Norway is a very long country. If one could stick a pin in Oslo and rotate the country 180 degrees, it would reach Italy. (in US reference, the distance from New York to Miami). About 2/3 of this narrow country lies above the Arctic Circle, but we won’t get that far north during this first week of our trip.
I woke up early this morning, so threw on yesterday’s clothes and hurried to the top deck to see us pass under the Hardanger Bridge. Completed in 2013, it is the longest suspension bridge in Norway and at .85 miles, one of the longest in the world. It replaced a ferry across the Eidfjorden branch of the Hardanger fjord, shortening the driving time between Oslo and Bergen. Our ship, with lowered antennas, passed under the 55 m clearance with a good half meter (20 inches) to spare. The bridge disappeared into tunnels at either end. Those few of us on the deck lifted our coffees to toast “good morning!” and scattered to begin our respective days.
We’ve been having trouble with the ship’s Wifi for the past 24 hours. But cellular service seems to work well in even the most remote parts of these fjords.The international low-speed data package which comes with our T-Mobile account has been working just fine. So this morning, using my phone as a hotspot for the iPad on which I write the blog, I was finally able to post last night’s update. I wish we had such good cellular service throughout the US!
The pool area on our ship has a retractable roof which they close on chilly or rainy days. It’s been closed since the night we left Rotterdam. Today it was so nice in Eidfjord that they let the sun shine directly in again.
Early this morning
This afternoon in Eidfjord
Today’s destination changed from Stavanger to Ulvik about a week before we departed. After we boarded the Rotterdam, they changed it again, to Eidfjord. We’d had a plan mapped out for Stavanger, and then were going to hike to a vista at Ulvik (a tiny town without much to see) if the weather was good. We didn’t know a thing about Eidfjord, so figured we’d just wing it. The barista at the Dutch Cafe (one of my favorite coffee places on the ship) recommended walking to a lake near town, so after exploring the harbor area (i.e. getting a geocache), off we went.
Greg doing secret stuff.
The Eidfjord commune is about 950 people. Norway’s sixth largest glacier sits on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau over a mile above Eidfjord. The Sima power plant, completed in 1983, was built to capture the energy generated by the fall of the water. The plant also generated an economic windfall for Eidfjord, with a 600% increase in revenue over the next nine years. The village built a new nursing home and houses for seniors, an expanded school, a new church, kindergarten and community center. Sewage and water services were improved, roads were paved and street lights added. A ski resort was built, as were sports facilities ranging from outdoor fields to an indoor arena. A nature museum was built, and new tunnels linked the area to other parts of Norway. A new city hall followed, and the cruiseport where we docked today. All this, generated from a clean energy source.
The power plant generates enough electricity for 150,000 households. The water that spins the turbines travels at 500 km/hr (300 mph), and the Pelton runners rotate up to 300 revolutions per minute. In 2015, one of the vanes on an original Pelton runner snapped. Damage was extensive and that unit had to be shut down for 2 months. Today the 40 ton Pelton runner, blade welded back in place, sits in an Eidfjord municipal park.
Pelton wheel
We took a fine path along the swift-flowing Eio river towards the lake. Signs in English and Norwegian informed us there are records of salmon traps as far back as 1533. Eventually regulations limited the traps to no more than 1/3 the width of the river. Salmon traps have been forbidden since 1980, but you can still see the runways built to lure the fish into faster water…and traps.
The runway is closest to shore
The glacier-fed lake had a little beach of smooth pebbles, and a view worth the walk.
The trail continued uphill, circling back towards the center of town. (We just kept following signs marked “Centrum”). Signs of human activity dating back 1000 to 2,500 years ago have been found in a terraced area well above the lake. The oldest traces are early fields. The most striking remnants are two Iron Age burial grounds from 500-1000 AD.. This is the largest Iron Age burial site in western Norway. Bronze kettles, a sword, pottery fragments, a gold ring and other artifacts have been found. Some of the mounds are large and easy to spot; others have sunk into the ground. It’s speculated that there may be no correlation between the size of the mound and the prominence of its person, but rather that as the mounds were constructed over centuries, burial customs may have changed.
Our path continued past little farms with apple trees (this area is known for its cider) and neatly packages hay rolls.
And finally the ship came back in sight. With towering rocks all around, it’s difficult to gain a perspective on just how big things are here. I asked a workman how high the mountains behind the ship are. 1,200 meters, he replied - or 3/4 mile.
From our stateroom, as we head towards tomorrow’s adventure.
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