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
I was vaguely aware that Norway had mountains, but I didn’t know that two thirds of the country is mountainous. Most of the rest is fjords and the valleys between mountains, with only about ten percent of the land usable for farming.
They don’t rise as high as the Alps, but they are tall enough to leave the treeline behind, and can be seen from most parts of the country, sometimes rising straight up from the fjords.
Some glimpses of lakes here, but the next series will be all about lakes and fjords.
This is on the road by Vang, near Grindaheim. Looking across Lake Vangsmjøsa at Vennisfjell. We’ll come back to this lake in the next series, but this was one of the first tastes we had of what was to come in the mountains. (click for larger version)
Here’s another view of the mountain range from Tyinvegan as we looped around lake Vangsmjøsa. If you look a a topographical map of Norway you’ll see that the mountains themselves are dotted with big and small lakes as we’ll see in a bit. (click for a larger version)
Moving up. Not that high yet but the trees are leafless here in mid May; Spring and Summer are fairly short here. (click for a larger version)
Here we are at Road 13, 6893, near Vik, Norway. Moving away from even place names now. This is a popular place to stop for the view both for tourists like us and locals, with a turnout just large enough for a bus ;-). (click for a larger version)
Past Grindaheim, the administrative center of this region, with a population of 701. Well into the mountains now. Along this whole area the trees were like a sumie or pen and ink painting, with an endless number of compositions. (click for larger version)
Not much color here – blue sky (at the moment), grey rock, sketched trees – not many left now – and the lighter blue of a frozen lake. (click for a larger version)
Here we’re about half way between Vikafjell and Holesvingane – those aren’t towns, just named places on the road. No more trees, just ice, snow, rock, and sky. (click for larger version)
Passing a basin amid the peaks. Just low enough for some trees to appear again – must be beautiful (in a different way than this) later in the summer. There are holiday cabins and homes in the mountains like this one looking out over a mountain lake, and many sets of footprints and cross country ski tracks. (click for larger version)
This area is not really that high as far as mountains go, maybe 1200+ meters (the tallest peaks are around 2500 meters), but when the clouds come in and the land flattens it’s hard to tell where the land ends and the sky begins. (click for larger version)
Even up here you see activity, like these trekkers in the middle distance (you might have to click on the link to the larger version to actually see them). Though it seems isolated, they’re on a marked trail – this isn’t far from a hostel/hotel, of which there are many in the mountains, along with the cabins and homes. (click for larger image)
Baud
No wonder they’re so good at skiing.
eclare
Those hikers in the last photo bring home how vast the land is. And how empty.
OzarkHillbilly
Nice set of pics, thanx tomtofa.
JPL
I’m so pleased that you shared the pictures, because that type of travel is not on my bucket list.
lee
What a wonderful set of pictures. This looked to be a great trip.
azlib
Did you take the train through FInse? That is where the Hoth scenes in The Emprire Strikes Back were filmed. It is a stop on the train from Oslo to Bergen. Pretty snowy and desolate even in July.
p.a.
Nice! Beautiful country. There’s an interesting youtube channel about living on Svalbard- not mainland Norway, and even further north- by Cecilia Blomdahl that’s pretty interesting. When outside town walking the dog she brings a rifle: polar bears.
Betty
Beautiful landscape but somewhat forbidding.
Dagaetch
absolutely gorgeous, thank you!
tomtofa
@azlib: No train on this trip; just bus, boat, and foot. I’ve heard the train ride through the area is beautiful though – maybe next time.
pieceofpeace
So lovely! The scene with the gorgeous light blue water lake will stay with me, especially as my blood pressure is taken during these times…
The picture which resembles a drawing technique is my favorite, but truly I found them all a good diversion into an alternative head space that is calm and deliberate, like the spacious lands of similar colors contrasting with the brilliant, blue sky.
Regardless of them having similar color components, each picture evoked a singular, simple ‘message’ to me of sameness and diversity.
azlib
@tomtofa: We took the overnight train from Oslo to Bergen and took the day train back to Oslo. The train had a brief stop in Finse and we took a couple of photos. My spouse is a big Star Wars fan and we remembered reading about the Finse location shooting.
Yutsano
HEJA NORGE! It’s amazing how the landscape can shape a culture. And every picture tells a tale of how hardy Norwegians had to be to succeed in this land.
tomtofa
@pieceofpeace: Wow – thanks for the in depth take. You got what i was going after.
way2blue
tomtofa. Snow seems to be the theme for Norway in May. I traveled from Oslo to Ålesund a few years back—in early June. Roadside snow only in the highest section. I felt like we were driving through Yosemite after Yosemite. Devoid of the human touch except for various hydroelectric installations. Looking forward to your next batch of photos.
Dan B
The North Cascades have si.ilar conditions since they are very far north. The North Cascades highway doesn’t open until late May or June most years. The highest pass is about 5,000 feet. Norway is much farther north. As I recall both Japan and Italy are about 70% mountainous but much less snowy.