Californication: Lake Bandak & Telemark Canal

Our last day on the road was spent largely on a boat cruise on Lake Bandak, plus a brief trip down the Telemark Canal, one of Norway's main attractions.

This was the view from our lodgings at Lake Totak early Monday morning. Purdy, innit?


One of the many locks along the canal.


The lock is closed behind the boat and the space filled with water until you're suddenly level with the water behind the gate in front of you. All is done manually, just like it was back in the late 1800s.


There are many pretty farmsteads along the way.


On both sides of the lake.


There's quite a bit of industrial history in the area, as cheap power became available to the factories.


This formation is said to be the ship of St Olav, a king of yore who brought Christianity to Norway. He apparently shipwrecked here and a dozen or more similar places in Norway...


Naturally, I was skeptical of both the lake and the canal.