Norway - Again.

[Zwerver]

Ulvik

Going north, taking the ferry from Brimmnes to Bruravik, I wouldnot take the
mainroad R13 to the north; the (small) detour over the r572 and Ulvik is nice,
a small, tarmacced road with some hairpins and a great view from the parkingplace
just before the top of the pass; this road ends on the R13, which you then can follow
north to Voss...
From there it is difficult to recommend a route; it depends on what you want to do next;
If you want to go through Norway anti-clockwise, the Jotunheimen,Trollstigen,
and back along the fjords to the south, the route E16 north-east to Gudvangen advisable.
But is you want to follow the fjord-route north, and go back south through the inlands to
Kristiansand, it is best to follow the E16 and then the R13 towards the ferry across
the Sognefjord at Hella.

 

[Zwerver]

Sognefjord

At Hella, you've got two possible routes to the north; I've tried both, and I cannot
say which one is the best... When you take the westroute, with the Ferry to Balestrand,
you'll miss a great view on the Jostedalsbreenglacier, and you will have to ride
the speedtrap-infested road 5 /E39 from Førde to Ske... But the 13 towards Førde
is very nice!
The other route, east, with the ferry to Leikanger, takes you along the fjord to Sogndal,
from where you can go north over a very good road, the 5, through a spectacular landscape,
with a great view over some sidefjords of the Sognefjord, and a Amphi-theatre-like view
on the Jostedalsbreen glacier north of Fjearland.

 

[Zwerver]

Briksdalsbreen and Kjenndalsbreen

No matter which of the to routes you'll take, you'll come to the town of Byrkjelo,
from where you can take the 60 to Olden, to have a look at the glaciers.
These glaciers are both worth a visit, although I personely like the Kjendallbreen
better; The Briksdalbreen is very touristic, with coaches riding on and off,
and a lot of people walking the same footpath to the glacier... But it is magnificent
to see the ice!!!
The Kjendalsbreenglacier is less touristic, just a smal parking place at the end of
the 20km long valley, and a 10 min walk to the glacier.
Halfway this valley is a small camping at a farmhouse, with a campingfield with is
too steep for caravans and big family tents. Last year we camped there for three nights,
with only 3 other tents on the camping.. Compared to the crowded campingplaces near the
Briksdalsbreen or the campings at the entrance of the valley to the Kjendallsbreen,
I think this is the best place to stay.
Follow the 60 to Loen, go right (east) towards the Kjendallsbreen. After about 10km,
you'll see the camping place, at the borders of the glacierlake.
If you decide to camp near the Briksdalsbreen, go right (south) in Olden. Just after the
brigde across a small stream between two glacier lakes there's a nice camping, overlooking
the lake. But it can be a crowded place, because it has a very good, flat
ground for caravans.

 

[Zwerver]

The island of Runde

If you want to see some great, Lofoten like islands, I can recommend the Bird-Island
Runde. It is part of a small group of Islands connected by brigdges, just outside
the coast. It only takes one short ferry-trip to get there from the Loen/Olden region.
Follow the 60 to Stryn and then take the 15 west towards the Island of Maløy.
Some miles before you reach the island, go north over the r61 towards Koparnes.
THen take the ferry (15minutes) towards Larsnes. Follow the R61 until you come to
the sideroad north, the r654 to Runde.
At the end of the deadend road, a few miles after the town Runde,
you'll find a small campingplace (but well equipped) at the start of
a footpath leading to the cliffs at the west-side of the Island.
From the camping it is a 15 - 20 min walk up a steep hill, but on
these cliffs you can see a large colony of puffins.
After speding the day at sea, in the evening all the birds come back to
their "nests", which are underground. Very funy to sit on the rocks
wil all those little birds flying and walking around you on handsdistance.
We spend a day walking and birdwatching here, and even saw some eagles,
"flying frontdoors" as local people call them for their wingsize and form.
For some good fishing, you should try the small streams between the islands,
underneath the cat-back-like brigdes we catched some good mackerels,
which tasted very good after smoking them for some hours.

 

[Zwerver]

Ålesund

From Runde its only a short drive over the r654 and R61 to the ferry
from Hareid to Ålesund, a nice town, and a good place to go shopping for some
Norwegian woolen sweaters. Near the harbour there's store which sells older
models for interesting prices. I bought a '91 model with windstopper for 70 euro's...

Trollstigen
From Ålesund you can follow the E39 and then the E136 to Andelsness.
A few miles west of Andelsness there's a road south,the r63, which leads over the
Trollstigen to the Geirangerfjord. But if you follow the E136 for another mile
you'll find one of the best camping places I've ever seen!

