Solvorn

A family-run hotel in a fjordside village with a balcony overlooking the town, the fjord and apple and berry orchards and you have a pretty fantastic Norwegian travel experience. That's what we've had the pleasure of enjoying for the past two days. The village of Solvorn on the Lustrafjord. It's been pretty incredible.

After our 4-hour ferry ride from Bergen to Leikanger, we happened upon a bus that took us to an adjacent town where we picked up our rental car from a tiny auto garage slash Hertz rental agency. The guy was super nice and took the car through the car wash due to the large amount of seagull crap all over it. What happened next was an episode of travel stress most of us experience at one point or another on a family vacation. The kids were tired, I had to remember how to drive a stick, the roads were windy and narrow, the data on our phones wasn't working and we really didn't know where to go. The next town down the fjord was Songdal. We pulled over, found a place for pizza and tried to all calm down. It pretty much worked and we were able to get some laughs out of the experience. After our outdoor pizza lunch we walked to the grocery store, hit up a bank for some cash, then took to the road for Solvorn. It wasn't a long drive, but the windy, hilly roads and the intermittent dark tunnels did make for some interesting driving. We finally slid down the steep mountain road to our home away from home, the Eplet Bed and Apple Inn.

At the hotel we were greeted by a young girl with perfect English. We quickly found out why her English was spot on. She's from Minnesota - St. Olaf College - and is here working for awhile after having graduated with a degree in Norwegian. She showed us to our room, we settled in and relaxed.

Later on we had a picnic dinner on the deck from the food we'd purchased earlier. And of course some Norwegian beer. Then even later on Tricia and I took a hike through the woods and up the fjord a bit, running into a local guy who had just come down to the fjord for a dip. He seemed happy to talk to us.

The sun sets extremely late here, which means you can hang out and do stuff outside until nearly midnight. It also means sleeping is a bit of a challenge. Our curtains are not very thick and I woke up twice in the night because I think my body naturally thought the pale light of the evening was dawn. I should've done like Tricia and brought a sleeping mask. Didn't think I'd want it or need it.

Okay, then today. Today will be a day to remember. We drove up the west side of the fjord for a day of kayaking. We joined a group of four others and our guide Tom. Tom is originally from the Netherlands but has lived in Norway for about 15 years. One of our fellow kayaking couples was from Paris, the other from Belgium. It made for some fun conversations along the way.

The paddle was spectacular and the narration from Tom about Norway, its history, the geography, the politics, the culture was super fun. We paddled south on the fjord, seeing seals and porpoises along the way. The water was a turquoise blue and we were surrounded on both sides by rugged hillsides, small farms, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls and even the biggest icecap in continental Europe. Quite the scenery.

At the far end of our paddle, we pulled into shore and had a picnic lunch. Tom brought coffee for all of us. In all the experience was about six hours long and a real highlight of the trip so far. I'm super glad we did it.

Now I'm sitting in the hotel common room looking down on Solvorn and the fjord. An hour ago we had a simple dinner at the only cafe in town. The kids are chillin', Tricia's journaling and soon I plan to take a look around the parts of town I haven't seen yet.

Wow, what a time. What a place.