Setesdal and Telemark regions of Norway

July 21-25, 2019

We spent 5 days driving around the Setesdal and Telemark regions of southern Norway. The area has lakes and mountain views in every direction. We had a mix of rain, mountain hugging clouds, and clear blue skies. It didn't matter what the weather was, we enjoyed our time spent in the area.

Wateralls are a common sight.

Roads in Norway have lots of tunnels. In this area there were small one lane roads around the tunnels (mainly for bicycles who are not allowed through the tunnels). We tried to take as many of these alternate routes as we could. The views were great, much better then a tunnel.

Road side view.

Rygnestad Farm Museum - The house was from the 16th century.

Rest area near Valle.

Farm house - A sod roof is very popular in this area.

Mountain huts 

Our camping spot on Hwy 41 along Nisser Lake

Beautiful high mountain drive from Rysstad to Lysebotn.

From Lysebotn we took a 2 1/2 hour ferry ride down the fjord to Lauvvik.

View of Preikestolen, Pupit Rock, from the ferry. Look close and you can see people looking down. This is a very popular hike.

The narrow flat top rock in the top middle of the photo is Preikestolen.

Lysefjordbrue - another beautiful bridge over a fjord.

Bergen, Norway

July 18 -19, 2019

When we arrived in Bergen it was cold and pouring down rain. Typical Bergen weather. We layered up and headed out. It wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. It wasn't that cold and it turned into an on and off drizzle. The second day was much better - we had sunshine part of the day. I wish the weather would have been better. We would have stayed longer. Bergen is a beautiful city and we only saw a small part.

Bryggen - the old wooden wharf area in Bergen. It was first built in the 12th century. It has burned down and been rebuilt many times.

Bryggen

The fish market

This is the time of year you see beautiful fresh berries for sale everywhere in Norway. They are delicious.

Harbor views

Harbor views

Residental streets in old town Bergen.

Residental streets in old town Bergen.

Residental streets in old town Bergen.

Crying boy by Vigeland (a well know norwegian sculptor).

A part of a sculpture on Torgallmenningen - a pedestrian street in downtown Bergen.

Can't visit norway without taking at leat one troll photo.

Shop in Bryggen area.

Shop in Bryggen area.

Florist shop.

Love the street murals. Bergen has a lot of them.

Instead of standing in long lines at tourist attractions we decided to see a show. Norr - a hip hop viking show. It was excellent. It told the story of Thor. There were only 6 dancers and they were amazing. We really enjoyed it.

On the road to Bergen, Norway

July 15-17, 2019

We found a good free camping spot in Flesberg for our first night in Norway. It was the parking lot of the city park full of historic farm buildings. A beautiful spot and we were the only ones there. From there we drove west over, under and through the mountains. Roads in Norway are amazing - lots of steep switch backs going up or down a mountain, suspension bridges crossing fjords, and very long tunnels going under mountains and fjords. I think the longest tunnel was 11 km. The views are fabulous. On top of the Hardangervidda Mountain Plateau there are no trees so the lakes and meadows go on forever. Norway is full of very dramatic scenery.

Our camping spot on the river in Flesberg, Norway.

Cozy cabins in Flesberg.

Old farm buildings.

Church in Flesberg.

Old wooden church in Uvdal.

Views along Highway 7 that travels across Hardangervidda Mountain Plateau.

Our camping spot for the night was at a trail head so we took a hike after dinner.

After dinner hike.

Heading back to the van. The photo was taken at 8:00 PM, still lots of day light.

Rest area along Highway 7.

More mountain views.

Lakes are every where.

Kulturkyrkje in Geilo. Geilo is a very scenic summer sport and alpine ski town.

One of the tunnels dropping down from the plateau. It spiraled steeply down.

Driving in the spiraling tunnel.

Picnic area.

This is typical - high bridge over a fjord then into a tunnel through a mountain.

We also encountered roundabouts in tunnels. The GPS does not work so you better know which exit you want.

Another brige across a small fjord.

Our free camping spot at a small marina in Bjorkheim Norway.