Thursday, August 16, 2012

A Sunday drive in troll country

This post is mainly going to consist of pretty pictures of the fjords and lakes we saw on our drive between Sunndalsora and Trollstigen and then to the Marsdalfossen Waterfall. The Trollstigen is an insanely twisty piece of road going up a mountain - "Trollstigen" means "the troll's footpath". It has a 9% gradient and 11 hairpin bends, going up to 850 metres. My parents first came up here in the 1970s, when apparently it was just a gravel road - it must have been terrifying! I'm still amazed my mum agreed to come back. This time, it was not scary (at least for me). I'll post some videos when I get around to it.

It was hard to narrow down my selection of photos, the scenery was just mind-blowingly beautiful, and we had fantastic warm, sunny weather - couldn't have asked for better!

The drive along the fjords to Trollstigen. Then the drive to Mardalsfossen was along the right-hand side of the long lake that goes vertically up the middle of the map

In Andalsnes

Also Andalsnes

We found a troll! A friend of mine on facebook asked if he was our "Fjord Escort". Groan

Somewhere on the side of the road


At the top of the Trollstigen


The Trollstigen

The Stigfossen waterfall plummets 320 m down the mountain next to (and underneath) the Trollstigen


Not the ideal place to meet sheep on the road

Look-out point on top of the Trollstigen


Trollstigen visitors' centre, only completed in June this year. The water was amazingly clear

Stigfossen waterfall/river by the Trollstigen

I told dad you wouldn't be able to see me in the photo if he didn't come closer










In some bits, it was incredibly misty first thing in the morning




At Andalsnes

Mardalsfossen Waterfall (in the background). 650 m high

Mardalsfossen Waterfall

Stopping for a chocolate break! We had a bit of a chat with the lads behind me, turned out they were Scots who worked in Norway vaccinating salmon. Who knew that was a job?

8 comments:

  1. Those are some beautiful shots.

    Vaccinating salmon? Really?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yep, apparently they hatch them in captivity then vaccinate them before sticking them into farms in the sea... Something to think about next time you have salmon!

      Delete
  2. Wonderful, gorgeous pictures.....we must look for flights to Oslo!

    Love Denise

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks! Yes I had never really thought of going there, but it was so lovely I'd like to go back! I hear Bergen is really nice too

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, awe-inspiring, magnificent, breathtaking...have I missed any adjectives that I should use to describe the homeland of my father's ancestors? It's easy to understand why it was so difficult to decide which photos to post.

    I love your friend's facebook humor - a Fjord Escort, indeed. My mother used little trolls and gnomes to decorate the mountain valley village that she made as part of her Christmas decorations. At some point, I'll have to tell you what American-Norwegians eat for Christmas. The "real" Norwegians think we're crazy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was amazing! You should be vicariously (if that's the word) proud! I will have to remember to enquire about A Very American-Norwegian Christmas next time I see you.

      Delete
  5. Love the photos and love the troll joke too! And if you think vaccinating salmon is weird, how about my friend who had a job on a fish farm harvesting their eggs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Maybe it's a Scottish thing?? :)

      Delete

Feed the Comment Monster! Rawrrrr

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.