8BA - The Kingdom of Fjords and Glaciers

We leave Bergen this morning with fresh, but dry weather. The walk to the station took us along typical quiet streets in the almost deserted harbor town. In less than 40 minutes we were already on the platform of the starting point of our cycling tour in Dale. After a short explanation about the bikes and a brief technique training, it was now really time to start cycling. During the first five kilometers we were immediately presented with a steep climb. But the reward was great... the first waterfalls, fjords and the green natural beauty offered us the opportunity to take many photo stops. Well past halfway through the ride, Marko had prepared a Picnic. An astonishing view, tasty local specialties and even a pleasant sun were all present. The last stretch to Voss was only ten miles. Just before arriving at the hotel we visited another beautiful gorge: the Bordalsgjelet... we parked the bikes and walked to the viewpoint... definitely worth it! The first day is over... tired but satisfied we enjoyed the extensive buffet in our hotel... we will sleep well tonight!

With a glorious summer sun we leave the touristic Flam behind us this morning... We continue our journey along the Aurlandsfjord. Soon a hard ascent awaits us: over a distance of about 16 km we overcome no less than 1300 meters in altitude! The turbo goes on for most of the participants, but all quickly come out on top. On the way we enjoy a beautiful view of the Stegastein. There is still quite a bit of snow at the top... and the plateau offers beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and numerous mountain lakes. We are now riding over the longest tunnel in the world! The descent quickly brings us back to the "king of the fjords", the Sognefjord (204 km long and 1300 m deep). In Laerdal we visit the "Salmon Museum" before taking the group by "shuttle" to Kaupanger. A visit to the stave church should not be missed here. Now it's only 12 kilometers to our destination: Sogndal.

Today was almost a rest day - only 25 miles of cycling! Those 25 miles took us on a beautiful road and some cycle pathes along the shore of the Sognefjord, Norway's largest and deepest fjord. The cycling ended at the pier in Hella, where we boarded the Glaciercruise to Fjaerland. What a beautiful trip!

After a light lunch at our hotel, we mounted our bicycles one more time and cycled to the Norwegian Glacier Museum - an impressive film and a documentary about climate change were the perfect confirmation that our way of travelling is the right thing: e-bike is the way to go!

After a delicious breakfast in Fjaerland we leave the "Book Village". The weather isn't playing along today... it's drizzling all day... Only in the morning in Fjaerland are we lucky enough to be able to see the Boyabreen glacier when the weather is dry. We are divided into two groups because we are not allowed to ride our bikes through the tunnel. The first group will then start in Skei, the second group will join us in Byrkjelo. There it goes straight uphill for about 8 kilometers... here we only have one more adventurous surprise: the path is unpaved here and goes steeply uphill through a forest. Here we have to push the bikes up... Driving was not an option for anyone here... When we arrived at the top, a wonderfully long descent awaited us... to Utvik. We drive to the village of Innvik on the east side of the Innvikfjord. A cozy little restaurant offers us cozy warmth there. We can dry off a bit and are fully charged again for the last stretch to Olden. The bikes are washed and at the delicious buffet in the evening we can all laugh again about the adventure we had today. Sov Godt!

The biggest highlight of the tour, if not the biggest highlight in Norway, was on our schedule today: the UNESCO world heritage listed Geirangerfjord!

We left our hotel in Olden under beautiful sunshine, well deserved after yesterdays rain. The calm water of the Innvikfjord mirrored the surrounding mountains, 100% postcard scenery. We followed the fjord to Stryn and then climbed over the mountains to our first coffeestop in Hornindal. From here we continued to the ferry terminal in Hellesylt.

And then it started - the cruise into the Geiranger Fjord. Beautiful waterfalls, abandoned farm houses on the steep grades, high mountains - this is definitely a very spectacular experience.

At the end of the Fjord lies Geiranger, the small village where we will spend the night.

A misty morning in Geiranger... hope we can enjoy the breathtaking view of Geiranger during the climb. But the weather gods decide otherwise... today the clouds don't move away fast enough, so we have to do it with a view from one of the lower bends on "Eagle's Road". Not bad either, but even after half an hour of waiting, we drive on a bit disappointed. But even then there is a beautiful descent to the ferry in Eidsdal. There is still time for a well-deserved coffee stop and from Linde it is now not far to Valldal. More than 10% of Norwegian strawberries are grown here. We can't pass up a small extra round through that strawberry region here. We combine it with a visit to the famous restaurant "Jordbaerstova". Almost everyone goes here for the best strawberry cake in the region! We enjoy at the end of the ride along the numerous fruit trees (cherries, apples, pears,...) and strawberries and raspberry fields. We arrive at the hotel on time, and again enjoy the beautiful view of the fjord.

As usual - time was flying. It feels like we have just started, but in fact our last riding day has arrived. After a delightful breakfast at our very nice hotel right on the Storfjord, we loaded the bikes in the van, which brought us to the next ferry. From here we climbed up into a Norwegian ski area - almost the last mountain on this trip. Before we took the final ferry towards Alesund, we had a great lunch in Sykkylven.

And shortly after we had arrived in Alesund. We had to get used to the unusual traffic, after a week more orl less away from civilisation. One more mountain, one more viewpoint, and then we reached our last hotel. Fortunately we still have a bit of time to visit the wonderful city, before we have to say bye-bye to new friends and to a wonderful country!