Gondolas and glaciers

July 4

We were back on the road, driving through the fjords to see what we could see! Our first stop at Hornindalsvatnet lake was just as picturesque as what we’d seen the day before.

Now, with all of these cool rocks to climb on, the first thing I said to Liam was:

“Liam, be very careful where you step. If you fall in this lake, then Michael is going to have to jump in after you and then his clothes are going to be all wet. So be very careful.”

Let’s just say, I saw it coming. Liam, sure enough, went head first into this lake. First things first – he was completely fine. Wet, and a bit upset, but fine.

But when he landed in the water, face down, he freaked out. Then he accidentally pushed himself deeper into the lake when he freaked out. That’s how I end up knee deep in the lake with my jeans and tennis shoes on.

Now I would like to say that I was upset about it. But when a child thinks you saved their life? Well that feeling is awesome. He kept saying that I “rescued” him. Michael was laughing at me while I was soaking it up – worth the soggy shoes for sure.

Our next stop was Loen, where Katie, Michael, Sofia, and I grabbed the gondola from the bottom of the fjord up to the top.

Katie wasn’t nervous at all.

From the gondola and from the top of the mountain we got a great view of Nordfjord.

We grabbed lunch at the top which included Sofia’s delicious and local Loen apple juice.

And then made our way back down.

These guys got down a bit faster:

Michael enjoying the beautiful river before we got back into the fiesta bus:

Next we were off to see a glacier! But first we had to get past these pesky cows.

This cow actually had a thing for Michael and would only come closer to him and the car as Michael tried to shoe it away.

We saw the Jostedal glacier at the Bøyabreen glacierarm. The Jostedal glacier is the largest glacier on the European mainland. It covers an area of 474 km2. The icecap lies about 1600 meters above sea level and the highest point is 1952 meters. It’s about 80km long and the ice thickness is 5-600 meters.

About 20,000 years ago, this glacier covered almost all of Scandinavia. They believe this glacier melted away almost completely 8000 and 5000 years ago. The current glacier that we see had its peak during the “Little Ice Age” in 1750. Fact: The Jostedal glacier contains as much fresh water as the entire Norwegian population would use in a hundred years.

The Fjaerlandfjord, formed through several ice ages, was carved over 2-3 million years by the glacier. It is still digging and shaping the landscape and every year soil and loose rocks pull away from the bedrock. The glacier is alive and always in motion.

Second fact: glacier ice was used as the podium of the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer in 1994. Boo to Michael who told me 1992 while I was writing the last post. Now I’m going to have to amend.

The kids loved making bets with Michael about who could stay in the water longer or who would go in the furthest. Michael definitely won… but the kids were pretty brave as well in the freezing glacier water.

Our last stop of the night was Fjaerland, a town which is called “international book town” for its ten bookshops.

Sounds awesome! We are a crew who loves books, so what could be better?!?

But when we arrived… at 7:05pm, everything was closed down. So we walked around for a minute and then moved on.

The airbnb that we stayed at in Hafslo is actually a traditional farmhouse. This was super cool for the kids who got to hang out with the baby ducks on the property! We also ate some fresh eggs the next morning. There was some hesitation from the kids, but in the end… it’s breakfast.