Lillehammer

Back in the spring, Lillehammer had seemed like a good place to stop before our final leg into Oslo.  I'd booked a room at the Scandic. Which turned out to be quite the place. Most of the Scandic Hotels we'd seen were fairly typical chain places, but here they've acquired something with a bit more history. It was high up above town on the side of the valley, not far from from the ski jump. The only downside was that it wasn't air conditioned. And the weather was very hot - more Italy than Norway.

We had dinner at a restaurant downtown (Nikker's), on an outside deck above the steep little stream that flows through town.

Lillehammer entered my vocabulary during the 1994 Olympics (remember Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan?). I don't remember much about the games, but apparently the Opening and Closing Cermonies were held up at the ski jump.

We drove up to the ski jump (Lysgårdsbaggen) in the evening, then came back the next morning to ride the chair up to the top. We were thinking mainly about the view, so were completely surprised to find that there were ski jumpers training on the hill. It looks like they were using standard equipment, but the in-run is equipped with little rollers and the landing is on artificial turf.

Rondane

From Dovrefjell, our route south passed along the eastern side of Rondane National Park. We didn't really see the mountains up close, but were treated to some great views from the road (another Norwegian Tourist Route).

There were two more architectural viewpoints - one with a cafe - along the way. I was trying to picture the one in the top photo (Sohlbergplassen) looking out over Lake St. Mary in Glacier NP or Peyto Lake in Banff NP, but figure they'd never happen because someone would scream about wasting taxpayer dollars. Leaving North America with gravel pullouts and simple boardwalks, which are fine, but lack inspiration.

Snøhetta

Snøhetta is the highest peak in the Dovrefjell Mountains at 2286m (7500'). The viewpoint (Tverrfjellhyta) was a short drive off the main road (with poor signage, but that's another story), followed by a modest hike up a ridge. It's a viewpoint with a fireplace, a spotting scope, and a bunch of bones and furs. The fireplace wasn't going - it was an awfully warm day -- but it might be nice if you walked up in the winter. We didn't see any reindeer -- it seemed like an awfully big landscape in which they could hide.

Snøhetta is also a world class architectural firm that specializes in integrating buildings and landscapes. They designed this viewpoint (Snøhetta: Tverrfjellhyta), but also many other less remote structures, including the Oslo Opera House (we'll get there in a few posts, be patient) and the recent Times Square transformation (talk about a contrast to this place).

Dovrefjell

Having spent most of 12 days working our way up Norway's rugged fjord coast, we turned south at Trondheim and back towards Oslo. Our first night was at a small tourist camp between Hjerkkin and Dombås, in the midst of the Dovrefjell National Park. Whether we were in the Park or not is a little unclear, in part because boundaries of many European national parks are not as black and white as they are in the U.S. I suspect it has to do with creating relatively new parks around ancient human landscapes dotted with villages and historic land uses.

The Dovrefjell Mountains are a harsh, sprawling alpine landscape that hosts a native reindeer herd and even some musk oxen (although I read that they may have been imported). Their highest point is Snohetta, which we'll revisit in the next post.

We were staying at a Turisthytter, which basically translates to a small cluster of timber cabins, a campground, some rentable trailers, and a small central lodge with a restaurant. It was a bit rustic compared to some of our other accommodations, but rustic is fine with us, and it was perfect for the setting.

I could have had reindeer, but opted for a moose burger instead. I also tried a red ale from their on-site brewery (they claim the smallest in Norway).

Nidaros Cathedral

Trondheim's Cathedral would have fit in pretty much anywhere in Europe, but somehow I just wasn't really expecting something like this so far from everything else.

We just barely made it before they closed the doors to the public for a service, but at least that gave us ten minutes to experience the inside of the cathedral. I guess like other big cathedrals, the effect of the huge vaulted space, stained glass windows, and religious details is pretty awesome.  Photography wasn't allowed inside, so I mainly took pictures of gargoyles on the exterior, wishing I had a better camera and lens.

Construction was begun in the 11th century, although like many cathedrals, it was centuries before it was completed. And even then, it was quite different than what stands today, which has been substantially expanded and modified. Apparently much of the sculptural detail on the western edifice is 20th century.

Trondheim

When we planned the trip, we weren't sure whether we would have either the time or the inclination to go as far as Trondheim, before turning the car south again towards Oslo. But the weather was good and it only added a few hours to the day. We found lunch on the street downtown and spent two hours walking around the cathedral and Old Town.

Trondheim's Old Town is down towards the river, east of the newer part of the city. The Old Town Bridge (Gamle Bybro or Lykken's Gate) across the Nidelva River dates to 1681, although it's been remodeled and refurbished quite a bit since then. It also doesn't open any more, which is a shame, since it would have been neat to see the old hardware in action.

The river itself is lined with the old warehouse buildings, looking a little like the old wharf areas in  Copenhagen and Bergen.

Trondheim was the farthest north we got on this trip, or that either of us had ever been before, not counting airplanes flying over Baffin Island and our brief stop in Reykjavik on the way home (although it is only a tad farther north than Trondheim). For reference, Denali and Kristiansund are both 63.1°N, but Trondheim is 63.4°N. Reykjavik is 64.1°N.

It was wonderful seeing everyone out enjoying the beautiful sunny weather - and realizing just how far north (and how lucky) we were.

Farstad

Farstad was a great destination for our day trip out to the Atlanterhavsveien. We picked up lunch makings at a convenience store in Vevang and from there it was only a few more miles out to the beach.

Farstad had jumped out on Google Maps when I was doing reconnaissance this spring because it had a large beach - something Norway has relatively few of. We ate lunch on the edge of the dunes, then M wandered back to her car and her Kindle while I wandered off down the beach. I'll post photos from here on Gravel Beach, but I'm farther behind with that blog than I am with this one.

The direct route out to Farstad was sort of a back road to start, but we took an even lesser traveled road on the way back -- one that followed the coast a little closer. It was a good reminder of the little surprises that make trips like this particularly fun. These whimsical roadside attractions are pretty new additions - I looked for them in the most recent Google Street View images and they weren't there.

Atlanterhavsveien

Most of the designated tourist routes we'd been on had been in the mountains or up and down the steep sides of fjords, so this one was a bit different. The road hops from one small island to the next out along the edge of the open Atlantic.

I'd seen some great photos of this road and its Storseisundet Bridge on lists of the the world's most amazing roads. Photos of waves breaking over the roadway during big Atlantic storms are impressive. Even in calm weather, the bridge seems a little exposed. Fortunately, conditions were a little tamer and pretty perfect for our visit.

Eldhuset was yet another beautiful example of designing viewpoints to complement the larger features of the landscape (natural and built). In this case, everything, including the shape of the gift shop/cafe and the design of the railings along the walkway were all reflected the swoop of the bridge itself.