Fjærland

After our holiday trip to India (Dec’19 – Jan’20), we spent rest of the year in Norway and mostly, in Kongsberg. Together with rest of the world, we were also busy trying to adjust and adapt to our new lifestyle, caused by the pandemic. Our original plan to return to Singapore in summer 2020 was postponed for a year.

Towards end of the 2020 summer holidays, in late July, together with a friend’s family, we went on a holiday trip to Vestland, a region popular for its beautiful fjords, glaciers and lakes. Hoping to avoid crowded spots (considering COVID infection risk), we booked a farmhouse close to Fjaerland village.

The 400 kms drive to Fjaerland took us approximately 9 hours, with multiple breaks / stops at scenic spots and a ferry crossing at Fodnes. For those who are not familiar with the ‘ferry’ part of the driving; in order to cross the fjord (no bridges), we had to take a ferry to get across. Basically, you drive to the ferry point, wait for the ferry to start loading, drive the car onboard the ferry and stop the car. After loading, the ferry crosses the fjord (the one we took was approx 20 mins). Onboard the ferry, you can relax, grab something from the cafe and if needed, there are toilets too. Upon reaching the other end, you drive out when it’s your turn and continue on the road. Since it was my first time, I talked to the crew onboard regarding payment and they said I didn’t have to pay anything. I don’t know if there is any auto payment (like road tolls) involved.

After a lunch stop at Gol, instead of taking the shortest route via Hemsedal (Fv52), we drove via Fv50, which is a very scenic road between Hagafoss and Aurland (Flam). This road (or parts of it) is usually closed during winter. I would strongly recommend taking this route. Thanks to long summer days in Norway, it wasn’t too dark when we reached our destination late that night. The farm house we had booked in Bayum (~2 kms from Fjaerland) was along the main road and not difficult to locate.

The weather was beautiful that day (#2) and perfect conditions to be in a place surrounded by greenery and mountains. The nearest building was at least a few hunderd metres away. All we could hear standing outdoors was trickling water from a stream nearby & cow bells. Just to remind us of the times we live in, ocaasionally we could hear vehicles too.

Kids were excited and they enjoyed the surrounding and freedom. Inspired by a typical Norwegian summer vacation, we started the day relaxed and spent time enjoying the weather and nature around. We also played cricket (after a very long time) and spent time searching the ball among bushes or tall grass, bringing back good old memories from my childhood.

Plan for the day was a trip to Bøyabreen Glacier viewpoint, which was a short drive (approx 5 kms) from our stay. None of us had seen a glacier from that close before, and that too the largest glacier in continental Europe. For visitors traveling with young children, physical difficulties or the lazy ones, this is one of the best places to see a glacier pretty close by. From the car park, it is hardly a 5 mins walk to the glacier. Even though we were not able to ‘touch’ the glacier, that proximity to a 5000+ years old glacier was good enough.

The Norwegian Glacier Museum is also located in Fjaerland, approx 2 kms away from where we stayed. We skipped the museum visit after noticing that the museum was crowded with too many visitors. Instead, we spent the evening at the small town of Fjaerland, along the fjord.

The weather continued to be very pleasant next day (#3). After a slow start that morning, we planned to visit Stryn, driving through a scenic route. Even though we didn’t reach Stryn, we enjoyed the drive towards Stryn and spent most of the day at Loen, a town 10 kms before reaching Stryn. Loen was about 100 kms away from Fjaerland and the drive took us about 3 hours (after multiple stops at scenic locations along the road). On the way, we found a spot along the lake at Olden and stopped for lunch. The expert chefs with us had prepared a biryani meal for our day trip. Not sure what we enjoyed the most.. the biryani or the scenery or the combination!

After a good lunch, we drove straight to the Loen Skylift. This is one of the most popular and highly recommended activities in the region. With favourable weather conditions, the view from the top was just WOW.. spectacular view of turquoise coloured lakes and mountains. We basically spent the whole afternoon there enjoying the weather and view. That was one throughly enjoyed day and we drove back with the hope to be back at Loen another time. The drive back to Fjaerland didn’t take more that 90 minutes.

After a free and easy day (#4) at Fjaerland, we drove back next day (#5) to Kongsberg. With the good company we had, weather and fantastic location, we thankfully managed to get a memorable holiday, while, sadly, people in several other parts of the world were struggling to even step out of their homes during the pandemic.