Waterfall Daytrip

This must be a new league record for Bergen, Norway - we have had five sunny, warm days in a row. We decided to take a drive to the very end of a couple of fjords for the day. As we drove we looked for turnoffs for waterfalls along our route. This first waterfall is called Steindalsfossen or Stone Valley Falls. It is a great little tourist trap with a nice walkway that passes behind the falls.

The rivers are all running high, as are the waterfalls. Even so, we had a big wildland fire yesterday. I didn't think I would ever see a wildland fire in Bergen, Norway.

Up the path...

and behind the falls.

From the falls it is only a short drive to Norheimsund and the magificent Hardanger Fjord. We visited last fall, but this trip was for spring blossoms and multiple hues of green in the grasses and new leaves.

How do I fit in our little car?

The town of Ålvik, located quite a ways inland up the fjord, has some factories and a port.

Thousand foot high waterfalls are everywhere.

Granvin is located at the very head of Hardanger Fjord. It is a timber town.

The navigator kept us on the right path.

We turned left and entered the 7.2 km. tunnel which took us to Ulvik and Osa located at the head of Sørfjord. Ulvik was bursting with spring.

The view down the Sørfjord.

Ulvik

How do they perch these farms on such steep hillsides. I would be rolling down into the water everytime I turned around.

We thought Osa would be another little town but it was just a few scattered homes sitting on the old glacial moraine. The backdrop is rugged.

Looking the other way from Osa toward the big fjord.

This is an old tunnel. It is almost one mile long, has only one lane, drips water like a miniature rainstorm and has no lighting inside except car headlights. There are three pull-outs inside. I met a full+sized bus in the middle. We were the only one who could fit in the little pull out space. The rock is very dark, so backing up was really a challenge but thanks to some reflectors we got out of the roadway.

We found our apple blossoms.

Spring lambs were everywhere getting fattened up

 and we had one more waterfall to explore--Skjervsfossen--just off the highway on a nifty little switchback road. We started at the top with a look over the falls.

Down the road about three turns is a good place to see the waterfall.

If you get up close you will get wet from the spray. Luckily, with our heatwave, the mist was a welcome addition to our visit.

Shanna in the mist.

Before we knew it the day was over. We had a good time driving the winding roads, eating our picnic lunch and soaking up the sights.