Tuesday, 29th July – Oslo to Laerdal

Norway has some rugged and beautiful changing landscapes that we have heard so much about. We had been looking forward to our Norwegian leg of the journey, it’s a lot of long drives and breathtaking scenery – we were excited to get started today.

We had every intention to see Oslo – the capital – but those plans became difficult as we ran out of time. There was only one thing that Keith specifically wanted to see and that was Vigeland Park. Gustav Vigeland was a Norwegian sculptor who is one of Keith’s favourites. A smart move on Gustav’s behalf was cementing a deal with the city to provide him with a free home and place to work on his sculpting in exchange for all of his future works.

Vigeland Park is the result of that deal. There are hundreds of sculptures all around the park as well as immaculate gardens, water features and a museum as well. Keith took pictures of almost all of the sculptures, but below are the edited highlights.

Once we had spent an hour or two in the park, we headed north to see more of Norway. Below are some of the fantastic views we were able to enjoy.

As we went further north, we also drove higher in altitude as well. In fact, it wasn’t that long before we saw our first signs of ice still on the tops of the mountains! It should be said that when we left Oslo, the temperatures were the highest Norway has recorded since 1976 (Almost 30 degrees)! But by the time we were up in the mountains, the temperatures were getting down to the high teens!

As we went higher, we noticed that there was a definite change in the landscape. The biggest difference was that trees were just not around after about 1000 metres above sea level. The landscape is all rocks, bushes and a mossy type of grass that just covers rocks.

The main reason for the destination on this day was to look around (and see in person) the Borgund Stave Church. A stave church is a wooden church that was built in a certain fashion during a particular medieval period. There are only a small number of them left in the world – almost all of them in Norway. The stave church at Borgund is one of 28 original stave churches left in Norway and it was build during the 1200s. It would have to be one of the most amazing structures we have ever seen.

After seeing the church and the museum for it nearby, we headed off to where we were staying.

In Australia, there are loads of caravan parks and accommodation that is built around inlets and bays. They are family holiday spots and usually pretty weird. Our accommodation for the night in Laerdal was very similar except for two things. The first was that everyone spoke in a language we couldn’t understand and the second was that it wasn’t a bay, but the shores of a fjord. The view was worth the price, the room and bed were a bonus.

Before we sign off for today, we wanted to let our readers know a little bit about the photos (thanks for reading everyone!). Almost all the photos taken in this blog are on the Canon digital SLR camera, however, we do get a few shots on our phones when they’re more handy. Here’s an example of a couple from Bec’s iPhone (they have been lightened up a little).

Another big day of driving in spectacular Norway ahead tomorrow.