Summer trip to Norway

Today we left early, leaving most of Lom having a Sunday lie-in! Our first stop would be at Urnes Stave Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), but first we crossed the Sognefjellet with spectacular views of the Jotenheim and the glaciers. Here the snow is stained pink by the lichen growing on it. Road 55 is quite famous as it snakes across the mountains, eventually dropping down to the fjord. We were lucky to be able to park up by the church as there was a small market being set up outside it. Dougal’s crutches worked wonders! We bought our tickets to enter Urnes Stave Church and waited in the church yard for our tour of the beautiful little church. It was declared a WHS in 1979 and is the oldest preserved church, dating from the 12th century. It is now owned by the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments. Although there are 28 of these ancient churches left – from an original 1000, Urnes is the oldest and the most decorated. You can see how lovely it is from the surviving carvings on the outside and the interior lives up to expectations, although no photographs are allowed inside. If you want to know more, visit the Society’s website .


We needed to get our ferry, so drove just over the road to the terminal and took the short ferry across the fjord; then off again, as we had our second ferry to catch that would take us up Naeroyfjord, another WHS. This is a very dramatic fjord, which is narrow with steep sides. On a sunny summer’s day the beauty of its landscape must be breathtaking. On our trip, it was rainy, misty and mysterious. The cliffs soared up into the clouds; waterfalls appeared out of the mist; and the water was grey and still. But it was quite an experience.
Our destination was Gudvangen, from where we drove up to the historic hotel, Stalheim. The road itself is an experience with hairpin bends to test the driver and several spectacular waterfalls. Our rooms overlook the terrace with views right down the Naeroy valley, which is alternately filled with mist and cloud, then clear enough to see the winding road down the valley following the river.