Day 9: Bergen to Geiranger

The purple bus left Bergen early this morning driving north. Sognefjord and Nordfjord were the main areas for the tour today. A gray, overcast sky kept temperatures down, but the clouds were high enough that they did not hinder the views that are so typical of western Norway. A quick rest stop after crossing the Sognefjord allowed a glimpse back over Norway's longest fjord.

Stops at Førde and Stryn gave the opportunity for a quick visit and a brief walk around a small western Norwegian town. Both serve as administrative centers for the surrounding countryside. Small, but functional shopping centers offered residents and visitors alike a broad commercial array of food, clothes, coffee, and souvenirs. Before reaching Geiranger, the scenery seemed to get more and more spectacular as though building toward a crescendo of sights and sounds.

(View of Nordfjord from Utvikfjellet)

(Public art disguised as a fountain in Stryn)

At Hellesylt, the ferry awaited to take us to Geiranger. Being late in the summer, the waterfalls were far from their most impressive. Of the Seven Sisters, for example, only three of them seemed to be home at all. A waterfall across the fjord from the Seven Sisters, he "Suitor," on the other hand, was undaunted and brought as much water as ever to the fjord.

Hellesyltfoss and Hellesylt Bro (Hellesylt Bridge) on the way to the ferry landing.








The Seven Sisters waterfall. Not quite as impressive as they can be when there is ample water supply in the lake above. Here, it is as though several of the sisters hadn't returned from summer vacation yet.







Passing a sister ferry on the way from Hellesylt to Geiranger