Norway and Denmark Day 6

Balestrand to Voss

Posted by brian on May 13, 2025 · 11 mins read

Let me share something about where I’m staying in Balestrand. It has the loudest seagulls I’ve ever heard anywhere. I don’t know if it’s everywhere around Balestrand, all around Norway, or maybe they’ve been hanging out at this hotel for generations upon generations. But there’s a group of them, and every now and then they’ll get real chatty, and its ear-piercing in a way our usual beach seagulls aren’t.

Related: it can be hit-or-miss whether a hotel room will have air conditioning in Norway, and other European countries I’ve visited. My hotel does not; nor did my Bergen hotel. With daytime temperatures in the high 50’s or low 60’s, it’s not that much of a problem, but it does mean my options in the evening are to either leave my patio door open and get some fresh air, or bake under the heavy duvet all night. I opted for the open door. And here’s where the birds enter the picture. All through the night they’d periodically have their loud, cawing conversations. Did I mention their calls are uniquely ear-piercing?

Long story short, I’m now on back-to-back nights of broken sleep.

Today is transfer day, where I make my way from Balestrand to Voss. See yesterday’s post for some of the planning that went into today. The tl;dr is I settled on a plan to take a 20 minute express ferry from Balestrand to Vik at 7:50am, wait there (somewhere) for 50 minutes, then catch bus 810 at 9am to Voss (Vossevangen), a ride of about an hour and a half. Oh look, here’s my ride now.

The image shows the interior of a Norled express ferry, featuring a clean and modern passenger cabin. The seating is arranged in rows with dark gray seats on the left and bright red seats on the right, all with armrests and tray tables. Overhead lights are integrated into the paneled ceiling, and large windows on both sides provide views of the surrounding water and landscape. Several screens display safety information, and emergency signage is visible near the exits. A few passengers are seated, some with jackets or hoods. A trash bin and a green backpack are positioned near the red seats. The overall environment appears comfortable and orderly.

The ferry was easy. Once I made it to Vik, though, I discovered a problem. There really wasn’t anywhere to hang out. I walked up the main street a bit. It’s a small town to begin with, and it was still too early for the restaurants to open. The Coop market was open, but that wouldn’t work. To kill time I walked back down to the pier to stare at the water. I glanced back at the road when I heard a vehicle and notice bus 810 rounding the corner towards the bus stop. It’s 30 minutes early! The hell? I fast-walk back to the stop with my luggage and chat with the bus driver. He confirms, yes, this is the bus to Voss. But it doesn’t go there yet. It goes down to Vangsnes (around 15 mins away), stops there, then comes back to Vik. Vangsnes is the terminus for two car ferry services. Since it’s chilly out and I’m bored, I ask if he’d mind if I ride along? No problem, he says, and I load my luggage into the storage area1 and take a seat on the empty bus.

Thirty minutes later we’re back where we started, and in the meantime I was treated to an essentially free fjords tour. We then depart Vik for Voss.

The image shows a roadside sign in a rural area with the text 'Voss 68', indicating that the town of Voss is 68 kilometers away. The sign is yellow with black text and mounted on two metal poles next to a narrow paved path. In the background, there are green fields, a few houses including a prominent red one with white trim, and a range of gently rolling hills with some snow visible on the distant peaks. The sky is overcast with heavy gray clouds, suggesting cool or damp weather. The photo appears to have been taken from inside a vehicle.

I don’t know what I expected, but I was completely floored by the middle part of this trip. It was still a winter wonderland, not a small amount of snow still on the ground. It felt like we had diverted to central Iceland, in the winter.

After the ~90 minute bus voyage I made it safely to the Scandic Voss hotel, thanked the driver, and lucked into an early room again – at 10:45am! It wasn’t free this time but I think the price was something like $20 to check in more than 5 hours early. I was so thankful to be able to get into the room; as jaw-dropping as the bus ride was, I was fighting the sleep headnods, and may have even dozed for a few minutes.

The room: The image shows a guest room in the Scandic Voss hotel, featuring a modern and minimalistic design. The room has two single beds placed side by side with white bedding and dark bed frames, with a remote control resting on one of the beds. Above the beds is a padded headboard and a wall-mounted rail with built-in lighting. The floor is light wood, and the walls include a green accent behind the beds. Near a large window with a view of the surrounding hills, there is a seating area with a blue cushioned bench, a small round table, and two brown armchairs. The room is well-lit with natural light and has a clean, contemporary feel.

The view from the room2: The image shows a view from a room at the Scandic Voss hotel, overlooking a street, a lake, and the surrounding landscape. In the foreground, there is a bus stop with a red and white bus parked nearby, along with a few pedestrians and a white car driving on the road. Across the street is a gas station with a red roof and several vehicles parked in its lot. Next to the gas station is a modern apartment building with balconies, and several parked cars line the area around it. In the background, a lake stretches across the scene with forested hills and scattered homes on the opposite shore. The view combines elements of urban and natural scenery, with clear weather and green, tree-covered hills.

The gray, overcast weather matched my mood. I wandered out to try to find a late lunch. I walked from one end of town to the other, peeking at menus, but not being interested in anything I saw. I ended up with a pretty mediocre tomato-basil-mozarella from the gas station across from the hotel, which I ate in the room.

I whittled away the afternoon in my room, then headed back out around 6. I ended up at Vossa Sushi, a small place on the other end of town that mainly caters to takeout customers but has three 2-tops for eat-ins. I ate in. The high rating on Google Maps seems justified. The pricing was… interesting. The shrimp tempura starter was $15. A 5 piece chicken gyoza was $18. A miso soup was $9. Nigiri, on the other hand, was right on par with what you’d pay in the States, maybe even a little cheaper. Go figure. I stuck with the fish.

After dinner the sun was out, which chased the chill in the air away, so I had a nice walk around town.

The image shows a peaceful cemetery in the town of Voss, Norway, on a clear, sunny day. The cemetery is well-maintained, with rows of small gravestones set in neatly trimmed grass and pathways. Large green trees provide shade throughout the area, and bushes line the foreground. In the background, there are residential buildings and a few people walking among the graves. Snow-capped mountains rise in the distance under a bright blue sky with wispy clouds, and the overall setting feels serene and scenic, blending natural beauty with a sense of quiet reverence.

Tonight I’ll try to sleep early. And this time, no seagulls!

  1. these inter-city buses in Norway, operated by Skyss, are proper charter buses like you’d have if you were going on a tour. Nice! ↩

  2. that’s the gas station where I bought my so-so lunch sandwich. They also had things like burgers and fries, cooked to order, but I was looking for something lighter. ↩

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