Geiranger
From the Trollstigen you can either follow the R63 which leads dirctly to
Geiranger or take a detour to the Ferry at Stranda and then follow the r60
to Hellesylt. On the first route you'll have to take one short ferry and
you'll enter the Geiranger-fjord decending the "Eaglesroad".
On the alternative longer route you'll have to take to ferries, but the
ferry-trip from Hellesylt to Geiranger is beautifull; all the waterfalls
(Seven Sisters, ect.) can only be seen when travelling by boat through this
fjord..
The camping places in Geiranger are quite busy, it's one of the touristic
highlights, but imho its a good place to spend an extra day if the weather is
good enough to ride all the way up the Dalsnibba road. It's a gravel-toll-road,
which can be difficult and slippery if its raining, but with clear weather you'll
have a magnificent view over the fjord and surrounding mountains!
The gravel road starts at the top of the road out of Geiranger to the East.

 

[Zwerver]

Going inland!!!

Gammle Strynveijen
If your next target is the Jotunheimen, a nice detour is over the Gammle (Old)
Strynveijen, an easy to ride gravel road through the mountains.
Instead of going left to Dombas when reaching the E136, go right to Stryn
and take the 258, the Gammle Strynveijen, which starts just after the
first tunnels... At the ens of this road to the east you'll be back on the E136
to Dombas. Along the E136 you'll find some spectacular waterfalls.

Lom - Jotunheimen
In the town of Lom you can take the route south to through the Jotunheimen
(House of the Giants), road R55. In Lom you can see a very nice "Stavkirke"..
If you plan to stay for a few days in the Jotunheimen, to explore some of the
gravel-roads through the mountains I can recommend two campingplaces, one
just above tree-level on the side-road to the Raubergstulen (a summer ski-center
on a glacier), and the other "camping" a bit further south near the highest
point in the 55, a field nextto a hotel...
The Raubergstulencamping can be crowded, a lot of Norwegians use this camping as
a base-camp for hiking and skiing tours on the glacier, but it is a very nice place
to camp, and the toll-road up to the glacier is fun!
If you have a detailed map of this region, you'll find a lot of interesting
gravel-roads, enough for a few days of "adventure"!
And most of them are easy to ride on a GS with pillion...

 

[Zwerver]

Årdalsveijen

A few miles after you've reached the highest point in the 55, when you start
descending toward Skolden in the Lustrafjorden, there's a side road to Øvre
Årdal, the Årdalsveijen. Although a tarmacced road, it is quite bumpy,
but beautifull, and a nice alternative for the "busy" 55 south.
Årdal itself is not a place to stay camping, there are some better alternatives
to the south and east of this industrial town.

Eidsbugarden
If you want to camp outside official camping places, take the 53 to Tyn and then
the 252 to Eidsbugarden. In this village you can camp for free, as long as you
do not put your tent nextto the huts. For a few kroner you can use the toilets
and showers in the nearby hotel. The 252 is a dead-end gravel road, about 20 km
long, ending in what looks like a green oasis after all the grey mountains.

Flåm - Flåmsbanen
Another place to camp is Aurland, south of Årdal. If you plan to take a ride
with the Flåmsbanen mountainrailway, this is a good place to camp for a few nights.
On the way from Årdal to Aurland you'll ride through, I think Europes longest tunnel.
If you take a one-way ticket with the Flåmsbanen into the mountains you can make
a more hour walk back to Flåm... It's about 20km, but all the route is downhill.

Gudvangen
From Flåm there's, again, a tunnel to the west, to Gudvangen. The Narøyfjord is
the most beautifull fjord in Norway, according to the Norwegians themselves..
And I think they are right...

 

[Zwerver]

Hope you like it this far; the rest of the route south, with some
interesting gravel parts, will follow soon...

 

[LivNorway]

If you go to Ålesund; visit Atlanterhavsparken!

http://www.atlanterhavsparken.no/engelsk/index.html

It's not a boring aquarium.

Liv.

 

[boxer]

Liv + Zwerver.

The more I hear the more I look forward to going. Seems to me which ever route I end up taking's going to be a winner.

i don't think 3 weeks will be long enough.

thanks.

Russ.

 

[LivNorway]

I'm digging up some old Norway-theads; perhaps I'll meet some GS'er at Tyrigrava?

And Zwerver:
You know more than I do!
Zwerver is the expert!

Liv.