Mountains and fjords

616Having waved goodbye to Christine’s Mum at Geilo station the next leg of our journey took us away from the railway and up on to the Hardangervidda plateau. Perhaps due to the bright blue skies overhead it didn’t look quite as bleak and barren as I had imagined it to be. It was a pleasant enough drive though with some nice white peaks in the distance and the odd glacier to add to the scenery.

619Perhaps more impressive were the falls at Vøringfoss where the river plummets over the edge of the plateau. We made the mistake of paying to park at the Fossli Hotel at the top of the falls when there is a free car park further down which gives both its own view and the option to walk up to the top. This picture doesn’t really do the 163m falls justice but then neither did the postcard I saw which managed to include part of the railings in the corner of the picture!

The road then corkscrews its way down inside the mountain until you emerge at fjord level at Eidfjord. We continued on to Kinsarvik from where we would catch the ferry the following morning. We were staying at Kinsarvik Camping in a very simple cabin – just beds, a fridge and a cooker. This was all we needed though as we could sit outside and enjoy the fine evening whilst Emma slept.

613The ferry ride from Kinsarvik along Søgnefjord to Kvanndal is very scenic. Beware though that, as with the subsequent drive along Hardangerfjord towards Bergen, these are not the fabulous steep sided fjords that you get further north. In compensation, this leaves space for some green fields at the edge of the water where they grow very tasty morello cherries.

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