ALFONSO_MERCADO
Road-trip to Western Norway (Ålesund, Trollstigen, Geiranger)
Scoured and gouged by glaciers, ancient and modern, Western Norway's deep, sea-drowned valleys are pincered by steep, rugged terrain. It's a landscape that is so utterly unique and so profoundly beautiful that it is one of the most desirable destinations in the world.
Ferries are a way of life in the west. These reliable workhorses make navigating the insane geography possible but are also an enjoyable part of your journey, offering staggering, otherwise inaccessible, panoramas. (words by loney planet)
South of Åndalsnes, the Troll's Ladder (Trollstigen) is a thriller of a climb or descent. Recently declared a National Tourist Route, it was completed in 1936 after eight years of labour. To add an extra daredevil element to its 11 hairpin bends and a 1:12 gradient, much of it is effectively single lane. Several dramatic waterfalls, including the thundering 180m-high Stigfossen, slice down its flanks.
At the top, a visitors centre has been built from concrete, rusted steel and glass, to both withstand the extreme terrain and to mimic its many textures. Leading from here are dramatic viewing platforms that jut here and there over the abyss and offer panormas of the snaking road and the lush valley below, as well as a perputal waterfall soundtrack.
Ålesund: The home base for Norway's largest cod-fishing fleet, sits on a narrow, fishhook-shaped sea-bound peninsula. Despite its primary source of income, this is no regular Norwegian port. After a devastating fire in 1904, the city was rebuilt in curvaceous Jugendstil – art nouveau – style and today remains Scandinavia's most complete and harmonious example of the era.
Geiranger port although very small is very busy with local Norwegian ferries visiting every other hour and Hurtigruten cruise ships visiting every day. Whilst we were Hurtigruten Nordkapp visited and dropped off a few passengers and collected some other to sail to the next port in it’s schedule.
Road-trip to Western Norway (Ålesund, Trollstigen, Geiranger)
Scoured and gouged by glaciers, ancient and modern, Western Norway's deep, sea-drowned valleys are pincered by steep, rugged terrain. It's a landscape that is so utterly unique and so profoundly beautiful that it is one of the most desirable destinations in the world.
Ferries are a way of life in the west. These reliable workhorses make navigating the insane geography possible but are also an enjoyable part of your journey, offering staggering, otherwise inaccessible, panoramas. (words by loney planet)
South of Åndalsnes, the Troll's Ladder (Trollstigen) is a thriller of a climb or descent. Recently declared a National Tourist Route, it was completed in 1936 after eight years of labour. To add an extra daredevil element to its 11 hairpin bends and a 1:12 gradient, much of it is effectively single lane. Several dramatic waterfalls, including the thundering 180m-high Stigfossen, slice down its flanks.
At the top, a visitors centre has been built from concrete, rusted steel and glass, to both withstand the extreme terrain and to mimic its many textures. Leading from here are dramatic viewing platforms that jut here and there over the abyss and offer panormas of the snaking road and the lush valley below, as well as a perputal waterfall soundtrack.
Ålesund: The home base for Norway's largest cod-fishing fleet, sits on a narrow, fishhook-shaped sea-bound peninsula. Despite its primary source of income, this is no regular Norwegian port. After a devastating fire in 1904, the city was rebuilt in curvaceous Jugendstil – art nouveau – style and today remains Scandinavia's most complete and harmonious example of the era.
Geiranger port although very small is very busy with local Norwegian ferries visiting every other hour and Hurtigruten cruise ships visiting every day. Whilst we were Hurtigruten Nordkapp visited and dropped off a few passengers and collected some other to sail to the next port in it’s schedule.