0322 Kinsarvik to Austrheim, N of Bergen

7^th Aug 2015

Tunnels, bridges, and sunshine.

We managed to get a short spell when it actually stopped raining so we could pack up in the dry, but it was a very damp and overcast morning.  We said our farewells to Jos and Ricky as they set off to explore Bergen, and then we set off NW on a different road to Bergen, via Voss, which we had been told was a scenic way to go.  Unfortunately it proceeded to rain most of the way which was unfortunate, but it was still pretty interesting.

Not far down the road we had out first tunnel – Just a short one at about 800 m, but that had a roundabout in the middle of it where we turned off towards Voss.  Then that tunnel came out right onto the big Hardanger Bridge across the fjord, after which we went straight off the end of the bridge and back into yet another tunnel (ie nothing between the bridge and the tunnel !), this time the 4 or 5 km long Vallavik Tunnel, which also had a roundabout in the middle. Then for the next two hours we drove in heavy rain, through a lot of tunnels, almost into Bergen.  The frequent and often l

ong (one was 8 kms) tunnels really started to make us feel weird – They even have a system here where they always put a bend before the exit of a long tunnel because apparently if you can see the daylight at the end of the tunnel for a long time, it can mess with your vision and perception.  But when we found a small side road down beside a fjord at about lunch time, and the rain also stopped and the sun tried to come out, we followed it and found a delightful spot in Samnanger where we were able to stop beside the water for a break.

After our stop we drove on towards Bergen, circling round to the NE to miss it.  We stopped for fuel and found 3 Tesla electric cars parked in the special Tesla charging station at the Statoil gas station, charging their cars.  It was so funny to see the glum looks on the passengers as they sat there for about 40 minutes, trying to charge their batteries so they could continue on their journey – I don’t think they found it funny when I stopped and took a photo of them !!   We then headed over the interesting North Hordland Bridge – Interesting because the first part of it is a fixed section under which ships can pass, and then the remainder of the bridge is a low causeway which is not fixed to the river bed, but is floating on pontoons ! 

The weather was getting better and better as we got closer to Austrheim where we were going to meet our long term friends Reagan and Grete, who live in Stavanger but were up at their summer holiday house for a couple of weeks.  Reagan and I worked together in the North Sea in about 1973, and then both joined the same oilfield service company in 1974, and even worked alongside each other in Dubai for some years.  Reagan is also our son Nick’s Godfather, so we are great friends and go back a long way – We had not seen them for more than 10 years and were really looking

forward to spending some time with them.  Their summer house is an hour or so north of Bergen on a little island called Njota, so to get there you drive across several little bridges and fjords and islands to get there, and it is absolutely gorgeous and a great place to have a few days relaxation with some very good friends.

Pics here :-   https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0322KinsarvikToAustrheim?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPV3b2ntuPWyAE