A Visit to Paradise — Sauda, Norway

Well we are getting close to finishing up these travel posts. Maybe only 2 more. Sorry to have dragged it out for so very long!

Leaving Nevlunhavn, Norway, we traveled about 4.5 hours north to Sauda which is located in the beautiful mountains of Norway.

It was a lovely drive.

On the way we had to stop at a gas station, but which one is gas and which is diesel? Thankfully, there was someone that could speak enough English to know what we were saying and were able to direct us. While sitting there, waiting for the car to be filled, we saw this advertisement….

Have you ever had a gourmet hot dog like this one and from a gas station, no less?

Driving through a crowded town, we got behind this van which brought about quite a laugh. It started off with me making a comment about it being a police car since the license plate said PD, which I said stood for “olice department”.

That’s when Russell piped up and said, “Yeah, it’s their undercover car. That’s why they don’t fix the windshield wipers so it will be more disguised.”

That guy! He really makes me laugh sometimes!

There are road tunnels like this one that you find throughout Norway (They have over 900). They even have some that go under fjords. They like these tunnels because they don’t have to worry about snow removal or any other upkeep (only what they need to do to keep the road maintained).

These little buildings, called stabburs, were storehouses for food in earlier times although some still use them today.

We took a short cut through the mountains that is closed all thru the winter because of the snow. Every spring they have to use dynamite to blast the road open. There were still places where the snow was probably 2′-5′ deep.

There were waterfalls everywhere.

After a good nights rest at our friends’ home in Sauda, we awoke the next morning to the most beautiful of scenery.

Of course, the girls were loving all their new experiences.

We took a stroll through the small town.

There’s something so quaint about small towns and their individual shops. No Wal-Mart in sight. 🙂

An example of Norwegian architecture.

We made a stop at the bakery for some pastries and dainties.

We drove just a few minutes to…

…a spectacular waterfall.

which we hiked. It was so very nice!

My husband was like one of David’s mighty men (II Samuel 23:15-16) and brought me a drink of the Norwegian water in his cupped hands.

Currants that grow wild and which were picked to make jam and also to juice for drinking.

We were not allowed to get hungry. We were fed every few hours… and that’s no joke! It was good we didn’t stay long because we surely would have worn them out trying to take care of us. 🙂

We saw many sod roofs which are weed whacked to keep the grass under control or they will even place a goat on the roof to eat it down.

These are all vacation cottages that are only used as get-aways for their owners during the summer.

Many of the homes do not have roads to get to them and their owners like it that way. Instead they will pack everything in.

The children will carry packs and some of the homes you have to walk in 2 hours to reach them.

In the afternoon we took another hike to a valley that I can only think of as Paradise.

Rugged mountains, intense green, pasture, water flowing through the valley, waterfalls coming off the mountainside and sheep wearing little bells, that tinkled as they grazed.  I’ve never seen a sight any lovelier than here.

And guess what? My photos do not do it justice. I will still share some with you but it was much more vibrant and majestic than what I was able to capture.

Our host can trace his lineage all the way back to the Viking kings.

As a history lover, I have to tell you, that is so awesome to me.

Some of the plant life we saw while on our hike.

We had to leave Paradise Sauda the next morning to head back to the city. But that will have to be next post.