Two American tourists staying at a rental house in Norway’s peaceful and scenic Hardanger region had a rather noisy and brutal experience with the local nature this week. A large boulder broke loose and rolled down the mountainside above the house, crashing into it on Tuesday afternoon.
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that the boulder, weighing several tons, rolled into the back of the house where the couple was staying near Tyssedal. There was extensive damage to the house, which fortunately was not knocked off its foundation.
“Our visitors were invited to come and stay up at our house instead,” Gro Hagberg, who owns the rental unit at Stana Gard. She claimed the tourists stayed calm despite the “uncomfortable situation” and had called her to tell her what happened.
Taxi driver Robert Schartner was sent to the damaged house to fetch the couple and had a different impression. “The tourists were nervous and wanted to get away from the house,” Schartner told NRK. “They thought it was scary. They were shaken when they sat inside and got that boulder through the wall.”
Hagberg was glad no one was injured. Police were sent to the scene Tuesday evening along with an engineer from the municipality, but they determined that no other evacuations were necessary.
newsinenglish.no staff
