Norway 2007

Wednesday - Room with a view

Fri/Sat - Sun - Mon - Tue - Wed - Thu/Fri

Wednesday 26 June 2007

Today was our last day touring the Bergen area, and unfortunately the weather wasn't looking too good. Heavy cloud had come down yesterday evening and it was still down today threatening rain.

N60.37178 E5.36678 (map)

This is today's route and completely ferry free :-( It picks up where Mondays route left off taking us further up the side of Hardangerfjorden then on to Voss and the Stalheim Hotel where it's said there's a terrific view, and finally back to Bergen on the E16 again.

10:07 We'd ridden as far as Bjorkheim, but had to stop here and put on waterproofs as the rain was getting heavier.

N60.40211 E5.72983 (map)

10:57 We stopped again on the banks of Hardangerfjorden for a quick picture. The rain had stopped, but it was very dull. The clouds have taken off the top of the mountains, let's hope we don't end up riding up there.

N60.38170 E6.26970 (map)

While we're in the layby, we took a look at John's tyre plug, this is after a day and a half's use. It is standing proud and has done since it was first inflated (it was cut flush with no air in it) As far as I recall no air had been lost, but its the cracking around the plug that's causing some concern, we're not sure what's happening under the rubber. As usual, we decided to ride on relatively gently and keep an eye on it.

11:51 The weather was picking up a bit as we turned left in Granvin on to the R13 heading toward Voss. The valley was narrowing and it seemed likely we would be in a tunnel very soon, but no, just a little further up the road we came across Skjervsfossen and a very winding road to the top.

N60.58705 E6.63826 (map)

This is Skjervsfossen from higher up that winding road, you can see clearly where the water flows under the road bridge and down into the valley below.

N60.58447 E6.63893 (map)

A panorama of the valley made up from around six individual pictures.

N60.58447 E6.63893 (map)

And here's a shot of the guys riding up through the last hairpin. Dave J managed to sneak into the picture twice after I'd stitched this one together, he's both second and last! At the top of this road there are a few facilities and parking, but as we didn't stop, I can't vouch for them.

N60.58447 E6.63893 (map)

12:22 In Voss we joined the E16 North toward Vinje and came across another waterfall called Tvindefossen. It's around 492ft high, again there are facilities here, tourist shops and parking, but we only stopped briefly for photos before moving on.

N60.72370 E6.48786 (map)

12:53 Keeping to the E16, we rode on to the Stalheim Hotel, parking well away from the entrance due to the number of coaches out front. We then sort of sneaked in through the lobby, through to the terrace out back. Walking to the edge we were presented with this view, probably the best I've seen so far in Norway. In the bottom of the valley the E16 road is disappearing Westward, Bottom left of the picture you can just see glimpses of the old road as it winds its way up to the hotel, the new road sweeps under the mountain out of sight, back the way we've just come. We were surprised to see coaches come up this steep and winding road to the hotel, I'm sure they do it for dramatic effect, it must scare the living daylights out of the old folk :-) I did try modifying this picture in Photoshop, but found what ever I did to it, just spoilt it, so this is pretty much just as it came out of the camera.

N60.83524 E6.68059 (map)

While I was still admiring the view, the guys went off exploring and found a WW2 German bunker on one side of the terrace, this trench is the way in.

Inside the bunker. To give you some idea of the layout, the guy on the left is looking out of the gun port down the valley, and the lady has just come in the bunker entrance,

And this is the gun port, it's a tiny hole, but it covers the valley very well indeed, certainly a 'room with a view'.

Strange, we'd come all this way to see a grand view and you lot get pictures of a bunker! :-) Oh well...

13:34 This is Stalheimfossen taken on the way down the old road, top right you can see a corner of the Stalheim Hotel overlooking the valley, and bottom right is the E16 where it breaks out from between the two tunnels, it might be worth trying to stop here for a picture some time.

