Corinne goes to Norway 2007. Page 2

Corinne heads north for some fun in the fjords !

Otta, Dombas, Andalsnes.

After Lillehammer we drove through Otta where we stopped at a petrol station and the attendant, a very rustic looking character, did a double take when he saw me and said "Hello Dolly !"

Andalsnes is a picturesque small port at the end of Romdalsfjord not far from the Atlantic coast, situated at 62.5° N. It was a chilly 8° despite the bright sunny weather. This is the furthest north I have ever been in my life. From here we turned south on the Trollstigveien, a very pretty winding road through 1700 m snow capped mountains as far as Nordalsfjord where we took a ferry from Sylte to Eidsdal. From here it was 26 kms. to the steeply descending road, with numerous hairpin bends, which enters Geiranger Fjord from the north.

The scenery is lovely, especially for someone who loves the mountains (me !).

Geiranger Fjord.

The view at this point was stunning. We drove on down through the tiny village of Geiranger (visible at the end of the fjord ) and climbed 300 m. to our hotel, the Villa Utstikken. The view from this hotel, built in 1893, was equally stunning although our rather pricey € 160 room was situated at the back ! This, incidentally, is one of the rare pictures of me wearing a warm jacket...

After moving into our room, which was surprisingly plain considering the hefty price tag, we returned to the village to find something to eat. There was nothing available but fast food so I ate a pizza. The service was tiresomely slow, like most of the restaurants we have eaten in in Norway. The prices were absolutely sky high. Then it was time for bed in bright daylight at midnight, the only sound the roaring of a large waterfall above the hotel. A note for those learned scholars out there: although we were still 4 degrees south of the arctic circle, the sun was still shining on the highest peaks at midnight because, with the summer time, midnight is only 22.00 GMT. So there !

Beautiful weather in the morning.

It was sunny again by 03.00. Here I am on the hotel balcony. Behind me is the Norwegian flag which no self respecting Norwegian hotel, or indeed house, is ever without. After breakfast Sylvie and I walked down from the Utstikken Hotel to Geiranger. It was a really beautiful day, without a cloud in the sky.

A Swiss cow in the Norwegian mountains.

The view this morning was so nice that even Moo appreciated it. She had to be attached in case she fell off the barrier as there was a very steep drop. We were going to take a boat ride around the fjord. Unfortunately we missed the fjord boat by 5 minutes and had to wait from 11.30 until 14.15. We walked along the edge of the fjord and came back to wait for the departure. A man kept taking photos of me for some reason, which Sylvie found really funny. She says that, when she's out with me, she feels as if she's with a film star because everyone is looking at me.

The tour of the fjord.

We were incredibly lucky that the weather was so good. The tour was really nice and we saw the Seven Sisters waterfall which plunges something like 1000 metres into the fjord, some abandoned farms perched on the cliffs, numerous other waterfalls...

Miss Norway ?

Sylvie was laughing because the other passengers were doing their utmost to photgraph me while I wasn't looking. On descending from the boat, the man slipped me his card and said he was an amateur photographer and would like to send me the photos so I said I'd send him my email address. The silly sod never did send them to me. Clearly just another wanker.

Miss Norway runner-up.

Here's Sylvie looking as if she's steering the boat. We walked back up to the hotel to collect the car. I was desperate to do some climbing but she didn't want to.

Up to the snow !

We drove up to Dalsnibba, 1500 m., from which there was a fantastic 360° view and lots of snow and vertiginous drops. There were plenty of passages like this one - pretty impressive for mid june. I wonder what it looks like in february ?