Chasing Waterfalls

Friday greeted us with bucketing rain, which I gather is the norm here and also a source for the exuberant waterfalls that are everywhere.  The only thing that outnumbers the waterfalls are the tunnels.  I remarked that this would be a very bad place to live if you suffered from tunnelphobia.   Norwegians don’t go over mountains, they just gopher their way straight through, sometimes for several kilometers.  They are wide (the tunnels, not the Norwegians), brightly lit and (thankfully) very quiet in terms of traffic. And it doesn’t rain inside them.

Shortly after noon the rain slowed to a stop and so we loaded up our ‘wiches and potato salad and headed to the first of two major waterfalls - Fossen Bratte.    We were the only people to hike down to the base of the falls - steep, but doable and a good lung buster on the way back up!  Can you find Dave?

From there, a gorgeous drive through very steep caverns and roads that were cut through the side of the mountain, until we got to Steinsdalsfossen.  A little more popular due to the fact that you can walk behind the waterfall, but it was lovely, an easy walk and a beautiful vista of the valley and small town below.

Our turnaround was Norheimsund, a picturesque village with a maritime museum and a good spot to enjoy a late lunch while gazing out on the fjord.   The museum would be such a joy for children, as they have bins of various shapes of wood, hammers, nails, sailcloth.  All are invited to pound together the best seafaring ship they can imagine, then float them in the adjoining pool to the building.   All for free.  My grandkids would ❤️ it here!!

OMG, it’s fixed!!

 This morning’s view from my bedroom window.

 

Scenes from the train

 

                                                     Our funny little train station at Trengereid

Upload issues

I find it bitterly ironic that I am in the most glorious setting on the planet with an iPhone brimming over with postcard-worthy pictures - and our friend Google has lost the ‘marriage’ licence between importing and pasting photos into the blog.  My BFF CHAT and I spent a few hours trying various workarounds, all to no avail, and it was finally revealed that this is an issue that Google is trying to fix.   Believe me, there are thousands of furious bloggers like me checking every two minutes on the functionality, so I hope soon I’ll be able to share some of the astounding beauty of this country.

Yesterday’s train trip was over all too quickly, despite the 7 hours that it took to arrive at Bergen station, and from there, to another little regional train that deposited us 15 minutes later at Trengereid.   And, a daunting hill to climb to get to our lodgings.  Mental reminder:  The next time a host offers to pick us up, just say YES.   It wasn’t a lengthy haul but it was sure steep and my lungs were on fire by the time we arrived and were greeted by our host, a Hawaiian lady (I’m not kidding!  Where else would you find a Hawaiian lady but in a tiny Norwegian village?), who gave us a little tour and welcomed us with freshly pressed apple juice and Norwegian chocolate bars.

Without the cacophony of Dublin or the wet-laundry mildew of Oslo, I slept deeply.  The air here is so fresh and invigorating and the view of our fjord is simply stunning.  And it was a good thing I felt restored, as today held the mission of training back to Bergen, catching a different train out to the airport and picking up our Toyota Yaris, our faithful steed for the next 8 days.   Google maps then got us to an excellent grocery store, and Dave unloaded about a billion kroners to fill the pantry to the brim.   Fully loaded, we made it back to Trengereid without a hitch thanks to clearly marked roads and the constant advice from my iPhone.   We are in the mountains here and therefore, many, many tunnels to drive through but all brightly lit and relatively quiet as far as the traffic goes. This is a breathtakingly beautiful country, with waterfalls around every corner and deep fjords and sparkling lakes everywhere. 

I just wish I could share some pictures!  Mañana, maybe.  C’mon Google!