Southern norway
july 2023
July 1, 2023
I did it! I’ve struggled to survive the daily routine for too long. I’m finally on vacation and going on another trip!
Traditionally, it starts with my favorite ferry, Naantali – Kapellskär. Cargo ports without a passenger terminal are a camper’s dream, and contains the most luxurious buffet, with oysters, shrimp, ice cream and a variety of dessert cheeses. This is what you need before long fasting and alcohol abstinence. For the next 17 days, only instant pasta will be on my menu. And only 6.5 liters of beer are allowed to be transported. Have to stretch it for three weeks and tighten the belt.
There will be snow, rain, stubbed toes and clouds of mosquitoes ahead but more importantly, there will be stunning views and a sea of emotions and impressions.
There are patterns without exceptions. For me the city of Örebro is one of them . I am here for the third time and for the third time I’ve been greeted by rain! I would love to stroll along its wonderful streets. But… man proposes, God disposes. And it’s not up to us to choose the weather. So, I grab an umbrella in my hand and put Crocs on bare feet, so as not to get good shoes wet. And looking like a local bum I run sightseeing at the pace of a racehorse.
July 2, 2023
I gotta say, that day was extremely boring. It offerd 800 km of driving in (how to say it nicely?) changing weather conditions. Heavy rains suddenly gave way to the scorching sun. The temperature drops from 25 to 10 in a matter of minutes. This time my trip was intended to be more nature-contemplative and sporty without time for sightseeing, but I simply couldn’t drive past the 13th century Stavkirke (Stave church). More than 1,700 of them were built in Norway between the 11th and 16th centuries. Today, 28 historical stave churches remain standing in Norway. Unfortunately, it was already closed by the time I arrived.
We drove past Oslo and by the evening reached the point of my first planned trek, and unsurprisingly the local forecast promises me 2 days of continuous rain. Should I relax inside reading a book or should I go stomping in the rain? Let’s hope the next day blesses us some better weather.
July 3, 2023
Okay, so Norway never ceases to amaze me with its weather. Last time here, I was in the very north, much further than the Arctic Circle, it was sunny and +25. Now, during the same time of the year, the beginning of July, I am in the south where everything is drowned in a dense cloud, it’s pouring non-stop and it’s barely +10…12 degrees.
Of course, I didn’t stay inside to read a book and wait for grass to grow under my feet. After studying the forecast of local weather services I boldly cross out two of the planned tracks. Todays one along the fjord near the town of Dalen (hello, Bjoerndalen) and tomorrows, the most popular route in Norway, to Preikestolen ( ‘The Pulpit Rock’, ‘Pulpit’, or ‘Preacher’s Chair’). To be honest, I found many reasons to cross out the second one. First of all, it is too crowded, very popular and easy. Secondly (follows from the first) is paid parking! And not just anything, but as much as 25 euros! And lastly, it was completely out of the way; extra 300 km of driving at today’s diesel prices is another frustration.
Anyway, I decided to visit the town of Dalen (500 inhabitants, is it even a town?). The main reason was to take advantage of the amenities that Norway provides to travelers…for free. Toilets with not only all necessities and but also some unnecessities(I found there disposable diapers for babies). Gray water and chemical toilet disposal and also drinking water free of charge. There are hundreds if not thousands of places offering these services in Norway, but the most heartwarming gift for me was the luxurious hot shower with good water pressure. After the shower and a huge lunch I redraw the route and go in a completely different direction than what was planned yesterday, hoping to find a place where it’s not raining.
And finally I was blessed! Most likely because I didn’t go to Preikestolen.
An unplanned road lead me across an awesome area and the mountain pass Haukelifjell . At an altitude of only about 1000m above of Helsinki, there is eternal winter and snow. No, it is not a glacier but just some snowy hills and lakes and streams with melt water. Hardangervidda mountain plateau. I stopped to enjoy the view and the rain turned into poor drizzle! In my travels I use Alltrails-app for hike routing. Here it offered many trails going different directions. You can pick any of them and won’t be disappointed. You can find a link to my trek below. The views were so amazing, that I didn’t even mind having wet shoes and the wind blowing me away, walking through snowdrifts accompanied by curious local sheep.
