We got ourselves up and organized quietly at the hostel in good time for Aaron to catch his train and for us to catch our boat. The passenger boat is a very new vessel - I think it is all-electric (but if not, hybrid). It’s quite the modern catamaran, with lots of deck space. The trip from Flåm to Gudvangen takes about 2 hours (the top speed, out of concern for wake effects on the environment, is 10 knots) and it was an extremely beautiful trip - especially after the left turn into the very narrow part of the fjord.
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| Flåm |
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| The ship on the right (in the bakground) is the sister vessel of the one we were on |
The fjord is surrounded by a wall of mountains and there were few signs of civilization - and we wondered a bit about how one would even access some of the most isolated farmhouses! The clouds cleared up a bit along the way and it was pretty warm when we reached the tiny port of Gudvangen, which seemed to be completely overwhelmed by tourists.
The only way out of Gudvangen is the E16, which is a bit too busy to be pleasant, although the scenery is amazing and the road isn’t really that big. We followed it up the valley for a little while, taking frequent breaks to check how far we had to go before taking the “tunnel avoidance” road. An older couple insisted on giving us two cans of Swedish mineral water - it was very kind of them, but also made my stomach a bit unhappy when we actually reached the (well-signed!) route for cyclists.
We knew we needed to climb, but didn’t realize it would be quite so steep. The switchbacks reached a grade of up to 22%, and there was no way I could climb with the fully loaded trailer. We had to switch to a system of carrying the backpack up on feet, walking down, and cycling up or pushing my bike (together!) to get up. The tour buses (and cars) are allowed to drive down the road (one-way for cars, two-way for cyclists), which adds a bit of extra craziness to it all...
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| Looking back during the climb |
We met another couple one one of the breaks - and Australian and a New Zealander - who were struggling as well, even after 3 months of cycle-touring. It was fun to hear about their travels, and we’ve been sort of leap-frogging all day. The crazy climb eventually ended, and we had a bit of descent through the woods before ending up on the E16 again. We were at least able to get off the busy road two more times - each around the other side of various lakes. The lakeside roads were anything but flat, though, and they took a bit of a toll on our already tired legs. The hills were still better than traffic, though!
We continued to descend all the way to Voss, where we are staying at an extremely full campground (the other couple is here too). Since we still have to follow E16 for a little while tomorrow, I think we’ll eat up our berries (yellow raspberries bought along the road on a trust basis) with yoghurt and get an early start tomorrow.
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| A break next to a lake |
July 23rd: Voss- ca 3km from Dale (ca 92 km)
Waking up early didn’t really give us a huge advantage - we were a bit slow, and there was in fact a cycling route out of Voss which kept us off of E16 except for a 5km stretch of downhill about 10km from Voss. The cycling roads were hilly but quiet, and the short stretch on the busy road went fine as well. We turned off on the big detour which is suggested as a part of the cycling route 4. It’s a pretty small road, which first winds along Eidsdalen valley, skirting the river and passing two beautiful stone bridges.
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| One of the old bridges |
The road is advertised as the “Emerald Ribbon” and it was very green despite the drought! We had a cloudy day with a few drizzles in the afternoon, but it was clear enough to see some of the surrounding hills. The road turns pretty sharply upward toward Nesheim, and we had to climb another 600m or so in a little more than 6km. It was tough going, but I managed to get the trailer up! We were both pretty drenched in sweat by the top and needed a break to put on some dry clothes and eat once we got a bit further down. The nice part about the route in this direction is that the elevation is lost in a more gradual manner. We had a few hours of gentle downhill through the green valley (with lots of waterfalls, followed by mirror-still “lakes”). There isn’t too much civilization along the way, but there seemed to be a church wherever there were 3 or 4 houses. The proportions were a bit curious...
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| The end of the climb |
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| There were no more than 5 houses near this church... |
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| Apparently, this is only 1/4 of the usual amount of water |
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| One of the lakes |
The water was like a mirror most of the time as we cycled past (and through a few small villages). It was quite nice to see, and I bet that the area is even more beautiful on a sunny day. We were a bit tired from the first big climb (and the rest of the day), so we have put up the tent in the woods between the road and the water. We might be a bit short of 150m rule, but that would require swimming or a floating tent...
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| Hard to see here, but there's a sign indicating that cyclists are on the road! |
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