Tysse - Uvdal, Norway

Monday 13th September 1999

We continued on our way to Oslo today. You can never travel fast in Norway, even between the two biggest cities, but the journey is so impressive that it doesn't seem to matter.

It seemed that today we experienced our entire Norwegian odyssey in miniature. We began beside a rushing river and flowing waterfall, we travelled beside the Hardangerfjorden, with its towering cliff faces. We crossed the fjord on a local ferry then met some local children whilst having lunch. We climbed a high pass and reached a plateau covered in alpine plants, with an ice cap and glacier in the distance. We descended to another valley and found one of the 12th century stave churches. We finished the day on a grassy spot beside a lake looking down the fjord to the distant mountains. Just magnificent.