Kev's Norway

This Norway place is a bit of 'awright I s'pose .
On our 2011 trip I had formed the opinion that Switzerland could not be surpassed for overall beauty and diversity of scenery , closely followed by Germany around the Bavaria region .
Sorry but those two have been pushed back to 4th , 5th and 6th places behind Norway in 1st , 2nd and 3rd spot .
The incredible proliferation of fjords with towering sheer cliff faces , lakes big and small , fast flowing rivers cascading over 250mt high cliffs in spectacular waterfalls , mountains still snow capped from the Winter dump all add up to a severe visual overload which unfortunately cannot be captured fully in all its grandeur on movie or still footages .
After encountering a few grotty days in Bergen with cloud and drizzle we have been blessed with what the locals are saying is their first taste of Summer so far this season , that's pretty good seeing as Autumn starts in 2 weeks . They have a bit of time to make up .
As alluded to by Litchy in the blog our Toyota Auris Hybrid car is not exactly what you would call limo size and with 2 bike boxes and 4 big panniers crammed in for good measure it doesn't quite fall into the " comfortable driving " category . Litchy's knees are just about to pop the windscreen out and I feel like Mr Bean squashed up against the steering wheel - but it is economical .
If you drive a car on the open road in Norway you will eventually come across the dreaded tunnel .
They range in length from 250mt to the world's longest road tunnel of 24.5km , and while most are wide enough with good lighting there are many which are poorly lit and very narrow - they are not nice  . Up ahead you see the Lights of a large truck and you know the wall of the tunnel is less than a metre away , concern mounts somewhat , and you tend to lean toward the one that is not travelling at 70kph toward you .
Their roads fall into the same category , only they contain switchbacks and heaps of them . The ultimate switchback challenge is encountering a tourist bus or semi trailer on a hairpin bend with about 1mt clearance between passing and a 50,000ft sheer drop - we normally conceded and entered a passing bay area , self preservation rates very highly .
A common practice in Norway is covering the entire roof in grass called "Torvtak " or turf roof .It is a method of keeping the log walls of the cabins straight with the downward weight of up to 250kg per m2 and also is a good insulator . Beats me how they mow it as we've seen buildings with grass and weeds up to a metre high .
If you happen to be a Gazillionaire with your own note printing machine you could probably live quite comfortably in Norway but mere peasants       ( what are us two ) tend to find it a trifle expensive and therefore the local Joker or Remi supermarket cops a frequent visit for our culinary delights .
On Tuesday we start the roundabout journey to Iceland which is supposed to have some 'awright scenery as well , but if it is to be in the same league as Norway it better be pretty damn good , here's hoping it is .