On the way to the overnight stay location I looked at another stave chirch (built in 1200-1250) and settled down for the night next to one of the most grandiose waterfalls I have ever seen – Langfossen! The water falls down a towering mountain, a total distance of about 612 metres ( width 76 m ) before the water leaps out into Åkrafjorden at the base of the mountain. Sleeping next to it was like sleeping next to the rail road with endless trains passing by.
July 4, 2023
This morning the movie Forrest Gump came to my mind…. “One day it started raining, and it didn’t quit raining for 4 months days. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain… and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.. and one moment it stopped like somebody switched the rain off.” That’s exactly how the drumming on the tin roof of the camper suddenly stopped at 6 in the morning and I turned over onto another side, sweetly dozed off for another 3 hours.
Looking at my photos (and other photos from travel brochures) you might think that Norway is turquoise green. In fact, it’s mostly grey. Therefore, as soon as the clouds disappear, you should immediately go to review the beauty for it is when the gray mountains become bright green along with the dark blue lakes becoming azure blue.
In the morning (after an 11-hour sleep) we walked a trail named “The old post road”. Until the end of the 19th century, it was the only land route to the cape between the two fjords. The road passed along the slopes of a canyon and mountain river below. This river is more lake a cascade of waterfalls about 3 km long. The “road” constantly crosses from one side of the river to the other on an old, shaky, rotten suspension bridges. It is said that in the older days horses were forced to cross this road with cruel beatings.
3 km of waterfalls means, of course, hundreds of photos. However, After those that I made in the afternoon, I even wanted to erase them from the phone. The second trek is to the glacial lake Bondhusvatnet. The trail itself is not demanding, being only 5 km out-and-back. Once you reach the lake, you have to stop to catch a breath. The turquoise water reflects the snowy mountain peaks…It is so beautiful that I have difficulty believing it to be real, and not a dream. The scenery is stunning, especially on a sunny day.
For the night we found a gorgeous place on the outskirts of a small town of Rosendal at an altitude of about 300m overlooking the fjord. This is probably the best view from the “hotel” window in my life until this day.
July 5, 2023
That day I had an internet detox. We arrived at the pre-planned trail to the glacier. The road wound through gorges for a long time, then became narrower and even more narrower until it narrowed to the maximum permissible width for my camper of 210 cm. 30 km to the starting point the Internet stopped working, in about 10 km the mobile connection disappeared too. At the same time, the sky cleared and bright scorching sun came out, burning so mercilessly that at a real +14 it was hot in a T-shirt and shorts.
The track itself is very technically difficult. In some places we had to climb using all our limbs. In cloudy weather with high humidity, I would say this trail is dangerous. Anyway, the 13.5 km journey took me almost 6 hours. But it’s worth every step I suffered! Fabulous views along the entire route and the gorgeous glacier at the end! The glacier is simply huge. Its area is 207 km2. I reached only “tip of the finger nail” of one of its arms. And the thickness of the glasier at the end of the trail can be assessed by finding in the picture a little man on the mountain.
Of course, there was absolutely no desire to return to civilization in the evening. Without people, without communications, without electricity… Only herds of sheep around. Fairytale!
July 6, 2023
In the afternoon, when the clouds started to thin and the sun sometimes peeked through them, it was time for the trek. For that day I’ve picked a trail called “4 Fantastic Waterfalls”. And they actually turned out to be fantastic. But the trail is far from easy. The elevation gain is almost 700m during the first 5.5 km. The trail climbes through the unique wild nature along the Kinso river to the four waterfalls that are close together.
We had to find place for overnight and go to sleep early. For planned 9 hour route I have to wake up at 5 o’clock to catch the first bus to the start point of the trail. I think there will be something special to tell tomorrow.
