Norway – Day 6: A fjord, a church and a microbrewery?

This was to be our last day in fjord country. We set off once more with our trusted driver, Idar, at the wheel. According to Norwegian law, bus drivers must take two days off after a specific number of days. We were happy to have him back, since he was not only cheerful and a great driver, but he was very knowledgeable about the current state of things in Norway. Our first stop was the Nærøyfjord, or

Entering the fjord

Narrow Fjord. I suspect that I was not the only one on the bus thinking, “Not another fjord”. But my thoughts changed once we began slipping through the still, dark waters. It was chilly and drizzling as we began our way through the gorge that opened onto the fjord itself. Once in the fjord, I could see why this was also a UNESCO cultural heritage site.

How does one keep describing the most incredible natural beauty? I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. As we neared the end, the sun poked through and created the most amazing plays of light on grass, rocks and water. Breathtaking is the only word to describe it.

We tied up a Gudvangen and the bus came off the ferry. We all clambered back on board and headed for a visit to one of Norway’s few remaining stave churches. The stave church is a church made

almost entirely out of wood. The shape and design is almost only found in Norway and is one of the country’s truly original art forms. I was very keen to see this church.

The Borgund stave church

 As we parked at the visitor center, I was taken by the beauty of the setting. The church sits in a vale near a small river. It is, however, in the middle of nowhere. At least that’s the way it seemed. Once inside, the guide explained that this was most likely a pagan holy site before the church was built. It appears that this is another example of Christianity appropriating a pre-Christian site or ritual. The churches dragon ornamentation is itself a blending of pagan and Christian symbols. The interior is quite small. 100 people would be pretty much packed tightly. An interesting feature is the covered ambulatory that runs around three sides of the church. My guess is that’s where any overflow went during Mass. It was a fascinating visit. We had a lunch of soup and sandwiches in the visitor’s’ center and then we were off.

Our overnight stay was in Flåm, a little town that is famous for its mountain climbing railroad, a feat of engineering. Flåm is also a popular port-of-call for the many cruise ships touring the fjords. In fact, on local resident explained to us that the town only has about 350 permanent residents, but receives over one million visitors a year! That is incredible, but I was going to see for myself just how that could be. 

Our beer tasting

Another notable feature of Flåm, is the presence of one of Norway’s most successful microbreweries, Ægir. We checked into the hotel and were invited for a beer tasting in the brewpub. There was a nice presentation and tasting and the place was hopping. Little by little, though, it began emptying out. Our group headed off for the rail tour, which I decided to skip. The others, I figured out, were heading back to the cruise ship that was docked in front of our hotel.

I was still feeling the effects of the cold, so I decided to rest. I made some tea in the hotel room and worked on the blog for a while. I was fully engrossed in my work when suddenly the whole room began to shake and vibrate with the sound of a ship’s horn blasting right outside. The cruise ship must be getting ready to leave. Our guide explained how they mostly dock in the morning and leave before nightfall, disgorging their passengers into the little town for the day. These boats carry upwards of 3,000 people. I wanted to see how the ship left the harbor, so I grabbed my jacket and phone. It was an amazing sight.  

This mountain of metal gracefully executed what amounted to a K-turn in the fjord and then headed slowly away. The modest crowd that had gathered to watch like me began to drift away. Dinner that night was in the restaurant that is owned by the same family that owns the hotel and the microbrewery. They pretty much have things in little ol' Flåm sewed up.