During the night we slowly cruised down the Nordfjord, past the homeland of Brian’s ancestors and to the tiny town of Olden. We had a beautiful tour today exploring Lake Lovatnet and seeing the Kjenndalsbreen glacier. The lake is the site of two of the most horrific landslides that caused a huge wave in the lake to wipe out two small towns (twice) in the early 1900’s. The towns haven’t been rebuilt, so the lake is very peaceful, and is also considered quite safe now by geologists because the area of the giant landslides is now full of rocks to the point where there would not be a huge wave.

The lake is fed by runoff from 10 different glaciers, and is still very deep in most parts. Small farms and summer houses dot the steep hillsides around the lake. Waterfalls are everywhere you look!

We cruised the lake in a canal boat that had been transported from Amsterdam. The captain and his family have quite the business going, boat tours have a stop at a restaurant at the end of the lake run by his wife, and his daughter is one of the guides. We know this because she threatened our guide: “I’ll have my dad make you swim back!” She told him.

We had a stop for Waffles and Kafe before heading a bit further by bus to see the glacier. The waffles were delicious, with sour cream and home made berry jam.

We were very grateful to our guide and the captain and the bus drivers who helped get Jane’s scooter on and off the boat, bus, boat, bus again and again it really helped her enjoy the day. We originally thought that it would go on the first bus and she would have to use her crutches the rest of the day, which would have been a real workout! It was worrying enough getting her down the stairs into the boat and then up a flight of metal stairs so she could sit up top and enjoy the view with everyone else. But we were careful and she made it.

After the tour of the lake we went up the sky lift in Loen, however the weather had turned by that time so it was a bit of a disappointment that it was cold, windy, and rainy at the top.

You can see how the ship really dwarfs the village from up high!

The sky lift and lake Lovatnet in the background.