July 7, 2023
As for the path itself, this is so far the most boring path I have walked in Norway. Well, everything is certainly nice, but compared to what I have seen before, it’s not that impressive. The “tongue” itself is impressive. First of all, it impresses photographers. Because from the side it looks dangerous and scary. But when you go onto it, it is as wide as an avenue.
The trail is very crowded. Though it is marked as “demanding”, I would say the difficulty is below average, if you have good hiking shoes and some hiking experience. The length from the top parking lot to the “Tongue” and back is 20 km. Guidebooks allocate 8-10 hours for it, apparently based on families with children and older people. I completed it in 5.5 hours walking without stops for photographs and snacks. And then I extended my way to 24 km.
There is complex logistic to the start point. All routes start from the upper parking lot of level 3. There is an asphalt serpentine road down to parking lot 2, approx. 3.5 km. That the upper parking lot is not for mere mortals; you have to book it in advance and it costs a lot. Parking lot 2 has very few places meant only for passenger cars. In my case with camper I had to park on the lower parking in the valley and hiking to Trolltunga and back would require 2 days. All parking is paid, minimum 30 Euros/day. Buses also cost from 15 to 30 euros. So my solution was to sleep in the city on an ordinary street for free, wake up at 5-6 o’clock in the morning and take buses to get to the trail. Everything worked out. But at the same time, the cost of bus tickets was 45 euros per nose. Whether this “tongue” was worth that kind of money.
As for the “tongue”itself, in the photographs you are there alone with nature, but in fact, by 11 o’clock in the morning there is such a flow that the line for a photo can be up to 30 minutes. For posing on the tongue you have max.30 seconds, because others are impatient after waiting in line.
July 8, 2023
There are also two waterfalls in those photos below. The most visited in Norway and completely unvisited and popular only among me. Nothing special, but after driving down from the plateau I needed a shake-up and an urgent run with a climb of 300m, so that the pulse would appear again, otherwise I sinfully thought that I had died of delight and was already in heaven.
Well, after the shake-up, there was new road, which initially caused me some bewilderment when I looked at the navigator’s route. Along the way, the questions settled. Of the 120 km of the journey, more than half were in tunnels! The tunnels vary in length, from a few hundred meters to 17 km. With roundabouts and interchanges inside the tunnel. With original modern iridescent lighting or completely rustic with sheep inside. Tunnels that go serpentine or twist in spirals inside the mountain. … Every time I left the tunnel, a dramatically changing landscape awaited me. Either snow and +12, then bright greenery and +25.
Next time I cried when the last tunnel opened and I saw the Nærøyfjorden fjord (difficult to spell, I know). It was so beautiful! Its colors are so vibrant! The light simply dissolves in the air and everything sparcles with some wonderful colors!!!
Having cried enough, I again decided to shake myself up with a walk up the mountain, from which I could see the two “horns” of a charming fjord, although the position of the sun in the evening was no longer conducive to successful photos. The opposite banks were already in the shadow. The walk at a temperature of +25 on a mountain with a slope of more than 45% was sobering and… sweaty. It could have been postponed until the morning, but in the morning I had plans for one of the most wonderful treks of my life, and definitely the coolest view that I could not even dream of.
July 9, 2023
To get to the beginning of the trail, we had to go through a 7 km tunnel into a remote village. There, in the parking lot, in addition to the trail map and technical data, there were also instructions on how to, excuse me, go to the toilet along the way. You need to move at least 3 meters away from the trail and dig a hole at least 30 cm deep. Nearby were sapper shovels to take with us. And also a box with disposable bags so you can bring used toilet paper back with you. We decided not to take the shovel and bag, but 6 liters of water were packed in a backpack. In such heat there was not a single ounce left upon our return.
