Dorset

 An early start to get ourself to Heathrow to pick up the rental car.  This time we have a Vauxhall Mokka - another model that we have never heard of.  I think Ella will be relieved when we go so that she doesn't have to be woken up so early.  

We headed West to Chepstow which is on the boarder with Monmouthshire, Wales and Gloucestershire, England and is located on the River Wye.  To be honest, the river is pretty ugly as it's tidal and brown.  The Castle sits on a clifftop above the river and is seriously impressive.  It is said to be the oldest surviving stone castle in Britten and it's huge.  We wandered through the old town and enjoyed the different styles of cottages and some very loving tendered gardens.

During our trip we stopped at a supermarket and were introduced to the delights of a 'meal deal'.  Absolute bargain:  a snack, a main and a drink for less than four pound!  We had heard about them before but never actually tried.  A quick and easy way to eat on the run.

The forecast wasn't great but by heading West, we managed to stay out of the rain that was falling in London.

Our route took us through the outskirts of Bristol.  I had always thought of it as being very industrialised, but we did pass some pretty buildings, green areas and the Avon River as it flows through the city.  There was a lot of traffic which made our journey rather slower than planned.

Once out of Bristol we loved driving through the rolling hills and lush green countryside.  The GPS took us some interesting detours, including down tiny narrow lanes with hedges on either side.  Always interesting to negotiate your way through with on-coming traffic.

We are planning on spending a couple of days exploring the Jurassic Coast world heritage site and Dorset, so are staying in Weymouth for the next two nights.  It is a seaside township popular for its sheltered harbour.  In true English fashion, there are Bed and Breakfast places and boutique hotels everywhere throughout the town.  Along the waterfront are small casinos and an amusement park, complete with a range different rides.  It is easy to imagine strolling along the promenade, during summer, with thousands of other tourists.

Dinner tonight was cod and chips - an easy decision as we are staying beside the sea.  It was delicious, but I think kiwi chips are better.

Bank Holiday

Bank holiday today so Ella didn't have to work.  She had a gym class with a friend this morning so I walked with her and enjoying getting a 'tour' of her local area.  While they were at the gym, I walked to Kensington Garden and past Kensington Palace.  Even had the treat of watching a squirrel sitting up a tree eating a cherry tomato - so cute.

David hired a Lime Bike and cycled to meet us and we all walked back to Kensington Garden, via a coffee shop.  Found an interesting building where the Hammersmith and City underground line travels under some very expensive houses.  To ensure that it didn't devalue the properties in the street, a 'fake house' front was built in keeping with the rest of the street.  Interesting fun fact!

Another quirky find was a visit to Queensway Market which was like stepping into a market in China.  It even had the distinctive smell of a mixture of different Asian foods.  Hard to imagine that such a place exists so close to some of the most expensive real estate in London.

The Italian Gardens in Kensington Park was beautiful and very popular with different varieties of birds.  There was a couple having their wedding photos taken and it was very tempting to photo bomb them - we didn't.   The gardens were a popular place on a pleasant bank holiday weekend.

Our walk continued to Kensington High Street, which is familiar from other lists to London.  David cycled home from there and Ella, Samarah I spent a lovely hour or so looking at the shops.  Always enjoyable looking at different stores and people watching.

Sore feet so bussed home and another pleasant evening just being together.    

                                                 

Front of the false house

                                                 

Rear of the false house (tube tunnel)

Back to London

This morning we enjoyed the complementary hotel breakfast, which was delicious, before a lovely walk along nearby walking tacks, through the woods.  Even through it was close to the airport, the park is clearly popular with locals.  It was definitely colder than we have had the last few days.

Made it safely to return the car and go through the usual airport processes.  Lots of clouds on the way back so limited views, but we did notice how much greener things were, even in one week.

Now back with Ella who cooked us a delicious meal, and enjoying being together.

Some thoughts about Norway:  stunning scenery, amazing infrastructure, clean and efficient, people were helpful but reserved and amazing public toilets!  A fantastic week.

The Full Circle

 Hard to believe that our week in Norway has almost finished.  We are staying in a hotel near Oslo airport before returning the rental car and flying back to London tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing Ella again.

We left Fagernes this morning under a grey and cloudy sky, a big difference to the glorious sunshine of yesterday.  Our journey took us mainly thorough valleys, as we slowly made our way back down to sea level.  Driving though the lower, forest covered mountains, was a pretty contrast to the grandeur of the mountains.  The colours of the fir trees, blending with the bright now growth of the deciduous tress was really lovely.  We started to see more blossom and spring flowers as well.

The other difference was that many of the houses and buildings are painted different colours compared with further north.  Lots of white and mustard, most of which had clearly been recently painted.  We also couldn't believe the amazing public toilets - one we stopped at today was fully tiled and heated and was on an open stretch of road that didn't seem to be particularly busy.  

Our first thought, arriving back in Oslo, was that it reminded up of Auckland in the way that it is built around the harbour.  Thank goodness for GPS as we negotiated our way thought the labyrinth of roads and tunnels.

We did mange to find our way to Oslo old town.  There are a few streets that are still cobbled and have quaint little houses painted in an array of colours.  Nice to see more spring flowers and to meet a local cat who allowed me to give it a scratch - the first and only Norwegian cat we have had the pleasure of meeting.

The city was busy, as you would expect for the Saturday afternoon, on a long weekend, but we couldn't believe the queues of people lining up to get into the hotels, cafes and bars that we passed by.  Guess that happens in cities!

Finally made our way to the hotel where we will be sorting and repacking before the last part of the journey tomorrow.  

National Worker's Day

 So far we haven't had any mishaps during our travels thankfully, but today was a near miss.

