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Norway 2007: The Fjords - north of Sognefjord |
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Sunday 17th June: Sunndalsøra - Åndalsnes (109 km) |
How many words do Norwegians have for 'Milk'?
On one side of Norwegian bank notes is written 'Norges Bank' and on the other side is 'Noregs Bank'.
This isn't the work of a clumsy counterfeiter, it is a clue that Norway has two official written languages: bokmål and nynorsk.
To complicate matters even further there are many regional dialects.
The two written languages are very similar but once in a while the tourist will notice something odd.
In Oslo a carton of milk will be labelled 'Melk' - the bokmål spelling. The same carton of milk in Åndalsnes will be labelled 'Mjølk' - the nynorsk spelling.
In the far North the Sami people have their own language which is unrelated to bokmål and nynorsk.
Armed with this knowledge the tourist can then make the next choice: whole milk, skim, light, extra light, organic, goat, fruit-flavoured yoghurt drinks or (our favourite) chocolate milk.
A tranquil morning near Åfar, on route 62, looking over Sunndalsfjorden
Route 62 follows Sunndaslfjorden for 30 flat kilometres
Rødvenfjorden
Looking over Isfjorden to Åndalsnes and Romsdalen
Karen's diary:
Sunday mornings in Norway are very quiet. All the shops are closed, everyone is sleeping and there is no traffic. Sunndalsøra, so busy the night before, was calm and peaceful in the morning sunshine as we left. After riding quickly and quietly through a 6km tunnel on the outskirts of town we enjoyed effortless cycling along Sunndalsfjorden and over a little hill to Eidsvåg, a village on a road junction. The only places open on a Sunday are churches and petrol stations, and we called in at a petrol station to purchase a map and check out the groceries. One of our recent discoveries has been 'lefse', a kind of thick pancake, cut into rectangles and sandwiched together with sweet butter (sometimes flavoured with cinnamon). Morning tea was lefse and a carton of milk, of which we have been drinking plenty.
At the counter, the station attendant gave us a free tourist map of the local area, which proved very useful. Brian spotted a 'shortcut' on the map, a tiny road along the north shore of Langfjorden which looked shorter, straighter and perhaps as scenic as the main road on the south shore. What a little gem! After a short, steep climb out of the village, the little road was almost all flat, with good views across the water and almost no traffic. We stopped to examine a memorial along the way - it marked the place where a huge landslide had fallen down the side of the fjord, generating a tidal wave that destroyed boats and houses and killed many people. It was hard to believe such a thing could happen in such a peaceful, idyllic place.
We were joined later by another cyclist, a local man out on a day ride. He commented on the glorious weather, saying that it wasn't usually so warm. When we reached the ferry landing at Sølsness he wished us a good journey and said goodbye. We were back on familiar ground - we had used the Sølsness - Åfarnes ferry in 2005 on our journey south but on that occasion the view was obscured by clouds and rain. Today was so warm that I rode in short sleeves for the first time (and got sunburnt arms). From Åfarnes to Åndalsnes is an easy and attractive ride, with good views to the mountains. We are camping tonight in the large campground on the outskirts of the town. We have been chatting with a Danish cyclist; he is heading north slowly with lots of luggage on his bike (his tent is like a palace). We have had a magnificent day but at bedtime the peaks were covered with clouds. We are crossing our fingers for clear weather tomorrow.