We’d meant to be up and out early to catch breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the day, but the beds were so comfy and warm that we ended up sleeping in a bit too long… So ex-nay on the breakfast as we had to run down to the ferry to catch our 7:55 am boat across the fjord to the small town of Vik.
No time for breakfast, but smelling the flowers? A-ok!
What had us up, out and without food so early? We were heading over to see a Hopperstad Stave Church in the wild! We also had intentions for hiking later in the day so intended to use the morning to get breakfast in Vik, see the church and pop back over. However, like so much of our planning, Norway had other ideas. You see, noting opens in Vik until 10am. So, not knowing what else to do, we hiked to the church.
“Hiking” to the church means meandering through the city streets till you get there
The church is set amongst the town’s farms. But it’s view is pretty sweet
Built in 1130, the Hopperstad church is a traditional stave church set on a hill just outside of the main part of town, set against a backdrop of farms and fields. It’s a pretty cool feeling to turn out of a suburban street and see this beautiful church just at the top of a hill! We also lucked out as the church opened at 9am, and so only had to wait about 10 minutes before we were able to do a tour. As we waited, we struck up a conversation with a friendly Indian retiree who spends a few months every year traveling (!).
Once the tour was over, we all headed back into the city where our new friend waited patiently while we grocery shopped for additional supplies. When the cafes all FINALLY opened at 10, we all headed in for a warm cup of coffee and pastries before taking the ferry back to Balestrand. As he was planning to do the walk we had done yesterday, we said goodbye at the port – we both want to be like him when we retire!
Even the port of Vik is scenic – we couldn’t resist a few more photos on our way back to Balestrand
From the port, we headed straight to the main hike. We’d been told by the Tourist Information (“TI”) that we could hike up to the top peak, experiencing a few challenging climbs, amazing panoramic views, and even walk in the snow. With a few hours to kill, that sounded right up our alley, so we headed up, thinking we’d eat lunch at the top.
The plan was to hike from the base to the top and frolic in the snow!
No chips till we summit!
What we weren’t expecting is that when TI said “Challenging” he meant that the whole hike was basically 1.5 hours of sustained vertical climbing. We were only 20 minutes in when our lungs and our calves were already protesting, and it seemed like snow was going to be impossible. But we like a challenge, and so kept at it, stopping every once in a while to “appreciate the view” (i.e.: catch our breath and rest our legs).
We were happy to find the views of the Fjord and neighboring towns from the top were definitely worth the burn, and yes, we did finally make it to snow!
Shortly after this photo, Grant threw the snowball at Jess. Is anyone surprised?
Unfortunately, the fact that everything is thawing meant we weren’t able to get all the way to the top of the peak, as the melt had turned the entire path into a soggy, boggy mess (and in parts, snow/slush covered!). Grant even went so far as to hike down without his shoes since his feet were going to get soaked either way. On the flip side, we now know what melted permafrost feels like (hint: it’s mushy, but not really like mud at all – most peculiar!)
Barefoot, in the snow… Someday he’ll complain to his grandkids about this 😉
We did our descent in double-time, as we knew we had to get back to the hotel, grab our things and make it to our evening ferry to Bergen, which we made with plenty of time to spare.
The trusty Norled Ferry, which we’d been taking so frequently the crew was starting to recognize us
When we finally got to Bergen, all the activity of the day caught up to us. While we’d intended to try and do a little more sightseeing before calling it a night, it was just too cold, too hilly, and we were too tired to do more than have a hot shower and settle in with a good book.
Bergen port has a sweet little skyline… if you ignore the ominous clouds gathering
Double rainbows on our way to the Airbnb. We took it as a good sign for the apartment
Dinner at ‘Chez Hara/Boyadjian’ was nothing fancy – just finishing off the food from our grocery run – and then bed! It’s still weird to head to sleep when it’s still quite sunny out, but thanks to all the hiking, we definitely managed it!
– J & G