NORWAY - Scandinavia - page 550

Solvorn and Urnes depart Solvorn at the top of most hours and Urnes at
the bottom of most hours (32 kr one-way passenger fare, 87 kr one-way for
car and driver, no round-trip discount, 15-minute ride, mobile [phone],
www.urnesferry.com ). You can either drive or walk onto the boat—but, since
you can't drive all the way up to the church, you might as well leave your car
in Solvorn. Once across, it's about a five-minute uphill walk to the main road
and parking lot (where drivers must leave their cars; parking lot at the church
only for disabled visitors). From here, it's a steep 15-minute walk up a switch-
back road to the church (follow signs for Urnes ).
Planning Your Time: Don't dawdle on your way up to the church, as the
tour is scheduled to depart at :40 past most hours, about 25 minutes after the
ferry arrives (giving most visitors just enough time to make it up the hill to
the church). The first boat of the day departs Solvorn at 10:00; the last boat
departs Solvorn at 16:00 (last tour at 16:40); and the last boat back to Solvorn
departs Urnes at 18:00. Confirm the “last boat” time, and keep an eye on your
watch to avoid getting stranded in Urnes.
Visiting the Church: Most visitors to the church take the included
25-minute tour (scheduled to begin soon after the ferry arrives—described
earlier). Here are some highlights:
Buy your ticket in the white house across from the church. Visit the little
museum here after you see the church, so you don't miss the tour.
Many changes were made to the exterior to modernize the church after the
Reformation (the colonnaded gallery was replaced, the bell tower was added,
and modern square windows were cut into the walls). Go around the left side
of the church, toward the cemetery. This is the third church on this spot, but
the carved doorway embedded in the wall here was inherited from the second
church. Notice the two mysterious beasts—a warm-blooded predator (stand-
ing)andacold-bloodeddragon—weavingandtwistingaroundeachother,one
entwining the other. Yet, as they bite each other on the neck, it's impossible
to tell which one is “winning”...perhaps symbolizing the everlasting struggle
of human existence. The door you see in the middle, however, has a very dif-
ferent message: the harmony of symmetrical figure-eights, an appropriately
calming theme for those entering the church.