The Kingdom of Fjords and Glaciers - 8BA2401
Everyone has finally arrived in Bergen and is ready for the adventure ahead. We are lucky: Bergen, the rainiest city in Europe, is showing its friendliest side. In sunshine and a summery 24°C, we hand over the bikes and make the necessary adjustments so that we can get going tomorrow morning. After a short walk through the city center, we enjoy our first dinner together and try the local Norwegian dishes. The fact that it is still daylight so far north when we go to bed seems a bit strange.
Norway, here we come! Everybody was excited to get on the road, so 15 minutes before the official meeting time everybody was sitting in the room, ready to go! We left Bergen by train, a very scenic train ride took us to Dale. We left town on a beautiful but steadily climbing road up into the mountains. The scenery was spectacular - mountains, some leftover snow fields, beautiful lakes, some beautifully painted houses, and sheep and cows - what a change to busy Bergen. After a long and exciting descent down to lake Vangsvatnet, we were expected by Ernst who had prepared a wonderful picnic for us, with lots of Norwegian delicacies, like brown cheese or blueberries! Afterwards we followed the shoreline of the lake, which took us right to our destination, Voss.
Thor was kind to us today and blessed us with wonderful weather. With a clear blue sky and temperatures of up to 27°C, Norway showsed its most beautiful side. After a hearty breakfast, of course with brown cheese :-), we left Voss and cycled into Raunsdalen. We headed uphill along the Kleivelvi with great views of the bubbling river and the surrounding mountains. In Mjolfjell we grabbed the last seats on the Bergen railway to go through the tunnel to Myrdal. After a short coffee stop, the highlight of the day awaited us - the Rallarvegen, Norway's most beautiful cycle path. The route took us down through the Flamsdalen to Flam on 21 bends. And the route was tough. Riding technique was required on the gravel, but that was no problem for us. We simply had to stop all the time along the route, as there was something new to marvel behind each corner. Everywhere you could see waterfalls, roaring rapids, impressive rock faces and idyllic landscapes with cows and sheep. Once we arrived in Flam, there was still enough time to explore the area or simply enjoy the sun.
Leaving Flam along the beautiful Aurlandfjord was the easiest part of today's ride. The following climb on the Snovegen Road was a. bit harder - and even more scenic. The road continuously climbed up from sea level to an elevation of 1300 meters - everybody was grateful that Edelweiss had provided powerful e-bikes! The temperature had also dropped as we had reached the high plateau, and descending down to Laerdal we enjoyed the warm air that greeted us. In Laerdal we visited the Salmon Center and then shuttled the bikes to Kaupanger to avoid the long and dark tunnels. After a short visit to the Kaupanger Stave Church we continued to Sogndal, todays destination.
The weather forecast was actually catastrophic. But once again the weather gods were kind to us. We got through the day without rain. First we went from Sogndalsfjøra along the longest fjord in Europe towards the west. On the route there were old rune stones and waterfalls to marvel at. In Hella a small passenger ferry picked us up and we sailed through the Fjærlandsfjord. This Norwegian fjord landscape is really impressive. The destination of the boat trip was Fjærland, this small idyllic village near the Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe. There was a lot to learn about it in the glacier museum. Some of us hadn't sweated enough on their bikes today and used the sauna floating in the fjord. The water temperature must have been quite cold, because from far away you could hear the screams of those who cooled themselves off with a brave jump into the glacier-fed fjord water.
Today started a bit differently then the other days - two long tunnels made it necessary to put the bikes in the van in the morning. The first group was brought to Skei and cycled to Byrkjelo, where they met the second group. Together we crossed the mountains and reached the Innvikfjord. We followed it’s coastline until we reached Olden - hidden behind a large cruise ship. As the weather was perfect and we still had some energy left (in our legs and our e-bike batteries), we decided to ride up to the Briksdalsbreen glacier. We were rewarded with a great ride in the Troll cars and by spectacular views on the massive glacier! The group that had cycled the longest possible way had an amazing 110 kilometers on their odometers!
The Geiranger Fjord is of course a must on any trip to Norway. That's why it was our goal today. But one thing at a time: We cycled off from Olden in summer temperatures. And after a few climbs, a few cinnamon rolls and a few dashing descents, we reached Hellesylt where we boarded the ferry to Geiranger. What an experience. In cloudless weather, the most famous of all fjords showed its best side. There were the famous "Seven Sisters" and "Bridal Veil" waterfalls to admire, as well as steep rock faces and old farms. When we arrived in town, we marveled at the hustle and bustle when all the passengers on a cruise ship stroll around. However, we prefer the peace and quiet that returns when the ship has left again. Some of us drink a round (or accidently several?) of beer in the local pub. The rest enjoy the view of the fjord from the balcony of our great hotel. And in the evening we are treated to the finest delicacies from the region. We agree: this place is worth a visit.
After a very calm night and wonderful breakfast with spectacular views over the Geiranger Fjord we continued our exploration of Norway. As soon as we had left the hotel, we had to start climbing up the Ornevegen road - 600 meters of elevation in about 6 km... We had a last look down into the beautiful Fjord, before we continued north. After a short ferry ride we reached the Norwegian fruit valley, Valldal. Before we could try the delicious strawberries, we first went to see the Gudbrandsjuvet waterfall. To finish another beautiful day, we enjoyed a few drinks in the warm afternoon sun at our hotel right on Norddalsjford.
On our last day, the time had finally come. Dark rain clouds covered the sky. We already suspected that we would not reach our destination dry today. It started to rain during the first climb. But we did not let that deter us from our plan and enjoyed the subsequent plateau and the descent. Marko even found a covered place for us to stop for a snacks. After lunch and a ferry ride across the Storfjord, the sun came out again. In a zigzag (keyword: experiment) we reached the Aksla viewpoint, which offered us great views over Alesund and the surrounding landscape. Delicious culinary delights were served to us on the 9th floor of the Scandic Hotel, with a view over Alesund. Unfortunately, it was our last dinner together, because tomorrow we will say good bye. Looking back on the last few days, we agree: the time we spent together and the experiences we had were unique. A big thank you to everyone, Marco & Ernst