Bergen - Steinsdalen

In the afternoon, we left Bergen and took the E39 highway to Åsane, then turned off the E16, which runs along the southern shore of the Sørfjorden. We passed the Osterøybrua bridge, which connects Bergen with the Kvisti farming area on the island of Osterøy. This is the third longest suspension bridge in Norway, built in 1997 by Aas-Jakobsen. The length of the bridge is 1065 meters, the main span is 595 meters, and the height of the pillars is 121 meters. The height from the water to the main span is 53 meters. Almost immediately after opening, the bridge made a lot of noise both in the Norwegian and foreign press. According to local residents and road services, the bridge swayed violently in the slightest breeze, which caused serious concerns about the fate of the bridge in a stronger wind. In fact, the bridge was designed for these very strong winds, which are not uncommon here, and the maximum amplitude of vibrations fell on a moderate wind, within 10 meters per second. However, the movement on the bridge at such a pitching caused considerable discomfort for drivers, and after a while the bridge was equipped with aerodynamic stabilizers and vibrations stopped. Now the bridge passes up to 3 thousand cars a day.

Then we turned onto the Fv7 road and 15 minutes later the Frøland lake opened on the right, in the Eastern part of which you can see the power station Frøland kraftverk, built in 1912. This is the first major major power plant that supplied power to Bergen. The monumental structure, similar to a Cathedral, was designed by the architect Sigurd Lunde. Electricity is generated by turbines using a head of water with a height of 151 meters, which is fed through a two-kilometer tunnel from the mountain river Samnanger (Samnangervassdraget), then pipes are fed to the turbine hall.

Nearby is the Frøland village with a picturesque river of the same name Frølandselva.

Another 10 minutes later we reached the Steine village, next to which is the Steindalfossen waterfall, where our next stop will be.