Archaeological Find at Rest Area West of Voss

Norway Department of Transportation engineers have built a rest stop/picnic
area right on top of a neolithic site!

The three guide stones are on a north/south axis; sun light
from the fjord illuminates them in order on winter solstice;
or possibly summer solstice

Note the stone circle surrounding the north picnic table

Stone circle around the south table, or maybe it was the middle

The entire site is encircled by a gigantic stone circle (much of which, alas,
is buried beneath the E16)

A stone table for human sacrifice?

Tests suggests it was perhaps a neolithic picnic table

We believe the mizzen to be a later addition

Vicki adds:

Voss, Norway July 5, 2000

Before I forget I just want to mention how boring the 7 hours drive from Stockholm to Oslo was--all pine trees, rolling hills and lakes with very few houses let alone villages. It was pretty for the first hour but after that—those of you who have driven across upper Minnesota or southern Canada north of the Great Lakes will know what I mean. These are not even old growth forests—not when people have been living here since the last ice age! Anyway one quickly saw why the Swedish immigrants felt quite at home in the upper mid west.

In contrast, Norway is a scenic wonderland and we have been to some awfully wonderful places before. First we drove through Lillehammer of 1994 Olympics fame. It is really a tiny city—not half as large as Missoula, at the end of a gorgeous huge lake and right at the beginning of the big mountains. Spent the night in the parking lot outside the Olympic skating venue along with about 9 other “free” campers. Then we turned west into the big mountains that run all the way to the west coast and fjord country. I’m sure Mark will describe his big hike, but we basically drove for two days through country much like the Beartooth Highway—except more of it. Wild, desolate and just entering mid spring, even though it is early July. We are so far North that treeline stops at about 3000 ft. and even the 4500 ft. peaks look like the Alps with all their snow and some of the largest glaciers in Europe.

The last two days we have driven over the wet-your-pants highways with dozens of hairpin turns, impossible drop offs, and large tour buses passing you on a 1 lane road with pull offs. Rick Steves advises passengers not to scream until actually hit or having left the road. I was able to comply but have ground about an inch of enamel off my teeth. The views were worth it though, especially when the mountain pass area ended and we stopped to gaze at the Sognefjord 4000 ft below us. It was truly one of the amazing sites of my life. (However, today when we started down another of these crazy roads and we passed a sign saying 18% grade ahead, we both decided that turning around was the best thing to do and we would just have to miss that waterfall.)

By the way, though Norway is absolutely wonderful, both Mark and I are constantly seeing things that remind us of similar sites in Montana. Okay, Montana doesn’t have fjords but it has drop dead scenery that can hold its own against almost anywhere else we have been.

Naeroy and Aurlands Fiords

The boat cruise from Flam to Gudvangen (and vice versa) takes in two of the more scenic arms of the Songdefiord, the Naeroy and the Aurlands fiords. Both are unusually high and narrow. The Naeroy, another World Heritage Site, narrows to 250m at one point, and the cliffs/peaks along the fiords can reach 4,000 feet. Typically, one boats just one way, then buses back, either beginning or ending the day on the Flamsbana, a 20km alpine railway thrill-ride. We decided that neither the bus ride nor the Flamsbana were of interest and so elected to do the cruise both ways, from Gudvangen to Flam and back to Gudvangen. The photographer among us observed that this would give us good views and light on both sides of the fiords. Anyhow, this is what we did, driving (mostly tunnel) from Flam to Gudvangen, and then spending most of the rest of the day on the cruises, including the return stop at the formerly isolated village of Undredal. The fiords, such as we have seen now, are awesome. We were very impressed with the fiords we saw in New Zealand (although they are mostly inaccessible to the normal tourist), and also Alaska. Norway's fiords seem on a different scale altogether in size, height, extent and complexity. The glaciers that made them are gone, although vestigial glaciers remain in the high country. The work of those ancient glaciers was colossal, their effects beyond any words or images. We drove on from Gudvangen, past Voss, to a rest area on a lake just east of Dale.

