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Norway 2002 |
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 Kari
remembers coming up to this sæter as a child with her grandmother. It is not far down the valley from the family farm. |
My grandmother's family immigrated from the farm pictured on the far
right in the photo. It's location on Nordfjord,
north of Olden, is about a ten minutes drive from my grandfather's farm
on Lake Loen. |
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At the end of the Loen valley is the Kjenndalsbreen arm of the glacier. It is about a 2 km walk from the end of the road. To get an idea of its size in the 1st picture I am the red dot in the rocks approaching the glacier. Sharon didn't want me to go too close. I replied, "If my family could survive three landslides in this valley, I can put my hand on the face of it's glacier." The color of the 1000 year old ice at the face is an incredible blue that doesn't show up well in the photos. |
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After leaving Nordfjord we had to make a detour.
We were told that the road from Stryn to Geiranger was still under 8
meters of snow. So we gave up a round trip on Geirangerfjord for a
longer day with the relatives in Nordfjord. Next trip!
Much of Norway was in bloom. Lilacs, apples, buttercups, Queen
Ann's lace, lupine and many other varieties
were found in everything from small patches to whole fields. |
Our final stay on the road was at Älesund. A city on the coast north of Nordfjord known for its "Art Nuevo" buildings. Another city in which walking is the best choice. We found an interesting sign on a hill that said "This is one of few remaining hills in Älesund. The rest have been dynamited away and leveled for building." |
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| The last day was a long drive back to
Bergen.... Nine and a half hours of driving with minimal breaks. Four ferries
and many tunnels later, we returned the car and prepared for the next
mornings flight home.
"NOTE: Even if it is your first trip, plan to spend more time with relatives! Less than a full day is not enough!" |
The few pictures presented here are a sampling
of the almost 400 taken, 277 of them with a small digital camera. We
had a wonderful time in Norway and will probably return someday to see and
experience the places and people we missed this time.
Hilsen! Ha det bra! |
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