We drive from Oslo to Bergen, towards the Hardangervidda and over it. We see an exuberant autumn sun, yet the rivers and lakes are increasingly covered with ice. On the Hardangervidda plateau we are surprised with snow and a strong wind at night. This is the adventure we are looking for in Norway, although we didn’t expect it so early. Fortunately, we later see the sun and a beautiful rainbow.
From Oslo to Haugastøl
We have both read Jan Guillou’s Bridge Builders, the first part of a 10-part series about the Great Century, the 20th century. This series is about the Lauritzen family and starts in this first book with the three brothers, Lauritz, Oscar and Sverre, who are trained as bridge builders (civil engineer, like me, Gert Jan).
Finally, Lauritz is used for the construction of the Oslo-Bergen railway and he works from his temporary home base in Finland on a bridge over one of the mountain rivers on the Hardangervidda plateau.
We go in search of Finse, a small hamlet along the railway. It turns out that we can’t get there with our Milady, so we drive to the nearby town of Haugastøl.
On the way from Oslo to Haugastøl we drive through deep river valleys and beautiful mountain lakes, as we get higher it gets colder and there is more and more ice on the water.
In the village of Heddal we stop to see the stave church, the largest in Norway.
In rural Norway, the mailboxes are clustered together, a beautiful sight.
We spend the night in Rjukan, in a parking lot along an unpaved side road.
When we arrive at the train station in Haugastøl around 2 pm, it turns out that there is only one train left for Finse today and that there is only a train back later in the evening. It gets dark early, so we don’t think that’s a good idea. We are therefore looking for a camping spot near Ustaoset, there is a station where, according to the Google timetable, trains depart more often.
On the way to the train station
The next day we can take the train in Ustaoset. We buy a train ticket online from Ustaoset to Myrdal, departure at 12.07 and arriving at 12.57. At 14.00 we can leave Myrdal again so that we arrive back in Ustaoset before the sun sets.
We spend the night in a beautiful place in the middle of nature, near Ustaoset. The weather forecast indicates snow, but we think that it will not be too bad.
The next morning we know better!
We wake up in a white world, there is a good layer of snow in which only a few animal tracks are visible. We drive carefully to the main road to see that it has not (yet) been cleared of snow.
In Ustaoset we come to a slippery halt and park the car. We do some shopping at the local supermarket. They also have warm socks and spiked soles for under our shoes, which is handy in this weather.
We slither across the road – on the road I slithered into the parking lot earlier – there’s the station.
The train is slightly delayed, but this is neatly announced in Norwegian and English in the waiting area.
By train to Finse and beyond
From the book by The Bridge Builders I had created a romantic image of a steam train on a narrow track. Nothing is less true. At 12.14 pm, exactly as announced, 7 minutes late, a luxury electric train pulls into the station, the express train from Oslo to Bergen.
We get in and take a seat in the seats reserved for us. When the train leaves, there appears to be enough space to both sit by the window and enjoy the view over the Hardangervidda.
We see people walking along the way, apparently there are possibilities to spend the night between the stations.
The train stops at Finse station and a single passenger gets off. There is nothing to do here, the hotel is closed and there are no other facilities.
The train continues to Myrdal where we get off and have to wait an hour before a train can take us back to Ustaoset. We walk away from the station, into the snow.
The train departs again at exactly 2 pm.
On the way we look forward to the “bridge of Lauritz” from The Bridge Builders. But the train now has a route between Myrdal and Finse that goes almost all the way through tunnels.
After another stop in Finse we drive on to Ustaoset, with a stop in Haugastøl. The view remains breathtaking.
Camping on the Hardangervidda
The train arrives exactly on time at 2:57 pm, so we still have a good hour of daylight. We therefore drive further up the Handangervidda plateau. We leave the first selected camping spot for what it is, after a few tens of meters I get stuck in a snow dune on the side road.
Further on is a parking lot that I can drive to, because of the snow.
The night is cold and bleak because of the strong wind that is there. According to the weather forecast, snow will fall all night.
in the background the main road marked out with snow poles
Fortunately, the next morning it turns out that the amount of snow is not too bad. The only inconvenience is that our water system is frozen, but luckily we still have a 5-litre bottle of water in the car.
Onward to Bergen
The further we drive in the direction of Bergen, the less snow there is on the road. Precipitation turns to rain and the sun comes through.
