Norway the land of Fjords and Tunnels
We have learned through experience to indulge in a good meal before a long flight. Understanding that it is overpriced, a good meal with good service has been a quality factor. While you travel, everything will be "overpriced" in most people's opinion. So accept that you're not getting the best price and try to get the best satisfaction to set up your long flight and travel. Next, have a plan for long hours in a plane. Lucia's go-to is Sudoku, I lean on audiobooks or maybe a real book!
After about 8 hrs non-stop from LA, we arrived at Oslo airport late. We just wanted to find a bed that didn't move. We secured our rental car and shuffled our way to the airport hotel. We were assigned a room, and when we plugged in the adapter to change the 220v European electrical outlet to 110v so we could charge our devices the room went dark. The very nice staff gave us a different room, same issue. They looked over our adapter, assuring us it was fine, and apologized. Jet lag and travel had taken its toll, and we just went to bed. Awoke rested and ready to go, a great complimentary breakfast put some pep in our steps for our first day in Norway.
Wet, cold, and very narrow roads are what we experienced while we adjusted to driving on our first day in Norway. The first couple of days in a different country are a little stressful as we try to fit in and learn proper local behavior. The biggest thing we found irritating was the prevalent habit of tailgating, or simply cars following too close. Of course, I did not know where we were going with confidence, which may have irritated some local drivers. Aurlandsvaugen was our destination, and we arrived despite our inability to pronounce it! This was all planned by the fetching Lucia so we could spend time at Flam, which we can pronounce. Flam is a village in southwestern Norway known for its fjords. It sits at the end of Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the vast Sognefjord. The dramatic Stegastein viewing platform juts out high above the Aurlandsfjord and adds to our impulse to pretend we are mute to keep from ambasing ourselves when we ask for help. You can get to Flam from Oslo by train, and you only need to buy a ticket, which you may be able to do by just pointing and nodding your head. Language challenged, we were on time for our boat tour of the fjord. It was beautiful, fascinating, and cold! We were issued waterproof gear because we were in an open boat. It was early October, chilly, and on the water it was very cold. So cold that our fingers were not warm enough to make our iPhones work!
We survived the cold, it was worth every second of discomfort. I do not think I captured the beauty through images and video, my apologies. Norway, regarding geography and infrastructure layout, is unlike any other country or the USA. Many tunnels, car ferries, and underground roundabouts (traffic circles) make navigation a big challenge. Somehow, we managed to find our way around mostly, and while often we didn't know where we were, we found our prearranged AirBnb's and food and beverages! While buying groceries, we discovered that sliced bread could not be found on the shelf. Plenty of bread but not sliced. We could not fly with knives, and often the AirBnb's did not provide good cutlery. The grocery stores had these cool machines to solve our problem.
Our Norway journey took place in late September/early October of 2017, and we were pleasantly surprised to see how popular the RV lifestyle is. We did not explore if there are rental RV's like we used in New Zealand. Looking back, I have discovered that there are age limits for renting RV's. Europe has embraced rental RV's, especially Italy; maybe that can be a destination in the future. By the way, do you need to mow your roof in Norway?
If you have wandered around the Czech thread, you might have seen our number 1 unusual Airbnb, "The Strawhouse". We stayed in several Airbnb's here in Norway. Most were good, a couple not great, but one of them has secured our number 2 favorite place to stay of all time. The books and the old desk gave me comfort. The books were Norwegian, but I did not let that get in the way of feeling quite good about our situation. Almost all hotel/motel rooms are the same; frankly, many Airbnb's are okay, not inspirational. This one is great! Full kitchen, nice bathroom/shower, with a feeling of history in every room. Besides, there was a life-size chess board across the road! Hey, we're traveling, live it up!
An occupational hazard when traveling is chronic neck pain caused by your head swiveling much like that of a bird while driving down the road. And by the way, there are waterfalls everywhere! Another reason why local drivers may tailgate as previously mentioned. If you spend enough time in a beautiful place it can become "normal, ordinary, why are you driving so slow you moron", from local pursuits.
In a beautiful harbor in the nearby fjord is the "Living Cultural Heritage Museum" a working school teaching the skills of wooden boat building and maintenance. They build and sell wooden rowboats, dories, and small sailboats. Also, restore old classic wooden vessels that have historical significance. The museum and shops were closed to visitors for the season when we were there, certainly our loss but we wandered around freely and soaked in the feel and beauty of the facility. Fascinating surprise, here's a link to tease what they do!
