After the volume of rain that we had experienced, our approach to Bergen was sunny; a relatively short drive into the southern reaches of the city would hopefully reward us with a spot at a local camper overnight stop where we could then stay for 2 nights. This was a successful venture, and we were now able to visit the city without any parking concerns. The further advantage was the use of a 24-hour public transport pass with a tram stop a mere 5-minute walk away; 20 minutes later we stepped out at the end of the line at Byparken in the city.
First tourist stop was the Fløibanen funicular, ascending to the wonderful viewing point at Fløyen and being rewarded with a panoramic view across the whole city and beyond. Bathed in sunshine, we revelled in this, as well as in an extended walk to the Skomakerdiket. Returning to the harbour market area our further activities were to walk the length of Nordnes to the viewing point, as well as a ferry crossing to Kleppestø and back. We wrapped up with a great pizza dinner at Peppes Pizza before heading back to our overnight stop.
Leaving Bergen was a relaxed affair, and our route would take us across one of the longest pontoon bridges in the world, the Nordhordlandsbrua. The rest of the day was a relaxed drive, dry and sunny, and we experienced our first ferry crossing of a fjord, the Sognefjord, between Ytres & Larvik. We also drove a portion of the Gaularfjellet Turisterveger, with a visit to the truly impressive suspended viewpoint above the valley.
Our overnight stop would be at Astruptunet, on the Jolstravatnet. A quiet spot, with a wonderful artistic sunset providing the backdrop to skipping stones. The next morning also provided picture-perfect views, thanks to light clouds, sunshine, and no wind. Ellen & Luc had a short MTB ride here before we packed up, resuming our northbound journey. Within a couple of kilometers we were treated to a wonderful fjord vista with dramatic mountain slopes and clearly a glacier in the distance – little did we know then that within a week we would be on the other side of that same glacier, some ±25km as the crow flies(!). Another fjord crossing, across the Nordfjord, and our destination was the Nesjartun campsite; specifically chosen so that we could do our laundry, and enjoy a proper shower … 🙂
Our last day of northbound journeying involved more wonderful kilometers of fjord-views as well as a couple more ferry crossings. A stop in Ålesund, with a high viewing point at Aksla, provided us (in our opinion) with a better harbour view than we had seen in Bergen. Our final destination for the day was the Atlanterhavsvegen, another tourist route with a drive over 7 bridges between islands; the most dramatic bridge is the Storseisundbrua (featured in the Bond film No Time To Die). Our overnight stop was a jewel, at a picnic stop overlooking the Gaustadvagen, where an abundance of birdlife combined with another artistic sunset to round off a wonderful chapter in the Norwegian adventure … 🙂
A side note with regard to all of our ferry crossings is that we never experienced a long wait – a number of routes involve 3 ferries, and in some cases we were lucky enough to drive into the harbour area and were able to immediately embark … 😉
📷 A photo gallery with more photo’s is available here.