Fjordlandia was just as expected, stunning, weather permitting.

From Hirtshals in the northern tip of Denmark I took a ferry to Kirstiansand (south of Norway). My first day in Norway was a bit of a challenge, I was battling headwinds and it was cold. I should have seen the bad weather coming. The next morning, it rained for 3 hours non-stop but luckily before I packed up and departed. I stayed in the tent and was devising alternative plans. There was bad weather for the next 3 days. When it rained it was also quite cold. So, I decided to take a bus back to go back to Kirstiansand and then take a ferry to Bergen. 

Fjords are sea inlets that carves the mountains and the cliffs makes for some dramatic scenery. Norway has more than thousand fjords. I was heading towards the mother of all, Sognefjord the deepest. I rode along the coastal road and even decided to take a short ride on a passenger ferry to see the fjord from the water. The weather had improved by this time and finally I was beginning to see what I saw in pictures before the trip. 

On Google maps, Norways appears like paths of land stitched together by bridges, tunnels and ferry routes but in reality it is just mountains surrounded by waters. The network of roads and ferries connecting these lands are impressive and everything worked. People spoke English even in remote villages and towns. Tourist infrastructure was just great and cyclists were well respected.

After four days of riding the fjords I headed straight to the mountains. There was a pass at 1400m which I timed it wrong! I had some rain and clouds on the top which as seen in the video was not quite pleasant, but I thoroughly enjoyed the snow. It was a ten kilometre traverse on the top. I wish I had done this pass on a different day. For a further three days I rode over several mountains  and some stunning weather, perhaps a bit too hot for the Norwegians but I enjoyed the weather. 

Aalborg – Hirtshals (70) – Kirstiansand (ferry) – Evje 70 – Bergen (ferry) Nautesand 90 – Rutledal 36 – Rysjedalsvika (car ferry) – to Balestorm (passenger ferry) – Dragsvyk (10) – Luster 83 – Lom 93 – Dombas (87) – Oppdal (78) – Trondheim (120)