Along the tourist route…
Places visited:
| Place | Distance | Municipality | Location |
| Briksdalsbreen glacier | 6,7km (total) | Stryn | GPX |
Briksdalsbreen is a part of Jostedalsbreen glacier (the largest in Norway) and is located within the Jostedalsbreen National Park. Briksdalsbreen is one of the most popular tourist attractions in western Norway, but is no longer what it used to be – literally. A few years ago, the lower part of the icefall broke off.
This weekend, Anne and I were staying with our friends Cathrine and Lars in a rented cabin at Melkevoll Bretun in Oldedalen. We had climbed the Via Ferrata in Loen earlier in the day, so we could be “just tourists” in the afternoon with a good conscience.
The walk up Briksdalen takes less than an hour and is approx. 3,5km. Tourists can either walk or catch a ride on one of the Troll cars. Earlier, horses were used but after a tragic accident some years ago, the cars took over.
There are now short-cuts so tourists on foot don’t have to follow the road all the way. The area around the waterfall in the lower part of the valley is stunning!
My girlfriend Anne is a Field Inspector in the National Park, and we were up here the day before and fixed a fence which had given in for the strong valley winds. At least, it was a temporary fix. When we returned on this afternoon, half the fence was standing, the rest had fallen over again.
The puporse of the fence isn’t to annoy the tourists. When you’ve seen the rockfall (as we did on this afternoon), you’ll immediately understand and respect this boundary. It is not forbidden by law to continue closer to the glacier, but it’s plain stupid. If you’re lucky enough to avoid rockfall, then you have to rely on that the glacier isn’t dropping a ton of ice right there and then…
Cathrine and Lars could now “check” this popular destination and we returned to our cabin for a very nice (and earned) meal and have an enjoyable evening in stunning surroundings. Melkevoll Bretun is one of the most spectactular places I’ve spent a night in…
Pictures from May 6th:
Pictures from May 5th (Anne and I):
A penfriend has a property near here and often sends me photos, but your photos give another view of this stunning part of Norway.
Thank you very much! I’ll keep the pics coming 😉
Excellent. You should post a link to one of your posts for the photography challenge I am currently hosting with another blogger.