Norway Road Trip

Today we saw countryside by van as we left Bergen and drove to Birksdal to see the glacier and Kleivafossen waterfall. Our plan was to then travel to Eidsdal and travel by ferry to Geirenger from  through another fjord and see the famous Seven Sisters Waterfalls. 

But that didn't quite work out as planned.

Our trip was over eight hours by car (Dan and Chad trading off driving) and yet,

the landscape and views were the point so the long drive didn't feel long at all.

Passing glassy lakes, quaint towns and farms tucked, picturesque churches, over steep mountain passes, ski resorts, cabins, a blue glacier, waterfalls and lots of chocolate and great conversation.

One comment the Christensen’s keep making is there’s more snow than they’re used to seeing (they’ve usually come in summer) and it’s not nearly as green--

the trees are just starting to bud. 

But its all we know, and we love it!

Also, the Birksdal waterfall is only a fraction of the flow in summer where the spray soaked visitors standing way back on the bridge!

But we loved it and I especially loved seeing the turquoise water in the pond at the base.

I really couldn't get enough of the color and how clear it was.

We think everything looks amazing

And we LOVE that nothing is crowded!

The water in every lake and fjord has been glassy and the reflections are spectacular. 

After nine hours in the car, we arrived at the last ferry at 6:30 to take us to Geirenger through another fjord to our hotel only to discover it wasn’t running today. The last one had been 4:30 p.m.

Dan did some quick googling and discovered another route around to get us to our hotel. 

It was another two hour drive but we could ferry the opposite direction in the morning back to the town we were currently sitting in.

This is the part where being adults and enjoying each other's company comes in handy--we didn't mind being together for another couple hours. Chad was a good sport to stay in the driver's seat for a while longer and especially at the end braving the HARROWING drive down 11 steep switchbacks to the valley floor and our hotel for the night--our vans breaks squealing at every turn.

I did everything I could to look up the mountain instead of down to the gorge below, and apparently I wasn’t the only one--later everyone admitted we were all kinda terrified. 

Switchbacks don't look nearly as frightening from below as they did from up top.

But we made it and our views are stunning. 

They kept the kitchen open for us. Fish again and I'm still not even tired of it.

So fresh and tender and delicious.

View from our room.