mare TV - On the Sognefjord: Norway's mightiest estuary
Snow-capped peaks, thundering waterfalls, steep cliffs: The Sognefjord in Norway is Europe's longest estuary and famous for its spectacular scenery. In the middle of the fjord, Turid and Ingebrigt Findebotten live in the small bay of Finnabotn. They have converted the old farm, which has been in the family since the 17th century, into a small guesthouse with nine rooms. Even the Norwegian queen has already visited. Aleksander Fedin cooks there. The Estonian collects almost everything he needs for his dishes himself from the forest: mushrooms, berries, herbs. And from the fjord, mussels, seaweed + crabs.
A "fjord ferry" for the goats
On the Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord, Gøril and Einar Lie regularly transport their goats across the water in small boats. The animals should always have the best pasture. The goat's milk is used to make the Norwegian national dish Brunost, a brown, caramelized cheese
A life like 200 years ago
People living on the sometimes impassable fjord shore become inventive. Geirr Vetti restores old abandoned homesteads. For a long time, he couldn't find workers for the back-breaking job at dizzying heights. "I tried everyone. Poles, Russians, Romanians, they called in sick after two days," Vetti says. He can't do anything with Norwegians up here anyway. "No use. Much too effeminate," says the contractor. Now he has three Sherpas working for him; Vetti had them flown in from Nepal. He dreams of living as he did 200 years ago on a fjord farm high above, with no running water, no electricity and no conveniences. "If civilization goes down, up here it still goes on," says Geirr Vetti + grins.
Lonely life on your own island
Where the fjord flows into the North Sea, another oddball lives on his own island: Roar Moe, boat builder and hermit. On Litle Færøy he takes care of the old fishing boats of the area. Moe loves his work and the summer. "But in winter, when it hardly gets light and the storms rage outside, you need character to last here," he says.
Broadcasting on 24th of October 2021 at 03.15pm on NDR/ARD
Music: POPVIRUS Library