Hotel Union ØyeThe lonely road snaking through Norangsdalen - the narrowest valley in Norway - painted scenes out of "Lord of the Rings" and led us to one of the world's hidden hotel treasures. Tucked in between the majestic peaks of Slogen and the untouched scenery of Hjorundsfjord, this romantic "Fjord Palace in Swiss style" built in 1891 has played host to some of the world's luminaries. We felt like royalties ourselves in our room, named after Queen Silvia of Sweden. The salons and hallways of the hotel evoked feelings of being in an Agatha Christie novel. It also felt like we took a travel back in history when technology hasn't caught up with mankind (no TV and phones in the room!) and time stood perfectly still.
Geiranger FjordI've always wanted to cruise along the Geiranger Fjord. Every time I pass by bookstores or streetside kiosks and see postcards or calendar covers with the picturesque fjord on it, I swear I could cry. So that's why it was a treat that we drove our rental car into one of those fjord sightseeing boats and went along for a 65-minute journey through one of the world's most famous fjords. The first two mini-pics show the waterfalls "The Seven Sisters" and "The Suitor". The two falls face one another across the fjord, and the Suitor is said to be trying to perpetually woo the Sisters on the opposite side.
The Trollstigen RoadLeaving the town of Geiranger through a steep uphill drive on the "Eagle Road" (pictured above), we drove to the 858-meter high Stigrøra where we took a fantastic sweeping view of the towering solid rock mountains seared with waterfalls (one even has a Troll-looking head peeking out) and the fjord in the distance, only to drive down the impressive Trollstigen Road, carved into the mountainside and supported by stone walls. My hands were glued to my door handle, seriously, while we drove past the sharp bends of the road.
The port city of Kristiansund"Kristiansund is an exciting port with white wharfside buildings and colorful houses. From its location at the ocean's edge, it acts as the gateway to the impressive tourist attraction, the Atlantic Road. Kristiansund has a distinctive and tasty cuisine based on klipfish (salted and dried cod; try the Bacalao dela Kristiansund at Smia Restaurant), a strong opera tradition (our lovely host incidentally works at the Opera!), and Grip - the little island community 14km from land with a stave church and a lighthouse."
We stayed at Knut's nephew Mads Peter and his girlfriend Marthe, who had this kickass house by the sea with a kickass balcony facing the colorful houses of Kristiandund's "Innlandet". The Hurtigruta Cruise Ship sails past every 3-4 in the afternoon and 1-2 in the morning. Like the locals who live facing the sea, we waved to the passengers of the cruiseship who delightfully waved back each time, too. The next day, we drove past the Atlantic Road to Hustadvika and found a silent beach, which at the right season is one of Norway's best surfing spots.
We drove for a total of 1,400 kilometers and covered much of our planned itinerary. We had to skip Ålesund simply because we didn't have enough time. Hopefully next year, we can visit this city, as well as beautiful Bergen and the northern city of Tromsø, Finnmark and Svalbard for the midnight sun, the northern lights, the polar bears and the glaciers!