According to AllTrails expected travel time is 8 hours. It took me less than 6 hours. Like all the trails here – the first half is up, then back down the same way. At first the path went through a forest, crossing fields. There was a good trail (almost road) for the first 3 km, there were several shepard houses, but further on there was no trail as such, only sometimes a mark on a stone, or a pyramid built to show general direction. I found myself in the center of a huge amphitheater. Green mossy slopes stretched to the sky, sparkles of unmelted snow were visible from above in places, and a swamp mixed with boulders chomped underfoot. Just 2 weeks ago the trail was impassable due to the huge amount of snow. With wet snowdrifts this valley is impassable.
As we climb, there are less and less swamps and more and more stones. The top is already very close. I expect that behind it is exactly the view for which people crawl for 8 hours. But no! Another snowy valley with several glacial lakes suddenly opens up. We have to somehow cross this wet and slippery snow field! At the same time, the sun is scorching and +25! But the most demanding part was in the end. Very steep climb on rolling stones and cobblestones began. Only after gaining 1 km vertically (about 1370m from sea level) I reached the top and such a stunning view of the fjord!!!
On the way back we admired the same landscapes, but with different lighting. Already with running clouds, and not a clear sky. Well, after an exhausting walk, we didn’t even have the strength to start a shower. I got into the water for the first time this hot summer! Not just into any river, but into the mountain river coming straight from the glacier. While I was washing myself and rinsing the shampoo out of my hair, I became so numb, it seemed like my toenails stand on end…
The only disappointment of the day was the weather forecast. A huge rain cloud is coming from the south. In the evening there were another 2 hours of driving through beautiful views and tunnels, and even my first ferry in Norway happened. They are very interesting here. You drive out of the tunnel – a small patch of land for a couple of dozen cars – a pier, but the other side of the fjord is even steeper. The pier practically runs into the tunnel.
July 10, 2023 (pictures above)
We started at 7:30 and a in little over an hour we climbed 700 meters. The views were truly special, 360 degrees of water surrounded by mountains! If in sunny weather the water reflects the blue sky, but that morning it becomes dark blue under gloomy clouds. The rain began to drizzle on the way back, making the steep descent very difficult.
The forecast promised a week of continuous rain in this region, so of the three planned treks to the glacier, we decided to quickly run at least one, the closest, the shortest and, probably, the least interesting.This was a trek to the branch of the largest glacier on continental Europe, Jostedalsbreen. Its peculiarity is the unrealistically blue color of the ice. In better times, I wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity to hike on the glacier. In sunny weather this would be a cool experience, but not under the dark clouds. The price of 70 euros for 1 hour of a guide and rental of crampons and ice axes was also not affordable. The glacier itself is certainly beautiful!
Since the rain and a huge cloud covering several hundred kilometers was approaching at an alarming speed, I crossed out several treks in the area of the famous Beitostolen – the ski mecca of Norway. Therefore, the path lay on the road marked with the “panoramic road” icon. There are 18 of them in Norway. And this was already my 3rd, although I didn’t plan any, I was more interested in specific locations. The roads were there in case they suddenly come along the way. If you are planning to go to Norway, do not miss road 55, it is easy to find on the map.
Like the previous ones, this road led us from a picturesque fjord in a serpentine path up along the canyon of a mountain river and…. I found myself in winter again!!! Fabulous icy lakes, thick drifts of snow on the northern slopes, sheep that somehow miraculously ended up here in eternal November! Indescribable beauty!!! I think, something is broken in my brain that I admire snow and ice in the middle of summer? I had a similar feeling of euphoria last year in Switzerland. On the other side. the sand, beach and palm trees make me sleepy and depressed.
So, about 70 km of endless thrill and the serpentine brought me again down into the valley. Luckily, there was another Stavkirke there. For the first time in my entire trip, I was there during business hours, so I was even able to explore her insides. It must be admitted that the cost of a ticket of 12 euros does not pay off at all. At least in my case, 10 minutes was enough for me. And other curious people prevented us from enjoing the atmosphere. But outwardly it was the most beautiful church in Norway so far.
