NORWAY, A YES VOTE!

Norway has spectacular scenery, the snow lies crisp and even, it takes your breath. And when you get it back it turns to steam on the freezing air.

Visit Norway again in late spring or summer and you’ll find that it is so lush and green that it’s hard to believe that it’s the same place.

From Scotland it’s an easy drive down to Newcastle and the overnight ferry. Take it and the next day you’ll see that the approach to Bergen brings everyone up onto the decks. There are ‘dream houses’ clustered round every little inlet, each with it’s own small boat.

The West of Norway, is of course the land of the fjord, the mountain and the river.

Just looking at it is enough to set the imagination racing and you can begin to believe in ‘the trolls’ that are said to hide in the hills.


Shortly after leaving the ferry we stopped at a magnificent waterfall that cascaded down five separate drops in great fury before gurgling past in a stream then, we weaved our way along a narrow road beside the Fjord, until, 50 miles from Bergen we came to the wooden chalets of The Hardanger Holiday Centre.

It had farm animals, sports facilities, a sauna and an old wooden farmhouse that dates back to 1640.

There visitors can enjoy a folklore evening, it’s just the place to learn more about the ‘trolls’ and the ‘Hall of the Mountain King.’

Other activities might include taking a rowing boat out to catch your own supper or visiting the power-station deep inside the mountain, or a walk that takes you behind yet another waterfall. It’s a great place for rambling and there’s lots of isolated places for those who seek solitude - or trolls!

Norway in a Nutshell, is the name of an excursion which we joined. It began with a bus which leaves the attractive little town of Voss.

The coach climbed high into the hills then snaked down round hairpin bends until we came to the Sognefjord where we boarded a ferry.

It’s Norway’s longest fjord (180 km/112 miles) and although many miles from the coast at that point, cruise ships still call. In the days before the charabanc their passengers were taken up the twisting road by horse and cart. Nowadays it’s a bit more comfortable but our bus still managed to bang it’s tail on the way down.

Along the Fjord the ferry calls in at little villages which seem to hang on the very edge of the mountains. For those who live there it’s the only means of travel to the outside world. Eventually we landed at Flam and boarded a bright red train which took us climbing up through twenty tunnels. It really was mountaineering by rail, we climbed from six feet above sea level to twenty eight hundred feet all within twenty five miles.

We passed farms and houses, each with piles of chopped wood stacked high ready for the winter to come. Then the train stopped and there was a chance to take pictures. Above us there was snow on the mountains but here birds sang while the red train waited.

A whistle blew and we rejoined the train and as we descended though the twisting tunnels and loops it was comforting to know that the carriages of the train were equipped with five sets of breaks each independent of the other. Eventually we arrived safely at Myrdal where we joined the main line train back to Voss

I wandered into a lively bar at the Vosseyvangen Hotel where a bearded Scot was singing in Norwegian to a collection of hand knitted tourists. He was folk singer who would not have looked out of place under a Viking helmet. He travels a lot in Europe but rates Norway as “pretty good, once you get to know Norwegian people..... "At the beginning they are quite shy but they are friendly folk.”

During the winter Voss is a major ski centre so there is a good range of accomodation available it includes a youth hostel and a lakeside camp site. Generally campsites are also equipped with little huts so you don’t even bring your tents.

As to ‘wild camping’ they have a law that allows you to camp anywhere, apart from cultivated land, for forty eight hours. This is to enable people to walk in the mountains.

The Norwegian Touring Association also have huts and chalets that you can use if you become a member. You get a key and can use supplies of canned food in the huts and leave money in the till. It’s all very civilised.

Before returning to Scotland we explored Bergen where the open air fish market is set against a backdrop of the medieval houses. There fresh salmon is sliced and packed ready for you to take home or if you are a raw fish enthusiast you can eat it on the quay side.


Impressive monuments of the city’s past include Haakon's Hall. It dates back to 1261 but was largely rebuilt after World War II. A


lso well worth a visit is the Old Bergen Museum.


This is an area where they have rescued many old wooden houses from the clutches of the developers and rebuilt them together in the form of a little town.





There’s even a little summer house where the composer Edvard Greig wrote the music for Peer Gynt.

He was very fond of the place and it is said that he rolled himself in the grass for joy.

You might feel almost as happy if you take the funicular railway up to Floyen to view the seven small mountains that Bergen is built on. From there you look out over the fjord beyond the red shingle roofs of the town. we took the trip and were joined by a family intent on using their skis to get back down again.



It is especially beautiful at sunset.

When I was there it was winter and as we went up we looked down onto a road full of happy youngsters on skis.

There’s a restaurant at the top and if you want a souvenir of your visit, take a ‘joke picture’ of your partner next to the life size model Troll.

I think it’s made of fibreglass, on the other hand he might just have been standing very still, when you are in an enchanted land you never know quite where you are with Trolls do you?

Report by Allan Rogers

Fact File

http://www.fjordline.com/site/uk/article.php?id=99&p=
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

http://www.norway.org.uk/norwayuk/organisations/springboarduk/springboardukpage.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEBCAM: http://www.vg.no/foto/kamera/bergen.hbs