Fossmork is undoubtedly swell and all. It's no Ryfylke, however.
The New York Post reports how a problem with Google Maps has led to droves of tourists showing up in the wrong Norwegian town time and again.
It states that about 10 tourist-laden cars a day show up in Fossmork when the travelers really want nearby Preikestolen in Ryfylke, about 19 miles away. The reason is the latter town boasts a famed cliff tourists absolutely adore.
The trick is actually getting to the right one. That is, after all, most of what makes any trip successful.
Some of you might better know Preikestolen by its moniker Pulpit Rock, or as we might refer to it, that terrifying cliff people love to walk about.
Nearly 20 miles away are bewildered Fossmork residents, such as Helge Fossmark, who just stand by during tourist season and see one bus after another stop and let out a bunch of confounded people looking for a giant rock.
Fossmark tells Stavanger Aftenblad, via the NY Post, "We have sent hundreds of tourists away in no uncertainty that they're on the wrong side of the fjord. In the summer season up to 10 to 15 cars show up each day."
Gunnar Bøe explains how such a thing could take place: "When we are in the cabin, sometimes two, three, four or five tourists come in. Every day. They say they are going to Preikestolen and understand nothing. Google Maps leads them over the Lysefjord bridge and into Fossmork. The road here is quite narrow and they sometimes get quite upset when we tell them to go back."
The NY Post explains that it reached out to Google, which responded that it, according to the publication, "encourages people to report any problems they find so they can continue to improve the service."
That's not exactly a mea culpa coupled with a promise to rectify the situation.
Perhaps Fossmork residents should invest in translation dictionaries; When language barriers abound and the itinerary is short on time, a set of binoculars are the only thing that will explain this mess.
Bøe continues, "They borrow a set of binoculars and can see all the people up on Preikestolen. It's quite funny. We get to speak with Chinese and Japanese people, and there was an American that wanted to buy a cabin. He thought the place was fantastic."
It's not like Pulpit Rock is hurting for tourists, as many are successfully meandering the countryside to this wildly popular attraction. The influx has reached such a level that officials are now considering limiting how many visitors are allowed to traverse the path to get to the massive edifice.
Back in October, The Local explained that 300,000 people make their way to Preikestolen a year.
Lasse Heimdal is the leader of a hiking organization and he expressed concern at the time, explaining to NRK.no: "If the large loads might damage nature, the authorities are obliged to impose countermeasures. Limiting access can be one of the measures."
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Visit Norway has more information on Preikestolen-if you ever make it there. (We suggest using something other than Google Maps.)
Fossmork, however, doesn't have an entry at the tourism website. Nor does it have an entry on Wikipedia. It does have a post on Facebook, which boasts that a couple of its attributes are being close to other towns.
Sadly, its most recent claim to fame is that 'this isn't the tourist attraction you are looking for'.
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