It's really difficult to stop and take pictures on a road like this, I tried a few times, but my bike wanted to roll on down the mountain without me, so it was up to Dave J to provided the pictures, well done Dave!

And Sivliefossen also seen from the road down, anyone coming through in a coach is bound to get a very good view of the waterfalls, just don't rock the coach too much!

I thought a map of the area may help. Our route in from the south is in pale blue, leaving the Stalheim our route down the old road is in green. Our route back through the two tunnels under the Stalheim is marked in magenta (note the gap between the tunnels immediately under the hotel) I've also shown the rough location of the two waterfalls, I don't think they're visible from the Stalheim hotel.

13:50 Rather than pay Stalheim prices for refreshments we decided to stop at the Esso filling station we'd filled up at on the way in, it was only a few miles down the road. It sold all the usual service station stuff like coffee, hot dogs, pastries and maps... I priced up a lovely spiral bound road atlas of Norway, it was so detailed it even named the tunnels and would have been great in helping me write up this travelogue, but the price was £25, rather to much for me, now of course I wish I'd bought it! :-( In the foreground is Dave S, Dave J and John. On the table in the background are a group of friendly Norwegian bikers, the guy in the wheel chair was riding a BMW combination with his partner as pillion.

N60.79167 E6.50838 (map)

The sun had decided to come out for a while now, so what with the warmth and the usual slow pace of the E16, the two hour ride back to Bergen was a bit of a drudge, and would you believe it, once back in Bergen, the Sun disappeared again behind low cloud ruining our plans to go up the mountain behind the Montana hostel in the cable car :-(

So, a little later Dave S and I went shopping at the Spar shop for the evening meal, it's burgers tonight chaps, cheap burgers! We found the burgers in the freezer but they were in a box and it was difficult to say exactly how many there were (or even if they were beef), but had to take a chance with them. Same problem with the chips, we tried to buy oven chips, we tried really hard, but I think we may have got that wrong... oh well!

Tonight's shopping list:

1x Box of 10 burgers      79.90kr

1x Pommes frits (chips) 14.00kr

1x Potatoes wedges      23.90kr

2x 6 Bread cakes           33.80kr

1x Chilli sauce                21.90kr

2x Large onions                0.10kr

1x Roll Aluminium foil     11.90kr

1x Chocolate biscuits    15.90kr

Total:                                200.5kr - £ 17.78

Onion rings cooking in olive oil, Mmmm... the ingredients you can see on the work top have been left by other guests after they have left, and free to use (well at least I hope that's what the're there for).

The burgers were baked in the oven on a large metal tray lined with tin foil, as were the oven chips and potato wedges. Here's Dave S and Patto proving men can cook, and laugh at the same time, that's multi tasking isn't it? :-)

Cooking this meal should have been simpler than yesterday's curry, and would have been if the oven chips had gone brown instead of stubbornly remaining bleach white :-( Still, it all went down pretty well, aided by the usual beer and coke.

Then it was back to our personal lounge for an evening of drinks and CSI New York.

Oh well, that's about it, we're homeward bound tomorrow, we all need to pack (which will take around ten minutes, as no one bothered to unpacked in the first place) And it's an early start in the morning, the ferry leaves Bergen at 09:00, still, we should just about have time for a quick breakfast.

Next day

Fri/Sat - Sun - Mon - Tue - Wed - Thu/Fri

____________________________________________________

Today we travelled 208 miles in 7h44mins, average speed 27mph

Garmin tracklog available here

Wednesdays elevation graph: Just made it to 1500ft again and no mysterious trip below sea level.

Wednesdays temperature graph: Interesting to see that 25c peak coincide with the drop in to the Stalheim valley (see elevation graph above).

Next day

Fri/Sat - Sun - Mon - Tue - Wed - Thu/Fri

If you wish to contact me, please click Here

Please feel free to sign the guest book if you like what you have read: Guest Book

Thank you