The Good Ship Lykkeper, at Gudvangen Waterfalls on the Naeroyfjord Typical Naeroy view On the Naeroy Gulls follow the cruise boats everywhere, hoping for a handout Aurlandfjord The village of Undredal (at the bottom of the mountain) Geology students: note U-shape More waterfalls Us 

Old Aurland Highway

At Sognesdal we provisioned up and sought advice from the local tourist information center. The fiords of Norway are vast and intricate, not little indentations in the coastline, and some serious planning is in order. Despite all the tunnels and bridges and ferries, there are some places you can't get to from here, and some places you have to go through if you want to get there. Throughout Scandinavia, the “I”'s (tourist information centers) have been consistently helpful and informative, as was Sognesdal's. We drove down the west side of the Lustrafjord from Sognedal to Mannheller, had lunch on the dock, and then took the ferry (every 20 minutes) across to Laerdal. It's a 10 minute boat ride, but it saves perhaps a hundred miles of driving. From our sometime guide, Rickie Stevie, we had determined to drive from there to Flam, from which there are a number of interesting scenic options. The new road to Flam involves the world's longest tunnel, 24km, which apparently goes under mountains and glaciers. But we eschewed this, taking instead, the old Aurland road, across the 4,000 foot Hornadalen, one lane with turn-outs, 12 real hair-pin turns, all of which Rickie Stevie says “is worth the messy pants.” In some respects it reminded us of the Beartooth Highway in Montana, alpine plateau and plenty of mountains, frozen lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, and the rest to see. It was not really all that bad a drive. We stayed at a real campground in Flam and made our plans for the next few days.

Aurland Fiord Typical terrain on the old highway We were parked, admiring the scenery, and this couple pulls up, hops out, the woman starts climbing the slope, skis and poles in hand, then skis back down; then back in their car and drove on Standard hairpin Vicki made me pull over when she saw the turbuss coming 

Driving from Spiterstulen to Sognefjord

En route from Spiterstulen to Sognefjord, a side trip up Leirdalen, the valley of the Leir

We were going to take the interpretive hike out to this glacer...

But they hadn't put the signs up yet

We followed the Norwegian ski team for some distance

Saw skiers at the pass

And cairns; they build cairns, hundreds of them, at every high point

It's not quite high summer here yet

Finally, our goal, Sognefjord, or at least its Lusterfjord arm; Sognefjord is Norway's largest, with many different arms and branches; here we are perhaps 150 miles from the sea; we'll continue along Sognefjord for a few days

Campsite on the fjord near Sognedal

Galdhopiggen Out-takes

The summit cafe on Galdhopiggen

Northern Europe's highest barrista; makes a mean cup of instant

Interior of the cafe

A table with a view, please

This is the guided-tour, crossing the glacier back to their tour bus;
"remember, if anyone falls into the crevasse, cut the rope!"

Ascent of Galdhopiggen

Spiterstulen is an unpretentious but very nice lodge/cabins/hostel/campground place 20km up from Lom, set between Norway's two big mountains, Glitterlind and Galdhopiggen. It is a jumping off point for a variety of hikes, treks and climbs. And it is alpine country, 1100 meters, but already above tree-line at this latitude, and surrounded by snowy peaks and glaciers and torrential creeks and rivers of glacier-milky water. It is a terrain more akin to Denali than anything else I can remember.

There are two standard routes up the big mountain, Galdhopiggen. The more popular is via Juvasshytta, at 1800 meters, where, in a group, you rope-up, and a guide leads you across the glacier, like a tour bus, and then up a ridge to the summit. Being cheap, independent, anti-social, slow, etc., I elected the second route, longer and steeper, but no group and no guide, from Spiterstulen. We don't need no stinking guides.

From Spiterstulen, Galdhopiggen is described as a day-hike, and indeed it is, but a very long one, at least early in the season with so much snow. I left the camper at 8AM, reached the summit at 4, very late, and got back down only by 10PM. It was about a 4,500 foot climb, by my reckoning, one of the longest I have ever done, both up and back, in a day. The first thousand feet or so was trail and then talus, and then, talus and boulder-hopping. After that, most of the way, it was mixed snow and boulder-hopping, mostly snow. The snow was deep and slower-going, but the consequences of slipping, as I did many times (my boots are environment-friendly, with not very aggressive lugs), were far less than on rock, particularly where the boulders formed a knife-edge over the glaciers below. There were several high points, but the true summit came into view only about 2PM. (I had begun to wonder why all the parties that had passed me on the way up were not passing me now on the way back down). I slugged on, sending word back to Vicki at the camper that I would be late returning.

What I thought was a summit refuge turned out to be a summit cafe. See pix. What is this, France? I bought a souvenir, had a cup of coffee, signed the register, closed the place, then took pix all around, and felt very good about making yet another significant summit. Persistence, determination, calculation, etc. The alpine surroundings were incredible, more like Alaska than anything else I can remember. It was glorious, in every direction.

