Olden

Dee Steeley remarked that it looked cold in Norway.  It’s in the high 50’s nudging 60 and that’s about what the average is for a high temperature at this latitude during mid August.  That’s why Norwegians make those sweaters!

In Olden, one of the big geological features is the Briksdal Glacier.  We visited the economical way, by taking a city bus to the park.  Jan saw some concerns about where to find the bus.  It stops at the blue triangle, by the crosswalk in front of the berthed ship’s bow.  Only one ship can berth.  The others tender.  It isn’t marked bus.  It’s actually the sign for the crosswalk, but the bus stops there.  It’s just under 100 krone per couple and it is cheaper to buy the tickets in pairs.  The bus driver will radio back to get another bus if there are more passengers than will fit in one.  Also, when the ships are in port they send the bus to pick up the tourists early.  Then they send another bus for regular Norwegians on schedule.  The same was true at the Glacier.  The bus came about 30 minutes early and they sent two of them. 

Not an exciting picture, but some of our visitors want to know.  The bus shown here is one of the city buses.  They also have plain white ones.  It is on the opposite side from pickup because it just dropped us off.  That crosswalk sign is where they pick up cruise passengers that want to go to the glacier.  It's right near the crosswalk on the same side as the ships.

 

I think we waited about 20 minutes once we got off the ship before the bus picked us up.  At the glacier site we didn’t move at a glacial pace but we took our time.  We were in the troll car just before 11 and we were back at the bottom around 12:45.  The bus let us board at 1:15. 

 

Once at the park you can walk up to the glacier.  It’s probably about 1 3/4 of a mile and there is some incline.  Most of it is gentle.  Some of it is steep.  There is also a car that will shuttle people up.  They call it a troll car.  You can reserve those ahead of time online.  You pay when you arrive and they give you a break if you get the tickets for your entire group at once.  We took the troll car up but walked down.  Even if you take the troll car up you have to hike about ½ mile to the glacier face although you can see it from the drop point.  There are some wonderful vistas and features that make walking at least one of the directions worth it. 

 

Like most glaciers around the world the Briksdal is receding.  The amount it has shrunk is remarkable and alarming. 

 

This afternoon we are enjoying some sunshine, which is refreshing.