Sognefjellet to Lustrafjord

Wednesday

After a stop at the stave church in Lom, we made it to our lodging for the night, the Elveseter Hotel. We got moved in just before the rain started. We had a drink and a good dinner, then headed to bed. Tomorrow we would drive the Sognefjellet a scenic drive over the mountains and down to the fjords to the south.

Thursday

It was cloudy and misty when we woke up, but after breakfast we began to see patches of blue sky. After exploring the grounds of the hotel a bit, we headed further up into the mountains. The climb was gradual, and we stopped at several scenic overlooks along the way. While it wasn’t bright and sunny, most of the views weren’t obscured by clouds. The colors we mostly muted greens and browns. I was tempted to convert my pictures to black-and-white.

We stopped at an observation point near the maximum elevation of about 4700 feet and took a short hike up to an overlook before beginning our descent. The trip down was much steeper, with many switchbacks. Anne “let” me drive, and I kept the car in low gear to avoid overheating the brakes. After a number of stops to enjoy the views and take pictures we made it back to sea level in Skjolden at the head of Lustrafjord. The fjord connects to the Atlantic, more than 100 miles away. When we stopped at a picnic area to eat our sandwiches, Anne tasted the fjord water and couldn’t detect salt. It was another hour or so to the Walaker Hotell in Solvorn.

The hotel is located steps from the water. We took a walk around town and Anne bought a box of fresh-picked raspberries. When we got back to the hotel we drank Aperol Spritzes and ate raspberries while enjoying fjord views from the hotel porch. Not bad! Dinner was a four course two-plus hour affair. We finished our coffee just as the sun was setting, at around 9:45.