Then I remembered I had to get back down. Another six hours of trudging, light failing, wind picking up, getting cooler....

At length, I made it back down, slipping and sliding more than I would have liked, but nothing serious except a bit of sun-burn. On the way I helped a Norwegian family find its daughter's sunglasses in a boulder-field. Who can resist making a ten-year-old happy? I hope she will think well of Americans.

Vicki was properly unhappy with me when I got back. 14 hour stress tests are not what a 62 year old should be doing. She is right, of course. As always. But I'd do it again. Day after tomorrow.

Upper reaches of the route from Spiterstulen; I
have no pix of the mountain proper--it's pretty isolated

Final push to the summit

Summit view

Bergschrund on a glacier below

Distant view from summit

From Lillehammer to Spiterstulen

Wednesday we drove from Lillehammer north to Ott, then west to Lom, the gateway to Oppland and the Jotunheimen national park. The high point of the day was outside Ott, where we happened upon an LPG/propane gas place. Being self-contained and all is neat, but every so often you need to worry about such fundamentals as water, propane, diesel, emptying the grey and black tanks, etc. We had been using propane very deliberately since Germany, knowing that it is hard to come by in some parts of Scandinavia. We needn't have worried. The fill-up took 26 liters, which means we burned only 21 in the past 5 weeks. The full tank, which we use for cooking, heating, refrigerator sometimes, and very occasional generator (to run the microwave), will last us to the UK, certainly, in August. From Lom, we took the toll road up to Spiterstulen, which is the main hopping off point for hikes and climbs in the national park. Galdhopigen, at 2470 meters, is Norway's (and indeed Scandinavia's) highest mountain, and I have determined to try it.

The alpine scenery increases from Lom And the waterfalls And the mountains and glaciers Spiterstulen lodge Wednesday we drove from Lillehammer north to Ott, then west to Lom, the gateway to Oppland and the Jotunheimen national park. The high point of the day was outside Ott, where we happened upon an LPG/propane gas place. Being self-contained and all is neat, but every so often you need to worry about such fundamentals as water, propane, diesel, emptying the grey and black tanks, etc. We had been using propane very deliberately since Germany, knowing that it is hard to come by in some parts of Scandinavia. We needn't have worried. The fill-up took 26 liters, which means we burned only 21 in the past 5 weeks. The full tank, which we use for cooking, heating, refrigerator sometimes, and very occasional generator (to run the microwave), will last us to the UK, certainly, in August. From Lom, we took the toll road up to Spiterstulen, which is the main hopping off point for hikes and climbs in the national park. Galdhopigen, at 2470 meters, is Norway's (and indeed Scandinavia's) highest mountain, and I have determined to try it.

Lillehammer

Tuesday, lazily, we got no farther than Lillehammer, at the head of the lake. We are parked presently near Hakon's Hall, site of the 1994 Olympic hockey and other competitions. See pix of other Olympic sites. That Lillehammer, a town of 22,000, could have organized and accommodated the winter Olympics in 1994, is indeed some sort of municipal miracle. It is the smallest town ever to have hosted an Olympics. Here in the Olympic parking lot, I am feeling very international, having downed the last of my German beer (Berliner Kindl) and eaten a nice bowl of Tom Ka and rice, the prawns from Norway, the kaffir lime and pepper and coconut milk, maybe not; the rice from Uncle Ben. Travel carries with it many heavy responsibilities: you have to do this, have to see that, have to try this, etc. At least in the Scandinavian countries, the food/drink burden is somewhat lessened. It's mostly hunter/gatherer fare, mostly seafood, mostly cold, mostly bland. I had some reindeer sausage today: heavily spiced gamey meat. We shopped at a Norwegian supermarket: very limited selection, very high prices. Worse yet, it is a nation of tee-totalers. Saturday afternoon, after 6 PM, you can't buy a can of beer at the local supermarket. A 500ml can of beer, BTW, will cost you 31 crowns, nearly $5. One can. And low alcohol content, too, not like my Carlsberg Elephant or beloved Duvel. Forget wine and spiritual experience; they are only available from the state liquor stores, at presumably exorbitant prices. Come to think of it, we have been in Norway now a week and have yet to see one of these state liquor stores. Curiosity I failed to photograph department: the mini-golf course in Lillehammer is called “Lilliputthammer.”

The ski jumps above Lillehammer

Hakon's Hall, where hockey was played

The gold medals awarded in Hakon's Hall, 1994

Sculpture outside the hall