Norway is imediately more impressive than Denmark. Rocky coast, hills, forests, more than 3 people per street. We arrived at Kristiansand and after ditching our gear we went for a walk.
Four hours later we had walked around the slightly scenic Odderoya Island, along the bay and beach, and around the old and new town. We had no luck finding the famous palm trees. They must still be locked away for the winter. Really (its in the lonely planet so it must be true), they are the only ones in Norway and are brought out of hiding to the beach during summer.
The 17th century fort was closed until next week (a trend begins) so we opted for an earlier night and domestic chores.
In the morning we were planning on going to see the canon museum, but again.. closed for the winter. Pity, it’s the second largest canon in the world. A WWII relic that could fire half way to Denmark. So we got up and strolled around town before catching the train to Stavanger.
We are not ‘yet’ accustomed to travel. The daily grind of finding food, accomodation and transportation along with seeing what we have come to see is far from relaxing. We expected nothing less.
Our LP guide is out of date…We eventually gave up looking for the tourist info office and headed for our accomodation (some 3km away uphill). We arrived at a delapidated old house with junk strewn across the garden. I was worried, V even more so. Turned out to be a place the guesthouse owner is renovating. Apparently our host would have collected us at the station and taken us to the guesthouse perfectly located some 500m away from town. Should have checked email and confirmed the address before we arrived. Another lesson learnt.
In stunning sunny weather (hot when the wind stops) we headed into town to check out some museums and get some info about fjord tours. No surprise , the tourist info office and all the museums were closed.
The town was full of the Norwegian equivalent of ‘Matriculants’ celebrating the end of exams. Apparently 16000 Russ had decended on Stavenger for a weeknd of debauchery – explaining why we battled to get accomodation.
The town centre is beautiful. Narrow winding streets of old and modern buildings lining the harbour and surrounding hills. Since we are staying here for 3 nights we stocked up on supplies – eating in is significantly cheaper than eating out. We found Marie biscuits ! They look the same but taste different 🙂
With little sleep (combination of noisy Russ kids and excitement) we caught the first ferry to Tau. For about R200 you get a return package ferry and bus to the trailhead. There was only one other hiker on the bus.
The 3.4km hike up took us 2 hours (not bad considering how unfit we are) and was cold in places with the odd patch of snow on the ground.
The Pulpit did not fail to impress! A 604m drop to the fjord floor. Stunning vertical cliffs on 3 sides. Sneaking up to a edge was truly thrilling – and peering over the lip.. WOW ! 30m kills just as easily, but it is an impressive chunk of rock.
We took the obligatory photos (will upload when we get to a pc) and found a perch to have lunch. We have taken to fruit, hard boiled eggs and a desert for ‘pack lunches’.
The trek back down went quicker even though the trail was choked with hikers on their way up. From kids to grandparents and chihauhaus (no kidding) to spaniels – all were out for a Sunday afternoon hike.
On returning to Stavanger we took in the petroleum museum – expensive, but not as boring as it sounds. We had been asking various people all day about getting out to Kjerag with no luck (it’s just too early in the season). The evening was spent hatching a cunning plan – V will explain…
P.S. Excuse the long posts. The ‘more’ tag doesn’t work from the WordPress iPhone app !
Neither rain nor snow nor sleet will keep us from Kjeragbolten.
Kjeragbolten is a big boulder wedged between two cliffs a thousand metres above Lysefjord. It’s an amazing spot and we wanted to go there. Once again we found that we were too early in the season for the bus so we swallowed hard before coughing up an exorbitant amount to rent a car for a day. The weather looked alright in Stavanger but as we drove out of town the rain started. Further along the 140 km trip we had sleet and eventually even snow. The weather changed every time we rounded a corner or came out of a tunnel. The scenery along the narrow winding road was beautiful. Lots of lakes and rugged cliffs and was sparsely populated. The few towns we passed through looked relatively empty.
At the deserted car park we prepared ourselves for the hike ahead with our improvised gloves (socks) and scarves (travel towels). It started to snow lightly as we started the first steep climb. Thank goodness for the chains that had been put up to hold/haul yourself up the rocky face.
The hike was wonderful. Lightly falling snow in parts, howling wind in others and then all of a sudden lovely sunshine. Lots of steep ups and downs before we got onto the ridge. All in all It took us 2.5 hours to get to the top.
The boulder looks easy to get onto but you need to edge youself along a narrow ledge behind it. The ledge is unprotected and there are no handholds to prevent you tumbling to your death a thousand metres below. The fact that the ledge was also covered in ice meant we had to make do with a picture of ourselves near the boulder instead of on it. We value our lives far more than a cool picture.
We would have loved to have spent more time hanging out with the boulder and enjoying the spectacular views but the weather started to turn and the howling frigid wind made us decide to head back. 2 hours later and we were back in the still deserted car park.
