Eidfjord, Norway

Thursday, June 22nd
Eidfjord, Norway
ms Koningsdam
Voyage of the Midnight Sun
Day 12
Cloudy - 66 Degrees

The name of the village is Eidfjord, but it's actually located on the Hardangerfjord.

The sprawling Hardanger Mountain Plateau is the largest in Northern Europe.   We boarded a bus for a drive to the mountains through the steep Måbødalen Valley.  With all due respect to Belgium, waffles seem to be the national snack of Norway.  We stopped at the Halne Mountain Lodge for another round of waffles with jam and sour cream, and a look around the plateau at about 3,700 feet above sea level.

Our next stop was at the Sysen Dam, one of Norway's largest embankment dams. The base of the dam is a watertight core of sand and gravel, topped with tons and tons of rock.  It measures more than a half-mile long, 265 feet tall, and 813 feet wide at the bottom.  Unfortunately, no dam tour.

After taking in the dam, we continued to Fossli and the Vøringsfossen Waterfalls, cascading almost 500 feet into the wild Måbø Valley below.  Overlooking the falls is the Fossli Hotel.  Edvard Grieg composed his Opus 66 while in residence there.

Sailaway tonight took us out of Eidfjord, back down the Hardangerfjord, and under the Hardanger bridge.  Barely under.  ms Koningsdam clears the bridge with just a meter to spare.  That was close!!!   Just as we emerged from Hardangerfjord, the captain took a detour to port for a closeup of the falls, and the bridge that passes in front of them.  Just amazing.  The falls, and the ship.  Nearly 1,000 feet long and 100,000 tons, she turned on a dime at the mouth of the fjord.  Back and forth, 30 degrees to port, then 30 degrees to starboard.  Three full cycles so everyone got a look.  Finally, she turned to starboard one last time and steamed away.

Next Stop:  Stavanger, Norway