Fjord flashback

Here’s a blast from the past (September 13 2008). I love the play of shadows and the blue reflecting in the water.

Somewhere-north-of-here fjord

I actually did not recognize where the above was until I looked at some of the other photos from the same day: This was from an overnight trip with my then-department. We went to Flåm and Nærøyfjord. The latter is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The former is the destination for the “Norway in a Nutshell” trip that combines bus, train and bus—not necessarily in that order. The photo above is as we sailed out the Aurlandsfjord from Flåm.

Below the highway headed to Aurland, decoration made out of rocks and plants mimic Viking hieroglyphs. Or maybe it’s just modern art deer.

Where the deer and the antelope play?

Nærøyfjord has tall mountains on either side, and in the winter only the midday sun manages to shed any light there. The rest of the time it is in deep shadow. In September the sun was making its way down one side.

I love how the shadows create a second row of mountain tops

Entering Nærøyfjord. Such drama. Such contrast.

A more classic view from Nærøyfjord (pronounced NAIR-oy-fyord)

Oh, hey, we’ve got company!

There’s a reason why tourists love this fjord. So do I!

Looking behind us in Nærøyfjord

In the old days (like, when I was a kid and a good while after), ferry service connected Gudvangen with Flåm. Then two longish tunnels gave the two towns a land connection. Norway is riddled with tunnels because it’s way harder to build a road on the outside of the mountains than to burrow through.

Main street, Gudvangen. Gudvangen and Flåm both live off tourism.

Obligatory waterfall picture