We left Sola heading towards Odda not knowing exactly what we would find. Our destination was an "amazing" restaurant that was recommended to Chuck by somebody in Oslo.
The ride was beautiful as always ... windy roads, then tunnels and our first ferry crossing, then picturesque towns, lakes, and big and small waterfalls coming from the hills all around us.
Our restaurant was way inside the mountain in an amazing setting at the foot of a glacier ... the road left the main 2 lane road we were on and onto a small one lane road that went through the village and into a dirt, very narrow road into the mountain following a roaring river ... at times, we felt this was not going to end well ... until at the end of this small winding dirt road ... an amazing small valley with an amazing restaurant and people from all over the world bicycling, hiking, eating ... an amazing find indeed!
At this restaurant, the lady of the house saw our route and suggested we follow the "very-scenic" peninsula road instead of two 20-km tunnels to Bergen. Again the universe was guiding us : )
The peninsula road was another highlight of the day ... narrow, very narrow, and very very narrow roads winding around the water and the cliffs, up and down in and out of the forests, through small quaint villages, and into lots of apple and cherry farms ... another wow!
Made it to Bergen and rode into town through the harbor and the UNESCO world heritage area ... lots of people everywhere ... first crowded scene we have seen in Norway. Sunny, ships moored, monuments, fountains, shops, restaurants.
Had a great dinner at the restaurant next door to our hotel and went for a long after-dinner walk to visit the sites until 10pm when the sun stared to set. The UNESCO site is this collection of wooden trading houses side by side by the harbor that date back to medieval times. The one thing to remember is how they are all crooked and built organically with no real grand plan. Very interesting.
Tomorrow, we have a late start to spend another half day in Bergen before heading into the innards of Norway again.
Our first ferry crossing right outside Sola
A true Norwegian Sea crossing
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