Utne to Oslo

Day 13, Thursday April 30^th – Oslo

Today we leave Utne and head to Oslo. 

6h27/413 km  (This ended up taking almost 10 hours with the stop at the waterfalls and stopping for construction and driving slow due to fog)

Tolls:  E 18 hovedløp: 12.50 NOK
Maritim: 25.00 NOK

This was the longest day of driving and it for the most part, the views were not all that good (compared to what we had been seeing).  We did manage to get a few good pictures though so I'll share those with you.

Our hotel in the morning as we were leaving.  We really liked this hotel!

We start the day off on a ferry which is good, because I really enjoy being out on the water.

 

One last look back at Utne from the boat.  I love all the blossoming apple trees!    

 

Another view from the ferry.

Along the way we decided to visit Vøringsfossen, Noway’s tallest waterfall.  It is one of the most visited waterfalls in Norway and the falls are 183 m (about 600 ft.) high.  Information from the Visit Norway website:

"Vøringsfossen dazzles tourists with its multiple waterfalls all converging at the head of Måbødalen in Hardanger.Although there are numerous ways to experience the waterfall and the vertical-walled valley, most people will view the falls from the upper and lower lookouts.A path from the scenic national tourist route through Hardanger (Rv 7) leads to the foot of the waterfall. The old road, constructed between 1887 and 1924, winds up the mountain side in 125 hairpin bends - an impressive piece of road engineering.  There are several possibilities for photo stops, picnics and activities in the near surroundings.  The Hardangervidda Nature Centre in Eidfjord is situated at the bottom of the Måbødalen Valley. The centre has exhibitions from the vast mountain plateau of Hardangervidda, as well as hands-on activities and a cinema."

And one last picture of our drive to Oslo.  It's the last picture because most of the drive was spent in fog.  We had lots of travel delays as well because of roadwork.  The cars would be stopped in both directions as we all waited for dynamite blowing up rocks all around us to settle down.  By the time we got to Oslo, it was much later than we thought it would be.

Clarion Collection Hotel Gabelshus (NOK 1560)
Gabelsgate 16
Oslo, Norway 0272

Phone : (47) 23 27 65 00

This hotel seems to be close to area attractions: Historic Museum 0.6m/1.0km; National Gallery 0.6m/1.0km; Royal Palace 0.8m/1.3km;  Aker Brygge 0.9m/1.5km; Frogner Parken 1.2m/2.0km

This hotel is our most expensive but it includes free breakfast, free afternoon tea, free dinner and free parking.

We really didn't do much once we got to the hotel.  It was in walking distance to the Akershus Fortress, so we walked down to the water and just relaxed, stretching our legs.

Construction on the fortress started sometime in the late 1290s, by King Haakon V and it replaced Tønsberg as one of the two most important Norwegian castles of the period.  The other one was Båhus. It was built because the Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson had previously attached Oslo.

The fortress has successfully survived all sieges, and it has never been successfully captured by a foreign enemy.   But it did surrender without fighting to the Nazis in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital after the unprovoked German assault on Norway and Denmark.

Tomorrow .... out and about in Oslo.

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