Quiet balmy beaches, mountain passes and buckets of blueberries
AS the Norröna hove into view on a dark summer night, I could tell this was going to be a holiday with a difference. The vessel, described as a “cruise-ferry” by the Faroes-based Smyril Line that operates it, appeared stern-first out of a the dark and misty night.
We – my wife Gail and our three children aged from one to six – were waiting on the Holmsgarth quayside in Lerwick, Shetland ready to board. As the giant 36,000 tonne ship backed into the narrow sound between the Isle of Bressay and the Shetland mainland, all we could make out at first was its massive white stern. It was vast, slab-like, as big as an eight storey block and dwarfed anything else in Lerwick.
As the vessel drew closer, its propellers churning the sea into a raging torrent, only a couple of its long series of stern doors were able to connect with the Holmsgarth terminal.
But we made it on. It was 10pm by the time our Citroen ZX Estate clunked its way into the cavernous car deck, with a collection of British and continental holidaymakers’ vehicles, and some 4×4s from Iceland.
We had caught the Norröna on the last leg of its journey and were only 14 hours’ sailing time away from our destination, Bergen on Norway’s West coast.
The sea was calm that night, and certainly calmer than the alcohol- fuelled Faroese and Danish students who had convinced themselves that the Norrona was as good a place as any for a party and were doing cartwheels down the corridors. It may perhaps have had something to do with access to cheaper beer than they’re used to at home
The highlight of the voyage came after breakfast the next morning when the engines slowed and the massive vessel made its way up the Raune Fjord, whose shores were dotted with rocky islets. Each had a collection of brightly painted wooden houses, usually with their own moorings and red, white and blue Norwegian flags.
By midday, we had docked in Bergen, which although is by the sea, is encircled by seven tallish mountains. We were greeted on the quayside by our relations Erikka and Kåre, who had bravely volunteered to be our hosts for a couple of nights while we settled into the Norwegian way of life. They looked after us royally, guiding us round their city and feeding us on the local delicacies including prawns and geitost, a distinctive caramel-flavoured goats cheese.
Bergen is a stunning city, and would be well worth a visit on its own. The centre is pedestrianised, with an array of thriving shops, bars and restaurants. You can buy fresh seafood on the quayside, to which boats of all shapes and sizes were tied up, right in the heart of town. The city’s architecture has a Germanic feel — it is one of the Hanseatic League ports that pepper the Baltic and Scandinavian coasts.
Perhaps the main attractions for our children were the funicular railway up to Mount Floyen and the cable car up to Mount Ulriken, both of which give superb views of the city and harbour below.
People often think that because it is so far North, Norway must be a cold and forbidding place. I’m sure this can be true in winter but while we were there — in the first two weeks in August last year — we had a heat wave. Rarely did the midday temperature fall below 25 degrees centigrade and some days it was above 30 degrees. The sea, in which we swam while staying at Erikka and Kåre’s hytte (small holiday house) at Skånevik was a pleasant 22 degrees.
After staying in Stavanger to visit the Tall Ships 2004 race — which was on its way from Aalborg in Denmark to Cuxhaven in Germany — we visited Sirdal. Normally a ski resort, the steep-sided valley is full of hytte (huts/small holiday lodges), which were dotted around the woodlands. Norwegians clearly like their privacy.
While there we pursued a range of outdoor activities including hill-walking and swimming in mountain lakes and rivers. Eleanor, our six-year-old daughter learned to swim while we were there and John, four, excelled himself by being first up a 1,400m peak. On the way down we spent hours picking blueberries.
Now it was a day’s drive, 13 hours, back to Bergen. For me this was the most memorable journey of the holiday, although it was probably less so for my wife who was feeling car sick in the back with the kids. To cross the Urvassheia, a 1,000-metre high plateau dotted with small lochans (beside one of which we had a simple picnic lunch of rye bread and geitost) was awe-inspiring.
The road then dropped sharply through a long series of hairpins and into another deep valley, Setesdal. Stretches of the route north from here made me think of the Rocky Mountains, with pine forests carpeting the valley floor, wide and powerful rivers, and sheer dome-shaped mountains of rock reminiscent of Yosemite.
The road then climbed back up onto the extensive and heavily glaciated plateau at Haukelfjell but the moonscape softened as we descended back to sea level through a crazy spiral of tunnels and hairpin bends.
The stretch from Odda to Jondal was particularly windy, with the narrow B-road hugging the coast some of the way and at other times meandering its way over outcrops. Every few 100 yards was a small stall selling cherries, plums and pears, with honesty boxes.
This was just as well as we had failed to pack enough food for the trip and this being Sunday in Norway, all the shops were closed. My only concern was that we were going to miss the last ferry of the day across the fjord from Jondal-Torvikbygd, which would have added another day to our journey. The momentary panic ended as we neared the slipway, where scores of vehicles were still waiting.
The only real downside to our trip was that in Norway, one of the most prosperous nations on earth, prices can seem incredibly high. Partly though a desire to protect indigenous farmers and through the addition of 12 per cent VAT on food, Norwegian grocery shopping is a scary experience. A basket of goods costs anything from one-third more to double what you would pay in a UK supermarket. And that’s before you buy any alcohol.
But this was more than compensated by the beauty of the scenery – perhaps best described as “the Scottish highlands with knobs on” – the wide range of activities available, the warmth of the people and the romance of arriving by sea.
NEED TO KNOW
How to get there: Return for car plus four passengers: Smyril Line Lerwick-Bergen (01595 690845, www.smyril-line.co.uk); Northlink Aberdeen-Lerwick (0845 6000 449, www.northlinkferries.co.uk); Where to stay: Hytte accommodation from £32 a night for two people, www.fjordpass.no; Further information: www.visitnorway.com.
This article was published in the Sunday Herald on 30 January 2005