There's always room for a story …
After a full day of driving back from the magnificent Trollstigen, we ended our journey just outside of Oslo, complete with overcast skies, a small town lit up in the fog and some sheep!
Farms are in abundance in Norway, and evidently, livestock are too. I promised myself to take photos of the sheep — and on the last day, I finally did!
This isn’t a long post, but it wraps up my exciting trip to Norway and Sweden.
Goodnight!
Staying in Geirangerfjord, about a 15 – 20 minute drive from the Juvet Landscape Hotel, is the Trollstigen mountain road. Located on the western coast of Norway, this 55km stretch of road is one of the most visited attractions in the country – even though it is closed for much of winter and autumn months.
Trollstigen isn’t only breath-taking, it makes the list of most dangerous roads in the world. “The road has a steep incline of 9 percent with 11 hairpin bends as it snakes its way along the steep mountainside at its a highest point, Stigrøra, at an elevation of 858 meters above the sea level,” according to dangerousroads.org. “The route’s steep 10% incline, narrow width and 11 hairpin bends make it a supremely wavy ride.”
Norwegian folkore has it: trolls roam through the mountains of Trollstigen (meaning “The Troll’s Path”) every night, but change to stone in the sunlight each morning.
What an incredible roadway – spectacular, really.
My troll continues his journey. A “Trolls Crossing” sign at the foot of the route.
My clothing for this trip is proudly sponsored by SAIL. Follow my adventures on sail.ca.
One of the highlight of this adventure, was my stay at the Juvet Landscape Hotel, Europe’s first landscape hotel.
also the location of the 2015 sci-fi film Ex-Machina, features stunning views, “birdhouse” style rooms, and lies on a sheer river bank in Valldal, West Norway (8 hours north of Bergen).
The Juvet also offers spa services unmatched by local getaways: the facility includes a 15 metre-long glass sheet facing the flowing river as it winds its way up under the hotel.
We stayed in the “birdhouse,” a small treehouse-type room, with two small levels, and a breath-taking view of Norway’s fantastic mountains. This room will cost you about $163 CDN per person. That price also includes breakfast.
I would come back here in a heartbeat. Thank you to Eric, who greeted us and treated us with incredible hospitality during our stay. Much love from Canada.
Utter perfection. I wish I didn’t have to leave so soon.
After a 500km drive (via the E16) from Bergen, we finally arrived to the “fairytale by the fjord” Geiranger. We were met with the everlasting summer golden hour, a cruise ship on its way out, and the breath-taking mountain-filled horizon.
Geiranger is considered a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county, in Stranda Municipality at the head of the Geirangerfjorden.
According to visitnorway.com, “The area’s unique natural surroundings were created during a succession of ice ages, when glaciers carved out deep fjords and shaped the high mountains – and it is not a coincidence why Geirangerfjorden today often appears on lists of the most spectacular places in the world.”
A view to add to anyone’s must-see list.
My clothing for this trip is proudly sponsored by SAIL. Follow my adventures on sail.ca.
The next major stop during our adventure in Norway was Bergen. Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, located on the southwestern coast. It has an unmatched old world charm, with strong roots to the Viking age. It is also surrounded by BEAUTIFUL mountains and fjords, including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest.
According to visitnorway.com, “[Bergen was] founded more than 900 years ago … Bergen was for several hundred years the centre of prosperous trade between Norway and the rest of Europe. Bryggen, (“The Hanseatic Wharf”) is the most obvious remnant from this time, and is today home to many of the city’s restaurants, pubs, craft shops and historical museums.”
I continued my troll collecting in Norway, I picked up this little guy in Bergen.
The tag read, “Take good care of your troll! If looked after properly it will bring you good luck wherever it is. Trolls don’t like the sun an prefer to be with others. All real trolls have long noses and [are] tall and only four fingers and toes. That’s because trolls are not quite like others.”
He travelled with me across Norway. This was his first pit stop.
The landscapes on the way to Geiranger (next post) were nothing less than unreal.
That view, though.
My clothing for this trip is proudly sponsored by SAIL. Follow my adventures on sail.ca.