July 11, 2023
Here the cloud lies on the ground or stays at a low altitude and hangs like a thick milky veil. Such a veil can last for tens of kilometers. Twice a day a small window in the sky opened and let in at least a little light. Both times the views were stunning! I can imagine how much beauty I just drove past in such a shroud. Including, by the way, the Troll Path- the most popular and probably the most beautiful road in Norway. It was upsetting to the point of tears! Ok, yes, I started crying again. This time not from happiness, but from grief.
At some point I wanted to give up on everything and go north. So I ended up in Trondheim unplanned. I knew nothing about Trondheim before. Apart from the old doping story of Egorova and the fiery speech of the young and still very slender Vyalba at the 1997 World Cup. In the center of the town there is such a stunning cathedral!!! According to the good old tradition, I got to the cathedral after it was closed. Apart from the cathedral, I didn’t find anything interesting in Trondheim.
We found a super overnight stay on the very shore of the ocean, where I enjoyed the most beautiful sunset, but we had to leave it too, because… by nightfall, such a stormy wind started to blow that the camper began to rock (only the deaf had never heard of cars overturned by the wind on the shores of Norway).
July 12, 2023 (pictures above)
Today we had to drive back south for almost 2 hours. I was so disappointed with the Trondheim area! The Lofotens are more than 1000 km away, and Lofoten islans are not in my plan for this summer. I’ve been there, I will definitely return, but the remaining days are not enough. That’s why I’m going back south, I will fight the clouds!
Innerdalen… This place is called the most picturesque valley in Norway. I haven’t seen them all to compare, but this one is truly fabulous!
Yes, it’s cloudy here, sometimes drizzling, at times raining… Initially, I planned the trail to be short, but the planned 4 km turned out to be, in fact, a “family trail”. There were girls walking with strollers and mothers with a litter of 2-3-4 children. After picnic area started real hiking along the traditional rocky path for Norway. As a result, the elevation gain was again more than 700m, and 8 km turned into 15-plus! At altitude, of course, there are completely different views, even in rain, but it’s very windy! There was a temptation to crawl another 600m almost vertically to the top of the mountain, which looks like a pyramid in the photos, but I didn’t have any jackets with me, and +20 in the valley turned into +10 with wind at an altitude of 1000. So, not this time.
I did not have strength to make any plans for next days anymore… The rain cloud kept moving around. We spent the night at the campsite for the first (and only) time during the entire trip to shower and wash laundry. The place is wonderful – a beach in a quiet village on the shore of a fjord. The word “quiet” is very conditional, because you can’t escape from the screaming seagulls…
July 13, 2023
Luckily, among the trails I marked in this area there was one, the main point of which was not the view (it doesn’t matter whether you look down, up or into the distance – it’s all the same – a milky veil). This is the “Troll church” trail. The church consists of three limestone caves with grottoes, streams and beautiful waterfalls inside. Really amazing place! Wet, slippery, dark, height in some places no more than 150cm. The flashlight does not help at all, but on the contrary, it is reflected and blinds your own eyes due to the suspension of water vapor. Only grottoes with waterfalls are bright.
The path to the caves itself was just so difficult. Climb 500m over 4 km of route. Over cobblestones, streams flowing through them, mud messes and slippery roots in the rain and clouds around. In short, I’m wet and dirty! But the rain still doesn’t fear me!
In normal everyday life I like rainy weather. But not on vacation!In the end, I decided that it was useless to run from it. I go to meet it! Hope, it’ll be scared of me. I’m again in the south, or rather in the South-West, in the town of Ålesund, on the very shore of the Atlantic Ocean. I fell in love with the town right away, even though so far I’ve only seen it from the car window. Next morning I will go for a walk in any weather.
