Hardanger and its treasures
It’s has an incredible length of 180 kilometres and the unbelievable scenery along the route is really breathtaking. If you do decide to take the trip, it starts from either Bergen or Oslo.We started in Bergen so I will tell you about that tour. We took the train to Voss, and then we travelled by a comfortable coach through beautiful countryside, passing large farms and small dwellings. The next stop was Ulvik, a picturesque little village nestling in a valley. Ulvik is well know as Hardangers pearl and attracts tourists from all over the world. Overlooking the village, two great mountains, Vassfjøro 1633m.and Skorafjell 1583m.rise majestically in to the sky, as if protecting this beautiful little village. In the fruit season Ulvik is invaded by people from far and wide to purchase the beautiful red apples the district is known for. Reluctantly we left Ulvik to cross the famous Hardangerfjord to Eidfjord,Here we decided to take the sightseeing tour and visited both the Vøringsfoss waterfall and the Hardangervidda Nature centre. Voringsfoss is the largest natural waterfall in Norway. Trust me; compared with the common or garden waterfall, this one is enormous. Because the village is so compact, we were able to squeeze in quite a lot in a very short time. This village can offer you so much of what Norway is all about. There are sparkling fjords, mountain lakes, waterfalls, snow topped mountains and even glaciers. I was talking to one of the old villagers while I was here, and happened to mention the making of apple juice. He told me how he made it and we had a long conversation. He then asked me if I had my own Still at home. I was a little surprised at this question, so I said I didn’t. He then proceeded to explain how to make a moonshine still, how to make moonshine, and how to make a moonshine mash. I thanked him and we went on our way. After about an hour, we met the same man again on the quayside. He called me over and passed a piece of paper to me. I thanked him again and without looking at it, put it in my pocket. About a week later, after we had returned home, my wife asked me what was on the note the old man had given to me.I had forgotten all about the piece of paper, so I went through all my pockets and eventually found it in the back pocket of one of my jeans. We looked at it together and low and behold it was a moonshine recipe.I have a page on moonshine you can check out A trip around hardanger Hardangervidda is the largest mountain plateau in Europe; it is also the largest national park in Norway. When we got our breath back, we headed for the quayside and boarded the boat that would take us on the fjord cruise. This trip too was very relaxing but at the same time exhilarating. We passed towering mountains, wonderful waterfalls which dropped down dramatically hundreds of feet to the fjord. In the distance we could see all the idyllic orchards, and I remember mentioning to my wife that maybe we could visit again in May when all the fruit trees are in full blossom. What a sight that would be :=) This was a romantic trip for this couple, from Finland I think. Please give the video time to load He was the flasher I presume ;-) Eventually we arrived in Norheimsund.The coach was waiting for us here and we headed back to Bergen. On the way we drove past another rushing waterfall Steinsdalsfoss. By the way I have mentioned many waterfalls on this website, so I think its time to explain the different names. It’s quit simple really. All the names end with FOSS which means waterfall in English. The tour continued over Kvamskogen. This is a plateau with the highest point being 454m above sea level. This area is used especially by outdoor lovers, for walks and in the winter for skiing. There are about 1500 cabins here and a ski centre. The centre has a ski lift which takes the skier to 940 above sea level. After an absolute incredible trip you can only dream about, we arrived in Bergen and said our goodbyes to a lot of new friends :=) This round trip can also be started by coach instead of the train. If you are starting from Oslo you stay the night in Voss or Bergen, and return to Oslo starting with the coach.
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