North to ice land

We were up early to get these shots and away. The school was shut but its grounds were open so I could get outside shots. There are some inside shots on the web for Karel to grab, or he can contact the school and ask for their help. 

The Gestapo building was central Bergen, and aside from some trouble with our satnav trying to avoid something or other the shot was straightforward.

Memorial to victims of Gestapo torture

We need to speed our trip up a little so this day was a 5 hour drive, the longest yet. The road has had a lot of work on it so wasn't too bad to drive on in in most places. A few climbs, lots of tunnels and a ferry.

The ferry was quite expensive as you have no other way to cross this fjord.

But you can pretend it's another fjord cruise and justify the cost

This car would have been a little peeved. Four motorhomes  in convoy in front, us behind.

That rain has to go somewhere, so the rivers are all in spate

J gets a shot of the downhill lake before all the water runs out of it. The glaciers are in view though

There's a large glacier here in the Jostedalsbreen National Park, with a number of tongues flowing into the valleys. As elsewhere they have retreated since the '90s.

Sheeps. They didn't give a damn about the traffic which is not a sensible Darwinian trait I feel, especially on these narrow winding roads.

Cruise ships go up the fjord we were aiming for, then disgorge tourists into busses that take them to 'our' glacier. Meeting these busses on the often single lane roads is a nightmare.

Up the Oldendal

Kirke. J has an annoying habit of taking pics through the window, despite rain, reflections, telephone lines, windscreen wipers, etc. I could at least straighten it I suppose...

Oldenvatnet. Note the glacial blue water.

Reggie at Melkevol Bretun camp, perfectly positioned for our assault on Briksdalsbreen

Since it was only 6pm, there was plenty of light left, and the weather was OK we decided to walk to up to the glacier. Who knew what it would be like the next day? It's a bit of a doddle as they have put a road up to the foot so that lazy time pressed tourists can take a buggy rather than walk uphill 45 mins. Actually the road was put up to give access to farmers. As the glacier had completely melted circa 6000 years ago there were farmers in the valley for hundreds of years but the glacier advanced in the mini-iceage (18th C) and wiped them out for a while. There were lesser advances in the 19th C to keep them on their toes, and the '90s saw a bit of an advance as well. The farmer's road is fat  rushed tourists' good fortune. J and I walked.

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Looking back over the campsite

In the '90s the glacier reached those trees on the left

Cool, clear water.

Last daylight hits the glacier

Showerometer 18. There was a sauna available for a couple hours a day and hardy souls could jump in a side-channel of the river to do that hot/cold Finnish thing. We missed the open time.