a stop at gudbrandsjuvet cafe and gorge

two of the most famous highlights of the splendid west coast of Norway are Geiranger and Trollstigen. both are popular tourist destinations for good reason. fortunately they are not far apart and along the road between them there is a fantastic lesser known pearl called Gudbrandsjuvet. a juv is a very narrow steep gorge, and this one is truly gorgeous.

there's a brilliant cafe there so it a perfect rest stop, have some coffee, stretch your legs for a good long while and enjoy the amazingly powerful
nature. so first, the coffee

nice and spacey inside. the glass walls give an impressive view and make the place seem light and open. a modern style of cozy, they still have a couple of wood stoves, we are after all in the mountains

if you have come this far you know it's going to be pricey. you just got to bite your teeth together,and hope you are getting quality coffee.

can't complain about the view. the cafe is placed immediately above where the already white rushing river plunges into the gorge

the coffee is from jacu, you know, like the bird. that's promising, it's good stuff but not genuine jacu bird coffee

www.jacu.no. it's a recently established Norwegian brand, based in Ålesund

we are here off-season so there's no crowd

of course there's a small shop involved selling locally produced goods

like raspberry vinegar

reindeer pelts

and fridge magnets. valldal is the name of the town.

now if you loved the view and all but weren't quite ready to spring for the coffee there are other options.

hindavi's special instant,. camping style

i'm not going to tell you which coffee was more enjoyable. i'll leave that for you to try yourself and decide.

now for the gorge. the already roaring river is forced into a very narrow passage just as the terrain drops and another smaller stream merges from the side increasing the volume of falling water

what a thrill! the ingeniously designed metal platform winds around just above the gushing river with perfectly placed lookouts

now that we are refreshed and exhilarated it's time to move on