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Tour de Norway

Helen bought a new car in Oslo. We decided to make a trip out of it. First leg was the bus to Askvoll, followed by the express boat to Bergen. From Bergen we took the train to Oslo. And then we drove the car back via Numedal, Hardanger and Eksingedal/Modal.

Image: Our ride arrives in Askvoll. MS Frøya, a high-speed catamaran. Image: Sakrisskjæret by Sakrisøyna, a small islet in Hyllestad municipality. The trip to Bergen is full of such coastal vistas. Image: Image: Image: Image: Image: River and a mountain road. Image: Nets for catching falling rocks. Image: And barriers for catching snow drifts. Image: Hoth (Finse) in summer. The glacier is the Hardanger Glacier (Hardangerjøkulen). Image: Lovely mountain lakes. Image: Starting to descend from the mountains. Another lake. Image: Heading back home. My first visit to Kongsberg in 15 years. Image: We decided to take a different route back home this time: via Numedal. This is a bend in the river (Numedalslågen). Image: Some road-side art installation. Image: Entering the town Lampeland. Which literally translates as "Lamp land". Image: The street lamps in Lampeland are unique. Image: The upper power plant at Rødberg. Image: And the dam for the lower power plant. The floating wood is whirling above the intake. Image: A statue commemorating WW2. Image: The first of three mountain passes between Uvdal and Geilo. At 1100m lies Vasstulan Høyfjellseter. Image: Mountain landscape. Image: Lake Ånevatnet, just starting on our descent towards Dagali. Image: Back on Hardangervidda. This is the dam at the eastern end of lake Ørteren. Image: The dam from the other side. Image: Rainy day in the mountains. Here we're crossing a lake. Image: The vastness of Hardangervidda. Vidde can be translated as expanse. Image: Hardangerjøkulen seen from the other side. Image: Steep descent. This is the 4th such sign we've seen today (warnings start at 6%). Image: On our way down. The dam is at lake Sysenvatnet. Image: We stopped at the famous waterfall Vøringsfossen on the way down towards Eidfjord. The parking lot is right next to a sheer cliff. The sign is disappointing though. The Norwegian is all right, but the English grammar is not superb. Nor is the German. I don't really know French, but the Dutch is abysmal. Image: Vøringsfossen. Image: We stopped in Eidfjord because Helen insisted on finding the world's largest pelton turbine wheel. Image: The wheel is on display because it was damaged and had to be replaced. Image: On our way west from Eidfjord. Someone's knitted "stockings" for the trees. Image: The Hardanger Bridge. Image: Coming from Eidfjord one has to go over the hill behind the bridge in order to enter the tunnel which leads to the end of the bridge. Image: The tunnel inside the bridge has the same kind of roundabout we have in Dale, only bigger. Blue light and all. Image: The bridge itself is also very similar - but bigger - to the one in Dale. Or probably the other way around. Including tunnels at both ends. Image: After Voss, we decided on another different route than we've done before. This time via Eksingedal. This is on the road between Evanger and Fadnes. Image: Heading up Teigdalen towards the mountain pass to Eksingedal. Image: Up the mountain pass. Image: Across the mountain. Some beautiful vistas. Image: I love this kind of landscape. Image: The 5th low gear sign of the day. Image: Heading down towards Eksingedalen. Image: Having passed Mo in Modalen, heading west towards Romarheim. Image: 10% is a record on this trip. 12% is the maximum allowed on a public road.

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