Days 4-5 Balestrand

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We arrived around 4pm in Balestrand after our long travel day on 2 trains and the fjord ferry. Balestrand is a small town (pop 1600), mid-way through the Sognefjord. The Balestrand Hotel was highly recommended by a guy we met at Norway day, and also by Rick Steves. The owners of the Balestrand hotel have 2 kids that go to Cal. They will visit I-House when the spend their winters in CA.
We splurged on a traditional Norwegian dinner buffet at the fancy Kviknes Hotel. It reminded us of the Wawona hotel in Yosemite. On our 2nd day it was so warm we sunbathed by the fjord. Kirsten actually got a sunburn! We didn't think we needed to bring sunscreen to Scandinavia, but we are doing like the locals and taking in the sun when it is shining.
We loved taking strolls in this town and getting to know some of the locals. There are lots of artists and it felt like Tiburon. It was a nice relaxing break between the bigger cities of Oslo and Bergen. I spotted what I thought was a dolphin, but it was a Minke whale, which swims through the fjords.