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.