Norway in Spring 2011 (Part 5)

1 Jun 2011, A day of Glacier walk on the Bodalsbreen

Good morning !!! The weather was great today at Sande Camping in Loen. The sun was shining bright and the lake view outside our cabin was stunning. I saw the motor boat by the lake and recalled the fun we had while boating at Geiranger. But today was scheduled for glacier walk, so we did not have any time to do boating on the lake. 

Superb weather outside our cabin

Same lake view, different lighting

Breakfast was Nissin cup noodles we brought from home. It was once again nice to savour the flavours of home food, even it is not healthy and not considered a delicacy. We packed some light snacks like biscuits and hotdogs and readied ourselves for the climb. The meeting time was 10am, so we had time to laze around in the cabin until 9:20am before loading the bags once again into the car. 

A nice spot beside our campsite. Near the climbers' hut

 

Today was the 1^st day they started the summer climbing. Since it was still early in the season, I presumed we were the only people. Around 9:45am, a van with 4 Germans came and sign up for the walk. In the end , it was a total of 7 of us include the guide. We had a short briefing and the standard check on our boots to make sure they can fit the crampons. Once ready, we drove in our own car on the only road outside the campsite and moved deeper into the valley. We took one of the German climbers as their van was too big to maneuver the narrow mountain road. And indeed the road was narrowed and when we reached the end of the asphalt road, we turned into a closed gate dirt path. I guessed the guide has the permission to enter into what looked like a private farming land. This dirt path was really narrow and steep and we had to drive real slowly around 20km/h. After about 20mins of drive along the rocky dirt road, we reached a small open car park space. This was the trailhead to the Bodalsbreen. We were the only humans at the car park. After locking our cars, we started the walk. This part of the walk was very enjoyable.

Entering the Bodalsbreen trail

A good day to do some outdoor hiking

The warm sun and clear skies were best for a good day’s walk. After 20mins, we reached the huts where the guide stored his equipment. While we relaxed ourselves enjoying the mountain and the sheep, the guide went to prepare the equipment like harness and crampons and ice-axe for us. It was 11am and with a short briefing, we strapped on the harness and with the ice-axe in one hand, we started the walk towards the glacier. 

Sheeps near the cottage where we got our equipment for the climb

This way to the glacier

The trail to the Bodalsbreen

Crossing the new wooden bridge onto trail to Bodalsbreen

We crossed a newly constructed bridge over a rapid river and followed the hiking trail in the direction of the glacier. After walking for 1.5 hrs., we reached the point where we need to strap on our crampons to walk on the glacier. As this was our 3^rd glacier walk, we just went on to strap the crampons ourselves. At 12:45pm, we made the 1^st step on the glacier. But the weather had already turned bad at this point. It was actually drizzling and the wind was starting to pick up. 

Straping on the crampons (easy)

All ready to go

The ice that we stepped on was different from that we experienced in New Zealand. It was crushed ice instead of smooth ice. The reason given by the guide was that the ice at the surface was melting faster than those below, leading to the creation of crushed ice. And for the glacier, it only gets blue if those ice is heavily compressed, without the agent of oxygen. Once the ice gets exposed to air, it loses it blue color nature. A new lesson learned for the day. 

Climbing up the glacier slopes

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On the ice

At our rest and lunch point

Deep blue ice

Due to the fact that weather was not improving and the new Germans behind us were getting tired, we had no choice but to turn back. Well we got 1.5 hrs on the ice instead of the advertised 3 hrs. Guess there wasn’t much to see out of that weather. With ropes running through us, we started the quick descend. I think it took us less than 30mins to reach the rocks area where we put on our crampons. 

Descending from the glacier

After removing the crampons, we were on the rocky path again taking the trail back. It was a slow walk back as we had lots of time with us. We reached the equipment cabin at 3:30pm, rested a while till 4pm before going back to pick up our cars. From the car park , it was a 40mins drive back to Sande camp site. We bid farewell to the Germans, paid the guide and started our 2.5hrs drive to our next accommodation for the night. The Kjornes camp site at Sogndal. The weather remain cloudy and drizzle for the entire drive to Sogndal. We made a quick stop to see one of the Jostedal glacier tongues at the Jostedalsbreen National Park along highway E39. 

At the carpark to see Jostedalbreen

 

One of the tongues of the Jostedalsbreen

A stop was made at the Glacier Centre Musuem which was closed as it was already 6pm. At 7:30pm, we reached the touristy town of Sogndals and check-in our cabin at Kjornes camping. We had an apartment just above the reception. We had some problems finding the pots and pans for cooking at first and only managed to cook dinner at 10pm as the reception was closed and only opened at 8:30pm. When it opened, a long queue of people was waiting to pay for their rentals and parking. We headed for the beds close to midnight.

