A couple of weeks ago lovely lovely Espen (who has taken as many pictures as I have in this blog-post) and I travelled to Sognefjorden, for a four day journey through the norwegian mountains and the fjords. The mountains are breathtaking, the fjords fresh and blue, the grass green and the snow crisp and white... I sound like a commercial... But it's all more beautiful than you can imagine! Wherever we looked we exclaimed one "WOW" after another! We were in awe! WOOOWOWW!
I'll take you through our trip, the people we met and the really nice hotels we stayed at - first Hotel Gordon by Breimsvatn, then Mundal Hotel in Fjærland and then Tørvis Hotel in Marifjøra. All three hotels belong to the new Mountainfjord Hotels; a collection of historic hotels.
Here I'm having a moment with a goat at Kandal farm…
But before I tell you more about the goats and my love affair with this one, I'll start from the beginning...
Heading out from Oslo, we stopped for a bite, where we saw this couple! That was our first "WOW" :) I love their matching sweaters and their car.
And then, an hour later, we stopped and saw this couple… Is it possible? Two couples out driving in matching outfits… I had to photograph them as well. Of course!
After some hours of driving, chatting, playing music, a few pit-stops - the usual road-trip stuff - we arrived at Hotel Gordon. It is a spectacular gem in the heart of the Norwegian Fjords.
Fredrik is the guy who runs this place now during the summer, and when we arrived he was in the middle of making sandwiches and chocolate cake for the local bridge club. We got a bite too, a glass of wine, and sat down in fron of the fire place.
Nice, huh?
The next day, after sleeping in the peaceful environment, to the sound of birds and waking up to the view of the fjord... Fredrik told us about a family run farm called Kandal. We popped by, and this tiny village overlooks the Breimsvatnet, goats are walking around everywhere - there's perhaps more of them than people, which there are only about 50 of!!
This is Bjørn Nygård, the farmer! He's slightly sceptic, as I'm about to make out with one of his goats!
Love!
I really like goats. I think they have nice personalities! When I was younger and used to spend each summer in the mountains with my family, I always got up at 5am to head up to the local goat farm, where they made home made cheese etc, and I helped milk the goats. I have really nice memories from that time!
Bjørn showed us around, and we bought one of each of this...
Sorry vegetarians!!
On our way down we passed this tiny house. FOR RENT - PARTY SPACE! It says :)
Pondering.
More quiteness and time for ponder.
A pick nick! In our basket we had foe grais, home made knekkebrød (whatever that's called in english), chutney, dark chocolate, camembert and a whole lot more! Yum!
Then, we drove on, went by a touristy shop where lots of japanese tourists also stoppen. Here they sold typical norwegian stuff. Looking nice as a viking girl?
THEN, we arrived at Mundal hotel, which is BEAUTIFUL! WOW! John runs this, and arranges all kinds of cultural events.
And... check out the two people in the picture... We don't know them at this point, but we will bump into them later on the trip... He he
We had a fantastic room that overlooked the fjord. Check out our view!
Espen taking it all in.
The next day, after a 3-course dinner and Opera (I'll come back to that and show you pictures in a separate blog-post) we went for a stroll in bokbyen, which is just down the street from the hotel. Here you can pick up a book. All based on pure honesty. Check out the funny houses and us being happy in the sun :)
Then we went off to visit the couple Aud Amble Bergheim and Jostein Bergheim at Sandal Farm. They live on a farm, rent out holiday-houses, take people fishing, Aud paints a lot, and when we stopped by she made these traditional "cakes". Find more info on their cotttages for rent here!
WOW!
And then!! After hours of chatting, the couple reveals their interest for retro things! The basement of their house has a 70's "night-club" looking room, with a juke-box, dresses, things they have collected. This couple really has fun together and it was so exciting to see. Another WOW from us…
Look how happy Aud is showing us her old dress!
And Jostein is as enthusiastic!
Then we hit the road!
And when a girl has to do what a girl has to do.. she runs into the woods. And then, comes running back again...
AHHH! WOWW! We arrived at Tørvis! Check out this mansion! Bård runs this place. We had a FANTASTIC dinner and sunk down by the fire-place.
I was happy to be here!
And Bård, he was happy to share the story of Tørvis with us. This used to be a hotel back in the day, then it was left for years, until Bård passed by one day a few years ago and decided to bring his family here and run the hotel!
Bård - the boss!
Breakfast, everything on this table is from farms around the area!
He's got the glow! we then waved good bye, and hit the road again. On our way back to Oslo and the urban city life, we....
.. took a ferry... and...
... stopped to smell the flowers.
... looked around us and said WOW again...
... passed by Kroken, where you can help yourself with locally made jams, etc.
... drove through tunnels without light. help yourself to a flash-light...
Ahh, and then we gave these two hitch-hikers a ride. Recognize them from the picture I took at Mundal? Well, it's the same people. Here they are outside Munthe huset.
Espen and I went in, as we had a key! Here, there's fantastic art on every single wall.
And now, I'm getting tired. We've seen so many things, so much nature, met so many people. We hit the road! Ta ta!
All images by Christina Skreiberg and Espen Nord Eidene.
