As I woke up, the sun shone through the curtains in my room. It was a welcome sight, remembering the heavy showers of the previous day. I slept in, barely making it to the breakfast; I was in no hurry, as the drive that day wasn't that long. I was going to continue on my trip around Jotunheimen itself. The detour to Geiranger was long, but really worth it; now it was time to get back on track.
I had planned my next stay so that I had a short trip the next day to a very popular hiking destination East of Jotunheimen; the Besseggen. The drive would take me along the same road I had taken the day before, from Geiranger back to Lom. From Lom the road was unfamiliar, and according to Google there wasn't really anything along it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
After checking out I carried my stuff down to the car. Having a 20+kg luggage with clothes and 10+kg backpack of camera gear was starting to be a big PITA, but at least I had everything I would need with me. Once in the parking lot, I took a look down the valley towards Geiranger and snapping a few shots. Another cruise ship had apparently arrived during the night, and sat in the middle of the fjord waiting to dock.
The view from the hotel. You can see the road up to the lookout I used the previous night in the top right.
I had done some research on the road I was going to drive on (again). Turns out, I had missed a pretty awesome location; Dalsnibba. I did remember driving past it, but I had no idea what it was at the time. Dalsnibba is a viewing platform and restaurant/souvenir shop on the top of Geirangerfjellet, a tall mountain overlooking Geiranger itself. There is a road all the way to the top, with ample parking. Similarly to Galdhøpiggen, the road has a toll. I tried several times to pay with card, but after some time I gave up and used cash instead. 'The cell tower is on the other side of that mountain wall', the girl in the booth said. Yeah, no surprise there, this is Norway after all :)
Just after Geiranger, the wall on the right blocks cell coverage to the road on the left.
The wall is huge and almost black. Looking at it is a bit surreal, actually.
I drove towards the top, noticing that there was a construction crew working on the summit. I wonder what kind of extra pay they get for conditions like this:
Those with fear of heights need not apply.
I guess they get used to it. Anyway, the view from the top was amazing. I wasn't alone, either. This was the first tourist attraction that actually had some tourists during the trip, so I was a bit annoyed. Only a bit though, people moved around so getting some shots wasn't terribly difficult. Half of the viewing platform was walled off because of the construction, but there is a bit just beside the wall that doesn't have any safe guards. At all. Guess where the people were?
Very close to the edge there, might want to step back a bit..
The view wasn't bad. The road is fun to drive on. Like really, really fun.
There must have been a hundred stone piles on the top. Not that I mind, the make for nice subjects.
Zoomed shot towards Geiranger. That road was fun too.
Up on the top I saw a few familiar faces; the Indian couple I had met walking up Fannaråken. Small world. I took the final pics, packed up, and started down the mountain. I had made it halfway when I had to stop:
It really is an amazing country, this.
A look back at the mountain wall. House for scale.
I continued down and along the road. The mountains became smaller quite quickly, but that doesn't mean there aren't things to see. I remembered there was a big waterfall/rapids on the way to Lom, about 50 kilometers from Geiranger. I wasn't in the mood to stop the day before, but today, the story was different. I missed it the first time, driving right by. I quickly turned around and drove off the main road. Yes, I could see some potential here.
I tried to find the name of this place, but no luck. Google Maps hasn't got any name on it either. I'm also kicking myself for not thinking to walk to the little bridge :( I might just put this one up on my wall, just to remind myself ;)
On the other side of the same bridge as above.
Neutral density and polarizing filters, oh how I love thee.
Remember when I wrote that I didn't have many shots from the day before, and could figure out why? I remember now. Even though the landscape (and especially the river and lakes) are great, there is barely any place to stop on the road. All roads go directly to someones private cabin by the water, making it difficult for a nerd like me to stop and take pics there, even if no one was home. The road also has practically no shoulders to stop on. It really sucks, as the road really is spectacular in places; the water is so turquoise its nuts.
What is this, the Riviera?
After about half an hour of cursing the Norwegian road builders, the landscape changed back to the familiar wide valley, and I arrived in Lom just in time for some lunch. Now the unfamiliar road started. Unfortunately, it was quite boring. I don't know if it was because I was coming down from the mountains or what, but I wasn't inspired to stop for photos at all. I did force myself to take one, though:
Meh.
After the road turned away from the lake, there was only forest. No views what so ever. I quickly found my hytte and settled down for the night. At least there was electricity for me to process and back up some photos, and I had had the foresight to buy some chocolate in Lom, so it wasn't all that bad. The only interesting thing was a bunch of Porsches that drove by in the evening. I counted 2 Cayennes and 4 911s, all driving very, very fast on the small road. No idea what that was about.
The next day was still a bit of a question mark. The plan was to drive to Besseggen and see if I'd do the climb to the top. The view seems to be quite nice. Afterwards, I only had a plan to drive toward Utladalen, but I had no idea where I'd stay that night. I also hadn't seen any points of interest along the way. I tried to plan something, but soon drifted off to a restless sleep.