Shetland Islands in the Norwegian Sea off Coastal Norway: Wowee! We are nearing the European continental mainland. Check out these islands with their mountains. I can just imagine the glacier moving southward, grinding away at the mountains, leaving those long parallel grooves in the rock, and rounding off the mountain tops 12,000 years ago. 

If you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged view. The mountains are huge and make the habitations look so insignificant. It seems like quite the inhospitable landscape, in an awe-inspiring sort of way.


There are about 100 islands with only 16 being inhabited. The islands have been populated since at least 3400 BC. They are virtually tree-less due to forming part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east, and being a sub-arctic archipelago. Their average high/low temperature in July is a whopping 57F/50F, and their average high/low temperature in January is 41F/34F. They are located in a Maritime Subarctic Climate with long but mild winters and short, cool summers.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland

Norway landscape carved by glacier: You can just imagine a glacier, from 12,000 years ago, carving this land. Amazing. I just about jumped out of my seat when I saw this from the air. Aren't rocks incredible?

We are almost to the border of Sweden and Norway...only 10 miles to go!

Bridge from Sweden to Norway: This bridge was built dually by both Sweden and Norway. It crosses a fjord that separates the borders of the two countries along the coast.

Fjord that runs between Sweden and Norway: I believe this fjord is called Singlefjorden, but I am not certain. This view is looking west from the bridge.

The definition of a fjord is "a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity." Many fjords lie at a lower level than the adjacent sea.

Bridge from Norway to Sweden: That bridge is the one we will take upon our return to Sweden, from Norway, tomorrow. The view you are seeing is eastward toward the ocean, and is taken from the adjacent bridge that we used to get into Norway.

Border Crossing into Norway: Our two day adventure began as we crossed the border into Norway! Par, Agneta, Linda, and I had an extremely long driving day ahead of us to get up to the mountains of Norway. The scenery was wonderful.

Map of Ferry Ride: If you look at the upper left side of the map, where the Oslofjorden narrows, you will see the city of Moss on the right of the fjord, and the city of Horten on the left side of the fjord. We travelled by car ferry from Moss to Horten. (Click on the map for a larger view.)

Car Ferry: Here we are entering the car ferry that will take us across a narrow portion of the Oslofjorden. This is a shortcut for us to get to the southern mountains of Norway.

Par: Need I say more? Par was quite excited to show me Norway. We thoroughly enjoyed the ferry ride. You can see the city of Horten in the distance.

Ferry across Oslofjorden: As we crossed the fjord, we passed several boats. There are many ferries that run between Moss and Horten all day long.

View of Oslofjorden: This fjord leads all the way north to Oslo. Of course, we had just crossed it and were heading northeast of Oslo, the capital city of Norway. We will pay a quick visit to Oslo on our way back from the mountains.

Typical Norwegian Farm: The land began to undulate quite a bit as we entered Norway. The farms were gorgeous, many of which were planted with rye.

Granite Ridge: This is a prime example of the large granite hills that are more resistant to erosion than the surrounding rock. They were very prominent along much of our drive, and were probably uncovered by glaciation 12,000 years ago.

Lake Tinnsjo: This was our first view of Lake Tinnsjo, our next destination in Norway. It seemed like driving in Norway was a constant ascent.

Lake Tinnsjo at water level: It was an extremely hot day, and we stopped at the lake so Agneta, Par, and Linda could go for a refreshing dip into the water. While they went for a swim, I collected my sand sample.

Lake Tinnsjo: We left the lake and drove higher up, and up, and up in search of waterfalls on our way toward Mount Gaustatoppen.

Cabin with sod roof: This cabin overlooks Lake Tinnsjo. It had the best sod roof I'd seen on our travels. (Click on the photo for a clearer view.)

Vengebur: As we climbed higher up this dirt road in search of waterfalls, we passed by this vengebur (probably used as a crofter's loft and hay storage years ago.)

We Love Waterfalls: This series of five photos is dedicated to one of my hosts, Linda. She is a waterfall enthusiast. We climbed higher and higher on this super curvy road until we found some waterfalls. This is but one of a multitude of falls throughout Norway. (Click on this photo for a closer view.)