Whakaputaina: 17.08.2019
Bergen is not without reason the rainiest city in Europe. Today it poured buckets. Perfect for a little trip into the countryside for us.
We drove through Osøyro and Lønningdal onto the 7 towards Nordheimsund, then we took the ferry from Tørvikbygd to Jondal. There were many tunnels along the way and even rockfall on the road. Despite the heavy rain, we were rewarded with the breathtaking panorama of the famous Hardangerfjord. Due to the rain, the waterfalls cascading down the rocks were even more impressive. You could really feel the power of nature.
Hardangerfjord from the ferry
This is what 'normal' roads look like here.
From there, a little road led up the mountains, which sometimes could not be distinguished from a gravel road and was quite narrow, so that dealing with oncoming traffic could be difficult.
At the beginning, we drove through valleys and forests - sometimes we had strange visitors on the roads - cows that wouldn't be shooed away and had to be driven around.
Later, the road wound around rocks and the vegetation had almost disappeared. The landscape consisted only of stone and a few lakes - and of course many cairns that the visitors had built.
A newly formed waterfall.
At the higher mountains, you could see light blue glaciers between the clouds. When we reached the top, around 1100 m, we wanted to get out. But it wasn't that easy, because the car door was slammed shut by the wind. Nevertheless, we took a little hike - we climbed on rocks and tried not to be blown off by the wind. And of course, we had to go to the glacier itself and build snowballs in August.
It almost looks like Scotland.
Keks definitely found his favorite place in Norway. There is no leash requirement here, so he was allowed to run free. He jumped around on the rocks, even took a bath - at an outside temperature of 9°C. The wind and the rain, whipped into our faces by the wind, seemed to have no effect on him. And finally, we even came across sheep. Keks, genetically a herding dog, had to round them up - they fled from him.
Here's a picture of him with a glacier ice snowball:
And of course, we had our fun too:
And here's a demonstration of how strong the wind was - inspiration for new hairstyles?
Completely soaked, we made our way back via Strandebarm and Mundheim. The ferry from Fusa to Hattvik brought us close to the supermarket, where we still had to go shopping. After all, we still have to eat the leftovers from yesterday's successful fishing.
The ferry opens its jaws again
Here's a map excerpt for orientation:
By the way: What does the landscape remind you of? The moon or a country on our earth?