My father’s paternal grandfather came to North America from the Stord area of Norway in 1887 with his family when he was only 6 years old. We are visiting Stord to see where he was born. We rented a car in Oslo. Quick aside here – we did not expect to find the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in downtown Oslo.
The drive started very slow as there was construction and slow traffic as we were leaving the city. However, we were soon into some beautiful countryside. The trees and mountains definitely reminded me of northern British Columbia. Unlike Iceland which reminded me of the interior plateau, this area of Norway was more similar to the Houston area of the north with the mountains close, but just off in the distance.
It wasn’t long, though, until we were right up in the mountains. The highest we climbed was over 1000 m (3,280 feet). Not quite as high as the Coquihala, but above the tree line here in Norway.
At one point the road drove underneath a ski lift.
We saw some lovely churches along the way. I only managed to get a pic of one of them.
There was a massive waterfall that was really gorgeous. I don’t think the pictures do it justice.
Shortly after that we were back at sea level and driving along the fjord.
For the final leg, we crossed under the water in a tunnel and across a bridge to arrive in Stord.
And, finally, just for the amusement of some. The speed bump sign here.
