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Balestrand

This pleasant fjordside village (pop. 1,850) is away from the Norway in a Nutshell crowd. From here you can side-trip to nearby Fjærland (a.k.a. "Mundal") and the awesome Jostedal glacier. Consider this worthwhile detour to the typical fjord visit — so you can dig deeper into the Sognefjord, just like the glaciers did during the last Ice Age.

Orientation

Most travelers arrive in Balestrand via the express boat from Bergen or Flåm. The tidy harbor area has a TI, two small grocery stores (Co-op and Spar), a couple of galleries, a town museum, and a small aquarium devoted to marine life found in the fjord. The historic, wooden Kvikne's Hotel and its modern addition dominate Balestrand's waterfront. The town has outdoor activities for everyone, from easy to strenuous mountain hikes and mostly flat bike rides.

Tourist Information: At the TI, located next to the Spar grocery at the harbor, pick up the free, helpful Balestrand Map. If you're planning on a longer hike, consider buying the good 70-kr hiking map. The TI has numerous brochures about the Sognefjord area and detailed information on the more challenging hikes. It offers Internet access, rents bikes (30 kr/hr, 75 kr/half-day, 140 kr/day), sells day-trip excursions to the glacier, and more (late-June–Aug Mon–Sat 7:30–18:00, Sun 10:00–15:00, shorter hours in spring and fall, closed Sept–April, tel. 57 69 12 55).

Sights — Balestrand

Town Walking Tour — Follow the self-guided town walking tour described in the Outdoor Activities in Balestrand brochure (free at the TI or your hotel; 20 min to an hour one-way, depending on your pace and how many stops you make). You'll stroll along a lightly traveled paved road punctuated with benches (some with great fjord views) — perfect for a break or picnic. Most sights are signposted in English.

The "old road" — once the main road from the harbor — follows along the fjord's edge, passing numerous "villas" from the late 1800s. These were built in the popular Swiss style of the period by locals attempting to introduce a dose of Romanticism into Norwegian architecture. Look for the dragons' heads (copied from Viking-age stave churches) decorating the gables. Along the walk, you'll see two burial mounds from the Viking age, marked by a ponderous statue of a Viking king. Check out the wooden shelters for the postboxes; some give the elevation (m.o.h. stands for "meters over havet" — the sea — not too high, are they?).

If you'd prefer to see the town with a local guide, contact Bjørg Bjøberg at the Golden House (500 kr/1-2 hrs, tel. 91 56 28 42, see listing below).

St. Olaf's Church — This distinctive wooden church was built in 1897 by the wife of Knut Kvikne (of the Kvikne's Hotel family). This devout Englishwoman wanted a church in Balestrand where English services were held...and indeed they still are, by British clergy in summer (free, open daily, services in English every Sun late May–Aug).

The Golden House (Det Gylne Hus) — This golden-colored house, at the corner of the waterfront scene (left from the boat dock), houses an array of diversions and a good restaurant. A local watercolorist and historian, Bjørg Bjøberg, and her husband, Arthur Adamson, rescued this fine old building and are turning it into a time capsule of Balestrand's past. On the ground floor, you'll find Bjørg's gallery, with watercolors celebrating the beauty of Norway. Upstairs is a free exhibit of historical artifacts from the town. What began as an informal collection of old general-store items found in the attic was gradually added on to by locals wanting to preserve treasures from their own families' past — making this an organically-grown town heritage museum (free entry, May-Aug daily 10:00–22:00, slightly shorter hours late April and Sept, closed Oct-mid-April — but call ahead and they might be able to let you in, tel. 91 56 28 42.) If you're intrigued by the Golden House, note that you can also hire Bjørg to take you on a guided town walk, or pay 20 kr to watch her film about art, life, and nature (shown in a little room hidden upstairs, in the middle of the exhibit).

Aquarium — The tiny aquarium gives you a good look at marine life in the Sognefjord. There are no English descriptions in the exhibit, but you can borrow an English brochure at the front desk. While not thrilling, the well-explained place is a decent rainy-day option. A 15-minute slideshow starts at the top of each hour. At the end, enjoy the wood-carvings depicting traditional everyday life in the fjordside village of Munken (70 kr, mid-June–mid-Aug daily 9:00–23:30, early June and late Aug daily 10:00–17:00, closed Sept-May, tel. 57 69 13 03). Be sure to check out the tanks on the dock outside, which are sometimes filled with live fish. You can fill your tank at Café Fløyfisken, the aquarium's cheery restaurant.

Biking — You can cycle around town, or go farther by circling the little but extremely scenic Esefjord (north of town, en route to the ferry landing at Dragsvik — about 6 miles each way). The roads here are relatively flat. Bike rentals are available from the TI and, for guests, at some hotels.

