Norge: Round II, Part II

On the morning of our third day in Flåm, we picked up our bikes (shout out to Roald!) and disbanded to pursue our individual adventures for the day. Three intrepid students and I decided to attempt the ride up to the Stegastein Overlook, which you may remember from my previous foray into the northland. This entailed a vigorous 32km ride, 8km of which was very steep switchbacks up a mountain.

Even after only a modest elevation gain, the views were spectacular.

We were on a pretty tight schedule, so breaks were kept to a minimum, meaning maximum sweating. Definitely an attractive sight. 

But the ever improving vistas more than made our effort worth while.

The sign announcing there was only half a kilometer remaining was one of the most welcome I've seen in my entire life. By the time we got there, our legs had turned to shaking, highly unstable towers of flesh-colored jello (appetizing analogy, yeah?), but there was no time to recover, as there were fjords to be marveled at.

Victory.

After a very short recovery and picture taking break, it was time to return from whence we'd come. The ride back was significantly faster. Roughly a third the time. Which was good, as it got us back to Flåm in time for our fjord safari (another shout out, to Jon). 

We got to wear really cool outfits.

Whipping around the fjords in a RIB boat, looking for wildlife and hearing stories about the area's history was great, extremely cold, fun. Word to the wise: RIB boats are way faster than the ferry. So if you need to get from Flåm to Gudvangen in a hurry, I'd suggest trying to hop on one.

We got up close and personal with the water.

And the seals.

Once again, the weather gods smiled on us.

Norge: Round II, Part I

At the end of September I made my triumphant return to Norway, this time leading a pack of students. For four days, we were based in Flåm, exploring the fjords and surrounding mountains.

This is Flåm. As previously mentioned, it's tiny.

After a horrifically early start (arriving at CPH Lufthavn at the shockingly early hour of 5.30am), we luckily got to ease into the trip with a nice long bus ride through many, many tunnels. This was followed up by a chilly yet leisurely ferry ride from Flåm to Gudvangen, which lies at the end of the Nærøyfjord, which, as you may remember, means "narrow fjord". 

Mmmmmfjords.

Is it possible to see too many fjords? Personal experience says "nej".

Day two started with a ride up the ever popular, ever lovely Flåmbana to Myrdal. Once again, we got incredibly lucky with weather. It seems the weather gods of Norway really like me.

Behold; Myrdal.

From Myrdal, it's a 21km walk back down the Rallarvegen back to Flåm. The top of the trail is quite steep, and we were shocked to be passed by people driving cars up the ridiculously steep switchbacks. Clearly Norwegians are a hearty lot.

Picturesque cabins everywhere.

Outrageously lovely scenery has become a norm in my life.

Ah look, another waterfall.

And the river it feeds.

It was a very long walk down, and my knee was always not particularly pleased about it, but the views more than made it worthwhile. And there is a certain amount of satisfaction you get from completing a longish hike.

More cabins.

The water was an amazing shade of turquoise.

Overall, good times, and very worth the stiffness.