Fjords
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2012
1
20
45
Trip End
Jul 29, 2012
Balestrand, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The ferry cruised along at 30 knots (60kmh), some times within metres of the fjord wall. Being "inside" the water was flat, hard to tell that we were on the water.
From what we saw in Bergen and from the ferry, every Norwegian has a house on the water or one from where the water is clearly visible. You would think that that would make them happy. It would, me.
we sailed by Jorvik, under two bridges near Knarvik, under the 565 bridge near Kalond refinery and into Sognefjord. We stopped at a couple of towns along the way and just south of Vadheim, passed the deepest part of the fjord at 1300m.
We arrived at Balestrand on time at 1150, where the green Volvo was waiting to carry our bags to the Balestrand Hotel. Ben Tours had booked us a mountain view room, so we were surprised when our 3rd floor room overlooked the fjord.
On check in to the small establishment, the girl at the desk recommended that we hike some trails and gave us a trail guide. Having been seated for nearly four hours, and despite of a little calf soreness from yesterday's trek, we decided to stretch our legs.
The trail started about 100m above town and varied between there and 200m along its length. There were a few scenic lookouts and great changes of vegetation. We probably covered 4 or 5 km in 5 hours.
Dinner at Kviknes Hotel was a buffet, with plenty of choices. From cured meats, king crab, and a dozen choices of salmon to salads, roast meats and deserts. We washed it down with a local blond from Flam.
At 10 pm the sun was still up
At 11 pm the sun was still up on the mountains across the fjord
