Didn’t have a very good night’s sleep. There was a bunch of loud Norwegians outside our window discussing something that required lots of raised voices and shuffling of shoes. Finally they vanished and I drifted off to sleep but was woken by a weird dream about beetles. So I decided to stop trying to buck the fates and went to breakfast.
And what a breakfast! They had just about anything you could imagine. I reckon you could have asked for Roast Lamb and they’d have pointed to it. Just incredible. And very yummy. As usual I woke Mirinda ten minutes before breakfast finishes and had another one with her.
We went to the TIC and booked accommodation at our next stop, Ballestrade then went for a walk to see the church. Easier said than done. We must have walked 300 miles but never found it. We passed it in the train coming down and we walked in a straight line but church there was none. Saw lots of lovely buildings and majestic cliffs, split by waterfalls and this great sign:
Watch out for the humps
It actually means watch out for the humps (which is another joke right there) or something less interesting. However, just to prove what a total juvenile and male I am, there it is!
Back at the docks, we went into the predominantly Norwegian language train museum, to wile away a few hours. It was probably interesting but didn’t understand much of it…
At 3.30 we boarded the ferry for Ballenstrande. Up one Fjord and into another. The first glimpses of Ballestrande were not that great but only because it is dwarfed by some pretty magnificent scenery. We docked and were met by the guy who runs the hotel (I called it the Mintie Pension because I can’t remember the real name) who ran us up the hill. Ballestrande is situated on a flat bit of the fjord but even so it’s steep!
On the way to our room it was apparent that this was no palace. I was concerned that it would be very much like Voss. Then we walked into the room. We had a fjord-side room and the view was just indescribable. Magnificent. Unbelievable. We faced right up the fjord with snow topped cliffs either side. We had a little balcony and sat on it for a bit just stunned. I recommend anyone coming to Norway to come and stay at the Mintie Pension just for the view! It will blow you away!
We walked around Ballestrande most of the evening then dinner at the pension. Saw a statue of a Viking relation of Mirinda’s. He’s sitting atop a mount. Off to Fjaerland tomorrow.
