Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11
The West Coast Fjord Country
W
estern Norway is the heart of the
fjord country. Norwegian fjords are
narrow arms of the sea, snaking their
way inland. It took 3 million years to
form the furrows and fissures that give
western Norway its distinctive look.
At some points the fjords become so
narrow that a boat can hardly wedge
between the mountainsides.
Fjords have been of enormous sig-
nificance to Norwegians through the
ages. They served as lifelines to those
who settled in the harsh mountain
landscape. Instead of building roads to
each house and village, they used the
easily accessible and navigable fjords.
Thus, inland regions and coastal
regions were linked together as the
fjords enabled commodities to be
transported to the old trading stations.
Imagine how centuries ago people used
to row across their neighborhood fjord
to visit church on Sunday mornings.
Bergen is the best departure point
for trips to the fjords: To the south lies
the famous Hardangerfjord and to the
north the Sognefjord, cutting 178km
(111 miles) inland.
Voss, about 1
1
⁄
2
hours from Bergen,
is a famous ski resort that is also well
situated between both the Hardanger-
fjord and the Sognefjord.
This chapter starts in the towns
around the Hardangerfjord—Lofthus,
Kinsarvik, Eidfjord, and Ulvik—makes
a detour to Voss, and then moves north
to the towns around the Sognefjord
including Balestrand and Flåm.
GETTING THERE
Bergen is the
traditional gateway to the fjord coun-
try. From Bergen, you have a choice of
several options for getting about the
district; the most expensive is by pri-
vate car. Most of the towns and vil-
lages have road connections, although
you'll have to take several car ferries to
cross the fjords. Boat excursions,
many of which leave from Bergen, are
the traditional way to see the fjords. In
summer dozens of possibilities for
these excursions await you. Contact
the tourist office in Bergen for details
(see “Orientation,” in chapter 10).
Of the towns recommended in this
chapter, Voss, both a winter ski center
and a summer mountain resort, has
the best rail connections with Oslo
and Bergen. All of the fjord towns and
villages are also connected by buses
that make their way through the
mountains and along the fjords, boast-
ing vistas in all directions. Of course,
travel by bus from place to place is
time-consuming and often there are
only two to five departures a day,
depending on business, so you'll have
to plan your connections in advance.
Details about bus routes in the fjord
district are available at the Central Sta-
tion in Bergen. Also visit www.nsb.no
for train schedules and www.nor-way.
no for bus schedules.
1 Utne: A Trio of Fjords
¡
130km (81 miles) E of Bergen; 45km (28 miles) N of Odda
Utne has a view of the entrances to three fjords: Indre Samla, Granvin, and Eid.
Across Utnefjorden, the formidable bulk of Oksen rises from the headland
