Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You'll be met at the ferry dock (labeled
Mundal
) by a bus—and your guide,
who reads a script about the glacier as you drive up the valley for about 15
minutes. You'll stop for an hour at the
Norwegian Glacier Museum
(Norsk
Bremuseum). After watching an 18-minute aerial tour of the dramatic Joste-
dal Glacier in the theater, you'll learn how glaciers were formed, experiment
with your own hunk of glacier, weigh evidence of the woolly mammoth's ex-
istence in Norway, and learn about the effect of global climate change on the
fjords (way overpriced at 120 kr, included in excursion price, daily June-Aug
9:00-19:00, April-May and Sept-Oct 10:00-16:00, closed Nov-March, tel. 57
69 32 88,
www.bre.museum.no
). From the museum, the bus runs you up to
a café near a lake, at a spot that gives you a good look at the Boyabreen, a
tongue of the Jostedal Glacier. Marvel at how far the glacier has retreated—10
years ago, the visit was more dramatic. With global warming, glacier excur-
sions like this become more sad than majestic. I wonder how long they'll even
be able to bill this as a “glacier visit.”
Considering that the fjord trip is the highlight of this journey, you could
save time and money by just riding the ferry up and back (8:05-11:30). At 380
kr for the round-trip boat ride, it's much cheaper than the 660-kr tour.
Note that if you're into glaciers, a nearby arm of the Jostedal, called the
easy for drivers to reach; see
here
for car-rental info.
$$$ Kviknes Hotel
is the classy grande dame of Balestrand, dominating
the town and packed with tour groups. The picturesque wooden hotel—and
five generations of the Kvikne family—have welcomed tourists to Balestrand
since the late 19th century. The hotel has two parts: a new wing, and the his-
toric wooden section, with 17 older, classic rooms, and no elevator. All rooms
come with balconies. The elegant Old World public spaces in the old sec-
tion make you want to just sit there and sip tea all afternoon (Db-1,660 kr
in new building, Db-2,210 kr in old building, about 400 kr more with view,
includes breakfast, mostly non-smoking, pay Wi-Fi, family rooms available,
closed Oct-April, tel. 57 69 42 00, fax 57 69 42 01,
www.kviknes.no
,
book-