Kayaking - Moreld offers three-hour tours for 390 kr, departing Balestrand daily at 9:00 and 13:00 (tel. 40 46 71 00, mobile 97 19 57 40, info@moreld.net).

Sights near Balestrand

Hopperstad Stave Church (Hopperstad Stavkyrkje) — The most accessible stave church in the area is located just a 15-minute express-boat ride across the Sognefjord, in the town of Vik. Hopperstad Stave Church boasts an extremely scenic exterior, with several tiers of dragon heads overlooking rolling fields between fjord cliffs. The interior is notable for its emptiness — in a good way. Instead of being crammed full of later additions, the church is blissfully uncluttered, as it was when they built it in the mid-12th century (45 kr, good 29-kr color booklet in English, daily mid-June–mid-Aug 9:00–19:00, mid-May–mid-June and mid-Aug–mid-Sept 10:00–17:00, tel. 57 69 52 70).

The church is located a gradually uphill 20-minute walk from Vik's harbor. From the boat landing, walk up the main street from the harbor about 200 yards (past the TI, a grocery store, and hotel). Take a right at the sign for Hopperstad Stavkyrkje, walk 10 minutes, and you'll see the church perched on a small hill in the distance.

To get there, pedestrians can hitch a ride on the express passenger boat between Balestrand and Vik (64 kr one-way, 15 min). The only way to get to the church and back in one day (only possible Mon-Sat) is to take the 7:50 departure from Balestrand, then return on the 11:30 departure from Vik, arriving back in Balestrand at 11:50 — just in time to join a 12:00 glacier excursion (described below). Since cars can't go on this express boat, drivers must go around the small Esefjord to the town of Dragsvik, then catch the ferry across the Sognefjord to Vangsnes (a 20-min drive from Vik and the church).

Glacier Excursions — Balestrand is a fine jumping-off point for cruising up the Fjærlandsfjord to visit the Norwegian Glacier Museum in Fjærland and the dramatic Jostedal Glacier (Jostedalbreen) itself. Half-day and full-day excursions are sold by Balestrand's TI or on board the boat (daily May-Sept only; for details, see www.fjord1.no).

If you do the full-day excursion (480 kr), you'll depart Balestrand by boat at 8:05 and take a 90-minute fjord cruise along Fjærlandsfjord. You'll see the Jostedal Glacier in the distance, perched atop the mountains. Once you reach the town of Fjærland (whose boat dock is called "Mundal"), a bus meets the boat and takes you to the informative Norwegian Glacier Museum (Norsk Bremuseum), where you'll have about an hour and a half of free time. You'll learn how glaciers were formed, experiment with your own hunk of glacier, weigh evidence of the woolly mammoth's existence in Norway, and learn about the effect of global climate change on the fjords (110 kr, included in excursion price, daily June–Aug 9:00–19:00, April–May and Sept–Oct 10:00–16:00, Nov–March on request, tel. 57 69 32 88, www.bre.museum.no). After the museum, a bus takes you to a nearby arm of the glacier, stopping twice at two different places for a closer look; at one stop (Bøyabreen), you'll have about an hour to poke around.

Both full- and half-day excursions return at 16:55 — in time to allow you to catch the last express boat from Balestrand to Bergen.

Sleeping in Balestrand

Balestrand

$$$ Kvikne's Hotel, is the classy grande dame of Balestrand, dominating the town and packed with tour groups. The picturesque wooden hotel, which put Balestrand on the tourist map in the late 19th century, is still run by the fifth generation of the Kvikne family. Today the hotel's 190 rooms feel past their prime, but the public spaces are rustically grand. The hotel has two parts: the historic wooden section, with 17 slightly worn rooms (most with balconies) and no elevator (Sb-1,320, bigger "demi-suite" Sb-1,545 kr, Db-2,140 kr, bigger "demi-suite" Db-2,590 kr); and the modern annex, with an elevator and modern, nicer rooms but less charm (non-view Sb-1,045 kr, view Sb-1,220 kr, non-view Db-1,590 kr, view Db-1,940 kr; all rates include breakfast, mostly non-smoking, free Wi-Fi, family rooms available, likely closed Oct-April, tel. 57 69 42 00, fax 57 69 42 01, www.kviknes.no, booking@kviknes.no). The main draw here is the store koldt bord buffet dinner — open to non-guests, and a nice way to soak in the hotel's old-time elegance without splurging on an overnight (415 kr per person, or cheaper if you stay at the hotel for 2 or more nights).