Kjornes Camping

2 Jun 2011, City of Bergen on a rainy day

Cloudy morning Kjornes campsite near Sogndal

It was another cloudy and raining morning. Seemed to me this is considered to be the bad weather season. The hours of blue skies and warm sun are limited. One day bright and sunny, the next day dark and gloomy. Maybe this is the bad side of traveling outside the peak season and it was said that spring period is the best season to visit. After packing up our bags, we drove away from our Kjornes camp site and onto route 5 to make the only ferry crossing for the day. 

On the ferry crossing to Fodnes

It was the Mannheller-Fodnes ferry crossing.  As it was gloomy and cloudy, not much mood for taking pictures and we initially just planned to drive all the way to Bergen. But it was that moody after all. After landing on Fodnes, we continued on highway 5 through a tunnel and exiting to the small village of Lærdalsøyri. An unique sand bank was in the middle of the lake, running from a very narrow path from the lakeside to the tip.It was windy and the sun was temporarily lightening up the surroundings. We took turns to run to the sand bar to take a few photos of ourselves.

At the tip of the sand bar

A wider view of the sand bar

After leaving the small village of Laerdalsoya, we followed highway 5 and changed to E16 at the roundabout heading Bergen. This is the longest tunnel cutting through the steep mountains of the fjordlands, covering a total of 25km. This is called the Lærdalstunnelen in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway is the longest road tunnel in the world. There are 3caverns in the tunnels which they have put in colourful cool lighthing to make the caverns look sci-fci and beautiful. Guess with this the drivers will not fall asleep seeing the same hypnotizing ceiling lights for 25km.

Inside one of the caverns of the Laerdalstunnelen

In another cavern after about 8km in between

After exiting the 25km tunnel, we reached the village of Aurlandsvegen. There was a petrol station with a snack bar just beside the roundabout. We followed the highway E16 in the direction of Bergen. In less than 15mins of driving, we accidentally reached the small village of the famous Flam railway. This is a famous scandanavian tourists attractions. There is a big car park for coaches and cars with a lot of restaurants nearby. There are also some hotels (Fretheim Hotel) for those who want to take the Flam railway from here and rest for the night. The Flamsbana (Flam railway) travels from here to the mountain station of Myrdal, which is part of the Bergen Railway. Since we were driving all the way to Bergen and not enough time, we gave it a miss. The thought of just taking the train from Flam to Myrdal and back was tempting though.

At the Flam Railway Station near Aurlandsfjord

Train going to depart without us of course

There is an interesting restaurant converted from that of an old train. The wheels are still there and the side platform leads into the restaurant entrance. Not sure if there was any decent meal as the time was still early (even though it was already 11am) and they were still serving cold dishes and sandwich meant for breakfast. We gave the train restaurant a miss and continued on our journey to Bergen. It was a drive along the countryside with no small towns in between. Around 1pm, we came upon a decent size town by the name of Vossvangen, but since it was a public holiday, most of the shops and supermarkets were closed. But down on the garden park by the lake, there was a simple restaurant opened and serving hot food. Time to for a good lunch we thought and we just parked around the big car park just in front of the restaurant.

Lunch at casual restaurant by the lake

After a hearty lunch meal (even though it is all fried, sinful yes), we were on highway E16 again and this time we drove non-stop all the way to the city of Bergen. Along the way, there were lush green farmlands with sheep grazing on the grasses.

Black and white sheep grazing

Around 4pm, we reached the city of Bergen and checked into our hotel, the Comfort Hotel in Bergen. It was still raining and the clouds were mush lower. We could not even see the nearby mountains and so we decided not to take the cable car up to the viewpoint. Instead we immediately walked over to the famous Bryggen, the hansectic wharf. This is an UNESCO protected site of the wooden merchant quarters dated back in the Hansectic period (13 ~ 17 century)

The Bryggen at Bergen

Shops along the Bryggen

The UNESCO sign at the back lane of the Bryggen

We visited almost each and every shop facing the main road. This is the only place that was still busy with tourists on a public holiday. We went into one of the souvenir shops to look for magnets. Bought a fair number of them.

Porcelain replica of the Bryggen

We left the shops for the fish market before they close for the day. Many tourists were having a meal at the makeshift tents besides the fish stalls.  Some of them the business was good.

Bryggen Fish Market

For dinner, we bought some grilled fish from the nearby shop. The shop looks more like a restaurant than just a fish shop. They sell raw seafood as well cook them for you if you want to dine in or take away.

Choose your own food to be cooked.

We bought 2 grilled fish, one salmon and the other some white fish which i forgot the name. We headed back straight to our hotel to have a TV meal and ended our day after that.

Let's move on to Part 6