We left our cabin and drove back to Lom to visit the Stave Church.  It was built of wood around 1170 and is one of the oldest churches in Norway.  The brown wooden exterior and triple nave helps to make it look really impressive.  Unfortunately were weren't able to go inside, but walking around the ancient gravestones gave a fascinating insight into the length of time that some families have been in the area.

On our way again, we headed toward the Valdresflye Pass that climbs to 1389 metres.  About 30 km into the drive we stopped to look at a frozen lake and David discovered that he no longer had his phone.  So, off we went, back to the church in Lom and, thankfully, the phone was sitting in the grass.  Bit of time wasted but a positive outcome in the end.

Back to the pass where we drove past more frozen lakes, snow walls alongside the road and lots of trees.  Definitely more growth on the mountains the further south we have travelled.  Today's picnic alongside a frozen lake was abandoned because of the cold wind.  Temperature varied from a low of 3 degrees to a high of 18.  We even needed the AC on for a short time.

The amount of traffic today was significantly increased from all previous days and we passed many, many cars parked along the pass, with people cross country skiing.  We drove through Beitostolen, a mountain village popular for skiing and hiking, and had a massive ski lift right in the middle of the township.  The houses were very pretty nestled amongst the trees, with now on their roofs.

Once through the Pass, we drove along another valley toward, our destination for tonight.  We are staying in a campground on the shores of Lake Strondafjorden, in a cabin without a grass roof!  This is a really popular holiday spot, especially as it is only three hours northwest of Oslo.  Lots of permanent caravans, camper vans and cabins.  

When we went out to find a supermarket to stock up, we discovered that today is National Worker's Day, a public holiday.  No wonder everything was so busy today.  We managed to find enough food for dinner and will restock tomorrow.

We were very excited that the camp ground had a public washing machine and dryer.  Apparently not a thing in Norway as everyone has access to washing facilities in their homes.  I did read that a laundromat would go out of business very quickly here.

Lots of people out enjoying the sunshine but did notice that no-one was brave enough to go swimming.

A Cabin With Grass on the Roof

 It's easy to run out of superlatives when trying to describe what we are seeing each day.

We left Stryn driving toward the Lom region, expecting to be travelling through valleys with the possibility of a few tunnels just for good measure.  Instead we found ourselves climbing up through the Strynefjellet mountain pass, that did include some tunnels, and travelling along the Gable Strynefjellsvegen scenic route.  It was originally built as the main road.  There was still plenty of snow around and lots of frozen lakes.  It was amazing to see houses in a region that seemed so isolated and bleak, but clearly comes to life in the summer.  Lots of evidence of boating and fishing in the area.  A very pleasant picnic lunch break on a lake shore.

Continuing through Fossbergom, we headed to the Sognefjellet Pass, which reaches a summit of 1,434 metres.  We started in the valley where it was green and lush and ended up at the top of the pass, with snow walls on either side of the road and barely enough room to pass ongoing cars.  Near the top we came across 50 plus cars parked along the side of the road where people were heading off alpine skiing and rock climbing.  It must have been a well known spot for locals as it seemed like a pretty random place for so many people to have gathered.  The views were stunning and the drive what we have come to expect over the last few days.  

We are staying at Sugared Storrvik, about 14 km from Lom, surrounded by national parks, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  It is a heritage farm stay with log cabins that have grass roofs.  The farm buildings are amazing, so dating back to the 1600s and has been in the same family for 21 generations.  The cabins were built in the 1980s from logs harvested from the farm.  Clearly he was smart enough to realise that tourism was heading this way and was a good way to increase income from the farm.  Now 80% of people who stay are from across the world with a significant number from the Middle East.  The only down side is that there are two very low doors into the cabin and both of us have managed to hit our head on them - talk about slow learners!  Another day of awesome scenery. 

Blueberries and Glaciers

Last night we had a stunning view of the fiord and mountains and this morning woke up to it being completely blocked by a large cruise ship, anchored about 100 meters in front of our hotel.  Bit of a surprise!

Quite mild as we set off toward Stryn, our stop off for the night.  From Molde we caught a ferry across to Vestnes, a crossing of 38 minutes.  As we are becoming used to, it was an efficient and pleasant way to connect to the next stage of our journey.

This country is incredible, just when you think that it can't get any more picturesque, you round another corner to find more snow capped mountains, valleys starting to burst into spring colours, fiords with water like glass or quaint houses painted in so many different colours.  We drove through lots of different tunnels, the longest bing 6.5 km long, and one with another tunnel intersecting in the middle.  It was tempting to turn into the second one, just to see where it went - we didn't!  Plenty of photo opportunities.

Our aim for this afternoon was to walk to the Briksdalbreen glacier, near Stryn.  This is clearly another significant tourists attraction and the camp grounds and other tourism ventures are preparing for the busy season.  It reminded us again of how lucky we are to be here in shoulder season.  The drive to the glacier was narrow, windy and full of locals who don't slow down, but we made it safely.

The walk was about five kilometres with a couple of good climbs.  When we set off, a bus load of tourists arrived, were loaded about some golf cart type vehicles, and driven up stop about 500 metres from the end of the trail.  Much easier than our climb.  The bush was pretty with its new growth and the woodland anemone blanketed the ground amongst the moss covered moraine.   While we were watching a few large pieces of ice broke off the glacier face,  The sound echoing around the valley was something else.  I wouldn't like to be there if a really big piece fell.

As we travel south signs of spring are becoming increasingly obvious.  Today was so mild, think we got up to 18 degrees.  Mind you, apparently it snowed in Stryn, last Friday, so think we have just been lucky.  Today was such a contrast from the bitter cold of the Atlantic Highway yesterday.

Our food find of the day were blueberries that would be close to the biggest and sweetest we have ever eaten.  Another awesome day.