Romsdal











...(rooms´däl&180;en) , valley, c.60 mi (100 km) long, in Møre og Romsdal co., SW Norway, flanked by the mountains of Dovrefjell. It is an ancient passage from the western coast to S Norway, and is connected with the Gudoransdal by a pass. A force of Scottish mercenaries who sought to join Gustavus II of Sweden during the Kalmar War was almost entirely massacred at Kringen, in the pass, by Norwegian peasants. Many jagged peaks, including Vinjatindane, Trolltindan, and Romsdalshorn, line the valley; their unusual outlines have given rise to many legends. The Rauma River (35 mi/56 km long) descends in several cataracts through Romsdalen to Romsdalfjord, an arm of Moldefjord...







Before entering to Åndalsnes from the inland, you will arrive to a valley with at least dozen of cascading waterfalls. One of them is pretty close to the highway and I took a photo of the lower portion of it. The weeds in the picture is infact trees..



The impressive peak is commonly by the even more impressive Trollveggen, with more than 1800 meters high vertical mountainside is hard realize, unless you zoom in with camera.
At the water front the weather was lousy, low clouds of heavy rain....
But as the sun broke through it gave pretty interesting shades of light...

A bridge across the river and you will find this inn.
A pair of giant boulders next the highway and railroad.
Back at the fjord, the gray shades proved to make yet interesting photos.






A look at a typical view of Norway, pasture for the cattle, waterfalls from a giant mountain walls. And during late May or early June, the vivid green of the grass and the snowy caps of the mountains makes a stark constrast and gives you an impresion of seeing three seasons at once. From winter at the snowy caps to the summer deep down in the valley.
One of the coolest things of photographing is that the fact that a step or two can change the image. The picture here is unmodifies except that I removed clare caused y raindrops. The ray of light was just pure dumb luck as there was suddently a small beam of sunlight.


Though the scenery is overwhelming, yet you can see a lot of scenic detail as this busstop shelter that has been beaten by the weather conditions, The small hill behind it is actually a boulder that has fallen from the mountains. Natures own bombardment has resluted in very interesting landformations that gives the scenery even more variation..

Near Verma

Romsdalen and the river of Rauma offers a lot of nice scenes that is easy to pass. One of them is a small hamlet of Verma, famous for the Kyllingbron, a railroad bridge and the double looping railroad. I have covered those sites and allways after returning home I wondered how the opposite side has to offer. This not the very best shot, but I like the contrast between the dark edges and the more lighted middle section.
The only road I found at Verma crossing the river was this located deep down in the valley.
Rich on huge water falls!








Take a look at this, it is only one of several big falls in a just one valley. The vegetation you see is not moss, actually it is trees and many of these are some 800 meters or more high! At this spot at the E66, you can easily see 8 waterfalls .






Verma

At Verma is the location of the famous railroad bridge and double loop. The valley is getting even steeper the more west the raging river travels. The small hamlet is devided by the river and the pasture used by the cattle.
The center of Verma today is actually the country general store that is also a gas station and a bus stop.



The rural Norway, just a bit from the more tourist frequented highways offers views that is more like a time machine to the times when the life was a struggle, no convience shops, no highways or railroads to the world outside.
The shapes of mountain in twilight and during the light nights of June gives nice silouettes..

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(Dombås) (From Vågå to Raumadal)
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Copyright © 2005 Olavi Ahokas