Following Preikestolen, we headed for Eidfjord and the
Hargandervidda plateau, I had read about
the region and what to do there, particularly about the Voringsfossen
waterfall. It is one of the most beautiful in Norway, and one of the most
famous so probably one of the most visited too. Such as Preikestolen,
coach-load of tourists drive up to it and stop at the Fossli Hotel from where
you can get a good view of the waterfall. Rather than trekking it, we decided
to cycle up to it; a 900 metre-climb off the Hardanger national tourist route or Rv7 from
Saebo camping where we’d set up camp for a few nights.
 |
| Voringsfossen |
It was by no means easy, but what a ride! Many hairpin bends
later with views down the Mabodalen valley and even cycling through a tunnel,
we heartily enjoyed munching on our packed lunch at the very top. Many tourists
and Norwegians seemed baffled to see cyclists up there – the strangest
encounter was one of a group of Norwegians laughing at us whilst we were eating
our lunch; they didn’t seem bothered to explain to us what was so funny and we
were both too tired and hungry to ask what was so amusing... Fortunately, a
lovely German lady saved the day by giving us her unused token for two free
coffees at the Fossli hotel! She kindly said that we probably needed them more
than she did with her husband and they were going anyway.
 |
| The Fossli Hotel |
The Fossli hotel is your typical picture of what
you’d imagine from a traditional mountainous Norwegian hotel – brightly
coloured panels designed in the Art Nouveau-style by Konow Lund. As soon as we
walked through the main door, it was “déjà-vu” – we both felt thrown back into the
hall way of The Shining’s isolated hotel. We joked with the friendly waiter
from Romania who’d been working there for the Summer season – the hotel shuts
for the Winter, but he wouldn’t want to stay up there even if it did, in case
he’d go crazy like Jack Nicholson’s character, Jack Torrance.
Comments
Post a Comment