their herbs. It was a perfect stay.
While I'm certain we would have enjoyed staying several more days, this was only our first night on the road and we had a long list of places we wanted to see. So, we continued driving the windy country roads, even making a backtrack to get a better view of the bridge we'd crossed the night before. Our next destination was Norway's second largest city of Bergen. Along the way, we stopped at least twice to admire the waterfalls (sadly we never even got the names) and, as we'd packed up leftovers from our dinner, we were able to enjoy a picnic lunch at one of them.
We finally arrived in Bergen and made our first stop the Floibanen funicular which took us to the top of the Floyen mountain. We'd heard it was a must do in the city so we bought our tickets and climbed aboard. The ride up was pretty with some great views but no sooner had we'd arrived at the top, than the clouds rolled in and we were unable to see our fingers in front of our faces. While it was cool (actually, it was literally cold) to be in the clouds, we'd really hoped for views. We didn't stay long before heading back down to see the city.
Once we were down the mountain, we checked into our room for the night and set about exploring Bryggen - Bergen's historic harbor district - as well as the nearby fish market where we picked up some amazing smoked salmon for dinner. The next morning we wandered around the rest of this seaside town nestled at the base of several mountains thoroughly enjoying the feel of this wonderful old town.
Prior to our arrival in Norway, we had mapped out a 7-day driving route that covered a great deal of the southern part of the country. We used Google Maps to get estimates of how much driving was required to reach each destination. Well, they have obviously never driven in Norway. In my not so humble opinion, very few non-locals could drive those roads and come close to keeping up with the posted speed limits. Plus, there are way too many "squirrels" (that's what we call anything that distracts you from your planned route). We lost track of how many times we had to pull over to admire a fjord, waterfall, or something else that was impossible to ignore. We quickly realized that there was no way we were going to comfortably keep up with the schedule so we decided to throw it out the window (figuratively, of course). We picked a few places that we really wanted to see and headed the general direction of north. Along the way, we happened to pass by a stunning waterfall. While we were admiring the waterfall which we later learned was aptly named "the bridal veil", we met a British couple who'd been traveling in their RV for about month and surfing along the way. We were intrigued that someone would travel to Norway for surfing but they said that the water was so nice that they'd not even had to don their thick wetsuits. They gave us their next surfing destination and we mentally put it on our list with the hope of getting to watch them surf. But alas, we never saw them again.
Back in the car and heading for our next accommodation, I contacted our host to inquire about any local fishermen who might be interested in taking Pedro out fishing. Surprisingly, she said that she was sure that could be arranged. We arrived at our destination and were greeted by 12-year-old "Wild One" (we forgot her real name but Elizabeth, her mother, said that's what she calls her so we did too), her friend Sarah and Brutus (their big teddy-bear-like rottweiler). Between the amazing views and the welcoming committee, we knew we were going to love this house too. We'd settled in and were outside playing with Brutus, when Elizabeth and her son Gouta arrived home. Gouta has his own fishing boat and offered to take Pedro (and the girls) fishing while he checked on crab traps that he'd set earlier in the week. Impressively, this 10-year-old kid, catches crabs and either sells them to the local restaurants or cooks and cleans them to be sold to tourists who stay in the nearby campground. Even though that they didn't catch any fish, this stay was one of our most memorable. This entire family could not have been more welcoming and we left the next day feeling as if we were leaving close friends. As I wrote in my review, we would go back to Norway just to stay with these guys again.
The next morning, Elizabeth gave us several suggestions of places to visit somewhat nearby so we picked one and started towards the port city of Kalvag. What a gem this little town turned out to be. The harbor was surrounded by colorful houses and was still a working fishing village. We walked the whole of the town in just a few minutes and continued to the commercial fishing area in search of a fish market. We found it but apparently it was closed (we couldn't tell if permanently or just for the season). Not to be deterred, we found what looked to the be the only open restaurant in the town which just happened to be situated right on the town docks. The food was amazing (one the best we had in Norway) and we enjoyed a local beer and a glass of wine in amazing sunny weather while we watched a sailboat dock. It could not have been more perfect.
The next morning, we drove out to get a glimpse of the beach and see if we could find our surfer friends but, alas, there were no surfers in the area so we continued on. Next, we headed for the town of Nordfjordeid to visit the Sagaste Viking Center. This museum pays homage to the original ocean explorers and contains an exact reproduction of Norway's largest known Viking ship, called a Myklebust. The original ship, built in 800, was discovered in 1874 buried in the grave of the King. Reconstructed in 2019, the ship was actually sailed in the nearby fjord before being put on permanent display in the center. What was great was that they allowed you to roam freely around the ship and pretend to be a Viking.
That night, we found another great place to stay for the night in the town Sykkylven. The views were amazing and the owners, who were great also, gave us more ideas of places to visit. The next morning we walked the town before we took off again. This time we caught our first ferry ride over to the city of Alesund which was probably our favorite "city." While we were there, we happened to catch a festival and we walked around trying samples of everything from salmon to whale meat to local cheeses. It was definitely my kind of a festival. To work off some of the many samples we had, we hiked up the 418 steps to the Aksla viewpoint for great views of the city and the harbor.
We left Alesund and spent the night near the town of Rauma
in yet another countryside house with beautiful fjord views. The hosts also let us pick apples and plums from their trees and mint from the garden. The next morning, we took off to see
the Trollstigen which was on our original list. The name mean "Troll's Ladder" in English and they play this up. The Trollstigen is one of Norway's most famous scenic routes. The road's 11 hairpin turns made for fun driving and the scenery along the way is truly breathtaking. At the top, there is a great vantage spot to get an overall view of the Trollstigen. This was definitely a must see for the area.
Leaving the observation viewpoint, we continued driving back along the top of the mountain stopping for views of glaciers as well as some locals out relaxing for the day. The weather was great so we drove to the city of Sylte where we found a great spot along the waterfront for a picnic lunch before catching the ferry. Our next stop was the overlook in Mollsbygda to get views of Geirangerfjorden (one of the most famous fjords in Norway) and the stunning seven sisters' waterfall.
Sadly, our week was almost up and our road tripping coming to an end. As our flight out of Oslo was the next day, we booked a place to stay nearby so we could also tour the city. While we enjoyed seeing the sites and had a great dinner out in the big city, we'd gotten so used to the countryside that the crowds were a bit overwhelming . Nevertheless, we loved Norway. Hopefully one day we will get back to repeat a few of the things we did and see more of the country.
For our destination, we decided we would continue seeing a bit more of Scandinavia. So, we hopped a plane to Stockholm. But, we'll fill you in on that next time.
