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Day 14: From Nigardsbreen to Gudvangen

Gudvangen Travel Blog › entry 14 of 22 › view all entries

I'm addicted to Norway since I've been there for the first time in 1991. I was and still am overwhelmed by the beauty of the nature and the kindness of the people. Some people say 1 time Norway, Norway forever. Although I've been there around 10 times now I usually find new places and things to do. I've seen only a small part of this beautiful huge country. I'm happy I could infect my bf with the "norwegian virus" aswell :)

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Day 14: From Nigardsbreen to Gudvangen

June 18, 2009

The Urnes stave church is the oldest in Norway. It was built around 1130. Unfortunately it was under construction and all the interior has been removed during the renovation.

"Rain drops keeps falling on my head" popped into my mind when I woke up. After 2 sunny and bright days the rain came back :(

Anyway it was time to travel further. The next stop was the stave church of Urnes (Ornes) which is the oldest stave church in Norway. The church was built around 1130 or shortly thereafter, and still stands in its original location. Unfortunately there were works on the church and the whole interior had been removed. You can't visit the church by yourselves just with a guide who told us about the history of the church which was very informative.

Arriving at Kaupanger we discussed if we should risk the cruise with the ferry to Gudvangen since the weather was very inconstant and the price for the ferry is high (800 nkr = 100 €).

The cruise goes from Kaupanger through the Sognefjord (the world's largest and deepest fjord) and the Naeroyfjord (the smallest fjord) to Gudvangen and lasts about 2 1/2 hours. It's just a summer route.

Suddenly the sun came out a bit and we took the chance to make it. At the beginning of the cruise the weather stayed good but after 1 hour dark clouds covered the sky and it didn't last long until the first drops felt. The wind became stronger and the temperatures which weren't high anyway went further down. It wasn't a very pleasant trip anymore. We didn't want to go down under deck because it was too crowded for my taste. Well, we had our rain coates on so we decided to stay at the upper deck.

Cruising the Naeroyfjord - which is Norway's smallest fjord and listed as a UNESCO world heritage site such as the Geiranger fjord - is an impressive experience. Even in the pouring rain its beauty is amazing. The fjord is framed by 1,700 m high mountains. At the banks you find some old farmhouses and even a little village.

Rain and sun take turns and we saw a beautiful rainbow which spanned the whole fjord.

When we arrived in Gudvangen the rain got harder and we decided to look for a camp ground since it didn't make sense to drive further. We found a nice one only 1 km behind the ferry landing.