It was hard to get motivated this morning due to the incredible view from our room. With almost 6 hours to Oppdal we knew we still had a huge day ahead of us. Having breakfast in the private dining room with these views certainly didn’t make it any easier, but we enjoyed the luxury we had unexpectedly been provided with and reluctantly left this wonderful hotel.
Only 15 minutes from the hotel is Ørnevegen (Eagle Road). This steep stretch of road swings up the mountain side via 11 hairpin bends. From the Geirangerfjord it leads up to what is known as the Eagle Road Lookout.
Despite it already being quite a popular spot with tourists we got some terrific photos and enjoyed this spectacular vantage point.
Geiranger certainly hadn’t disappointed and we both felt so fortunate that we had the opportunity to experience such an incredible destination.
We continued on the 63 road to Eidsdal taking the 10 minute ferry crossing to Linge and soon came to our next destination, Gudbrandsjuvet. It’s a narrow, 25m high ravine through which the Valldøla River runs between cracks in the mountain.
A wonderful elevated walking track has been constructed from the parking lot, creating a platform to view the rapidly running river. The colour of the water is so clear and brilliantly blue, we took a video that shows the view from the walking trail.
We were now heading to the very well known area of Trollstigen. We enjoyed watching the dramatic changes in landscape and found a spot to pull over and have a coffee break. The temperature had plummeted and the wind was very cold so we rugged up in our coats watching some ominous dark clouds moving overhead.
The Trollstigen Tourist Centre is a great spot that has two spectacular viewpoints . The walkways and platforms are designed so that they blend in with the surroundings. Some parts are carved into the rock while other parts are built on stone walls.
The wind had really picked up. It had started to rain lightly and was bitterly cold. As we were looking around another friendly traveller asked where our home was. We told him we were from Australia and he commented that now he understood all the winter clothes. Being from Norway and wearing nothing but a pair of cargo shorts and a long sleeve shirt I guess he was used to the colder weather.
Of course as we left the visitors centre miraculously the wind died down and the sun was really trying to come out from beneath the clouds.
Trollstigen or the Trolls’ Path dramatically twists through 11 hairpin bends as it climbs up to Mount Stigrøra, approximately 858m above sea level. This road is cut through parts of the mountain, built up on stone walls and bridges and across and under the Stigfossen Waterfall.
It’s incredibly impressive, there were plenty of pull over points to allow other vehicles to pass and everyone was happy to drive slowly and just enjoy the experience. We managed to get some photos from the car.
Once reaching the base of the mountain we parked the car and got out to look up at the winding road we’d just travelled. We were so pleased that the rain and wind had paused while we passed through the Trolls’ Path.
With still over 3 1/2 hours to reach our final destination of Oppdal, we stopped in at a strange cafe – Trollkiosken (Trolls Kiosk) to have a coffee and a bit of a break.
The kiosk was really large with lots of troll themed souvenirs and really more like a corner store as there was also a camping area with very cool traditional looking cabins.
Our next stop was the Rødven Stave church. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous, however neither of us were keen to spend much time looking around – the entire area was very, very, smelly. It was so bad that even with the windows up and the vents closed we could hardly stand the smell even in the car. We eventually identified the source – a farmer was using a truck to spray liquid cow manure fertiliser. It was truly hideous.
The Rødven Stave Church dates back to the 13th century, and a crucifix from that period is among the oldest furnishings. Unfortunately it wasn’t open so we couldn’t look inside, instead we took some photos breathing through our shirts and hurriedly continued on our way.
With no other scheduled stops we enjoyed the rest of the drive to Oppdal stopping from time to time to take some photos or have a look around.
In the Tips|Product Reviews section of our blog we talk about some of the gear we bring on holidays. Today was a perfect example of why we buy supplies to make our own lunches and snacks. We found this amazing spot to have our lunch, there was no one around and the view was spectacular.
We finally made it to our hotel in Oppdal. There had been pretty heavy rain for the last 30 minutes of our trip. We were happy to check in and relax, having some dinner in the hotel restaurant and then looking over the photos we’d taken over the past few days.
We saw moose! No, just kidding – still no Moose!
Cool Stuff We Did 