Memories of Norway

[giantcanopy]

Did u take the ferry from Geirangerfjord to Hellesyt. Geirangerfjord is indeed one of the most romantic hideaway which I would really love to go in near future. #8 is really "silent", almost near dead silence.

Hi kuantoh. We initially planned to take ferry from Hellesyt but to our surprise it was closed. I think probably off season. Also my fault to assume that all ferries will be running regular hours. We had to drive northwards to Stranda to take a ferry to Liabygda, drive to Linge, and from Linge another ferry to Eidsdal, and then another hr drive into Geiranger. Luckily we started off the drive early from Bergen, by the time we reached Geiranger it was already in the evening, tired and famished.

* If the Hellesyt were to be operating / in season, it will bring you right into the heart of Geiranger.

Really viking style. Do you find their fish too much for our stomach to take?

Apparently the method of drying was much unchanged since Viking days. I only tried dried fish once in one small restaurant in Geiranger, and it wasn't too bad actually except the consistency was a little harder. It is nothing near our salted fish though. Fresh fish is amazing, some of the restaurants we tried either buy their fish same day from fishermen or they go out themselves and fish in the morning. Reindeer/Beef/whale/lamb/even pork are usually prepared in steak. Chicken or duck are more commonly found in asian restaurants. The small dish/appetizers of sweet/sourish marinated small fishes, herings are essentially identical to those in Iceland. I do find most of their food to be on the saltier end even the way they prepare the steak sauce. They love to add a little herbs into their butter ( actually rather nice ) and fish soup. On the whole I actually quite like it!

Ryan

 

[giantcanopy]

# 18

Geiranger
We had an early dinner at Hotel Union - the greenish stretch of building in the centre. The dinning hall faces the enclosed fjord and it was an amazing visual treat in for diners in the evening.
If you loved the dining view of Mt Cook from Hermitage hotel in south island, this will be nothing short of breathtaking.

 

[crispy12]

Amazing photos!!

 

[giantcanopy]

Thx crispy12!

# 19

Ålesund from Alska.

A view of Ålesund from Aksla viewpoint. Ålesund is a town that we visited as a day trip from Geiranger, and I was pretty lucky to get a proper panorama, for it was mostly snowfall with very poor visibility most of that day.
One can either do a short hike with 400 over step climbing to the top of Aksla or drive and park atop. Because we stayed at Geiranger, I could not stay till nightfall at Alska viewpoint for a dusk shoot ( the drive back was easily more than 2 hrs in good light with a car ferry ride in between ), and had to leave earlier. * If you stay in Ålesund you can probably get some amazing night shots from Alska.

 

[giantcanopy]

# 20

Torghatten - the tunnel at the top

Torghatten is a small mountain a short 10km drive from the small Brønnøysund township ( along FV17 ) A natural 160m long tunnel formed during the Scandinavian ice age traverses the top of the mountain, giving a good view of the sea and the islands across. While the climb is pretty popular in summer, the demarcated climbing trail was covered by the snow when we were there, and we followed bits of footsteps here and there , and we climbed up along a small freezing stream to the top.

The typical postcard shot of Torghatten ( Torghatten – the fairytale mountain - Norway official travel guide - visitnorway.com ) can be had if you were on a cruise that stopped from the ocean side of the mountain, or if you climbed down from the top towards the ocean - a route that was not feasible because it was too steep and the snow covered all tracks.

 

[mogwai]

Thoroughly enjoying this thread!

 

[robotech]

Do we need International Driving Permit for Norway?

 

[giantcanopy]

Thoroughly enjoying this thread!

I am glad mogwai

Do we need International Driving Permit for Norway?

Hi robotech, I did not apply for international driving permit. My car rental company was Avis.

# 21

Another fishing hjell, Lofoten, Svinøya, taken in the evening.
The red building at the end is Hotel Rica Svolvær where we stayed for 2 nights.

 

[robotech]

Thanks for the info...keep the pics coming!

 

[giantcanopy]

Thanks for the info...keep the pics coming!

You are most welcomed!

# 22

A morning at the beautiful Å i Lofoten, short drive from the lovely Reine where we stayed for 3 nights. Å is the southern traditional fishing village of Lofoten, and it is a very popular visited part of Lofoten.
3 stitch panorama, minimal breeze, the waters were pretty still in the morning.

Sharing a short video clip of a drive out of Å i Lofoten.

[video=youtube_share;bV8xdSBibTE]http://youtu.be/bV8xdSBibTE[/video]

Ryan

 

[Zichar]

Was expecting a snazzy soundtrack ... or possible narrative 'On your left you can see here the bright red coloured roofs; these houses have been built since 1838...'

But man that's a great inclusion, we rarely get to see any here in the landscape and travel forum. Feels like a smooth drive. Please post more vids too if you can
<I'm gonna figure out how to get one of those>

 

[giantcanopy]

Was expecting a snazzy soundtrack ... or possible narrative 'On your left you can see here the bright red coloured roofs; these houses have been built since 1838...'

But man that's a great inclusion, we rarely get to see any here in the landscape and travel forum. Feels like a smooth drive. Please post more vids too if you can
<I'm gonna figure out how to get one of those>

I had a sneaking suspicion you might be interested in the video recorder / Gopro HD2 :
HD HERO2 Motorsports Edition
I bought it still in its shrink wrap brand new off a local guy who mistakenly bought two, at a price of a used Gopro HD1!
Mount the small footprint sticky tape on the car and you are ready to record. Recording quality in low light is not the best though.

