There are Fyords and then there are Fyords

Till Tuesday we had been a bit let down with the Fyords. They were cool and beautiful but not what expected. But yesterday cleared that up. In the afternoon, we took a three hour trip to see other fjords. These were the kind of fjords we were expecting narrow and steep sides.

To date we had been traveling from major cities towards the sea but on Tuesday we went inland. You can see how it quickly narrows down.

and then it opens and you find a town.

It was amazing to see villages of 300 people on the sides of a cliff. Until recently they had to get to school or to the city by boat only. Roads are fairly new in Norway. I would say the last 30 years. There were small schools right near the shore, so kids could get to the schools easily after being dropped off by boat. Until recently they had to get to school or to the city by boat only. (More on roads and Fyords in a future post) There are still a few villages with no roads

  

So the boat ride reminded me (Melanie) of ferry rides I used to take as a teenager. My girlfriend and I would go to the Staten Island ferry and sit on the ferry for hours for just five cents back-and-forth as we read. When we finally got hungry, we’d get off and go into the city for lunch. A very peaceful time of my life and it made me very peaceful on yesterday’s ship. PS I didn’t sit with anyone on this trip and I sat and read. Déjà vu all over again.

The walls of the Fyords can go up 1/2 mile and do a great job of blocking out the sun. These photos were taken at high noon but we are so far north that the sun never gets above about 10:00 angle. So some sides of the fyord never get direct sunlight. Great for the moss.

camping an kayaking are big pastimes in the Fyords

On the sunlit side you see some intrepid spruce making their stand.

We also ate in an Ethiopian restaurant that was wonderful. Neither one of us has any idea what we ate, but it was terrific.

Interesting observation: there seems to be a 7 11 on every block in Bergen. 

Random thought from Melanie: The buses are built for Norse people who were descended from Vikings. This means I have to climb up on my hands and knees because the steps are so high. She had to caution one of our tour mates to “keep her hands of her butt”🤪