Hardangervidda National Park, Norway

After departing Rjukan, we made our way southwest on highway 37 for about 22 km (13.67 miles) to the Hardangervidda National Park Visitor Center.

Hardangervidda is the largest national park in Norway at 3.42 million acres. The Visitor Center is located right on the highway and overlooks Lake Møsvatn. The view below faces mostly west and a bit north. 

The Visitor Center features exhibits about wild reindeer including the story of Bella. She was equipped with a camera collar that gave scientists unique insights into the daily life of reindeer. The photo below is one view taken from Bella's neck.

A small theater is located in the Visitor Center where films about the national park, the nature of the area, and mountain foxes can we viewed. We watched a film about how locals from Rjukan helped sabotage Hitler's plans for the Vemork power station.

We left the Visitor Center to further explore this beautiful part of southern Norway. Along the way, we were treated to views of mountains, rivers, lakes, and free range sheep.

In the photo above, you can see that we were not the only motorhome navigating these winding, narrow roads. One or two ahead of us have taken advantage of a pullout (or lay-by).

Huge, dramatic mountains provide the perfect backdrop for this lovely little church. 

The sheep did not seem surprised by passing vehicles. Some even napped on the shoulder (or the verge). The photo above shows that the road is basically one-lane with pullouts. We kept a lookout as far ahead as possible for oncoming vehicles in case we needed to pull over. All drivers we encountered were patient.

Another example of just one of Norway's 450,000 lakes. The road climbs over the mountains and will take us to Stavanger, a harbor town on Norway's west coast. More about Stavanger in the next post!