Leaving Geiranger

It’s time to leave the fjord and head to Oslo for an overnight stay and then on to Tallinn Estonia.

As the weather people predicted it’s raining today. Good for waterfalls and dry grass but not so good for tourists. Like me.

So I thought my trials and tribulations were over with travel in Norway but I was wrong. The only way to get to the bus stop for the next part of my trip was by taxi. Which was fine with me. And it ended up being a Tesla taxi! Even better. My driver on the way up the mountain, the same winding road I was on the other day, casualy mentions to be aware of moose and deer at my bus stop. They frequent the area where the bus stop is. Mind you it is raining pretty hard at the moment. So I ask if there is a bus shelter and he says no. And he says he can’t wait after he drops me off because he has another pickup. I don’t have an umbrella with me so we stop at a small tourist shop on the way. No umbrellas but they do have a plastic bag. Big enough for my head but nothing else! So we get to the “bus stop” (an intersection of 2 roads) and he says this is it. Now I’m looking around and I ask where? He points to the middle of the road and points, there! “The bus stops in the middle of the road when you wave at it”. I ask him are you sure. He replies, yes, I am sure. He then tells me that everyone asks the same question. Remember it’s raining and I only have a small plastic bag for protection. I immediately start thinking of carnivorous moose and deer. And wonder if any of his other passengers have ever been seen again!

Tesla taxi and the “bus stop”. The black spot next to the car.

Remember it’s still raining. He then proceeds to tell me to be aware of lightning! Remember the black spot next to the car he calls the bus stop. Maybe the last passenger? So while we are sitting there he gets a phone call saying that his other ride canceled. So no hurry to get back to town. Whew!!! He says he will wait. We are 30 minutes early and the  bus is 20 minutes late. That would have been 50 minutes in the rain and wind dodging lightning while fending off the moose and deer.

So I pay while we are waiting. 750 Krone ($92 US) for a 30 minute ride, flat rate! Yes Norway is very expensive. My bus trip for 8 hours cost 680 Krone. That cost wasn’t bad at all.

The bus finally shows up and he flashes his lights for it to stop. This is the second bus I see while we are waiting. How would I have known which one to try to stop? On the bus I have a seat reserved and after the person sitting in it gets up, I sit down. Top floor of the bus. View okay, there is a pillar blocking part of the view. Seat pretty comfortable. But then the person sitting in front of me reclines her seat. These are semi reclining seats. And her seat is now in my lap! I now know what a hamburger feels like between two slices of bread. If I recline my seat, which I don’t want to do, it becomes a domino effect and everyone in the same row has to recline their seat or become the other parts of a hamburger like cheese, lettuce, onions, etc. I’ve had more room on a bus in India crowded with people, chickens and small pigs! After about 3 hours of this, someone gets off and I move to another seat. No more hamburger feeling. Room to move and a better view. And the rest of the bus trip was fine.

One of the many rivers in Norway.