The day started off wet and ended wet but in between was fabulous. Not always sunny but mercifully dry, which allowed us to really enjoy the roads and the ever more spectacular vistas opening up before us.
I wasn't sorry to leave Bergen. In the main, it had been wet and miserable, living up to its reputation admirably. The highlight of the day has got to be the ride up the Gaularfjellet route to the Utsikten viewing point. There are only 8 switchbacks (hairpin bends) but they are quite tight, requiring first gear on most but really good fun. Even the old cruiser seemed to enjoy them, Knutr sticking pretty close to the more nimble Sprint. At the viewpoint, there's a breathtaking view. It's cold up at these heights though, maybe as low as 7 or 8C. Knutr might take the piss but the heated grips did the trick. The whole road from when we left the ferry at Dragsvik was a pleasure to ride and it's just as much fun coming down, as going up, well almost.
One funny moment, was when we stopped to picture a waterfall behind some sheep. A guy on a Triumph Explorer pulled in behind us to take his own snaps. As he was doing so, one of the sheep came up to his bike and started sniffing it. The animal walked a full 360 round the bike, much to the guy's and our amusement, bemusement even.
Our digs don't do evening meals, so the plan was to stop in the 'village' a mile or so up the road and buy some grub. There's a communal lounge/kitchen area, to allow you to cook your own food. That WAS the plan. Arriving at the village shop at 16:30, we found it closes early on a Saturday, i.e. 16:00. So, no grub. At least we have a beer from last night though!
Arriving at the property, across the river and down a gravel track, we were greeted by one of the owners sons. I explained we had no food and he said he'd see if his mum could make us something. The alternatives were, a 40 minute ride north, to a restaurant or a 15 minute ride to restaurant we had ridden passed, which closed within 45 minutes. Neither option seemed worthy of too much consideration, so we resigned ourselves to going hungry.
A little later, the owner came down and said his wife could do us some tomato soup and bread if we liked. The offer was gratefully accepted and we were given a time of 8pm for it to be ready. As 8pm arrived, we were ushered into an old building that looked a bit like a barn. Inside there was a fire and the table laid with the dishes, soup terrine, bread and water, tastefully lit with some candles. Very romantic ;-) The soup was very nice and went down a treat. We spent quite a bit of time talking to our hosts, who are an extremely nice couple. It was most interesting to learn that they own part of the river that flows passed the property and because of that, can get credits on their electrcity, as they are seen to be providing the electic company with water for hydro generation. I'm sure people don't own part of the river adjacent to their properties back home.
Day 8 is quite a long day. There'll be a glacier first thing and another couple of viewpoints, both over the Gerainger fjord. They promise to be something special. Let's hope the weather holds up. Looks 50/50 at the moment.
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