One of the beauties of the ferry system on the Norwegian fjords is that they are regular and run to time. We had an easy morning and left Dragsvik on the 10.45 crossing to Helle. From there we tracked around the fjord to Mannheller for our second ferry crossing to Fordnes. Our route this day was to take us to the world's longest road tunnel - the Laerdalstunnel at 24.5 Km long. Our dilemma was that we also wanted to cross the Aurlandsfellet (snow mountain) under which the tunnel passes and we wanted to end up on the southern side of the mountains - three crossings would be required. The Aurlandsfellet was the fourth of our National Tourist roads. We arrived at the northern approach and with the weather fine we decided to tackle the mountain first - a wise decision in hindsight.
The road climbed above the snow line to a viewing area where the path led to a man made cave. There was no signage so we crouched low and proceeded to an inner sanctum where we were confronted by a large 'sleeping' brown bear resting on a pile of Nordic Trash & Treasure. The Norwegians do have a sense of humour. Still smiling we crossed the mountain past snow drifts, lakes and waterfalls - the terrain was barren but beautiful. At the crest before the descent there is a viewing platform with stunning views to the Aurlandfjord far below. The descent was tight and blocked with several RV's trying to negotiate the tight turns. We had lunch at Aurland before entering the tunnel. Because of the length of the tunnel the designers introduced three caverns at approx 6km intervals to break the monotony of the tunnel. The caverns have blue lighting which is meant to represent daylight. We stopped in one of the caverns for a photograph and when we exited on the northern end went around the roundabout and re-entered rthe tunnel - approx 50 km underground. The wisdom of doing the mountain crossing first was evident as we exited the tunnel in heavy rain. We stopped at a hotel by the lake at Oppheim and dined on trout caught fresh from the lake. Another great day in Norway.
It was still raining when we left Oppheim heading for our 5th National Tourist Rd - the Hardanger. This route requires two ferry crossings as you follow the shoreline around the Hardanger Fjord. Unfortunately this was to be our wettest day in Norway. The road was also under heavy repair in many places so we had a somewhat slippery day with the bike covered in mud splatter. All was forgiven however when we settled for the night at a beautiful hotel on the fjord at Eidfjord. The service manager at the hotel gave us a free upgrade to a fjord view room when we commented on the slightly Aussie twang in her accent. She had worked in Cairns for a few years. There was also a group of Norwegian Harley riders from Oyer staying at the hotel so a good time was had. Next morning one of the cruise ships we had seen at Geiranger Fjord docked in front of the hotel blocking our beautiful view.
Our last full day in Norway took in the Hardangervidda, the largest mountain plateau in Northern Europe and our sixth National Tourist Route. As we climbed out of Oppheim, leaving the tour coaches in our wake, we happened on the Voringfoss falls and a tragedy that unveiled in 2011. An Austrian couple in their early sixties were visiting the falls when the husband toppled to his death from the unguarded cliff while taking a photograph. His wife either overcome with shock or love for her partner followed him over the edge. A very sobering story as we wandered around to photograph the falls. The falls are 182 metres high and spectacular even though these days the water flow is controlled for electricity generation. Must have been truly awesome in its natural state. The plateau is beautifully barren with views across to glaciers and snow capped mountains. It is home to the largest population of reindeer in Norway but alas they did not show a red nose for us. It was also home to a very sneaky police mobile radar - disguised as a campsite. This was our coldest ride since the early morning blast across England in June. The air temperature was six degrees but the wind chill with a stiff breeze blowing off the glacier made it much colder. We arrived in Larvik late in the day and stayed close to the ferry terminal for an early morning crossing to Denmark.
There is a one day train/boat/road tourist trip around the fjords called 'Norway in a nutshell'. Our 'Norway in a nutshell' took eight days took us as far north as Kristiansund, east to Oyer, west to Alesund and south to Larvik and we had only touched the surface of this vast and magnificent country. We had three fine days, three mixed days and two wet days and the locals told us this had been an unusually wet and mild summer. Riding temperatures had generally been excellent in the high teens. Yes it is an expensive country to visit but the beauty of the place repays you in bucket loads. Go there.
