Conclusion

Since we left Molde we've been gradually working our way back to Oslo, travelling across, around, over and through Norwegian mountains and fjords. We've enjoyed taking in all the scenery and stopping at some nice hotels and points of interest along the way. Monday we completed the trip back to Oslo, dropping the rental car off and checking in to the Oslo airport Radisson hotel.

Most of the day we drove through rain which obscured some of the beauty although mountains shrouded in various shades of gray mist can have their own kind of beauty. At one point we crossed through a mountain pass at cloud level and drove through the foggy mist.

Low ceiling clouds

Misty mountain

A couple of hours from Oslo we stopped at the Heddal Stave Church. This was another of the stave style churches and is the largest existing in Norway. It was impressive to see. Tomorrow we board a flight to Brussels where we will overnight at another airport hotel before our morning flight back home.

Heddal Stave Church

Church bell tower

Church interior

Rear of church

Church Day

Sunday was another day of driving through the Norwegian countryside enjoying amazing and beautiful scenery.  We had two planned stops for the day, both of which appropriately for a Sunday, were churches.  The first was the Dale Stone Church in Luster, not far from our hotel. The Dale church is built of stone and dates to 1200. The inside walls are decorated with frescoes dating from the 15th century.  We stopped at the church and found it open to visitors. We walked around inside and out. The church contained an example of a Votive Ship like we saw in the Molde Cathedral as well.

Dale stone church

Dale stone church

Carved stone gothic arch entrance

Interior

Frescoes on the wall behind the altar

More frescoes

Votive ship

Next we drove a short way farther to the town of Solvorn to get the ferry over to Ornes. We just missed the ferry and had to wait an hour for the next one.  We've done several ferry crossings on this trip and each time we drove on to one end of the ferry, and then drove forward off the other end when we arrived on the other side. I marveled about the fact that the ferries are designed to travel in both directions without having to turn around. When our ferry to Ornes arrived I was surprised to find I had to back the car on to the ferry which then turned around and traveled to the other side where we could then drive off forward.

Our destination in Ornes was another Stave Church. It was situated a good way up the slope from the fjord shore and we had to drive a winding and exceedingly narrow road to get there. Many sections would not permit even 2 small cars to pass.  On arriving we bought tickets for the guided tour and got to see the inside and out with an english speaking narrator that helped understand the significance of the church and its decorations as well as answering questions.

Stave church at Ornes

Exterior wall carved wood detail

Altar with viking ship candelabra

Interior looking toward entrance

Stave church overlooking the fjord

When we finished our tour we bought a souvenir calendar and booklet in the shop and headed back to the ferry. We wanted to get downhill quickly to avoid meeting visitors arriving on the next ferry on their way up the narrow road.  We got to the dock just as the ferry arrived, but there was a line of about 9 or 10 cars including a camper. On our first trip I estimated the ferry could hold 7-8 vehicles, but when the ferry started boarding we were surprised to find there was room for our car and one more after. It was a tight squeeze though.

Ferry returning from Solvorn

Tightly packed cars on the ferry

Our next destination was our hotel in Geilo. We anticipated a pleasant scenic drive across Norway and we weren't disappointed. Of course we had to deal with some narrow roads, serpentine hairpin turns up and down, and tunnels. I can't count how many tunnels we've traversed on this trip. One was 15 miles long! Another was so narrow it was one way only with a traffic light at each end. And the winding roads with obscured hairpin turns. Janet began calling them peek-a-boo turns because it seemed inevitable that another vehicle would pop out around the turn just as you approached it. The worst collection of turns we encountered looks like a child's scribble when viewed on Google maps.

Narrow road

Peek-a-boo turn

Twisted road design

We did see some beautiful scenery though including shimmering lakes and fjords, rushing white water streams, high overlooks, and a close up of one of the countless mountain water cascades. We also encountered a few sheep that stood still in the road stopping traffic. We arrived at our hotel in time to take part in the buffet dinner and split a bottle of sparkling wine.

