Mountains and Fjords

July 6, 2016  Mountains and Fjords

Norway has incredible amounts of fresh water, with summer-long snow fields, glaciers, and huge numbers of streams and rivers, all of which have enormous flow.  So Norway gets almost all of its electricity from hydropower.  Everyone in Norway heats with the cheap electricity, and the government promotes the use of electricity over other energy sources.  Electricity is so abundant that it is exported to Germany.

Electric cars are not taxed at all, may use any lanes on the highways, and may charge for free in public parking areas.  Gasoline and diesel cars are taxed heavily.  Guess what?  There are loads of Teslas here!  Gasoline itself is heavily taxed and sells for about $7.50 a gallon.  All this despite Norway’s abundant oil reserves and extensive refining capacity.

Today was devoted to seeing the remarkable mountains and fjords of Norway.  After breakfast at our Geiranger hotel (a limited herring selection) we boarded a ferry for a ride down the World Heritage Geirangerfjord, ten miles of sheer rock walls, multiple waterfalls and tiny farms and villages.  Photos cannot do it justice.  Here it is early July and the temperature was 45 degrees with a mist and a wind.  We were prepared.  We rode on the top deck of the ferry and had stunning views.  Note the ferry on the water for perspective:

Most of the tiny farms along the fjords were abandoned many years ago.  This one has been unoccupied since the 1960s:

There are some very small villages along the fjords, most of which do have road access at least most of the year:

We then boarded our bus and spent the rest of the day driving some of the mountain roads up and over and then down to the next fjord, stopping and getting out at special views.  

Norway’s back roads are what we would call one lane wide, with steep ups and downs and multiple switchbacks.  Doing this in a bus seems crazy!  This is a two way road, and when another vehicle approaches, both drivers stop, figure out how best to pass and do so.

Norway has loads of structures with sod roofs, not only old and ancient buildings, but modern ones too.  The roof begins with a number of layers of birch bark, arranged to drain the water.  On top of that is an upside-down layer of sod, and on top of that is a right-side up layer of sod.  The roof needs to be mowed with a scythe once or twice a year, and any trees which get started must be removed promptly.  With that minimal attention, they last in this climate about 50-60 years and provide excellent insulation.  Fascinating!  Here is the library in a small town:

Norwegians are brave!  Here’s a wire pedestrian bridge from one side of a fjord to another:

Villages are set in beautiful glacial valleys:

The road over the mountains and down into the valleys makes for a white-knuckle ride:

We stopped at a small farm, the main house of which is a mostly intact structure dating to 1570 with incredibly wide hand-hewn planks, no electricity, and a lovely farmer’s daughter:

  

We’ve arrived at the town of Balestrand and our hotel room has a balcony with a gorgeous view over the majestic Sognesfjord.  More tomorrow.