Unless the predictions prove untrue, today was our last tango with sunshine in Sogndal. As such, we had reserved the day for a long drive across one of Norway’s many scenic roads over the mountains. Our sights were originally set on Gaularfjellet, which branches off from nearby Balestrand, but we changed targets to Vikafjellet after consideration. My dad has been across Gaularfjellet before, and the latter choice would allow us to see several other stops of interest as we wound our way back to Sogndal. After filling up with a quality breakfast, we set out with little delay.
Our day started with the first of two eventual ferries, both familiar to us at this point; however, while our last ferry from Hella took us west to Dragsvik, this time we departed for Vangsnes to the south, where we would continue on to Vik. I am sure the city is a multifaceted place with many interesting things to see and know, but I know it exclusively as the home of gamalost, a somewhat notorious Norwegian delicacy that literally translates to “old cheese.” Some Norwegians swear by it, while others would likely prefer to swear at it. I gave it a shot the last time I was here in Norway, and let me just say I wasn’t too disappointed to find that Vik’s local cheese bar, undoubtedly offering samples of the stuff, is closed on Sundays.
Driving through the Norwegian countryside is an exercise in feeling small, and you have multiple choices for your vantage point from which to experience the sensation. From the ground, at sea level, the colossal mountains that line the fjords tower over you, sporting deep trenches where centuries of water flow have worn away at the rock. Up in the mountains, the cities that feel large from the inside are reduced to an infinitesimal scale, small enough to fit inside a single photo frame. Such was our experience driving over Vikafjellet, where the flattened top of the mountain seemed to stretch on infinitely. What could have been a half-hour drive was substantially prolonged by numerous stops for photographs–and to catch our breath from gasping at the scenery.
Few Norwegian destinations remain unchecked on my dad’s wishlist, but, before today, the municipality of Voss was one of them. Voss is particularly well known as a destination for athletes and thrill seekers, as the area is famed for its paragliding, skydiving, and winter sports. The city also hosts the world’s largest annual extreme sports expo, Ekstremsportveko. But we had come to Voss with a singular mission, and it wasn’t to participate in any daredevil athletics. The Hangurstoppen restaurant is perched on the mountaintop overlooking the village of Vossevangen, the administrative center of the Voss municipality. Unless you want to truly earn your meal and arrive on foot, access to the restaurant is restricted to a journey by cable car. As we are veterans of the Loen Skylift from our 2019 trip, the choice was simple. We enjoyed a meal with grand, panoramic views of the surrounding villages, filling our meters for the next leg of what would, in total, become an 11-hour circuit.
Our next checkpoint of the route would be the city of Gudvangen, but since we had visited four years ago, we skipped making another stop and instead pressed onward to Undredal, another destination that had previously eluded my dad on seven previous trips. Undredal is known for stunning vistas across the Aurlandsfjord as well as its production of goat cheese. (To my great disappointment, our current living arrangements lack any options for refrigeration.) More distinctly, as far as our family is concerned, my dad explained that the ancestors who eventually would claim the Foss land in Sogndal were land owners in Undredal. I was surprised by the number of other tourists scurrying through the tiny town, but I suppose it shouldn’t have been unpredictable. The view from the docks in Undredal could hold its own against any we’ve seen on the trip so far, and that alone is testament enough to merit a considerable visitor count.
The finale of our day’s excursion would take us through FlĂ¥m, then Aurland, then Lærdal, and back to Sogndal. The trek back to Sogndal from the southeast features a couple enticing choices for routes: either via Lærdalstunnelen, the longest road tunnel in the world; or over Aurlandsfjellet, a mountaintop road that spotlights Stegastein, a breathtaking lookout platform that peers across the Aurlandsfjord. The good news is we covered both options on our 2019 trip, so we were not in danger of regret. Given the almost absurdly picturesque weather we’d been gifted today, it felt foolish to waste it inside a tunnel. Stegastein was the choice. There, we met Lars Hustveit and wife Olaug Marie Bjelde, freshly relieved from their family sheep herding operation in Aurland. They joined us for a caravan back to Sogndal, also providing some flavor text from their childhoods at the last few stops for photos.
As we boarded the Fodnes-Mannheller ferry between Lærdal and Sogndal, the setting sun had reached the horizon, both providing some fantastic final photographs and punctuating the sheer amount of time we’d spent on the road. All there was left to do was to capture a few shots of the city at night from an awesome viewpoint underneath the Loftesnes bridge. This blog entry, unsurprisingly, will contain only a small fraction of the pictures amassed from this epic trek. This day will live in my memory for a long time, joining our time on Australia’s Great Ocean Road as one of my favorite days my dad and I have spent together. I was glad to have him as my companion (and perhaps gladder still that I got to be the driver this time).
Where the Waterfalls Mean Home 
Jotunheimen is correct. You may see the mountains of Hurrungane in Jotunheimen