Finding free parking for a camper is an almost impossible task in such places. Let me share a secret: there are always, for example, stadiums or swimming pools, whose parking lots are empty at night. This is a 99% win-win option. Today the stadium parking lot is packed to capacity. Tough! This is what people are willing to do to save 30 euros for a campsite. On the other hand, in such weather even at the campsite you will sit in the car and will not show your nose outside. So what should you pay for?
July 14, 2023 (pictures above)
Even our weather has improved! Now it doesn’t rain all the time. But only rare short rains. Well, it’s like being doused with a bucket of water once an hour and the cloudiness became variable. This is when you look at the mountain – there is sun, and when you get to the top – you are in a cloud and visibility is 2 meters!
This fact certainly encouraged walking. Moreover, chosen trail has in its description: “the best view of both branches of the Njörfjord, which is a branch of the Storfjord and in sunny weather you can even see the Atlantic coast!” This is just what I needed after several days of rain!
Here it is, the most beautiful valley in Norway (of those I have visited). This is the start of the trail. 5 km before the trail’s start point there is a barrier and a canopy on the road. I had to dismount to see what was there and what to do next. Under the canopy there is an announcement and a mailbox. The announcement in a brief translation: You f**g extreme sports enthusiasts, we are already sick of you. Walking on snowfields is dangerous, rivers of melt water flow under the snow, you can fall through! If snow falls on your head, you’ll be dead! Completely! The rocks are slippery and unstable. Step left, step right – you are dead! The cliffs are steep, you can’t see the edges! But since you are so stubborn, we cannot stop you! Put 45 NOK into the box. Don’t forget to write out the check yourself – receipts and a pen are in the drawer. Just close the barrier after yourself! Because you never know what sorts of people hang around.
Hooray! After 5 km we are on the trail! The planned route is about 10 km. In fact, only 7 were done. For 3 km there was a 900m climb! This is a 30 degree slope! Was a big surprize when after 1 km of grass and stones the trail actually went on snow and this is in the middle of July and it’s not a glacier, God forgive me. It was slippery and steep and I kept thinking what the hell were we doing here without crampons and how were we going to get down this steep slope in the snow
The valley behind and below was green in the sun and every 100m climb revealed new waterfalls and glacial lakes. The mountain ahead was gathering a cloud. It grew and became heavier. By the time we reached the flatter stage towards the top, the cloud had settled tightly around us, leaving visibility a couple of meters. In such conditions, really, you do not see any trail markings. Of course, I’m an experienced hiker, I have all the tracks in my navigator. There’s just no point in going any further. We won’t see anything from this mountain in such conditions.And yes, it was dangerous to move close to the edge, which you do not see.
Going down was fun! Have you ever slide down snow hills with only shorts on? And if the hill is many hundred meters long?Attention! Never do this. Only later I realized that we were lucky not to stumble upon some rock hidden under the snow. It turned out that all the way up we saw only one side of the path, but the valley is simply fabulous. I keep thinking what kind of view of the fjord there would be, that it is more beautiful than this valley. As we descended, the cloud slowly began to descend behind us. An hour later, when we finally got down into the village to the fjord, the top of this mountain was illuminated by the bright sun.
July 15, 2023 (pictures above)
+13 on the thermometer, 8:00 on the clock. I start my way to the top of Dalleguben mountain. The description of the trail promises 360 degree views in sunny weather up to 50 km! The height of the mountain is 1342 meters. I’m starting from sea level! Already from the first meters +13 feels like +30. At an altitude of about 300, I decisively take off my T-shirt. It’s soaking wet. At this time of a day, you can go even naked. We are the first on the trail today! There is no place for the tent here. Not a flat spot. The trail goes almost straight up, sweat fills my eyes, my heart rate is 120 at a speed of less than 3 km/h.
At 800m there is a small pass and behind it a snowfield, as usually. Then the stones and cobblestones begin – just catch your balance. Suddenly three branches of the fjord open up to the 3 directions, Ålesund and the Atlantic coast are visible on the horizon! There’s one last push to the top to see the other side! This is where hiking ends and climbing begins.
