Road Trip

Today Kristine, her father Bjørn, and younger brother Eivind took me around scenic parts of Norway.  The trip ended up being 12 hours total.  

 Bridge overlooking Åkrafjorden.   

                Small waterfall near the fjord.  

    A bridge sometimes used for organized       Small tunnel near the bridge.
    bungee-jumping (Åkrafjorden).      

                                                                   Kristine's brother Eivind preparing to throw

                                                                   a rock over the edge.                               

Bye-bye rock...

   A rather large waterfall near a common road. 

Kristine's parents purchased a cabin in the mountains which we visited today.  They have yet to move in so it's completely unfurnished with an exception for the table and chairs on the deck.

   Kitchen                                                     Living room

    Bathroom                                                      An outside look at the cabin.

Countryside view

Rock slide 

This country is full of small communities and villages.  The next few photos represent villages in Norway that reside along fjords and water trade areas.  (More pictures from and of small villages appear in other areas of this blog.)  

    Traditional Norwegian Church

                                 

   Traditional Norwegian Church                Many many waterfalls on a mountain side.

Believe it or not, fruit farms are quite popular in Norway, especially alongside the fjords.  The trees line up on the steep mountain side and they are usually "cut back" for easier access to the fruit.  The two pictures above represent this. 

   

Kristine and I near a fruit farm. 

                                                                   Scenic view near a rest area in which we stopped for  
                                                                   a quick bite to eat.

A nice picture of a fruit farm on a mountain side near a fjord.  

Sheep are EVERYWHERE in Norway.  This is a close up

picture of a few lambs playing in a field nearby.  

The next 23 pictures are of a place called Rosendalen.  Rosendalen is an old, beautiful estate. A Danish baron and Norwegian baroness originally received the estate as a wedding gift, but today it is open for the public to enjoy. While we were visiting there was also a photography exhibition that displayed pictures of traditional Norwegian "bunads" (national costume).   

 In the summer this is a very nice rose garden, there are signs that tell visitors what kind of roses are going to grow here later.

This barn is also part of the Rosendalen estate. This is where the horses and livestock was kept. The map on the right shows how large the estate really was.

                             Later on in the road trip on the way back.  A picture from the car.

                                    In Norway, it's common to park your car on a fairy

                                    and ride from one land mass to another.  It speeds up

                                    travel time and it can also serve as a nice break from

                                    driving.  

On the fairy.