Crossing mountains

• bentehaarstad

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Last monday I crossed a couple of mountains, going to the coast. I was suddenly going to be a student again, and was travelling 520 km to go to Volda, a very small town with a very good school in media, communication and photography. It was a long journey, travelling in the cold of January and with a flu. But I had never been to the last part of the trip, and as always, it is interesting to travel. Above some sheep around the village of Vågå.

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The mountain village of Lom was one of the interesting places on my way. I just did a very small stop, by the old stave church, I’ll probably be back on that one.

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The roads crossing two of these mountains had been closed because of bad weather just a couple of days before I started, so I was a bit excited. But the roads were open, and the weather was quite ok. There were so few cars to see, definitely no queue in this place, that is Strynefjellet.

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85 thoughts on “Crossing mountains”

  2. It looks so cold and barren! Beautiful photos, just the same. I like the classic look of the tall farmhouses with the sheep outside. At least they have warm coats on. I hope those houses have good insulation. How do they heat them? I see a couple of chimneys, but surely there must be something other than wood for the three floors?

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    1. Old houses may have goog insulation if they are renovated. I think most people in old houses use a lot of firewood. I do, because it’s the only thing that really heats a house. Plus some electricity. In moderne houses or renovated houses a heat pump has now become very popular. By the way, really old, farm houses often have an oven in every room, and they have many rooms. Thanks, Anneli.

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  6. it’s so stark yet beautiful and such a contrast to where i am on the equator; the magic carpet might be bursting out of the bodega doors in a few hours (upload has taken all day!) and i think we’ll dump an extra dose of flowers in your area! z

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  10. Lovely images.
    The diagonal fence in the third photo is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. That’s the beauty of sharing your images on the internet – we all get to see how the rest of the world lives. I, personally, learn something new every day.
    Thanks for sharing. I hope you’ll also share what you’ve learnt on your course.

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    1. These wood fences are of the old fashioned kind. Takes a lot of work to make them, so usually not used to fence cattle any more. No reindeers in the villages, David, only in the mountains. You might see some getting close far in the north, though, (closer to the North Pole), or in my district when the low lands start to get green and the mountains are still covered with snow. The reindeers get really hungry sometimes that time of the year. The same goes with predators, they usually kills sheep (and reindeers) when the are grazing in the mountains, but there are a few places were you can get bears or wolves close to the houses..

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  23. Yes, school to me is exciting. What temperatures do you get to enjoy during winter? We’re enjoying some crazy temperatures here. Today it will be a high of -8F, but it has been as low as -15F. Brrrrr! Great pix BTW!

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    1. Thanks, Plantgirl. I had to find a fahrenheit converter and it seems you have been experiencing 22-26 blow zero C. That is cold! We had that temperatures a lot the last two winters, but not as much this year, but this year much more wind, which also makes it very cold.

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  32. Such stunning scenery. These virtual journeys of yours Bente are fascinating! You take us ‘Crossing mountains’, like an expedition…. there’s such a sense of stark beauty – a land blanketed in blue light and white snow. The history and architecture of the traditional wooden buildings intrigues. Look forward to your next post.

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    1. Takk for kommentaren, Katarina. Stugorna er hva vi i Norge kaller seterhus, eller stølshus. Summer mountain farm, in english. Før i tiden, før kunstgjødsel og moderne landbruk, måtte bøndene dra med alle dyrene sine til fjells om sommeren, ellers ble det for lite mat. Gresset hjemme måtte de ha til vinteren. Så dette er slike hus, eller stugor..

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      1. JA, det är så himla fint. Önskar verkligen att jag kunde ta mig en tur i Norge och fota lite, eller i norra Sverige för den delen också. 🙂 A just det. De flyttade om sommaren med djuren. Spännande historia också. Bor folk kvar i byarna eller används de till något annat?

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      2. Hei ja. jo noen få bønder flytter med dyrere på setera om sommeren, men ikke mange. Noen seterhus brukes som fritidsbolig, noen i forbindelse med gjeting (det er flere rovdyr i Norge nå enn for 50-100 år siden), og noen seterhus råtner og blir borte. Håper du får deg noen fine fototurer både her og der!

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  46. Your architecture is so beautiful, Bente. In my country there is too little appreciation for beauty in the things we build. Cost trumps beauty most of the time. Beauty must come from rich and sensitive hearts. Wishing you well in your pursuit of knowledge!

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