One Day in Stavanger ...

On the day in Stavanger when we didn't do the Pulpit Rock hike we used our one-day bus pass to journey out to the International School of Stavanger (pix of library below). The school is located in a semi-rural area some distance from the center of town. After sending an e-mail to the head of school (who was out of town on vacation), Nancy was expected and a very friendly receptionist took us on a tour. After visiting the school, I thought I was following the directions we were given at the school; however, I ended-up taking us on a long walk down the wrong road. We then took a bus back to town and then later returned to the same area by bus to see "The Three Swords" -- a monument erected to commemorate the political unity of Norway. - rw

The Climb up Pulpit Rock ...

With two full days in Stavanger we devoted one day to taking a ferry and bus to a point-of-departure for the 3.8 km hike to the top of Pulpit Rock. The picture above shows the two of us at a point short of the summit (Ron climbed all the way; Nancy decided to stop short of the goal due to a dicey place in the trail.). The picture below shows how people love to show-off by getting close to the edge of the 1500' vertical drop into the fjord.When I got on top the rock it was really windy so I didn't stay long. However, I did find a guy who only spoke Spanish to take a very wind-blown picture of me to demonstrate that I made it! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to communicate effectively that I wanted a good picture of the fjord, with me pictured off to the side! The trail from the parking lot to the top was "rugged" to say the least. As the picture shows, much of the trail looked like a non-trail -- a boulder field instead. On top of that there were steep places where Nancy and I used "all-fours" to get down. I'm not sure my Spanish is perfect, but I'd call it un paseo horrible. Afterwards, however, some Norwegians explained to us that in Norway the preference is to leave things "natural," rather than construct a nicely graded trail like you might find in the High Sierras or the Cascades. We were both really tired when we got back to Stavanger (bus/ferry), but we were sure happy about the great weather for the hike! - rw

Stavanger Highlights

We had our final three days in Norway in Stavanger. The first evening was a fine one to explore the city center. The cathedral dates from medieval times. We explored Old Town and enjoyed the spring flowers in front of many of the historic houses.

Exploring in Alesund

Ron and I explored Alesund and found a very unused path up to a school. There were good views from the hilltop. - Nancy

More on Geirangerfjord ...

We left Geiranger on the ferry shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 18th and had even better views of the fabulous Geirangerfjord as we took the 20 mi. journey to Hellesylt in cloudy, but not rainy weather. The waterfall at the left (one of dozens of spectacular ones en route) reminded me a lot of Yosemite Falls. For most all of the journey we sat on the upper deck of the ferry in order to get the best views. On arriving in Hellesylt we had about a 45 minute wait for the regular bus to Alesund. Prior to arriving, however, it was pointed out that the waterfall pictured below is called The Seven Sisters (Count 'em & see if you can see 7 different streams!) with accompanying mythology that informs us that the huge waterfall across the canyon (not pictured) had proposed marriage many times but had always been refused. - rw

The Fjord at Geiranger

When we took the cruise ship out of Alesund for Geiranger on Saturday the forecast for Sunday was rain! It's great, however, that forecasts don't always pan-out. From the picture above one can easily tell that the weather once again was gorgeous. The section of the fjord from Geiranger to Hellesylt (which we'll travel again Monday by ferry) is widely known as the most spectacular fjord in all of Norway -- and is a U.N. World Heritage Site. So, with beautiful weather on Sunday we walked the 2 km. to town after breakfast and took the Hop-on-Hop-off bus to two different viewpoints high above the city. Then we hopped-off at mid-point downhill and took a 2 km. hike through some beautiful farm-and-forest country. [Monday morning wasn't raining, so we walked to town, took the ferry down the fjord, and the bus to Alesund.] - rw

To Alesund and beyond ...

