Up in Smoke

Whilst the others slept on, I was up and about doing some washing and experiencing 4 seasons of weather in an hour. Another stunning location for breakfast on the banks of Geirangerfjord. 

It was a bit chilly, but nothing compared to those teams who had chosen to venture up to the frozen north. Not a lot above freezing at the Arctic Circle by all accounts. 

We were on the road before 11am, winding up the famous Trollstigen Road. The views were just getting better and better. 

Again we found snow on the ground (and rain in the air) at the top. 

Alesund was apparently burnt to the ground in 1904 and rebuilt in the Art Deco style of the time. It's a pretty town. Their big celebration in the town is on Midsummer. What a stroke of luck ! Alright, I knew about this before we arrived. 

For the last few weeks, a bunch of avid Norwegian arsonists have been hording wooden pallets, nailing them together in a big pile. They do this every year for the amusement of the Alesund population. In 2011 they managed to achieve 40 metres. This years was a smaller, but still impressive 32 metres. 

I had a quick wife related errand to complete before the lunatic arsonists got down to the evening's business, a drive to Molde airport to meet her Jo off her flight. 

We arrived back to find the others hob knobbing. The mayor, a nice chap called Paul, had invited them in to his fishing house to watch the festivities from the balcony. He was grateful for what the British had done for Norway in the War apparently. 

4 ape-like lunatics without harnesses were hanging off the top of the tower taking selfies on their phones. If this wasn't enough to make a Health and Safety Inspector start sweating, then when they lit a large barrel of something flammable on the top then scrambled down as fast as possible, he would have been gibbering. 

The party at the base continued without batting an eyelid. Some raucous Norwegian singing and drinking was going on and no poxy smouldering bonfire was going to put them off. In fact the base of the fire made a convenient urinal as the beer flowed. Falling cinders and lumps of burning wood falling around their ears was a minor irritation. 

Families and children slowly started to drift away from the party as the lower tiers caught. 

"Most years it falls over" we were cheerfully informed, "they often jump in to the water to escape". I think that Health and Safety Inspector would have succumbed to the inevitable heart attack by now. 

It finally crashed in to the water, narrowly missing several foolhardy boat owners who had claimed ringside seats. 

1am, with darkness not arrived, we said farewell to the very hospitable mayor and headed back to the campsite. Another excellent day in Norway.