On this day, we had good weather above the timberline. Light traffic and almost no place to spend our traveling dollars.
Dropping down to the tree line, finding farms, sheep, and small villages, we stumbled across an open cafe. We discovered that Norway has 2 tourist seasons, Summer and Ski. We arrived after the summer season and before the ski season to find many of the small cafes were closed, even some gas stations so we were thrilled to find an open cafe. Perhaps this might explain why travel costs seemed affordable.
We crossed a mountain range above the tree line to avoid the longest tunnel in Norway - Laerdal Tunnel, an almost 16-mile tunnel and the longest in the world. Laerdal Tunnel will get you near Flam and Hafslo if you use it. Looking back, I wish we would have driven through.
As you know, tunnels are everywhere. Traveling Norway, the other prominent feature encountered as often as tunnels are car ferries crossing fjords. Sometimes, it can take an hour or two to get where you want to go. Often, you are not allowed to remain in your car while the ferry is underway, but there is breakfast/lunch service on many with comfortable lounges. Ferries and Tunnels are almost as frequent as stop signs in your neighborhood. It is as normal as taking a subway or some public transportation. Had a pleasant conversation with a couple of sisters on their way to Geranger (more on that later) watched others with curiosity, and enjoyed sightseeing along the way. We did end up on the wrong one once, but it did not ruin our day.
Geiranger is a small and very popular tourist town at the head of Geirangerfjord. It sits at 52' above sea level and is a hot spot for Cruise Ships during the tourist season. It is reported they receive 150+ cruise ships during the season. We arrived by ferry after having a nice chat in broken English with the sisters you may have seen in the previous photos. It's between seasons now, no crowds, but we did find a nice cafe for brunch. Here's a little "inside baseball": we had to come to Geiranger because of a movie the fetching Lucia had watched to relax and maybe blow off some steam. I think it played a major role in the decision to visit Norway.
Some background: Geiranger is under constant threat from landslides from the mountain Åkerneset into the fjord. A collapse would cause a tsunami that could destroy downtown Geiranger. For this reason, sirens have been installed to warn residents if a landslide should occur.
We watched "The Wave." It is a thriller, and spoiler alert: it does end well for most. So for you adventurus types, here is a link to the trailer!
Norway is a land with waterfalls galore.
Having spent some time driving around Norway, the novelty of beautiful scenery, waterfalls, etc, ceased to be a novelty until we arrived in Odda. We lounged, ate, and walked in this lovely, friendly village of around 7000 people for several days.
The waterfront dished up splendid views, boats, of course, cafes, and every kind of pigeon you can imagine. Dark grey, light grey, pigeons with black feet, red feet, shy pigeons, aggressive pigeons ready to make a deal with you immediately. I thought I heard one of them ask "Hey buddy, I want to pull on your coat about something". We of course, had just left a bakery with goods that could be negotiated by the slickest pigeon in the group, who was obviously speaking for the clan. He did make a compelling argument laying down how they were victimized by raptors and other anti-avian groups. but we did manage to retain most of our baked goods.
Our AirBnB was in the basement level of this house. Certainly not the best we have stayed but also not the worst. The hosts were a great couple, the wife was Phillipino, and the husband Norweigan, another Marcopolo example! In an interest of international goodwill, I discovered that our AirBnB neighbors had parked their rental car in a place that was sloped down to the rear; they could not back up at all or they would land on the downhill neighbor's roof. It had rained recently, and the grass where they parked was wet. While trying to leave, they packed up and tried to move the rental car by using too much throttle. If it doesn't move, use more power... and spin the front drive wheels. I watched for a few moments, they looked at me, and I suggested not to use so much gas, be easy on the throttle, let the tires get a grip. Through broken English and pantomime, they tried again using too much throttle and in broken English replied, (ruff translation) ok, wiseguy you do it. I did have a dog in the fight because we could not move our rental car until they vacated their space, such is the way with some AirBnB parking. After they had slimmed up the escape route for their car, I did get in and by using a very soft foot on the gas pedal, succeeded in moving it forward enough to get traction. I was relieved, and we did celebrate a great international display of understanding and kindness with a handshake and a drink.
A few more things.
