The Kinsarvik - Utne ferry.
Departing Kinsarvik.
The Hardangerfjord is known for its orchards --- the cherries were in season when we were there. Delicious
Utne and surrounding orchards.
Downtown Utne.
On the bus from Kvanndal to Fykse.
The bridge across Fyksesund.
Walking along Fyksesund to Eirik and Hege's house, our first-ever couchsurfing experience
From the porch of the guest cottage.
Eirik and Hege's farmhouse, viewed from the fjord.
Approaching Botnen, the small town at the end of the fjord. It is accessible only by boat.
A building in Fykse. We learned later (at the folk museum in Trondheim) that this type of construction was typical of buildings used to store grain. The large flat plates of rock keep rodents from gaining access via the foundation columns, and a large gap is left between the steps and the doorway for the same reason.
Dinner preparations.
Dinner: local lamb in a great marinade, sausage, homemade hard apple cider, potatoes, salad, and plenty of good company. The next morning we hitched a ride to Bergen from one of the other guests
The harbor in Bergen.
The open markets at Bryggen, the old harbor quarter of Bergen. These days the market mostly caters to the many cruise ship tourists that flood the town in the summer.
Looking down on Bergen from the top of the Fløibanen Funicular.
After spending most of the day exploring Bergen, we caught the bus to Gudvangen via Voss. Taking pictures through the dirty windows of a moving bus isn't ideal, but the light on these fields was just too good to pass up.
Dinner in Gudvangen, at a campground that also rented out small cabins
Our menu included tomatoes with pesto, a crab pate (not my favorite), salad with raisins and Swiss cheese, and lomper (a soft potato flatbread).
Another view of of our dinner table, with even more waterfalls.
The inside of our small cabin.
And the outside.
Bread, made fresh that morning by the woman who ran the campground ... you put the order in the night before, and the bread is ready by 9am the next morning.
Another view of the waterfalls; it would have been nice to have an extra day in Gudvangen to do some hiking.
At the dock waiting for our ferry; we travelled down the spectacularly narrow Nærøyfjord, and then down the Aurlandsfjord.
The Nærøyfjord.
Arriving in Aurland. We disembarked here, hoping to hitch a ride across the narrow Snøvegen (snow road) to Lærdal. Before the 24.5km Lærdalstunnel opened you had to take a ferry in the winter when the Snøvegen closed.
We happened to arrive in Aurland on the day of a once-a-year summer festival.
We sampled local cheeses and meat.
And pancakes with jam and sour cream.
We hitched a ride with this nice couple.
Aurlandsfjord from the overlook on the Snøvegen.
The ferry crossing from Lærdal to the north side of the fjord on our way to Sogndal.
Guttorm's small cabin; he was at a party in Marifjøra, but gave us directions to the guest beds in the attic.
Enjoying an early-morning swig on Guttorm's hard cider. We met him in Marifjøra, where he was still recovering from the previous night's festivities. He'd met some folks with a boat, and the plan was to sail down the fjord to Lærdal.
Inside the Tørvis Hotell.
Brendan, on the boat enjoying a beer and the beautiful views.
We stopped in the middle of the afternoon for a quick swim.
Back at the guest room at Guttorm's cabin.
