Kinda Sorta Proud

Our last day in fjordland and Alex and I woke up early to take the train to Finse to begin our 55 km mountain bike ride back to Flam. We hadn't really done much research into the whole thing so we didn't know what we were getting into, but this is a very popular route. The road winds its way along the railroad tracks through gorgeous hills and valleys. The majority of the track is either flat or down hill so it was relatively easy....just LONG.

So great getting ready to leave and having no idea what you are getting yourself into. I just love that feeling.

The trails were great. There must have been a few hundred people doing the ride that same day but it was really easy to pass and get spread out. The more prepared riders had brought packed lunches and blankets and were scattered all along the path.

On the top of the plateau before heading down. Snow patches and crystal clear lakes dotted the landscape for the first two hours. Really stunning landscape.

Almost half way. Getting tired and hungry. But the views were amazing. Alex was standing on the edge of a pretty dramatic drop and waterfall.

Obviously the lower we got the more vegetation we saw. A lot like our hike in Bergen. Its great to move through different sort of ecological zones as you make your way down. This is the view of the hairpins from the little mountain train we took the next morning. The part towards the top was intense. I had to walk down part of the way.

steep hairpins + big rocks = scared Alys

I'm on the path and there was a huge drop off and waterfall right there. Good thing they had installed a pencil thin chain next to that curve to prevent bikers from falling to their deaths.   

The view down the valley. Smooth sailing now. Passed goat farms and waterfalls. Over crystal clear streams. We basically didn't pedal for about 15 km. My kind of bike ride.

All done!! Probably the best and longest ride Alex and I have ever been on. Now to the Flam brewery for a reindeer burger and a cold one.

Dragon Style

Balestrand is known for its architecture of its wooden villas lining the water's edge so I thought I would head out on a little afternoon walk/architecture photo safari. The style is called "Swiss" or "Dragon Style".

This isn't really an architectural wonder, but the colors here were inspiring on their own.

Cool little Balestrand Church.

Amazing wood interiors.

 

Fjordland Norway

After two nights in Bergen, Alex and I boarded the train to Flåm. The train took about 2 hours and then we transferred to the Flamsbana mountain train that took about 1 hour to go 20 km. It was a touristy (and by touristy I mean that I was almost pushed to the ground by backpack wearing, walking pole carrying 70 year olds) little train but really beautiful.

We crossed the river in the valley below a few times and saw about 10 waterfalls.

And we went through about 10 tunnels, the majority of which were dug by hand and took one month to dig one meter.

I like this picture because you can see the old fashioned train curving behind us to the right and I'm pretty sure you can see my reflection in the round mirror right in front.

After the train we boarded an hour long high speed ferry through the fjord to Balestrand, another little town of population 800. I think Alex's beard is coming in handy.

Beautiful views of the fjord from the back of the boat.

We stayed in the Kviknes Hotel. Built in the late 1800s, the hotel was really an architectural gem. Balestrand became a popular tourist destination and home to some of Norway's most famous artists who came to enjoy the beautiful light and gorgeous scenery.

One of the sitting rooms. The chairs had dragon heads carved on them and the walls were covered with a beautiful art collection.

The view from the hotel.

While in Balestrand we took the day trip up to see the Fjærland glacier and museum. It was cool.

 

Oddly enough, the little town at the base of the glacier is known as "The Booktown of Norway" for all of its secondhand book dealers.

We wished we could have walked on the glacier but that'll have to wait for our next adventure. The museum was weird, a little outdated and totally sensational, but seeing the glacier firsthand was great.

Cute little cottages line the shore. According to the ferry guide, the same families have been coming to this valley in the summers for generations. It would be a pretty amazing place to spend a few months. You really do feel like you are sort of at the end of the earth. 

Fjordland is gorgeous. Getting around on ferries is super easy and cute little towns have great cafes, campgrounds and tons of outdoor activities. Tomorrow. mountain biking.

Norway or No Way

We flew from Copenhagen to the city of Bergen on Norway's west coast. Bergen gets about 270 days of rain a year so we were extremely lucky to see the city on two perfectly sunny days. We were at about the same altitude as Helsinki, so the sun was going down at about 2 am and rising again about 5 am.

The main harbor. Yet another example of cute colored houses lined up in a row and the tourists who love them.

We took a pretty cool tour of the Bergen museum and learned some interesting facts about the city. The harbor front used to be about 50 meters back but over time, in order to accommodate larger boats, wooden stilts were put into the ground and the city gradually moved forward. Archaeologists are finding some pretty interesting remnants of this turn of the century inhabitants.

The lake in central Bergen with an awesome modern sculpture. After exploring the city and laying in the the grass enjoying the sunshine for a while, Alex and I took a cable car up to the point on the hill just above that fountain in the background.

And this is the view. We watched this paraglider while we enjoyed our cappuccinos and then headed out for our easy 5 km hike around the top of the hill...or so we thought...

Beautiful scenery up here. If you look hard you can see a tiny little red cabin on the horizon. Don't know who's it is but I'm jealous. I could live there for a few months and tend this flock.

And this begins our 2 hour adventure into the Norwegian forest. We thought we were looping around to the cable car but instead heading down this valley and into another valley and around a lake and all the way back into Bergen. I ate it once because the trails were super slippery and muddy. Then I was telling Alex how I had just face-planted and almost slid down the hill, and I did it again. Nice. It was fun. We thought we were lost a few times. Sort of gets your adrenalin up and its so fun being out there alone in the woods. Its good it gets dark at about 2 am because I just kept thinking, at least we won't get stuck out here in the dark! We walked back into our hotel covered in mud and sat at the bar, that just happened to be one of the best whisky bars in all of Europe, and had a drink. An awesome day.

Inspiring

Horrible puns aside, there were some amazing spires in Copenhagen.

This one of the left was one of my faves...like 4 gnarly looking dog dragons and their tails form the spire.

And this was my other favorite. The 17th century Vor Frelsers Kirke Church's spire has stairs around the outside rim narrowing to the point where they disappear at the top.