Norway Part 1 - Bergen

Our latest adventure has been to the beautiful fjord region of Norway. While we could definitely have used a few more days to really soak it all, it was nonetheless another fantastic week in an unforgettably dramatic landscape.

You can see the many photos on our Norway flickr page.

We began by flying into Bergen late on the Wednesday night, where we crashed at the airport hotel (which was surprisingly good - ask Fee about the super-comf!). We were up early-ish the next morning, picking up our trusty (if not slightly buzzy) hire car before heading into Bergen proper.

Setting off, we meandred through town, not really knowing what to expect from our visit here. We soon came to the water, which is certainly in no shortage here, and more importantly the fish markets. To call it a fish market is probably a disservice, because there were all sorts of exotic delicacies on display. We got chatting to one man behind one of the stalls, who told us all about his wares and fed us with equally plentiful samples, including some of the best smoked salmon, prawns and even whale meat. (not entirely politically correct, but when in Norway...) Needless to say that he'd sold us - we'd return later in the day before we moved on!

Crossing through the extended marketplace, with fruit, vegetables, clothes and the odd stall selling wolf, deer and seal pelts, we came to the area known as Bryggen.

Bryggen is a kind of district in itself, made up of an eclectic mix of warmly coloured timber buildings that were originally used as warehouses, wharf offices and stables, dating back to the early 1700s. Looking at the photos its a miracle its all still standing!

After negotiating the maze that was Bryggen, we set on up the hill to find the funicular to take us up to the top of the hill above Bergen. A short ride up the hill and we were soon looking down on the city. We took in the views, brought Henry a souvenir (see Supermoose) and took the slow way down.

We still had a drive ahead of us, so we picked up some seafood from the market for dinner, and headed off towards Eidfjord.

Eidfjord is a little town at the end of the Eidfjord (funnily enough). If we had more time we probably would've based ourselves here for a few days, and done some walking on the Hardangervidda, Europe's largest mountain plateau. As we were only staying one night, we stuck to the car and drove up to the Voringfossen,a beautiful valley into which up to seven waterfalls cascade.

The beauty of Norway is that half the fun is in getting to your destination. We weren't really prepared for the sheer extent of the spectacular landscape of this country. From voringfossen, we spent nearly five hours in the car, and every new corner (and there were plenty) brought with it another amazing vista; vertiginous cliffs, inky black fjords, snow-capped mountains, and more waterfalls than you could ever imagine. There is certainly no water shortage here!

After a long drive, we eventually arrived in Jotunheimen, in the Jotunheimen national park, which basically consists of an enormous ice cap that feeds the many glaciers that creep slowly into the valleys below. Our ultimate destination was the Nigardsbreen glacier, which we were to traverse the next day. We checked into the Nigardsbreen guesthouse, and ducked out to another local hotel for some hearty local fare, including a dessert we had to fight a gang of hungry bingo grannies for. Into bed early, we were ready for a big day.