We used to think that Iceland was the most photogenic country we had ever been to. But Norway has now taken over first place in that category! The gorgeous scenery just never stops. It's just simply beautiful here. In fact, someone mentioned the other day that I'm running out of descriptive terms to express what we're experiencing.
So we found ourselves in the town of Laerdal, and decided to take a relax day and just hang out. But of course for us that means we only did a short 6 km (3.7 mile) hike on a trail above the town!
Laerdal is not on the cruise ship circuit, so it's not quite so touristy. Which we like. Still, it's got a historical section that is pretty original with some homes and buildings dating back to the late 1700's.
It's also got a couple of nice waterfalls...
Imagine having this in your backyard.
Zoomed in.
We took the trail leading on the ridge above town, and we could have taken a branch that led us closer to the falls, but decided our legs still needed to recover from the workout the day before.
They grow apples in the valley here.
Scenery along the way.
Nice view of Laerdal.
Ruth, enjoying the view.
Along the ridge, we came to this shelter.
Norway has so little crime or vandalism. This shelter was wide open. No graffiti, no trash lying around. What is it about the culture in some countries (South Korea is another example) that prevents this type of behaviour? And why isn't it more prevalent?
I like this picture.
View from Laerdal.
From there, we went and walked around the old part of town...
The Hotel Lindstrom.
The property has several different buildings.
Another part of the Hotel Lindstrom.
Pretty church in Laerdal.
Calm evening.
We're moving on to see one of Norway's oldest stave churches today. Looking forward to seeing this part of their history!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SereneLife Padded
Zero Gravity Lounge Chair with Pillow and Cup Holder Tray. On sale, plus there is a $25 off coupon showing. All three colors, same deal.
And in Canada...
The views are so breathe taking it is easy to run out of descriptive words.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Yep, the scenery here in Norway is definitely an incredible sight to see!
DeleteIf I had to take a guess as to the reason for the lack of crime and vandalism there, I would think it is due to the lack of such a gap between the "haves" and "have nots" due to their system of government, taxation, and social safety-net programs. I think most crime is a result of people not having money, resources, or seeing any legal means to obtain the things they see the "haves" having. Whatever the reason, Norway is beautiful, and I love seeing your photos, since it's unlikely I'll ever get there. I do love that one photo of Ruth looking pensive while checking out that gorgeous view!
ReplyDeleteThat could possibly be a reason, someone else had mentioned that the low crime rate is related to the low drug use, which also could be a possibility. I tried looking up the reasons on the internet and it mentioned the culture and that Norway had a small population. One thing that we have noticed is that there is a lot of things to keep young people busy because I think it is mostly young people that do the graffiti, I am talking of tagging not street art, which we considered to be totally different providing that is done with permission. They have lots of skate board parks and the majority of Norwegians love the outdoors, so they are hiking, biking, skiing, playing football (soccer) and hockey in the winter. Whatever the answer is, we love the fact that we see little graffiti or other types of vandalism here.
DeleteKevin likes that photo too, it certainly is a pretty one of the scenery.