Will there be ice on the road?

We get up in the morning – and it is a dull morning with a bit of rain and the temperature is pretty low. Usually it wouldn’t be a big problem with the cold weather – it is just a question of putting on the jumper which seems to be in frequent use in Norway. But today we have to head across the same mountain we went across yesterday. When we reached the top yesterday the temperature on the top was around 10 so there was no risk of ice on the road.

But this morning the temperature is just under 10 in the valley and we have to go up the mountain expecting much lower temperatures on the top. If we are unlucky the temperature will drop down to or below freezing. And the road on the mountain had several hairpins and other sharp turns. Some of these turns were on sections of the road which had pretty steep ascent and decent.

We start driving up the hill – and it is pretty up here again today. The road is a bit strange since it has been wet and the water is evaporating making it look like fog just above the road. Fortunately the fog isn’t thick so we can see clearly on the way up. The temperature keeps falling and when we are about 400 meters below the top of the mountain the temperature has dropped to 4 degrees. This makes me fear the temperature will drop to 0 at the top and there might be spots of ice on the road making it dangerous to drive down on the other side of the mountain.

Much to my surprise the temperature kept hovering around 4 degrees until we reach the top of the mountain and there was no ice on the road – which was fortunate so we didn’t drive off the road on a slippery turn.

Without the ice on the road it was a pretty enjoyable drive up and down the mountain and we enjoy the view along the road.

When we get down to the valley we head in to have a quick look at one of the famous stave churches of Norway. The Hopperstad stave church is a beautiful ancient wooden church dating back to the 12^th century.

After a quick visit to the church we drive along Sognefjorden to the ferry we also caught yesterday. But today we will actually continue our trip north and not return to the southern side of Sognefjorden.

We don’t have to wait long for the ferry and the ferry ride across the fjord is very pretty. The ferry actually has a stop on the way across to our destination. When we get to the stop we have to drive out of the ferry and turn around and get back onboard the ferry. It only takes a few minutes and then we continue across another part of Sognefjorden to our destination. It is a very short sail for the last bit only around 10 minutes. We drive out of the ferry and can continue to drive north.