Rotary World Service - District 5950 Group Study Exchange 2003

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Mike Morris
John Hobday
Margit Karkela
Lynn Keillor
Alanna Simone Tyler

THE TRIP
April 22-23 - Days 1-2
April 24 - Day 3
April 25 - Day 4
April 26 - Day 5
April 27 - Day 6
April 28 - Day 7
April 29 - Day 8
April 30 - Day 9
May 1 - Day 10
May 2 - Day 11
May 3 - Day 12
May 4 - Day 13
May 5 - Day 14
May 6 - Day 15
May 7 - Day 16
May 8 - Day 17
May 9 - Day 18
May 10 - Day 19
May 11 - Day 20
May 12 - Day 21
May 13 - Day 22
May 14 - Day 23
May 15 - Day 24
May 16 - Day 25
May 17 - Day 26
May 18 - Day 27
May 19 - Day 28
May 20 - Day 29

May 7th, 2003
Sogndal, Norway
By: John Hobday

Today was Day Two of our three-day fjord tour. Although cloudy with periods of rain, it was a "classic Norway" kind of a day.

After leaving the historic Hofslund Hotel in Sogndal, a small town on the inner-most point of the Sogndal Fjord, we took a two-hour ferry ride from the neighboring town of Kaubanger to the town of Gudvangen, the inner-most point of the Nærøyfjorden Fjord. This particular fjord boasts 6000 foot high cliffs but a water channel of only 800 feet across in spots. It seems like a very tight fit even for the small ferry we were on. The depth of the fjords can be as deep as the mountains are tall, though, so it is a bit deceiving. (Photo above right: Ferry to Gudvangen, located at the southern end of the world's narrowest fjord, the Nærøyfjord. Photo left: The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest arm of the Sognefjord, which is the world's longest fjord. Photo below right: Tiny communities cling to life between towering mountains and narrow, deep fjords.)

Later, in route to the quaint town of Voss, we travelled up the Stalheimkleive Road, a steep winding mountain road, to the historic Stalheim Hotel. The road is so steep with so many turns that busses have to back up in places to make the turns. Formerly the principal road to Bergen on the west coast, it was replaced year ago with one of the thousands of mountain tunnels in Norway.

The hotel has a fantastic view of the Nærøyfjorden Valley.

We arrived in Voss in the early afternoon, and we checked into another historic hotel, the Fleischer Hotel. Most of the group spent the day self-touring around the downtown area and doing some shopping. The group were guests at the Voss Rotary meeting tonight where plans were being made for the club’s 50^th anniversary celebration in 2005. All were present except for John, who had an opportunity to take the train to Bergen for the evening and visit a relative of one of his cousins. (Photo left: The narrow road up to the Stalheim hotel climbs over 800 meters with over 20 hairpin turns. Photo below right: We spent the night in Voss at the Fleischer's Hotel, one of Norway's grand wooden hotels built in the 1800's and visited over many generations by European gentry.)

A note of interest is that much of the road system we drove by yesterday and today used originally for the construction of tunnels and rail lines has been converted into a biking and hiking trail. In fact, you can take a pedestrian trail that runs nearly the width of the entire country from Oslo (east side of Norway) to Bergen (west side of Norway). It's pretty amazing.

In closing, let me share a humorous event from this afternoon. We stopped for lunch near one of the ferry crossings. The hotel and restaurant were constructed in the Viking style, and two live performers were doing Viking re-enactments. You can imagine our surprise when we learned that these historical preservationists didn’t speak a word of Norwegian! They were from England! (Photo left: Flag exchange with the Voss Rotary Club.)