Ålesund, Norway: Part 4 - Day 4 and 5: Tafjord, Trollstigen Visitor Center

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4 and 5

6/7 Day 4: Drive to Tafjord and Trollstigen Visitor Center

7/7 Day 5: Flight back to Stockholm

Costs
(1) Petrol 18,46 liter at NOK28,69 per liter - NOK381 (SEK370,66)

Food
(1) Coffee break at Tafjordcafe - Coffee with refill NOK35 (SEK33,97), Cheese cake NOK60 (SEK58,23)
(2) Whale sausage at Trollstigen visitor center NOK149 (SEK144,59)
(3) Salami burger at Gategrill, Sylte town NOK99 (SEK96,07)

(4) Coffee at airport NOK39 (SEK37,84)

The Story

06072025 - Today, we enjoyed our breakfast slowly as we had no fixed plans and time to accommodate. It is a day for a roadtrip. I had my brown cheese and two eggs. It is so filling! It helps too that I had oats with yoghurt. I was not even hungry during lunchtime. Well, I finished my breakfast by 9.30am so it is not surprising I was not hungry during lunch.

We started our drive towards Tafjord at 10am. My friend wanted to see another fjord. We stopped at Stordal for a break for 20 minutes. She had coffee and I enjoyed the view. A lovely day today.

Beautiful views along the way. We stopped at a dedicated spot along the highway to take photos. 

We reached Tafjord at 1pm and was unsure where were the viewpoints to see the fjord. We drove past the camping site and further in. There were no views. No other cars too. We passed a pair of cyclists. Finally, we decided to turn around when we saw on the map that we were driving around the fjord. We did not want to go to the other side of the fjord. The Internet connection was weak too. We guessed that Tafjord viewpoint was at the camping site. We drove back towards the camping site and stopped at a cafe. Lovely brewed coffee and cheesecake! And what a view with a sauna there too. 

A tragedy occurred in Tafjord in 1934 and photos of the event were hung in the cafe. A memorial stone with the victims' names carved on it was set up near the cafe. 

From Fjord: A mountain area called Langhammaren had fallen down from 730 meters above sea level, pushing a large scree called Heggurda in front of it downwards and into the fjord. In all 3 million cubic meters of rock went into the fjord, creating a wave which reached 63.5 meters height on its highest, and then split into one tsunami moving inwards and another tsunami moving outwards the fjord.

In the darkness people were confused, but after a while large waves of sea water flowed with tremendous force inwards land in Tafjord and Fjørå. Three waves occurred, of which the last was the largest. It has been estimated that the last wave reached Tafjord with the speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

The cafe offers Thai massages too. I am sure the campers who cycled and hiked appreciate these services.

The view in front of the cafe.

Satisfied, we continued our drive towards Trollstigen Visitor Center. I read that this is a must-see place. It is definitely a must-see place! There are two routes towards the Visitor Center and the northen route was closed due to rockslides and were expected to open a week later. Fortunately, there is the southern route which we took. Although we did not get to drive the zigzag route which was the northern part, I am very happy to see it from above. I think I will be too stressed to drive the zigzag route.

The drive on the southern route was scenic. We were surrounded by mountains during the last 6km from the Visitor Center. We stopped at a spot where other cars did too, which is about 1km from the Visitor Center. It would have been nice to be able to hike as the view was breathtaking. 

Clearly marked hiking trails.

At 3.30pm, we reached Trollstigen Visitor Center. Happy that there are toilets here. There is a cafe in the Visitor Center too. I did not go inside the souvenir shop. 

We walked along the dedicated bridge towards the viewpoint.

WOW! Look at the valley between the mountains. 

I was scared when I stood here looking down. I think the platform's handrail could be built higher. But my friend was not scared. I think I would not have been scared if it was not a transparent glass.

We took a short hike. It is a 1km hike but I turned back before I reached 1km as it started to rain and I don't have my rain jacket. I was not mentally prepared for a hike in the rain. 

My friend hiked further and I gestured to her that I am going down. She was way too front to hear me.

The Visitor Centre with the mountains in the background.

I got the whale sausage from the Visitor Center. The staff told me that whaling is legal in Norway. Quick research describes that whaling is only for minke whales. The whale sausage is mixed with pork for the fat. 

View from inside the Visitor Center while my friend was having her tea.

We drove back and stopped at Sylte town to have dinner. I saw the menu and pointed towards Mørburger. It turned out to be salami burger when I got it. The girls at the counter could not explain it in English. One of them said that it is small round meat. I said ok, it is fine with me.

07072025 - Today, we leave Ålesund. We checked out and got packed breakfast as we will miss it. We returned the car at the airport. I had bad coffee from Point shop in the airport. It was from a machine. Totally not recommended. Bitter! 

I was allocated a window seat in the flight and I got to see the bridges connecting the islands as well as the mountains surrounding the waters. Majestic!

I am happy with the trip. Weather was favourable. Drive went well. There were no damages to the car. It boosted my self-confidence. Total driving distance was 443km. I got to hang out with my friend and hopefully strengthened our friendship. 

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Here are the list of places I went. You can click on the link and be directed to the posts immediately. 

Day 1 - Arrival in Ålesund. Åksla viewpoint.

Day 2 - Sukkertoppen. Old town. 

Day 3 - Geirangerfjord ferry ride.

Day 4 - Tafjord. Trollstigen visitor center. This post.

Day 5 - Return to Stockholm. This post.

I have mentioned some of my expenses in each post and I did have other expenses which are not illustrated in the respective posts. For total and different category of expenses, I will sum it here.  

1) Transport - Flight ticket SEK3327
2) Accommodation - SEK2367,50 per person

3) Car rental 4 days - SEK3302,05 per person consisting of car rental, insurance and extra driver SEK2960,50 per person, petrol SEK370,66, toll 8 times (NOK30 x 8 and include 25% tax = NOK300) SEK289,89, parking SEK22,54

4) Food - SEK1357 (my portion). 

5) Activity Geirangerfjord cruise and visitor center - SEK1923,48

Total cost for the trip SEK12.421,78 for 5 days.