Fjord Coast of Norway

It was a beautiful day, brisk, with brilliant sunshine when we arrived in Trondheim. We had no Norwegian money for the parking meter, so the policeman treated, giving us time to get to the bank. A very interesting city, if not for the cold winter weather, this could be a great place to live. We visited a large Gothic Cathedral, and saw several houses with sod roofs.

In a bakery in Andalsnes, Norway, I tried to buy half a long flat cinnamon roll. They said all or nothing. Later I wished we had bought a dozen, it was exceptionally delicious.

The thirty minute, $9 (for us and the camper) ferry ride up the Geiranger Fjord, was really spectacular. At any one time we could see 10 or 20 waterfalls, sheer rock cliffs, little farms hung on the side of the mountains. We were told small children are tied to a post with a long rope when they play in the yard, so they won’t fall so far down the hill. We saw farmers use a rope to lower hay down the steep, steep hillside, to the barn.

Geiranger’s Hotel Union was started in the 1800’s in an old house. It’s now run by the third generation. We talked to the wife of the second generation. She came to the Geiranger Fjord as a summer worker in 1928, then married the boss in 1933. She told how hard it is to get good hotel workers these days, and said it’s even harder to get a good day’s work out of them. She suggested the caliber of the guests has also deteriorated.

Bergen’s fishermen’s wharf is colorful, and we found areas of the town where the houses looked more like The Netherlands, than Norway. Years ago they had so much shipping between Bergen and Amsterdam, they were more involved with Amsterdam than with Oslo.

During our drive from Bergen to Oslo, we missed one ferryboat by five minutes, rode on others, and drove on narrow roads tangled around and through steep rocky mountains. One spot was so steep the switch-back road had to be tunneled. The small natural rock tunnels have no lights, but often do have curves and provide little space, when we meet a large vehicle. A fantastic view of waterfalls and mountain scenery of Norway, when there was time to look.

Suddenly the scenery changed from beautiful to blah and nothing much, and later there were farms the rest of the way to Oslo. So much change and contrast in just a few miles.