Ghostblog Hantu dan Mitos

Our last day on the road was spent largely on a boat cruise on Lake Bandak, plus a brief trip down the Telemark Canal, one of Norway's main attractions. This was the view from our lodgings at Lake Totak early Monday morning. Purdy, innit? One of the many locks along the canal. The lock is closed behind the boat and the space filled with water until you're suddenly level with the water behind the gate in front of you. All is done manually, just like it was back in the late 1800s. There are many pretty farmsteads along the way. On both sides of the lake. There's quite a bit of industrial history in the area, as cheap power became available to the factories. This formation is said to be the ship of St Olav, a king of yore who brought Christianity to Norway. He apparently shipwrecked here and a dozen or more similar places in Norway... Naturally, I was skeptical of both the lake and the canal.

Sunday we got off to an early start again to drive down to Rjukan and the mountain Gaustatoppen. Apparently it's the mountain where you can see the most of Norway although that may be in some doubt. Regardless, the views are quite spectacular. You begin by taking a small train contraption into the actual mountain and once you're well and truly under millions of tons of rock, you take a kind of diagonal elevator or funicular almost up to the summit. The whole thing was built by NATO back in the 50s to provide easier access to the military listening station at the top and partially paid for by US tax dollars. Going into the mountain. Video from the train ride into the mountain: The funicular. At the top, you have to pay to use the restrooms. As a silent protest I held the door open for the next guy when I exited. Sue me, Rjukan! Sue me! I'll never stop fighting da man! You can see quite a bit from up there, I don't really care whether it's the mostestest in Norway. A ...

Our destination Friday night was Geiranger, a small village deep inside a network of fjords. The nature here is stunning and pictures from Geiranger are often used in ads for the Norwegian tourist industry. When we arrived in the evening, we first stopped at Eagle's Bend, up in the mountains above the village. View towards the village. View out of the fjord. It bends and forks off several times before it reaches the open sea. A small stream was splashing down behind us. And you could walk out on a glass plattform. Why do you insist on doing this to me, Norway? Video from Eagle's Bend: The views from the deck of our very nice little cabin at around 10PM Friday night. Albie squealed with delight when she saw it had a grassy roof. There was a thin layer of morning fog when we left the village on a 90-minute cruise of the fjord Saturday morning. One of the many, many, MANY waterfalls lining the fjord on both sides. This one is known as the seven sisters. Apparently, the sisters are...

We then reached Trollstigen, or Troll's ladder. I had thought the sight and experience of it would have shut the Americans up, but instead they made rude jokes about my driving. Honestly, some people.... Naturally, I was skeptical of Trollstigen. The stream coming down the mountain. Of course they couldn't just leave the stream be, they had to "improve" upon it. Bah, humbug. Several characteristic mountain tops surround the visitor centre at the top of the hill. You want waterfalls? Here's yer stinkin' waterfall! The water going off the mountainside. Notice the other waterfall coming in from the right. "Where the sun comes up / around ten in the morning / and the sun goes down / about three in the day..." That's one hell of a road. The descent on the other side is a lot less brutal and allows for some really, really purdy scenery. We stopped at this tiny settlement to take pics of the nice old cabins and yet another goddamn stream coming down th...