There is too much effort and time learning to do up videos, i might just learn slowly along the way. Meanwhile it is just windows movie maker!
I initially got interested in video recording the journey after watching what scott/justin/andre did in Departures ( of course andre's directing and videography is masterclass, mimicking is beyond me ) but it was way too much effort for a holiday for 2. I figure if it was a trip with 3-4 friends it will be a very doable thing to videocapture the trip and narrate along the way.

# 23

A view from the Flydalsjuvet viewpoint in winter/spring. Unfortunately the classical postcard shot could not be realised as everywhere was snow covered with some areas piling higher than the barricade, slippery rocks. The nearby toilets were .. locked .. since it was off season.

 

[kuantoh]

Hi kuantoh. We initially planned to take ferry from Hellesyt but to our surprise it was closed. I think probably off season. Also my fault to assume that all ferries will be running regular hours. We had to drive northwards to Stranda to take a ferry to Liabygda, drive to Linge, and from Linge another ferry to Eidsdal, and then another hr drive into Geiranger. Luckily we started off the drive early from Bergen, by the time we reached Geiranger it was already in the evening, tired and famished.

* If the Hellesyt were to be operating / in season, it will bring you right into the heart of Geiranger.



Apparently the method of drying was much unchanged since Viking days. I only tried dried fish once in one small restaurant in Geiranger, and it wasn't too bad actually except the consistency was a little harder. It is nothing near our salted fish though. Fresh fish is amazing, some of the restaurants we tried either buy their fish same day from fishermen or they go out themselves and fish in the morning. Reindeer/Beef/whale/lamb/even pork are usually prepared in steak. Chicken or duck are more commonly found in asian restaurants. The small dish/appetizers of sweet/sourish marinated small fishes, herings are essentially identical to those in Iceland. I do find most of their food to be on the saltier end even the way they prepare the steak sauce. They love to add a little herbs into their butter ( actually rather nice ) and fish soup. On the whole I actually quite like it!

Ryan

Thanks for the feedback. For the driving portion, did you opt for AT car? Was driving conditions tough as I initially planned for honeymoon there last year but gave up the idea in fear of driving in bad weather conditions which may ruin the honeymoon.

Keep the photos coming. I am enjoying every shot posted here

 

[giantcanopy]

Thanks for the feedback. For the driving portion, did you opt for AT car? Was driving conditions tough as I initially planned for honeymoon there last year but gave up the idea in fear of driving in bad weather conditions which may ruin the honeymoon.

Keep the photos coming. I am enjoying every shot posted here

Many thanks kuantoh. I opted for automatic transmission but very limited choices since most of the cars driven are manual transmission. Auto preferable since my wife as the second driver would be much more comfortable with automatic transmission

Unlike icelandic roads where it might actually be more comfortable to get a higher clearance SUV 4WD vehicle, norwegian roads are better maintained and less treacherous and can get good experience with a sedan. Our Subaru outback was more than competent with lots of space for luggages and stuffs.

Ryan

 

[giantcanopy]

# 24

The really beautiful Reine, our favourite fishing village in Lofoten. A stitch of 5 frames in the evening.
Reine was voted the most beautiful place in Norway in the late 1970's, and it was not difficult to tell why. It is a short easy drive from the Moskenes ferry terminal and not far from Å. We even met a painter by the bridge presumably painting a similar sunset.
We rented an stayed in a rorbuer ( fisherman's cabin ) near the edge of the water, and it was a great experience ( much cheaper than staying in hotels as well ).

While there is a gas station in Reine, gas in Lofoten is cheaper in Leknes and Svolvær but they are much further drive away. If you have to, try to fill up the gas at Bodø even before car ferrying over Lofoten.

Location :
( Click image for larger map )

 

[giantcanopy]

# 25

Old Gildeskål church built in 1100s. The newer Gildeskål church is a short walk nearby. The parish church lies in municipality of Gildeskål in Nordland county.
Tilted panorama.

Location :
Blue route marks the FV 17 costal route.

 

[giantcanopy]

# 26

Lofoten, Unstad

Located above the arctic circle, Unstad is a favourite spot for surfers, and touted to be the most beautiful surfcamp in the world. Unstad is a short 15km +/- drive from Svolvær. As it was off season in the freezing spring, Unstad was like a ghost town / campsite.

Location :
( Click image for larger map )
A short drive off the E10 expressway. The paved road stops a little short, and will need abit of walk towards the rocky beach.

 

[playhard]

number 1 looks like the scenery in "tales of Andersen"

 

[giantcanopy]

number 1 looks like the scenery in "tales of Andersen"

I have no knowledge of "tales of Andersen" but I assume u meant it looked a little fairy tale like ?

# 27

Lofoten , Eggum. Tilted panorama.
Striking red rorbuers rim a snow trail along the beach.

Location :
( Click image for larger map )
Another one of those impromptu detours that we got off the E10 highway.
I remembered it to be a rather beautiful photogenic drive, colourful houses.



Ryan

 

[playhard]

This is what i'm talking about. AndersenFairyTales.com
And I love your photos