CVE 240A - The Viking Experience
Welcome to our guests from South America, who will spend the next weeks exploring the South of Norway, the so-called "Homeland of the Vikings". 26 bikers from Argentina and Paraguay, together with three guides, will embark on a journey from Alesund to Oslo to learn more about the land of trolls and fjords, tunnels and ice cream. Follow our blog and become part of our adventure.
The first riding day After the bike handover the evening before, everyone was of course up early and waiting impatiently for the start of the tour. Once everyone had found the right setup on his bike, we finally set off in two groups. First out of Ålesund and over a small road east towards Storfjorden to get used to the bike and the streets in Norway. A highlight of the tour is certainly the Trollstigen. Unfortunately, this road can currently only be driven from one direction up to the apex. One side was closed after a heavy rockfall. Nevertheless, we set off and enjoyed the view from the platform to the Stairway of the Trolls. Today's destination is the famous Geiranger Fjord, but before we reach it we unfortunately have to struggle down into the fjord through endless queues of buses and campers.
Behind Geiranger a magnificent group of curves opens up, the Geirangervegen. In the morning there is still little traffic and we have the dream road almost to ourselves! Of course, a detour to the Dalsnibba viewpoint should not be missed! At 1500m altitude the cold wind blows around our ears as we enjoy the breathtaking views! It's best to just leave the helmet on. We continue driving and brave the long tunnel passages. Instead we venture along the "old road", a little bumpy but what a landscape! The mountain lakes glow turquoise-blue. For our next stop Tom and Joy promised us lunch. But why are we stopping at a lake in the middle of nowhere? Wait a minute... do I smell sausages? Nico is standing behind the grill and conjuring up a fabulous picnic for us, right next to the fjord cow. In the afternoon we get really Norwegian weather. We arrive at the glacier Museum near Fjærland completely wet. From there it is not far to our hotel in Sogndal.
"Between Mountains and Fjords" will be todays Theme of the Day with a lovely Ride from Sogndal to Bergen. Shortly after we left the Hotel a quick Ferry Crossing brings us to the other side of the Sognefjord - which is the longest and deepest Fjord in the Country. From there we took the narrow and winding road over the Aurlandsfjellet Mountrange and were greeted by spectacular views and a moon-like landscape. But the strong and cold wind forced us to leave the mountain and seek shelter in a lovely Bakery with delicous coffee and treats. After Lunch in the touristy village of Flam it unfortunately started to rain. But as most of the way consisted of the winding E16 Mainroad anyhow, that didn’t bother us to much. Now we arrived happily and wet in Norways second largest city and are looking forward to a Rest Day tomorrow.
Did you know Bergen is the rainiest city world wide? 248 days with rain in average, a year!!! Surprisingly we get to see some blue sky today as we stroll through the streets. Some of us hike up to the view point, others go shopping in the lovely little stores or take a city tour. What a wonderful lifely and colorful city! Bergen is also known for great cuisine! It'll be hard to chose one of many great restaurants. For lunch make sure to visit the fish market at the harbor! And if after all those activities you ain´t tired in the evening, Bergen also has a great nightlife! But make sure to get enough sleep! We have more than 400km coming up tomorrow!
Again rain. As every morning, our first look goes to the sky. Nevertheless, we have to keep going and so we first drive out of Bergen through seemingly endless tunnels. The roads soon become a little smaller and the traffic less. The first coffee break at a small fruit stall comes just in time. Refreshed, we continue from here to the highlight of the day: the Hardanger Fjord and the famous Hardanger Bridge. One of the longest suspension bridges in the world. We arrive at our destination for the day in Tananger (right next to Stavanger) after 400 km, tired but still thrilled by the impressions we have gathered during today's stage.
We share the small, fine country roads out of Sola with tractors and lots of sheep. The latter accompany us throughout the day. The sweet lawn mowers. We enjoy the landscape and country life and take a short detour to Lysebotn, a wonderful little place at the end of the Lysefjord. The winding path alone is a small highlight and then the view of the fjord is a dream! There is enough time for a group photo at the ferry pier. The further route takes us over a breathtaking high plateau towards Telemark. Halfway there, Joy surprises us with a gourmet picnic! What a great location! We end the day on wonderfully long winding curves.
On our last day we get real Norwegian summer weather again. It rains and rains and the gray clouds hang mystically over the mountains. Our first stop after beautiful country roads is the Vrangfoss Locks. A fascinating lock system that is still operated manually today. With pure Norwegian Viking super muscle power. We continue to Heddal Stavkirke. The tour through the old wooden church is super exciting! The doors of the church are very narrow, so that you can only enter one at a time and no one has the devil at their side. And then in the afternoon we reach the destination of our tour: OSLO. What a wonderful hotel. While we're sitting by the fireplace, outside in the drizzle three hard-working trolls are loading our motorcycles to the trailers. At our farewell dinner we share the best stories, laugh a lot and plan the next tours! Many of us want to come back to Norway. A fascinating country for which two weeks are hardly enough.