Bergen to Balestrand and then to Flam, September 10-12

 September 10 Ferry to Balestrand

 

 We got up bright and early for a 6:30 a.m. breakfast, again sumptuous. Then, we walked to the ferry terminal for a trip up the Sognefjord between Bergen and Balestrand, a rather small village. We had expected that it would be rainy, but, miraculously, the sun came out for much of the ride. We spent the four-hour trip getting up from our seats to go outside to take photos. It will be hard to capture the beauty of this fjord.

   After years of rule by the Dutch and the Swedish, when Norway became independent, they sought to regain their identity. This fjord helped provide them with that and it is considered very special to the Norwegians.

    The ferry is so different from the Nantucket ferries. (We were on a passenger ferry, but saw car/truck ferries) One notable difference was the speed at which they dock and leave again. I think some stops took less than a minute! But, about a dozen of us got off at Balestrand, so we didn't have to hustle.

    Balestrand is in the process of shutting down most of their tourist sites for the winter and many restaurants are closed. 

 

   The center of the town is a grand old Hotel, the Kvitnes Hotel which was build in 1877 and is still under the same family's ownership. It is amazing. (We tried to get reservations there, but it was sold out.) We walked about half a kilometer to the Balestrand Hotel, a 30-room, much more modest hotel and we dropped off our luggage as we got there before check in.

 

At the Kvitnes Hotel

   We strolled the little town and could find no where to eat other than the grand hotel. So, we ordered from the bar menu and ate on the huge and comfortable veranda. The food was delicious and the service and the view unbeatable. (Barbara: cauliflower soup; Mark: hamburger deluxe) We met a couple staying there. We toyed with getting reservations for the hotel's famous Smorgesbord, but we worry with buffets that we just don't eat enough. We were also wary of eating as late as 7:30 which we find very late, especially for a big meal. The couple had eaten there and agreed that it was just too much food, especially as it would be about $70 per person. So, we decided to forego that.

     We then checked into our hotel; we are on the fourth floor in a simple room, but with a terrific view over the fjord. We went to a grocery store and got a few things to eat in the room for dinner. 

Poster made for Balestrand Hotel

     Mio, who checked us in, turned out to be a wealth of information about the area and history. A chef by trade, he comes from an artistic family. His great grandfathers all fought in the Resistance. A great-uncle was caught and executed and one of his great grandfathers was sent to a concentration camp, but survived. Another was a sniper and part of the unit of the special forces that sabotaged the heavy water plant in the middle of Norway, helping thwart Hitler's quest for nuclear weapons. Mio was in the special forces and did two tours in Afghanistan. 

September 11 Full day in Balestrand

     Today it was supposed to rain all day, but there were only sprinkles. So lucky.

     After a small breakfast at the hotel, we took a walk down the road to the "Villas" a collection of houses from a former artists' colony. This was a center of art during the late 1800s into the early 1900s. The architecture is a combination of Swiss chalet meets the Vikings.

King Bales' burial mound

   Along the way, we passed by 3 Viking burial mounds, ostensibly those of King Bele, a legendary king of Sogn. The statue was donated in 1913 by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Germany's last king. (He summered here; his villa is on the road.) The area of the mounds has been used as a gathering spot in Balestrand for as long as anyone remembers.

    One of the largest villas is "Strandheim" which belonged to the important Norwegian artist, D.H. Dahal. He came here every summer to paint and moved to Balestrand permanently in 1919. It was a "modular" building, brought here by ship from Trondheim.

    The largest villa belong to Kaiser Wilhelm II.

We went for a late lunch back to the Hotel Kvitnes where we had a delicious spinach soup and some bread. We strolled a bit and saw the same group of people practicing in the fjord in canoes and boats. We assume it was a group of high school students, but it's just a guess.

September 12 Ferry between Balestrand and Flam.

 

Daily exercises; we assumed school children

    We lingered at our hotel this morning and had a lovely talk with the owner. She and her brothers, were born in Iceland, but grew up in Balestrand. They recently bought the hotel from their aunt and uncle to keep it in the family. But, as the brother don't live here, she is in her 3rd career (age 41) running a hotel. (kindergarten teacher, fashion design). The hotel closes at the end of October and she moves to Oslo, a city she loves. We talked American politics. Ugh.

The captain slowed the boat here for photos.

     Then, we walked in the rain to the dock and met the noon ferry to Flam, about an hour and a half ride through a narrow branch of the fjord. It was rainy and grey for part of the trip, but the rain stopped and we had glimpses of sun, so another piece of luck

    Upon arrival, we walked to the Flam Camping Hostel where we have a little room on the second floor with 5 other little bedrooms. There is a communal living room, kitchen and bathroom. The shower is downstairs. It is adequate and a change for us.

 

We walked into town and went to the Marina Restaurant where we both had an absolutely delicious salmon lunch with pea puree and dill puree with some roasted potato.

We watched ships/boats going in and out, as well as hiker and bikers....even some people diving into the water and going into a floating sauna on the dock. We went to the supermarket for a bite to eat in the evening and some for the train ride tomorrow.