What is not a myth, however, is beauty that can make you want to cry. Norway more than makes up for its lack of people with the sheer beauty of its landscape!
The bus stops on the only road of the smallest village I have seen till now. Getting down to stretch my legs, I am arrested on the first step by what greets me. Towering black cliffs on three sides, all capped with snow, looking for all the world like giant slides and the village behind me, nestled snugly in the lap of these sky-scraping columns of stratified stone. I am amazed speechless by the tenacity of our species. I don't know whether to feel humbled, in front of these millenia old Goliaths, or to feel proud that we have made them our homes! A short walk is, naturally, the first thing we set off on. Around the houses and into the woods...across paved roads - We're in the middle of nowhere, and they have brightly painted pedestrian crossings!! We finally emerge out onto a river, the natural limit of the village. It curves around a bend, gurgling along patiently to a far away sea, lapping at the feet of its mother. Beautiful is an understatement. Time, however is merciless, and we have to get back...10 minutes in this place, and I am already unable to let it go!
A narrow road makes its tortuous way between monstrous cliffs...until it suddenly bursts out into the open - gentle, sprawling meadows, with sheep, cattle and horses basking in the sun, feeding away without a care in the world, except the present moment. Idyllic. Utopian. Summer cabins nestle amongst the trees higher up the slopes, adding the final touch to an already complete picture!
Thats when I learn that all is not as perfect as it appears. There is always the flip side of the coin. Unpredictable weather, and warming have delayed the snow this winter...forcing the locals to prepare artificial snow for the skiing season...a small, but sure sign of the damage we inevitably inflict on our surroundings, and ourselves. The picture shatters, but the shards remain...the memory remains!
