Waterfalls and Troll Walls, Åndalsnes

Zagan the motorhome is a train track away from where the cruise ships dock on the Romsdal fjord in Åndalsnes, the peak capital of Norway (N62.56640, E7.69398).

Spot Zagan in the parking on the right

With the white noise hum of the river thundering past Zagan we slept like logs in our little car park by the road. The heavy cloud cover denying us any chance of seeing the Northern Lights which were putting on a good display, however we know that fellow travellers we have met in Norway did get to see them. Fingers crossed for a clear night for us again soon.

It was only an hour’s drive to Åndalsnes (that little circle means the A is pronounced more like an O), so we took our time getting on the road and had a leisurely morning. Within a few minutes the road started to drop down, following the rail line and river down towards the Romsdalen valley. The river became increasingly feisty, so when we saw a picnic spot at Slettafossen we pulled in for a look. The river was now squeezed down into a narrow gap and was relentlessly forcing its way through creating a 30 meter high gorge. We stood for ages and watched the water bubble and boil like white hot lava.

Back on the road again and the rock faces were crying waterfalls at every opportunity. Long white streaks of water against the white cloud sky made it look like the rock had cracked open and was showing you the other side. This was one of those roads that we stopped at every opportunity because we were getting back and neck ache craning to see the beauty of it all through the windscreen.

All too soon, like the trash compacter scene in Star Wars (the original one of course), the walls started to close in around us. The mountains edged their way towards the road until there was only just enough room for road, rail line and river in the valley. We were reaching the Trollveggen or Troll Wall.

The Trollveggen is the tallest vertical rock face in Europe. Its many peaks, known as Trollindene, stretch up to 5950 feet above the valley floor to the top of the tallest peak. 3300 feet are vertical and with a 150 feet overhang it was only conquered for the first time in 1958. Its peaks were shrouded in cloud for us, offering only tantalising glimpses off what lies up there.

Trollveggen

Trollveggen on the right, Romsdalhorn on the left – Zagan in the middle!

In 1980 a Finn decided that climbing up the Trollveggen wasn’t enough of a thrill, so Jorma Oster BASE jumped off it. After several accidents BASE jumping was banned in 1986, however if you don’t know how BASE jumpers are… the memorial at the visitors centre lets you know.

A reminder to the base jumpers perhaps?

I nipped for a quick nose in the visitors centre and found myself lured into the souviner shop by signs offering 30% off everything. Not something you normally see in a tourist shop, but as it closes at the end of August they were having a sale. £35 later I emerged with a nice new jacket, which you’ll no doubt see in future photos, which I justified to myself by the number of nights free camping we have done. People say Norway is expensive and for food, especially eating and drinking out, it is. However because we stocked up before we came here and are only buying perishables (milk, bread, spuds etc) and the odd treat (can of beer) we’re finding it one of the cheapest countries we’ve been to. We do miss not eating out and the selection in the supermarkets is a bit limited too, but as we’ve been told Norway is for the eyes not for the stomach.

Just a few kilometres down the road we reached Åndalsnes. A plume of black smoke rising above the houses had me worried that something big was on fire, it was certainly something big, but it wasn’t on fire. A huge cruise ship was docking at the port, its stacks belching out smoke as it manoeuvred into place. We parked up and watched a hundreds of people disembarked, some heading into town, others onto the fleet of buses that arrived and more onto the train that was sat waiting to whisk them up the valley we just drove down.

We stretched our legs with a wander around town only to hear nothing but English and Scottish accents, yes the cruise ship was from the UK and suddenly Åndalsnes was like being at home. I could earwig on people’s conversations, when they stopped to pet Charlie we knew what they were saying – it was all a bit surreal.

To top of our British day we were parked next to a Brit Classic Hymer and as we made our way back to Zagan Sue and Paul popped their heads out to say hello. We nipped in for a brew and as we chatted yet another Brit Hymer arrived with Holly and Peter from Scotland on board – what are the chances of three British Hymers in one place in Norway? To mark the occasion, last night Zagan played host to all six of us, and Charlie, as we chatted away into the wee small hours.

This morning we’re feeling surprisingly good, although now the wine stash is dwindling we’re drinking less of an evening. The weather is still cloudy so we’ll hang here for another day and chill out. Hopefully tomorrow it will bright up as we plan to drive up the Trollsteign.

Ju x

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