Fjords, Norway
Ok, so my first fjords post may have been a bit of a bummer but our trip definitely wasn’t! Here’s some impressions of our trip to Norway.
We took the scenic route: the Hardangervidda national road is one of the most travelled in Norway, and for good reason. It offers some of the most breathtaking views over 7 hours, the time it takes to get from Oslo to Bergen. It also takes you through a lot of different kinds of terrain.
The road is named after the plateau Hardangervidda — the largest plateau of its kind (peneplain) in Europe, and a TRIP to drive through. The entire thing is above the tree line, and most of it is completely flattened by glaciers that passed through during the ICE AGE.
That means it feels a lot like you’re driving at the end of the world. And it just goes on, and on, and on, and on. Oh and did I mention the sun never sets? Talk about apocalypse vibes.
But after the world ends, apparently it starts over and version 2.0 is no joke.
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Once we came down from the plateau we took a little road up a hill to a parking lot PACKED with RVs (more on this later) and were gobsmacked by the view of the Mabodalen valley.
The mountains, the rivers, the waterfalls, THE NATURE! We also got there just as the sun was pretending to set (around 10pm) so it was golden hour x1000000.
One of the most famous waterfalls in Norway is on this road, it’s called the Vøringsfossen and it’s got a drop that’s 182 meters high. We got there right after the sun went down over a mountain peak, so we missed the rainbow that apparently parks itself at the top of the falls in the afternoon.
We spent the night on the edge of the Eidfjord, with a view of Hardanger bridge. One of the most chill places we found to sleep, on the old road alongside a tunnel. There were a few other campers there, but we managed to space it out so we had our privacy. It was fajita night, and we fell asleep to the sound of the waterfall behind us.
We stopped in Odda, one of the bigger towns on the edge of the fjord, and a key spot to start hikes from. We tried to check in at the main campsite but it was PACKED.
Note to anyone trying to do a road trip in Norway – don’t go in July. That’s when everyone and their mom is in an RV and they’re like gnats swarming around every point of interest. And their cars are NOT equipped for the narrow winding lakeside road. So we ended up seeing multiple traffic jams.
My recommendation is finding a campsite a bit off the beaten path. We drove 20 minutes to one of our favorite campsites of the trip — it’s called Eikhamrane camping, for those who are interested. Just be prepared to pay 250 krona for a camper, and 40 krona for a shower. It’s expensive, but so are all the other campsites in the area. And you get views like this:
In terms of hikes in the area, we didn’t do Trolltunga — the most famous one, because 1) we were feeling too out of shape for a 28 km “difficult” hike and 2) it’s PACKED in summertime. We did a smaller one on the same path to Trolltunga, called Lilletopp, which I would recommend if you have less time/energy or if you just like to be alone on a hike. We saw maybe 4 people on our way up, and the views are still excellent.
Finally, we made it to Bergen, which has a whole list of monikers, including the “Gateway to the Fjords of Norway” and the “City Between the Seven Mountains”. So the nature, once again, was top-notch.
Here’s the view from one of those aforementioned mountains, the easiest one to get to, called Fløyen.
We also ate tons of exorbitantly-priced fish, but more on this later. I think I’ll leave it at that, even though I could go on… Let’s just say, Norway’s got the views if that’s what you’re looking for. Feel free to holler if you’re heading there and have any questions !
Love, Anca and Mo