$$ Balestrand Hotel, family-run by Unni-Marie Kvikne, her California-born husband Eric Palmer, and their three children, is your best fjordside home. Open late May through early September, this cozy, welcoming place has 30 well-appointed, comfortable, quiet rooms; a large, modern common area with lots of English paperbacks; balconies (in some rooms) and outdoor benches for soaking in the scenery; and Internet and laundry service available for extra (plus free Wi-Fi in some rooms). When reserving, let them know your arrival time, and they'll pick you up at the ferry (non-view Sb-590 kr, view Sb–670 kr, non-view Db-840 kr, view Db–990 kr, includes breakfast, 5-min walk from dock, past St. Olaf's church — or free pick-up, tel. 57 69 11 38, www.balestrand.com, info@balestrand.com).

$$ Kringsjå Hotell, a camp school for sixth-graders, rents beds and rooms to budget travelers mid-June to mid-August (bunk in 4-bed dorm-260 kr, Sb-700 kr, Db-870 kr, extra bed-120 kr, includes breakfast, sheets/towels-50 kr, cash only, tel. 57 69 13 03, www.kringsja.no, kringsja@kringsja.no).

Eating in Balestrand

Kvikne's Hotel offers a splendid, spendy store koldt bord buffet dinner in a stately old dining room. You'll feel like a well-to-do aristocrat who missed the Titanic. For a memorable fjordside smörgåsbord experience, it doesn't get any better than this. Take your time. Get a new plate with each course and save room for dessert. Consider taking a preview tour before you dive in so you can budget your stomach space (415 kr per person, four-course dinner for 500–600 kr, May–Sept daily 19:00–21:00, closed Oct–April). After dinner, head into the rich lounge to pick up your (included) cup of coffee or tea, which you'll sip sitting on classy old-fashioned furniture and basking in fjord views.

Café Galleri, inside the Golden House at the harbor, dishes up Norwegian home cooking with indoor and outdoor seating. The rustic-meets-modern upstairs is actually inside a wing of the Golden House's town history exhibit. They serve 30-100-kr light meals (sandwiches, cakes, and more) throughout the day, and pricier meals (120-220-kr grilled meats and fish) after 15:00 (open mid-April–mid-Sept daily 11:00–21:00, closed off-season, tel. 57 69 12 00).

Café Fløfisken, ("Dragonfish"), the informal café at the aquarium, serves sandwiches for lunch (30–80 kr) and seafood and land food dinners (100–150 kr). In good weather, skip the indoor seating and head for the outdoor tables, staring right up the gut of the spectacular Eselfjord (mid-June–mid-Aug daily 9:00–23:30, early June and late Aug daily 10:00–17:00, closed Sept-May, right at the dock by the aquarium, tel. 57 69 13 03).

Gekkens is an informal summer restaurant serving grilled meat, fish, and vegetarian dishes, along with burgers, fish-and-chips, and other fried fare. Sit in the simply decorated interior, or out on the shaded little terrace (light dishes-60-100 kr, bigger meals-90–170 kr, June–Aug daily 12:00–22:00, closed Sept–May, above and behind the TI from the harbor, tel. 57 69 15 41).

Bistro Balholm, in the lobby of Kvikne's Hotel, is essentially a pub, but has a pleasant atmosphere and reasonable prices (lunch — sandwiches, soup, salads, and hot dishes for 60–200 kr; dinner — pasta, meat, or fish dishes for 180–250 kr; May-Sept daily 12:00–22:00, closed Oct-April).

Transportation Connections — Balestrand

Balestrand is connected to the rest of Norway via the Fylkesbaatane express boat (buy tickets on boat or at TI, discounts for students, seniors, and couples, tel. 55 90 70 70, www.fjord1.no)

From Bergen to Balestrand takes four hours (440 kr, departs Bergen May–Sept daily at 8:00, also Mon–Fri at 16:30, Sat at 14:15, some Sun at 16:30 — but not mid-June–late Aug; Oct–April Mon–Fri at 8:00, Sun–Fri at 16:30, Sat at 14:15; departs Balestrand May–Sept daily at 16:55, Mon–Sat also at 7:50, some Sun at 11:30 — but not mid-June–late Aug; Oct–April Mon–Sat at 7:50, Sun at 15:55). In summer, the 8:00 boat from Bergen continues to Flåm.

From Flåm to Balestrand takes about 1.5 hours (210 kr, departs Flåm May–Sept daily at 15:30, stops at Aurland, arrives in Balestrand at 16:55; second boat sometimes runs from Flåm Mon–Fri at 6:00, arrives Balestrand at 8:00; departs Balestrand daily at 11:50; a different boat departs Balestrand Mon–Fri at 8:30 in July-early Aug; no express boats between Flåm–Balestrand Oct–April).

From Oslo, you can take an early train to Flåm (no later than the 8:11 train as part of the Norway in a Nutshell route), then catch the 15:30 express boat to Balestrand. After your visit, you can continue on the express boat to Bergen, or return to the Nutshell route by taking the express boat to Midtfjord, and transferring to the next boat to Gudvangen (June-Aug only, otherwise transfer in Flåm).