Although we were sad to leave Olden behind us, we knew there was so much more exploring of the fantastic country. To say that we were captivated with Norway is a huge understatement.

While we were in Olden we had read that there was a Skylift at Loen, not far from our starting point, that rose to 1,011m above sea level to Mt Hoven. We felt that we should take full advantage of this so that we could enjoy the views back across Olden and the many glaciers that we had enjoyed from ground level. Although the Skylift was short in time, it was very expensive - it was the single most expensive activity that we had done during our trip, at nearly £50 per person. However, the views were pretty breathtaking and it offered us the opportunity to do a short hike once we arrived at the top cable car station

View from Mt. Hoven, Loen, Norway

As with many high peaks in Norway, we found many stone towers built by goodness knows who, some of which were expertly constructed including recesses looking like windows enjoying the view of the fjords.

Stone Tower, Mt. Hoven, Loen, Norway

Having completed the short and cold hike, we headed for the cable car station to descend back to where we had left our motorhome over 1000m below. I was not looking forward to the return journey as I do not enjoy cable cars much. I particularly dislike the steady sensation of dropping. I found that concentrating on the base jumpers that had recently leapt from the top of the mountain next to us helped distracted me enough that my discomfort was greatly reduced.

Sarah and the view from Mt. Hoven, Loen, Norway

Soon enough, we were back on the road heading towards our overnight destination of Geiranger. The drive was exhilarating. It was full of steep ascents, winding hairpin bends and views across fjords and mountain peaks. The last part of the route dropped down a steep sided mountain where we came across a group of tourists on bikes who looked terrified, with good reason, the drops were near vertical at many points. Once past the cyclists, we descended into Geirnager itself. The place was pretty, but there was not much there. The local businesses obviously focussed on the cruise ship passengers, but they stocked everything you would need to explore this extreme landscape. We came across a huge troll, the first one we had seen up close. This country is steeped in mythology and much of it includes tales of trolls and nordic gods. Having seen the countryside, it is obvious to see why, many of the houses even have grass and trees growing on their roofs.

Sarah with the local troll, Geiranger, Norway

That evening we cooked our dinner in the van and then took it down to enjoy it on the edge of the fjord while we watched the local fishermen trying to land a catch. We noticed that you could soon pick out where the large fish were as there were smaller fish being chased to the surface and leaping out of the water to evade their predators. It was amusing watching this as the lines were often being cast in the opposite direction. Several times we watched the predatory fish chasing the small shoals right behind the fishermen. They quickly tried to change their position and some were successful as a result.

Our dinner table with a priceless view, Geiranger, Norway

We overnighted in the ferry port carpark as it was another free place to stop. As we had not had to paid for accommodation, we opted to support the local economy by topping up on provisions from the local shop. Again the variety and quality was excellent. Still expensive, but we were still in Norway.

On the way out of town in the morning, we were lucky enough to get a view of a cruise ship in the fjord. It was huge but dwarfed by the near-vertical sides of the fjord.

Geiranger, Norway.