Cruising Naeroyfjord

I was not awarded my Mensa membership today.   Thankfully, things worked out and it turned into a grand day, despite my pre-dawn mental hours spent rounding up the mental monkeys who were busy taunting me because Mastercard did not post a rather important purchase to WestJet 4 days ago.  Traveling is not for the cowardly.

Miscalculation #2 involved over-padding what should have been a 2 hour car trip, extending it to 4 hours.   I was intimidated by warnings of construction, duly warned by CHAT and Google.  Except, delay was about 3 minutes.   So we ran a healthy few hours ahead of schedule and that resulted in quite a pleasant stop for a latte back in Voss.  Even still, the driver was not thrilled to start his day a few hours early.  I even bought him a cookie.  Ahem.

We arrived in Flän with half an hour to spare.  This, despite the navigator’s error combined with Google maps not catching up after an 11 km tunnel, necessitating a few extra km and a creative U-turn.  (So, not my fault, really).

We boarded a handsome ship in the tiny harbour with about 375 other enthusiasts.   About 370 of them were Chinese tourists, and boy, were they ever excited.  Specifically, to have their pictures taken, one by one, by holding the flapping flag at the stern of the ship (where we were seated).  

We sailed through a part of this beautiful planet that was timeless and rugged.  There were too many waterfalls to count, and the intense green of the pastures where tiny villages and farms were located made a striking contrast to the stark peaks that soared over us.

Fläm in the rear view mirror

We did get a sprinkle of rain, but not much more than that.  Sadly, the light was kind of flat so the pictures do not do justice to the breathtaking landscape.  You can see how narrow the fjord is in the photo with the flag in it (in the nanosecond that it was not populated by the aforementioned group.)

I had booked us on a bus back to Fläm from Gudvangen after the cruise ended.   We found the proper bus stop quickly and stood in line with the throngs and eureka, 5 minutes later the bus appeared.   First in line, I proudly presented my E-ticket and that’s when he said…. Oh sorry, you bought a ticket FROM Flän to Gudvangen.  Not the other way around.

Huh.  Go figure.  My face fell into my boots.  Dave cleared his throat.  We were advised to step aside and let the others board.  So we did, looking like the two embarrassed Canadians that we were.  I fixed my eyes on my feet.  Held up the line and everything. For sure did not look at Dave.

After an endless, suspenseful wait, the bus driver consulted his iPhone and announced that he had four unbooked seats, and he would overlook my tactical error and let us on the bus.   I could have kissed him, or at least offer him a dozen of my prized peppermint lifesavers.    Instead, we boarded and grandly took the best seats up front and then enjoyed the 25 minute shuttle back to Flän.   Where our faithful car awaited us, and the perplexing problem of the paid parking instructions.  Since none of that was my fault (finally), I won’t go into details there.  Not interesting.

And, for those who haven’t nodded off during this diatribe, let it be known that I managed to get through to Mastercard and they confirmed that indeed, Paris will receive me with open arms on October 3.

Hopefully I’ll sleep tonight.

Exploring Voss & Seeking Hardanger Bridge

 After some stealthy planning involving the YES/NO coin, we planned out the next two legs of the trip this morning.  And still another few legs to plan, maybe as many legs as a spider, only the Shadow knows 😉.

We wanted to find the Hardanger Bridge today, about 120 km away.  It is a 4,528 ft suspension bridge with a good pedestrian lane, about a 3 km walk across.  That was the plan.  And lucky for us, we decided to stop in beautiful Voss first, because it looked so charming.   Plus.  It had a gondola! Found some free Sunday parking close by and within a few minutes we were airborne about 1200 m, arriving in a distinctly chillier, alpine land. Voss is a popular ski village and has the charm (but not the populace or insanity of Banff).  I loved it.

We even had the huge gondola to ourselves on the way down.  As with everywhere we have been in this country, it was completely uncrowded and calm.

                                                  Big bug impression on the way down!

The bridge, however, was a bust.   Despite the helpful instructions CHAT gave, finding the parking lot on either end was like finding your way out of a black room with a blindfold on.   The tunnels leading to/from the bridge are massive, so large that they actually have roundabouts in them.  Besides, when we drove across the bridge we sniffed it wasn’t all that awesome anyway.  So, meh, onward to find a picnic spot and a drive through of tiny town “Dale”, a factory town known for the quintessential Norwegian pure wool sweaters.   All was closed for the Sunday, and most likely that was a good thing on the pocketbook. 

In every way it was another lovely day in this gorgeous country.  We came home with a basket of sweet plums, sold at a roadside farmyard, delicious and dripping with juice.

Tomorrow we drive to Fläm to catch our Fjord tour to Neroyfjord.  Fingers crossed for sunshine or at least - no rain!

Gallery Day - Bryggen

Train #40 carried us into Bergen today in the usual efficient 17 minutes, half of which was in tunnels. But what a deal, especially when you don’t want to drive in a downpour and look (and pay for) parking. $7 Canadian for two seniors.  And, they forgot to charge us on the return.

Central station deposits you within perfect walking distance of everything - the Kode galleries showcased some beautiful Norwegian paintings including Harriet Backer, a woman who fought hard to make herself known as a female artist.   I discovered Johan Dahl, a superbly talented landscape artist who painted Norwegian nature and the people who lived in it.  A master of light.  Two of my favourites:

And of course, weird old Edward Munch, who painted a heartbreaking self-portrait while he was in hospital for a nervous breakdown.  There he became so enamoured with the German philosophy of health, nature and exercise, that his dark and disturbing paintings changed to a much cheerier presentation.

Two galleries were included in the price, the second an exhibition of modern art and photography.   Strange and thought provoking.

Enough art.  We explored old Bryggen and the Fish Market, which was lively and bursting with tourists.   There, I disgraced myself by succumbing to a chocolate donut (and a pistachio one for Dave).   Handed over the kroners and then winced when I did the conversion… my first $10 donut.   I haven’t felt so fleeced since I paid 10 euros in Italy for gelato on a boiling hot day.

Serious rain began as we left the fish market, and I pulled out my lovely Monet rain poncho from my purse.   When I did so, there was a clatter at my feet and I looked down to discover a thick gold coin in a plastic container.   It’s a novelty coin, with yes/no written on each side, and I have zero idea of how it got there.  I have never seen it before.  However, serendipity follows her own plan, so we are going to use its flippability to help decide on our next destination(s).   We fly out of Bergen one week from today.  Any guesses about where we’ll land?