11 June - Kristiansand to Geilo. 307 miles


I may run out of superlatives in today's account, but I hope I have  left some for the end because the best comes last.

Norway has 18 designated Scenic Routes, and one aim of this trip was to sample as many as possible. But on the evidence of today's drive the non-scenic ones are not half bad either.

As I planned it, we would head north from Kristiansand on the E9, which I had pictured as something like the M62, turn to the west to hug arms of the Hardanger Fjord and then switch east to stay in Geilo. The motorway bit was assumed to be prosaic but fast.



Wrong. From the moment we left Kristiansand, we were in an ever-changing scene of mountains, waterfalls and lakes. The 'motorway' was, like most of the length of Norway's main roads, single carriageway and in many places unmarked and not much wider than two cars. Bad luck if one ended behind a milk lorry or Captain Slow because overtaking opportunities were rare. But who cares (well, a fair bit) if the views are like this.


































Not bad. Roads were dry and the sun was out.

We stopped at the Stave Church in Roldal. Stavkyrkje (built of wood) can be found across southern and central Norway and most date back to the 11th to 13th Centuries. There are many finer examples (we will be looking at one of them tomorrow) but I was looking forward to this. Would you believe 1200-1250?




The route along the Hardanger Fjord was even narrower and over-stocked with motorhomes (ie there were more than none on the road). But just look. This is the view approaching Eidfjord.


And turning to the right, this is Eidfjord itself.


 Large cruise ships often stop there.


The Voringfossen waterfall, with a total drop of 600 ft, was quite a sight. I got quite a bit closer than this and looked over the edge. No thank you.





And finally to the Scenic Route. The Hardangervidda crosses the largest high mountain plateau in Europe. Well above the tree line, it is an area of tundra, the southernmost refuge of the Arctic Fox. What a spectacle! A sweeping, desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. It is meant to be home to some 15,000 Reindeer, but we did not spot a living thing.



It is as well that we did not look harder, because the magnificence around us was constantly drawing our attention away from the road. Which was not a good idea. Narrow, twisting and with sheer drops on either side (no barriers), it would be a horror in wet or icy weather; and I imagine it is often wrapped in fog. At around 5000 ft, we stopped by a still-frozen lake.

 

If you get the chance, take this road. It was monumentally good.

Now we are in Geilo and I have been inducted into the world of the £9 four fifths of a Pint and £50 bottles of house wine. Am I going to have to write this unassisted for the rest of the trip, or should I sell a Kidney?  

Some very twisty roads, which I fear will be stuffed with coaches and RVs, tomorrow.



































































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