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Norway 2007: The Fjords - south of Sognefjord |
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Friday 22nd June: Kinsarvik - Røldal (90 km) |
Water, water everywhere...Travelling through the fjords it so often seems that this is not land, it is water.
Almost everywhere there are fast-flowing rivers, lakes of all sizes and beautiful waterfalls.
There is water on the mountain tops in the form of snow and there is often water in the air in the form of rain.
There are many magnificent waterfalls near here. Our favourites are Vøringfossen at Fossli on Route 7, Låtefossen on Route 13 south of Odda,
and four waterfalls in Husedalen near Kinsarvik.
Looking up Sørfjorden, a branch of Hardangerfjorden
Looking over Sørfjorden north of Odda
Taking the old road around a long tunnel north of Odda
Odda, an attractive industrial town at the end of Sørfjorden
Stream, Røldalsfjellet
The scenic old road over Røldalsfjellet
The old road over Røldalsfjellet
Cyclists can take the old road over Røldalsfjellet to avoid two long tunnels
The old road over Røldalsfjellet
Our warm, cosy hut at Røldal
Karen's diary:
Yesterday we had to make a decision. We could either head for Oslo as originally planned, or we could continue south and aim for the bottom of Norway, therefore cycling the entire length of the country. We opted for the second choice and decided to aim for Kristiansand.
We left Kinsarvik early this morning and rode south along the east shore of Sørfjorden, a long, narrow fjord. On the east side lies Hardangervidda National Park and on the west side lies the Folgefonna National Park - both high, snowy and glaciated. The lower slopes, though steep, are covered with gardens and orchards - apples, cherries, strawberries, redcurrants and more. We could almost pick cherries from the roadside as we rode by. It looks so lush and bounteous; the narrow, flat, quiet road was a very pretty ride.
The fjord ends at Odda, which has a large iron smelter and a reputation for ugliness. True, the industrial part isn't the best, but Odda itself is an attractive town in a wonderful setting. There are steep, craggy mountains all around, houses terraced steeply up the slopes and a big, swift river tumbling down the valley. The town centre is decorated everywhere with pots of colourful flowers.
It's a steep climb out of Odda but suddenly, just as you pass the last of the houses, the road flattens out and you find yourself riding on a flat road along a long, placid lake. The lake eventually becomes a river and you start to climb again; the river is punctuated by rapids and waterfalls. The double waterfall of Låtefoss is very impressive but we couldn't get a photo of it - there is so much flying spray that you can't get near it with a camera. Just before the village of Skare we were passed by a campervan - someone was hanging out the window, waving and yelling. It was the friendly Swiss couple from Jektvik; they waited for us at Skare and we had a little reunion before continuing on our way.
After Skare we turned off onto the E134 to Røldalsfjellet, a high mountain pass. The 'new' road passes through two long tunnels, both open to cyclists, but when we saw the first one (narrow, steep, large vehicles) we decided to use the 'old' road instead. What a little gem! No high-tech road engineering here, just steep, narrow, tight little hairpins, exactly the kind of riding we both enjoy. At the top there is a narrow, flat passage through a snowy valley, then a wild, plunging descent back to the main road. Oh, those brakes... they screeched all the way down. The descent continues on the main road, fast and steep, all the way to the village of Røldal. There is some kind of market happening this weekend and the campgrounds are very busy; we do not trust the weather so we rode about 2km out of town to rent a cabin in a tiny campground far away from the crowds. We have ridden only a short distance today but we cannot get over the next pass in the time we have left, so we will relax this afternoon. It started to rain at 4.00pm so we were glad to be indoors. What a stunning ride!