The last 30m of the climb is vertical! Halfway up, we hovered like pigeons and began to think whether it was even possible to climb to this peak. At this time, a cheerful Norwegian about 50 years old ran up to us. It’s obvious that she’s experienced! I plucked up the courage and asked to go with her. My companion never made up his mind. And we almost flew upin about 10 minutes! Pulling yourself up with your arms, resting your toes against the slightest ledges, pulling each other up to the most difficult degrees. Hooray!!! I’m at the very top! This is my most technically difficult climb! There can be no talk of any evening walks! My knees need rest! Final climb 1360, 4 km up, 4 down, 4.5 hours. Pleasures 146%
In the afternoon I took a break from my heroic climb and meditated in the wonderful village of Sebo. I really liked the local non-tourist atmosphere and the huge number of different routes. There were no foreigners here at all, and passers-by spoke to me in Norwegian and were also surprised that I was not one of them. On my next visit, I will come here for at least 5 days and walk 2-3 day routes with a tent.
I had one last day left in Norway. There are 3 more planned trails nearby, a difficult choice. I was no longer capable of heroic ascents, but really wanted to enjoy this wonderful fjord even more! Therefore, we load into the car, take the ferry to the other side and… wherever our eyes look we go. along the water, betwen mountains and then suddenly a tunnel, and coming out of it – a cold landscape. Stop! Something familiar. Deja vu! I’ve been here before!
Checking the map showed that here I was driving in complete fog crying and wrapping snot around my fist from resentment. This means that the Troll Road is nearby. God himself gives itit to me!!! We decide to spend the night a couple of kilometers before it starts, so that in the morning we can be at the viewpoint before the influx of tourists.
July 16, 2023
At about 8 o’clock in the morning the question arose, what next??? It’s the last hiking day!!! You can’t profile, you have to go. But where? There is a marked trail 50 km from here. When planning the trip, I noted it as “it looks like some fake tourist spot, but for some reason people are delighted.” Now I’m completely delighted myself! If anyone has to visit Norway and take the only route, this is it! All the tongues of the Troll and the pulpits of the Preacher go into the trash. It’s great that nowadays you don’t have to save 36-frame film for your entire vacation, I’d go crazy.
So, the Romsdalseggen trail near the town of Ändalsnes! I got 11 km on my trekker, elevation gain 970m. Start from a wonderful valley surrounded by mountains. First, gently upward along a mountain stream, then a plateau and a sharp climb along loose rock to the top of the ridge. Suddenly a completely fabulous view opens up on both sides! The feeling that this is unreal. What a fantastic movie set around! In this scenery you walk about 6 km along a narrow path from peak to peak along the ridge, as if along the back of a dragon. On both sides there are steep cliffs of several hundred meters. Periodically, the path narrows to the width of one stone and the depth seems to pull you in, you feel like you loose your balance and your head is spinning. I had to sit down to come to my senses.
In 4.5 hours, the scorching sun was replaced three times by a black rain cloud. Visibility is at least 40 km. The valleys on the sides either light up with a blinding bright green, then plunge into a dark gray haze, then they are filled with unreal azure and rainbows bloom. Now I understand why I marked this path for myself with the words “nothing special”. Flat photographs ruined by the camera’s automatic light correction simply do not allow you to convey what the eye sees
The last part of the trail is an extremely steep descent into the city. 750m on a 1.5km rout. The only difficult part of the trail. You can easily skip it by taking the gondola ride down. I was too cheap to spend 30 euros, which I regretted many times. I’ll repeat it again. If there is only one route to take in Norway, this is it! At your laziest, you can take the up-and-down gondola and just walk along the ridge, but it’s a sin to miss this location!
July 17, 2023
I think, at this point I will end my story about a wonderful fairytale journey. And if anyone wants to follow in my footsteps, I will be happy to share my experience. More than half of the marked points remain untested.
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