

The second part is a 70mm movie called The Spirit of Norway. Names of Norwegian companies that helped sponsor this attraction are on the building façades. When you disembark from your boat, you find yourself in a dark Norwegian fishing village. Most of the ride is very dark, but at one point, there’s a big opening to the outside.ĭid you enjoy the ride? It may seem to have lacked any sort of cohesive theme, but it had one. And this is all a setup to a drop that takes you to a model of a North Sea oil platform on a cold drizzly night. And then it becomes a nature ride with polar bears. But then it turns into a fantasy ride with a three-headed troll. You might think this is a ride about Vikings, because that’s how it starts. Those who seek the spirit of Norway face peril and adventure-but more often find beauty and charm.” It turns out to be a mask.Ī voice with a distinct Norwegian accent intones, “You are not the first to pass this way, nor shall you be the last. As you slowly ascend, all you see is a single bright light ahead of you. It’s time to board a 16-foot-long langskip-a Viking boat with a dragon prow.Īfter you leave the load area, your boat enters a dark tunnel with a steep incline. If you think this mural provides a preview of what you’ll see on the attraction, you’re right. It includes Vikings, polar bears, an oil platform, and even a hidden troll. Your adventure is about to begin.Īs you wait to board the ride, admire the giant mural. The metamorphosis of these sediments were under high temperatures and high pressure (amphibolite).Enter the building at the back of Norway. The rock exposed in the picture below, is most likely gneiss, like most rock surfaces in this area of Norway. The collision created an area of metamorphic rock called the Caledonian fold belt. Here, the collision involved Laurentica and Baltica only. About 490-390 million years ago the Caledonian Orogeny happened due to the continents of Laurentica, Avalonia and Baltica colliding. These fascinating folds have formed under distinct circumstances. There were some rock faces that were simply spectacular, including this rock face pictured below in the Saltstraumen. I took mostly videos of this amazing wonder. Even though the image I showing below doesn’t express it, the adventure was incredible. When the current turns, there is a period when the strait is navigable. The height difference between the sea level and the fjord inside can be up to 1 meter. The current is created when the tide tries to fill Skjerstad Fjord. Before that, the area was different due to post-glacial rebound. Saltstraumen has existed for about two to three thousand years. Vortices known as whirlpools or maelstroms up to 10 meters in diameter and 5 meters in depth are formed when the current is at its strongest. Up to 400 million cubic meters of seawater forces its way through a 3-kilometer long and 150-metre wide strait every six hours. The Saltstraumen, (pictured below), has one of the strongest tidal currents in the world.

There, I booked arrangements to take a boat out to the Saltstaumen Maelstrom. On June 28th, 2018 I was in Bodo, Norway. Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge, WA.Damajagua River, Dominica Republic 2017.Grosser-Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland, 2017.Elbsandsteingebirge N.P., Germany, 2017.
