On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
tomtofa
We went to Norway in May of this year. Unlike most of our traveling – airbnb, rental car/public transportation – this one was a group tour, the standard ‘Norway in a nutshell’. Not sure I’d do it the same way next time; most of the places worth seeing had parking nearby, and the roads were not difficult or dangerous to navigate. There were only a couple of times the bus came in handy, like touring a fjord from one spot and being picked up at another.
The weather, unusually for Norway in May, was perfect for the whole time we were there, except for our brief time in Oslo, where it rained.
I broke the series up into different aspects of the country: lakes and fjords (of course), mountains, towns, and this first series, trees and waterfalls.
This is just an area along the road toward the eastern side of Norway. It shows how the country is mostly trees, water and rock, with areas cleared for cultivation or housing. This is pretty much how a lot of the country looks. (link to a larger version)
This is a good example of how hard it was for people to carve out a farm along the fjords (this is along the Hardangerfjord), and is another example of how trees (and rock) dominate the Norwegian landscape. (link to a larger version)
The next two photos are of Steindalsfossen, a waterfall in the eastern part of Norway. Not the biggest or most impressive, but it has a path that takes you underneath the falls – always fun. (link to a larger version)
Here’s the view from underneath Steindalsfossen. Kind of hypnotic, like looking at a fire in the fireplace (except you get cold and wet instead of warm). (link to a larger version)
This is Voringfossen, an incredible waterfall (actually several waterfalls merging). Notice the ice tunnel the water passes under at the bottom – the ice is about two or three meters thick even in mid May. Also notice that the water at the bottom is pretty shallow; a lot of it is diverted to hydroelectric power stations, common in Norway due to the abundance of rivers and waterfalls.
Norway has about 1800 hydroelectric stations, producing about 91% of its power. A certain rate of flow is enforced keep the tourists from being too disappointed ;-). (link to a larger version)Hiking up above the falls, you can see the smaller streams that go on to make up the larger waterfalls of Voringfossen. (link to a larger version)
Hiking up above the falls, you can see the smaller streams that go on to make up the larger waterfalls of Voringfossen. The area has a fairy tale look. (link to a larger version)
The Voringfossen site a very large park. You can see the footbridge and trails on the other side of the gorge. The steep angle of the footbridge made it interesting to traverse; there are many warnings not to try it in the months snow is still around. Technically this was one of those months, but the bridge and trails were pretty clear of snow. (link to a larger version)
Even further up above the falls, on the plateau. The trees are mountain birch, a smaller variety than the usual silver birch found at lower elevations. These are the trees that I’ll show at a distance in the mountain series of pictures next time. They look very cool at a distance. (link to a larger version)
I was struck by how little the vegetation needed to live. This photo shows the shallowness of the growing layer on the rock at the edge of the Voringfossen plateau. (link to a larger version)
eclare
Amazing photos! Makes you wonder, how did they grow food?
evodevo
@eclare: Eggzackly…why my Swedish and Norwegian ancestors left in the 1800’s and went to Kansas and became wheat farmers. There is was no way then to farm (all the good land was under cultivation by someone else) and there’s room for only so many wood cutters, shopkeepers and fishermen… also one reason the Vikings liked raiding so much lol
eclare
@evodevo:
Hahaha, gotcha! No wonder they became Vikings.
Kristine
Lovely photos—thanks!
WaterGirl
Spectacular photos!
Dagaetch
so incredible! I’d love to visit there sometime.
Betty
One of the things this series highlights so well is the beauty and diversity of life on this planet. Such a special place in the universe.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Holy cow, what a gorgeous landscape.
A friend of mine traveled Norway via a Hurtigruten ship going up the coast. Locals used it to get from place to place, and it delivered mail, so it stopped a lot. I believe it also had tours available at many stops.
Anonymous At Work
Great photos and great scenery. However, I am too well-trained to see those rivers and falls without thinking, “The fishing must be crappy there.”
Mike in Oly
Wonderful photos. What a beautiful landscape. Looking forward to the rest.
Yutsano
Heja Norge! It really is a beautiful country. All of Scandinavia (and Finland!) would be a wonderful visit. I’ll have to hold off on that for a while however. Need to work on that debt/income ratio.
pieceofpeace
Stunning landscapes and enjoyed the enhanced versions, like from behind the waterfall.
Some of the ‘along the deep drop,curves’ looking roadways look like the preferred travel might be with eyes closed at those turns, but the views appear incredibly lovely wherever one is along the way.
I also look forward to more photos.
Miss Bianca
Man…looks just like where I live in CO. (Except for the waterfalls. And the fjords. Don’t have too many of those in the immediate vicinity.)
pinacacci
Been hiking in Norway 3 times and it’s the country of my heart. Love to see the pictures and love of it.
UncleEbeneezer
Amazing scenery and great pix! For anyone who enjoys Youtube hiking videos, check out NorwegianExplorer. Jarl is from there and has a bunch of great videos from all over the countryside. HarmenHoek also has a really great video we just watched a couple days ago.
CaseyL
Hey, I was in Norway – about a month after you were!
Great photos, and they take me back. I did the same hike up to (and behind) Steindalsfossen. A definite highlight of my favorite among the cities we visited (Geirganger). Did you also walk the staircase along the lower part of the waterfall, where it runs through town and into the fjord?
arrieve
Really beautiful pictures! (Although I think it’s hard to take bad pictures of Norway, but these are excellent.)
My ancestry is Irish/Scottish/English but I’m assuming there are a few Vikings in there because I have a deep love of northern climes and Scandinavia is one of my favorite places on this beautiful planet.
tomtofa
Thanks for the comments – I’d have engaged more but I only saw the thread his morning (west coast), when it was already dead. Maybe next time I’ll catch it earlier.
cope
Picture #5 and the last one…spectacular. Multiple waterfalls in one with a road carved cliff-side that my wife would refuse to ride and beautifully deformed meta/igenous rocks in the other.
Thank you.
Yutsano
@arrieve: You probably do. The Vikings did a lot more than just raid. They also set up colonies in the various places they raided and they eventually just intermixed with the local populations until they basically went native.
Funny story: a friend of mine is Danish but he has a French last name given to his family before they went back to Denmark. The region of France my family is from was raided by Vikings. We could be distant cousins because of that.
sab
@Yutsano: There is a reason Lithuania has the second highest rate of red heads in the world after Scotland. Vikings.