Wednesday, June 19, 2024

North into Vestland

We headed further north into Vestland which is the main Fjords area, via main and side roads and lots of long tunnels. One even had a roundabout in the middle!


Roundabout in the tunnel!

Another Stave Church at Rodal. There were 1300 Stave churches in Norway - now 28 are left and preserved. Stave refers to the way they are constructed.



The impressive Latefossen waterfall



A lovely picnic spot

Muy on the ferry from Utne to Kvanndal

Purdy in her favourite spot!


We stopped at Myrkdalen Hotel, a ski resort, and were allowed to stay in their large carpark for free so we splashed out on a meal in their restaurant - we were a bit under dressed!


Tasty spare ribs for Phil


We carried on over a beautiful mountain pass and then descended to Vik. We were intending to travel further but it looked such a nice little fjord town that we decided to stay for a few days in their local campsite.

So many waterfalls!




An early morning cuppa with a lovely view at
Vik after travelling over the high, snowy pass

She is nice and toasty!

Purdy's special dog sleeping bag is made in
Norway, very well designed for this climate
 


Our pitch at the campsite





We have noticed the town has fantastic
sports facilities including this athletics stadium

VERY hard core public exercise area!

Another Stave Church in Vik


Purdy was paddling just downstream from here!





The fast ferry to Bergen and Flam

Yes that feels great thank you!

A steep hike to a viewpoint overlooking Vik with a swing on the way that Dee decided to try out.

It started so well, then...

Nearly ended in disaster!

Our picnic dinner at about 8pm, it wasn't
raining but we had a light shower on the way


Another beautiful stop on a hike for a picnic dinner below! This photo was taken at 1920 in the evening - it just never seems like evening here! Our campsite is top left hand side of the town.

Sunday, June 16, 2024

The Industrial Museum (The Heroes of Telemark)

After dropping Tas at the airport we stayed the night back in Lunde and then headed further north back to Rjukan so we could visit the Industrial Museum situated in the Norsk Hydro Electric plant built in 1911.

This is where Heavy Water was first produced and the factory was taken over by the Nazis in WWII. This was the location of the famous Saboteur operation by the Allied Forces, lead by the Norwegians in 1943. The Allies feared the Nazis were going to produce a atomic bomb and The Heroes of Telemark film told the story.

Our park up for the night in Rjukan - it
was in the carpark of the cable car



The museum was excellent and we spent a few hours looking through the old turbine and generator hall as well as the cellar where the Heavy Water was stored and blown up by the Saboteurs.

We also learnt that heavy water, although it sounds ominous, it is actually okay to drink. It just has a different hydrogen atomic make up.


It's a striking building in a remote location


Inside the Turbine and Generator Hall



An old crane for Phil to admire!





The Heavy Water cellar was uncovered under the rubble from the old tower and was in surprisingly good condition. They built an interactive exhibition hall over the top which opened in 2022.

Dee outside the exhibition in the cellar

Dee with the Saboteurs