Day 46 - An Engineering Marvel

Day 46 Wednesday September 28

The last stop on our travels in Norway is the capital city, Oslo.

At the first break after leaving from Bergen, I requested Tushar and Sanjay if I could be the first car. They were kind enough to place their confidence in me and I grabbed the opportunity. Our guide, Sun, came in our car and we lead the convoy for almost 300 kms. It was a learning experience to steer and guide the group of cars.

I am running out of words to describe the breathtaking vistas that we are witnessing. Taking the scenic route towards Hardanger fjord, we had a photo stop at Voringfossen. The Vøringsfossen Waterfall has a free fall of 145 metres and a total fall of 182 metres and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Norway - and probably the most famous waterfall in the country. There is a path and a few viewpoints from where you can look and admire the scenery.

An engineering marvel that we saw on the way was the Vallavik tunnel. This one had a roundabout inside it. (incidentally it was the 156th tunnel on our trip) And the surprising part is that once we pass this tunnel we are on the Hardanger bridge and as soon as we cross the bridge we go into another tunnel that has one more roundabout inside. How awesome is that!!!!!

Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant called Golden House in Geilo.

We checked in to Hotel Grand, Oslo at 7.30 pm. The tiny parking garage in this hotel is two floors below the ground level. The entrance and the pathway going down is very steep and so narrow that once the car is in there is no space for any of the doors to open. It's like being in a roller coaster.

Dinner was at Jaipur restaurant on Karl Johans gate. The street names here end with the word 'gate'.

For the record:

Hotel Radisson Blu Bergen 9.15 am

Fuel 10.30 am 48 L NOK 1089.12 EUR 106.83

INR 184 per litre - 73 kms

Voringfossen waterfall 12.45 pm - 1.30 pm - 96 kms

Lunch at Golden House, Geilo 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm - 73 kms

Bio break 5.30 pm - 6.00 pm - 141 kms

Grand Hotel, Oslo 7.30 pm - 79 kms

Traveled today 462 kms

Total distance 13193 kms