If I Were Going...: On the Road

So, finally, the driving part of our Norway tip began. We picked up our rental car – a very nice Audi diesel – and headed out of Bergen.

Nice car

The weather was gorgeous and the scenery delivered what we had been waiting for.

The reflections in the fjords are amazing

The mountains, the clouds, the houses, the fjords, the farms were all breathtaking. Norway is the most orderly, pristine place I have ever been.

Interesting clouds

The fields are well-tended, the houses freshly painted, the roads nice and many of the sheep and cows even wear bells. If they have poverty, they have hidden it from view.

Scott taking pictures

Even the bus stops are charming.

A sod roof; how cute!

Our trip took us through Voss to Tvinnefossen, a beautiful multi-strand waterfall that had campsites right in front of it.

So pretty

Cool, clear water

Then we stopped at Nærøyfjord (narrow fjord), a slim branch of the large Sognefjord, that was the first of the magnificent fjords we were to see.

This is Norway as I imagined it

A fjord is s deep channel between tall mountains

Actually, it's mountains that extend below sea level

And, even though it is very, very narrow, it is also deep enough to accommodate full-sized cruise ships.

A big ship on a deep, narrow waterway

We continued on, passing more and more gorgeous scenery, passing through tunnel after tunnel.

Norway has more than 900 tunnels

In fact, we drove through the world's longest road tunnel -- 24 km. It took about 20 minutes to get through.

This goes on forever

Our route kissed the edge of Aurlandsfjorden, near the town of Flåm. We had heard a great deal about the famous Flåmsbana, a 12.6-mile train trip from Flåm to Myrdal, so we stopped to see if we could take the ride (roundtrip) that day. Unfortunately, they were booked, but they had an opening on the first train (8 a.m.) the next morning. So, based on everyone’s recommendations, we decided we would book seats and get up very early the next morning and take the trip before continuing on our way.

Then, we continued on to our destination, Solvern. The drive included the first of many ferry trips.

Brief glimpse of a Whale in the fjord

Solvern is a very small town on the Lustrafjorden (another branch of the massive Sognefjorden) that is reached by a very windy rural road. Our hotel, the Walaker, is the oldest hotel in Norway (although we were in the newer part).

It's pronounced Vee-Lacker

One of the sad things about this trip was that we were out and about so much (including having to leave very early to take the Flåmsbana) that we didn’t get to really enjoy this lovely hotel. In the future, we need to try to do two nights at the nice ones and fan out. This would have been a good one to linger at.

So pretty

Solvern was lovely and we arrived just in time for me (Scott didn’t go) to take the very tiny ferry (on foot) across the fjord to see the Urnes Stavkirke (stave church), the oldest stave church in Norway. The trip over was as breathtaking as our drives, but it was especially nice to be out in the sun.

View from the ferry

The sun turns the water turquoise

Leaving Solvern behind

Incredible view

Once we docked at Urnes ...

Urnes

... it was a brisk half-mile walk up a very steep hill. I had to hurry so I could make it back for the LAST return ferry of the day. The trip up was through apple orchards in the midst of harvest.

Ripe apples

The church was built in the 1130s and is still in use as a church (one of the men on the tour had actually attended a wedding there several years ago).

Ancient and in its original location

It started as a private church for a wealthy family and is built on a site that may have had two earlier churches, which provided some of the materials for the current church. The highly ornamented church is built of red pine – once very plentiful in Norway – and gets its dark color by frequent treatments (that go on to this day) with pine tar. No wonder, smoking is prohibited. This tar has preserved to wood for 800 years and stone footings have protected the foundation.

Columns

The carvings are a unique scene of battle among animals and serpents.

Exterior detail

Inside, some of the décor is newer. There is a chair from the 12^th century and a crucifix with the original paint. The pulpit dates to 1695 and the alter 1699. Interior photos are not allowed, so you’ll have to see if for yourself!

As with most churches in Norway, the churchyard is a graveyard - and this one has a spectacular view.

Graveyard

Originally there were at least 1,000 stave churches in Norway, now there are 28.

This is one of the three stave churches I visited

On the way back down the hill, for a moment I thought I saw my first Norwegian wildlife - some red deer. It turns out they were in a pen.

Captive deer?

Although we saw lots of antlers, we never saw any wild wildlife.

Evidence of a hunt

As I walked down, I was dying of thirst, so I was pleased to see a “self-serve” table with bags of local apples for sale. I bought one and we munched on them for the next few days. They were crisp, tart and delicious.

After a beautiful trip back...