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T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 0
this narrow settlement. The fjord is now clearly in view with
the still water a beautiful turquoise reflecting the sky.
Motoring along the side of the fjord at sea level, having left
the village the hotel Grand Fjorde came into view on the
south side of the road. Built on the hillside it had six floors,
proving to be very comfortable with a marvellous buffet for
the evening meal. Sitting in the restaurant one did not have
to travel anywhere to get a better view of the Geiranger Fjord.
The next day the only other route out of Geiranger besides
the road from Grotli, the way we arrived, is up the vertical
side of the fjord straight out of the hotel. Here was another
challenging drive with zigzag bends one above the other,
taking the road to the top of this nigh vertical cliff. A viewing
point half way up the climb gave a superb view of the same
fjord looking downstream where one only saw the steep sides
of the 'U' shaped valley dropping, sometimes with waterfall,
vertically into the submerged floor of the glacier carved valley
hundreds of feet below the surface. Geiranger is one of the
finest examples of a fjord in the world.
The road north now continued to Eidsdal where it was
necessary to take a ferry to cross the Norddalsfjorden to Linge
to continue north east on route 63. A narrow sheltered valley
was the location for strawberry fields on each side of the road
before climbing up Meiardalen valley to the high fjell once
more with a bleak landscape of stark pinnacled peaks
enclosing the road on all sides and the odd hytte. Passing a
refreshment stop with a large number of people milling
around and cars and coaches to boot, indicated that here was
another very significant tourist attraction of the natural
landscape. The road started to descend steeply and one was
aware that here again was a vertical cliff with another of the
major challenges that have tested the skills of Norway's civil
engineers. Zigzag bends were numerous with the added
complication of a powerful waterfall falling down the vertical
drop in the same area also to be negotiated. This is the
Trollstigveien, one of the most testing roads in Norway and
then a pleasant journey through the valley of Isterdalen to
Andalsnes, the most northerly town reached on this journey.
From Andalsnes the E136 was followed west along the inlet of
Innfjorden and then the much larger Romsdalsfjorden for 20
kilometres before turning south into Tresfjorden, continuing
on the E136 towards Sjoholt on Storfjorden. Just before
Sjoholt the 650 turns south through small hamlets to the edge
of the Norddalsfjorden where a right turn is taken to cross by
ferry the aforementioned Storfjorden to Stranda. Here the
road 60 goes due south parallel to the Sunnylvsfjorden
reaching a place named Ljoen. Here take a stop at the seaward
end of the Geiranger Fjord to look up this stretch of
magnificent scenery that numerous cruise liners travel every
year to visit this one particular fjord seen as a highlight of the
cruise. Continuing south on the 60 to Hornindal and the lake
of the same name it is a short journey to reach the Innvikfjorden,
another fiord for cruise ships but not so much for the scenery
of the fiord in this instance but more for the glacial scenery for
which tourists arriving have to embark from the ships. There
are three pleasant settlements here on the side of the water,
Stryn, Loen and Olden which don't seem to be so busy as
when the Bergen Line Ferries operated from Newcastle to
Stavanger and Bergen up to 2007. However, the Oldenfiorde
Hotel was chosen for accommodation just above the berth for
the Marco Polo for the night.
Bergen
Rising early for a typical Norwegian breakfast on a beautiful
morning with a view of the countryside on the opposite bank
reflecting its colours of varying greens on the still water were a
sight to behold and are indelibly printed in the memory! The
Marco Polo sailed away, with its complement of passengers,
puffing smoke through its funnels as it sailed effortlessly along
the fjord disappearing for its next destination. The attractions
here for us tourists were associated with Loen and Olden. The
first excursion was up the valley from Loen along the lake
named Lovatnet for 14 kilometres, just under 9 miles to Bodal
where the road forked. Taking the right hand fork and paying
the toll for a ticket of 40 kroner, just under £4, the road came
to a car park in the trees with a couple of coaches. A 15 minute
walk through the trees, I emerged from the shade of the canopy
to look up to see two tongues of the glaciers of the Kjenndalsbreen
branching out, north westwards from the largest ice cap in
Norway, the Jostedalsbreen. It was well worth the visit and one
that had escaped me from my 1974 visit when I passed this way
and stayed at the youth hostel in Olden.
Returning to Olden and passing the jetty there was now
another ship with a number of tourists milling around the few
shops that had become alive from the night before and the
fleet of buses parked overnight became alive as they ferried the
passengers backwards and forwards along the Oldedalen
Valley to the hamlet of Briksdal. Here in the car park there
were 20 coaches in contrast to the previous visit. Taking the
path of reasonable ascent rejecting the buggy like vehicle as
seen on a golf course or used to ferry people in a NT property,
and soaked by having to cross a bridge very near a waterfall
where the wind was particularly strong, we walked for an hour
and a quarter to the foot of the Briksdal Glacier. Still part of
the Jostedalsbreen it was obvious to make a comparison with
our first glacier, and reaching the point of safety the
Brikdalsbreen was an amazing sight which stretched down the
slope. However, amazing turned to awesome as the glacier in
front of our very eyes, calved at that very moment and
gigantic chunks of ice broke free from the glacier tumbling
down the hill with an enormous roar like the sound of thunder.
This was the effect of melting sections of the ice in summer
and a real threat to mountaineers and even anyone being
anywhere directly below this avalanche would not have had a
chance of survival. It was a real spectacle for the tourist to be
present to see such a phenomenen associated with glaciation!!
The return to Olden was 15 miles where the 60 continued
west along Innvikfjorden as far as Utvik where the 60 climbed
south up the hill to the view point Karistova and then
dropped down to Byrkelo, joining the E39 south through
Vatedalen to Skei turning south east along Kjosnesfjorden and
then entering a tunnel 25 kilometres, about 16 miles long
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