Balestrand (Norway) Adventures

The most beautiful place on earth: The Sognefjord, Balestrand, Norway.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it: Balestrand, Norway, and the Sognefjord it sits on, is the most beautiful place in the world. We have certainly seen many beautiful places in this world, but this one wins the crown. The fjord, the mountains, the green, the fjord, the trees, the houses....did I mention the fjord? Do you see the picture above? We spent most nights sitting for hours just marveling at the beauty around us. Maybe on this adventure, we will find a place that beats it. I doubt it, but I'm certainly willing to try. If we don't find it, we can always come back to Balestrand.

Brad and I first visited Balestrand nine years ago for just two nights. Here's what I had to say about it as I posted on Facebook shortly after arrival:

I refused to leave until Brad promised we could come back again someday but for a much longer visit. That time is now, and the time is for an entire month! Here's what we got up to in the fabulous month we had in the most beautiful place in the world.

Getting There

Balestrand is rural. While there is a road through the town, it is much easier to reach it by ferry. In fact, from Amsterdam we took: 2 trains, 1 plane, 1 bus, 1 ferry, and 1 taxi to get there. Passing through the larger town of Bergen, Norway for one night allowed us to pick up our friend Cindy who joined us for our first ten days in Balestrand. We spent a whirlwind night in Bergen, then headed out first thing in the morning on the four-hour ferry to Balestrand.

Our first view of Balestrand from the ferry with the Kviknes Hotel on the far right where we stayed nine years ago:

The Little Yellow House

The Kviknes Hotel is steps away from the ferry dock and right in the middle of town, which consists of a few shops, restaurants, and two small grocery stores. In contrast, this time, our house was located 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) from town. Since we didn't have a car, we knew this would be a test of how much inconvenience we were willing to put up with for a great location. This is that great location:

and this was where it was located, as viewed from the fjord:

The Fjord

The Sognefjord is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. At its deepest, it reaches down over 4,000 feet. In stark contrast, the mountains and cliffs towering over it can reach up over 3,000 feet. Most importantly, this was our spectacular view of the fjord from the little yellow house and the nearby area:

Nature

Not to be outdone by the fjord, the nature surrounding our house and the town was nearly as spectacular. I never knew green could be so green and slugs so sluggy!

Norwegian Houses

Even the houses and buildings were beautiful! Nearly all of the houses in this part of Norway are one of three traditional colors: red, yellow, or white. Apparently, the color of a house would tell you about the owner's finances, geography, and profession. Red was the cheapest color and therefore was common in fishing or farming lands. White was the most expensive and was used to show off the owner's wealth. Yellow was somewhere in the middle.

The little chapel is St. Olaf's Church which was the inspiration for the chapel in the animated Frozen movie.

Fjord Adventures

Though much time was spent simply staring at the majesty of the fjord, we also adventured out on the fjord in kayaks, took a bike ride around part of it, and took a ferry to see the Boyabreen Glacier.

Hiking

We were fortunate to have several hiking trails that started right behind our little yellow house, and we made good use of them. In addition to spectacular fjord views we found many waterfalls, colorful flowers, faery forests, and a bridge that almost certainly had a troll living under it.

Ciderhuset

With the town's grocery stores and restaurants being almost two miles away, we were thrilled to find the Cider House (Ciderhuset) halfway between us and town. Our first visit was a tour of their orchard and production facility followed by a five course tasting menu paired with ciders or juices. The family who owns the orchard have both Norwegian and Turkish roots, so the food was a delicious combination of the two. We loved the place, the food, and the location so much that we returned for lunch several times and made many purchases of cider, juice, and jams from their shop.

Flåm

The small town of Flam is the gateway to the Sognefjord due to its famous train that connects the fjord to Oslo. The Flamsbana Railway is part of the "Norway in a Nutshell" tourist route designed to give a good sampling of Norway to tourists who have only a day or two to visit. This was the route we took nine years before to visit Balestrand for the first time. It was now the place where we would say our goodbyes to Cindy as she headed off to spend time in Paris before going home.

As always, the views on the almost two hour trip down the fjord were filled with spectacular waterfalls, cliffs, mountains, small towns, cute houses, and more jaw-dropping scenery. We found an only slightly tacky, Viking-themed restaurant to have a final lunch and beer tasting in, and Brad and Cindy practiced their Viking fighting skills with the help of the magical weapons of the god store (completely tacky souvenir store). We waved goodbye to Cindy and Flam, and headed back home to our little yellow house.

Fjord Viewing, Part 2

We returned to three more weeks of staring at our spectacular fjord view and repeated many of the above adventures.

Goodbye to Balestrand

Too quickly, the time came when we had to say goodbye to our little yellow house and our beautiful fjord. Even a month was not long enough for me, and I was more than a little sad to leave. Just like the first time we were here, I will be hoping to come back again for a even longer stay. Is it possible there is a stay long enough to get tired of the view? I doubt it, but I'm willing to test out the theory and get back to you.

On To The Next Adventure!

After another ferry and another quick night's stop in Bergen, we were on a plane to our next stop......Paris!!

See you in Paris!

Sheri & Brad