The Norwegian Airlines flight from Bergen to Alesund via Oslo was amazing! We flew over miles and miles of glaciers and snow-capped peaks. Equally amazing was the weather in Alesund -- chilly, but bright and sunny. The Clarion Hotel where we stayed looked out on a channel that was home for a host of yachts. Not far away was the Alesund shopping center and the dock where we left on Saturday morning on a Hurtigruten cruise ship for the journey up the fjord to Geiranger, and the Geiranger Fjord which is so spectacular that it was named a U.N. World Heritage Site. The waterfalls pictured below are just one example of how amazing both sides of the channel were.On arrival in Geiranger we decided to set out on foot to reach the Grande Fjord Hotel -- a distance of 2 km. We definitely are not suffering in this hotel. Note the view in the photo below. We will be here for two nights and have a full day, Sunday, to explore the area. However, the forecast is not encouraging (rain & drizzle), but we're hopeful that the weather will be decent enough to ride on the Hop-on-Hope-off Bus and take a hike as well. - rw

A day in Bergen

When we arrived at the train station in Bergen mid-afternoon on Tuesday we had Google directions to our hotel, but Google had messed-up enough on the print-out that we made several false moves and only arrived at our destination after asking for directions 3-4 times! But, the sun was shining and we enjoyed the city.One of our must-do experiences -- according to the guidebook -- was to take the "Vernicular rail" to the top of the hill overlooking the city. Once "up on top" we took a hike through a forested area that reminded us a lot of Douglas firs in Oregon! After my insistence that we take a little-used trail (and depart from what Nancy figured was the obvious route on a gravel road) we arrived at a nice lake.Prior to seeing the view of the city we had taken an English tour-with-guide of Bryggen (old Bergen from the 1300's onward). The tour included reconstructed buildings, along with some original portions of them, to depict what life was like during the merchant days of the old Hanseatic League. The picture below gives a view both of the many tourists in Bryggen, and also some of the reconstructed buildings.During our tour I asked Nancy to pose by a large wooden sculpure of a codfish -- one of the main export items during 3-4 centuries following 1300. - rw

From Flam to Bergen

When we got up and around in Flam on Tuesday, June 12th, the fjord was still and there were some nice reflections off the water. We had breakfast at the hotel and then made our way a few hundred yards to the dock to take the public ferry down the fjord, and up another fjord that's been named as a World Heritage Site. We got off the ferry at Gudvangen and then took a "Norway in a Nutshell" bus to Voss where we boarded the train to Bergen. On the ferry we were reminded of our time on the South Island of New Zealand when we visited Milford Sound -- mostly because of all of the spectacular waterfalls coming off almost vertical canyons, fed by melting snow thousands of feet higher. The waterfalls were too numerous to count, and much too numerous to photograph. However, with the fine weather (occasional sun through the clouds) we enjoyed the trip. After arriving in Bergen we took a hit-and-miss walk with our luggage to the hotel where we'd booked 3 nights. After getting settled we had dinner down on the waterfront at one of the "stalls" that advertised fish-and-chips and salmon, salad and chips. Again, we felt fortunate about the weather! - rw

From the coast to the snow!

From the Oslo Central Train Station we boarded the Oslo-to-Bergen train and in about 5 hours gained 4000 ft. elevation and found ourselves in a snowy landscape at Myrdal where we got off the train and transferred to the Flamsbana Railway that took us 4000 ft. downhill in just one hour to the small fjord town of Flam. The train was filled with tourists, many of whom had arrived in Flam early in the day and had booked a round-trip journey on the Flamsbana, up and back. So, when we boarded the train with our tickets it appeared that the train was already full! Fortunately, however, we found seats beside a British couple who had come in on the cruise ship and were making the round trip journey. The train stopped for 5 minutes at the spectacular waterfall where Nancy and I are pictured. (And, the photo right below was taken in Myrdal as we and many others awaited the arrival of the Flamsbana.)The trip down had many eye-popping views of waterfalls and spectacular canyons. Then, when we arrived in Flam we made our way to a very nice hotel just a few hundred yards down the road. Note the cruse ship, the fabulous weather and the great view from our hotel window. - rw

Oslo (continued from previous post)

For our full day in Oslo we had purchased 24-hour passes on the trolley, the bus and the public ferry to nearby islands. With the pass we made use of the trolley from our hotel to downtown, and also used the pass to take the ferry to the offshore island where we took tours of the Viking Ship Museum (pix) and the Kon-Tiki Museum that told the story of Thor Heyerdahl and his different voyages across oceans in balsa-wood and reed rafts. It was fascinating to walk around Oslo and observe the unique Norwegian architecture. One unique thing that impressed me was the frequency of "turrets" atop ordinary buildings. Street signs, however, left something to be desired -- at least from the standpoint of a tourist who had never before visited the city and wanted to find an address! Nancy is pictured just below the Royal Palace where it didn't seem like we saw the changing-of-the-guard, but we did observe some early morning drills that had the kind of significance that escaped us. - rw