Scenic overlook

Overlook selfie

Mountain cascade

More cascades

Un-sheepish sheep

We didn't know Norwegian for "move"

Driving Adventures

Saturday we left Molde and drove to Skjolden. The drive started with a ferry from Molde to Vestnes. This was our second ferry of the trip. I was unfamiliar with the ferry loading and ticketing process on the first one, but this time I knew what I was doing. The ferry ride was about 45 minutes across the Romsdalsfjord. Our route to Lom took us through many tunnels, along rushing streams, and beside and across fjords. We stopped for lunch an a scenic restaurant overlooking Stor fjord at Kokarstein. There was some kind of stone monument there.

Ferrying away from Molde

Restaurant with scenic view

Stone monument

Continuing on we made another ferry crossing at Eidsdal, then noticed that we were gradually ascending as we drove along route 63. When we reached the maximum we were amazed when we came out at the top of the Ørnesvingen-eagle Road high above the Geirangerfjord. We stopped at the lookout and were astounded by the grandeur of the fjord below. After snapping some pictures we began to descend the road that takes you through 11 sometimes narrow, sometimes steep hairpin turns all the way to the town of Geiranger at sea level below. But that wasn't the end. Once we were through the town we began a climb up a similar winding road that passed streams and waterfalls from the glaciers above.

Geirangerfjord

Geirangerfjord

Cruise ship in the fjord

Looking back at Geiranger on the way out

We eventually made it to the town of Lom, which contained the only planned point of interest on our route today. Lom has a stave church originally dating to the 12th century, but reconstructed several times since.

Stave church at Lom

Stave church detail

We left Lom and turned on to a stretch of route 55 that is called the Sognefjellet National Tourist Route. The road took us along a scenic river valley, then began to climb until at the highest level the outside temperature dropped to 3°C, and there were patches of unmelted snow around. Another descent on winding narrow hairpin turns finally brought us to our final stop at the Skjolden Hotel. We checked in and had fish & chips for dinner followed by a drink in the bar.

Scenic drive long a river

Snow near the top of the drive

Skjolden Hotel

Fjord view from our room

Hotel bar area

Touring day in Molde

Friday we ventured out about an hour north of Molde to experience the Atlantic Ocean Road. The road is a 5 mile stretch of islands and bridges right at the edge of an unsheltered section of the Norwegian sea. Storms can cause waves to crash over the road making it treacherous to drive. We chose a day with milder weather, although we heard it can change quickly. The most dramatic part of the drive is the Storseisundet Bridge which from some angles appears to drop off into the ocean below. We drove the length of the road and back, stopping at a few of the viewpoints and overlooks. On the way back to Molde, we chose a scenic road that followed the coastline to the town of Bud, then headed inland to get back to Molde.

Morning view from hotel room balcony

Morning view from hotel room balcony

Starting onto the Atlantic Road

Footpath to view point

Water under the bridge

Scary bridge

Rugged coastline

Another footpath

More rugged coastline

Storseisundet Bridge

Scary looking view of the bridg

Fjord farmland along the scenic coastal drive

In Molde we visited the Domkirke or Molde Cathedral and were able to go inside. The cathedral is known for its free standing bell tower.

Church and bell tower

Church Nave

Stained glass windows

Rose window

Near the cathedral was one of many rose gardens that can be found around Molde. This one was actually on top of the Molde Town Hall which we also visited to see the bronze statue of the Rose Maiden symbolizing the "City of Roses". We walked around downtown Molde a bit and went back to the hotel when it started to rain.

Rose beds

Rose beds

Rose beds

Rose Maiden

Downtown Molde

It was dinner time when we got back to the hotel. Neither of us was interested in another hotel dinner so we chose to go to McDonald's for a taste of the U.S. Our McDinner tasted good and they got the order right too.

McDonalds

Sometimes you just get hungry for a taste of home

After dinner we decided to drive up to the Varden viewpoint. A spot high on the slopes behind Molde that offers a panoramic view overlooking the city. On a clear day you can see many mountain peaks on the opposite side of the fjord.

View from Varden

View from Varden

Panoramic view

We returned to the hotel and went to the Sky Bar on the top floor for a drink. Janet enjoyed her usual sparkling wine but I sampled a traditional Scandinavian liquor called Aquavit. It has a strong flavor similar to the Brennivin I tried in Iceland. I liked it.

Drinks in the bar

Bar view

Sunset view