It was an awesome hike. We were well chuffed with ourselves for not having given up on getting there. We finished up the day with a quick drive down to the town at the bottom before heading back to Stavanger. Some minor confusion with how to use a Norwegian petrol pump and worries about toll roads (no booth u just drive though and it either picks up a transponder in the car or photographs the number plate – guess they will add it onto the car rental bill) and we were done and dusted.
In all it was an incredible day. It is for experiences like this that we are doing this trip.
Decided on taking the bus to Bergen – much cheaper than a ferry. The main highway incorporates cool suspension bridges, undersea tunnels and ferry crossings.. Odd way to travel.
We crossed paths again with a French couple from the guesthouse and another French couple that we met at the Kjerag boulder (they were the only other people out there yesterday).
Sunny to start with, but it started snowing on the last ferry crossing as V and I shared a hotdog (grillpølse) for lunch. Tonight we are in a mixed dorm with 30+ beds (R250/p/n = nuts). Should be an interesting/exhausting experience. Tommorow we are fjording again.
Survived one night in a dodgy dorm. My ear plugs are fantastic but V didn’t get much sleep even though it was quiet.
We decided to be typical tourists today and got on the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ tour. Taking trains, ferries and busses to see some of the sites. The Flåm Railway is scenic and it’s unbelievable what people can build but unfortunately it did not meet our expectations. I think we are still ‘high’ from Kjeragbolten – will be hard to beat.
The lavishly dressed Norwgian dancer up on the hill at a stop halfway down with folk tunes blarring from loudspeakers was insanely cheezy, and not necessary, the spot was beautiful in its own right.
The town of Flåm is a typical but quaint tourist trap made worse by the 3000 berth cruise liner from South-Hampton in the dock. The postcards at one of the tourist shops look like they haven’t changed since the 80’s and some contained odd subject matter – naked Weigie guys at scenic viewpoints !?
The weather forecast of cloud and rain was wrong. It was so hot (out of he wind) I think I got sunburnt.
We then took a ferry up the fjord to Gudvangen. Not as spectacular from the bottom as peering over 1000m drop – but beautiful none the less. V spotted some dolphins in the water. The bus ride back to Voss had an interesting and steep switchback section – crazy Norwegian civil engineers again. R20 for a packet of chips at Voss station – think they change the prices as a joke when they see a tourist bus offloading.
All in all it was good to be a passenger for a day. No thought, no stress – just follow the herd.
Thanks for all the recent comments. It is good to know that friends and family are interested in what we have been up to.
Swapped with Sim and scored the top bunk last night. Made use of the earplugs and slept well if a little late. Survived night 2 at the hostel. Actually the hostel isn’t so bad. The other people in the dorm are considerate and the linen clean. The fridge however needs a biohazard sign on it.
After a leisurly breakfast we strolled outside into another day of lovely sunshine. Today was a public holiday here in Norway. Think it might have been a religious one but am not sure. As a result everyone and their dog was out and most shops were closed.
We took the funicular up to the top of one of the seven hills surrounding Bergen and enjoyed the beautiful vista over the city. From the top there are a number (hundreds) of paths that make their way all over the hilltop. One of them is even lit up at night during winter for cross country skiing.
The trails were humming. We were not exactly off the beaten track here. For once though we did not stand out as tourists as everyone had walking pants and backpacks on.
Walked around the trails then walked all the way back down to town. Sore feet now. We are finding the weather here unpredictable. One minute we are down to our shirts and sunnies because it’s so warm then the wind picks up and it’s fleece, jacket and beanie. Then the wind stops and it’s time to strip again.
Pizza for supps as the supermarket was closed. Looks like we are having leftovers for breakfast in the morning too. Met some Americans who were also complaining about the costs in Norway.
An enjoyable chilled out day. Tomorrow we are off fjording again. Saturday we should be able to upload photos.
We set out early again in search of bigger, more impressive fjords. Our tour took us to the Hardangerfjord.
The first ferry stop was a tiny town (Eidfjord) with almost nothing to do, unless you paid another 250Kr for a tour of the nature centre. V and I strolled around ‘town’ for a while before asking the tourist office how to find some Viking burial mounds on the shockingly drawn map. Apparently a 90min walk – and that was all we had before the ferry was due to depart. We did the walk in 60mins – impressive even for Norwegian standards. The burial mounds turned out to be a few piles of rocks, but the walk was worth it with great views.
From there the ferry cruised along the fjord. Blue/green water (apparently to a depth of ~900m) and cliffs all around is pictureseque, but after a few hours we were completely fjorded out. Could not keep our eyes open and fell asleep in the ferry lounge.
Back in Bergen we headed for an Internet cafe to upload our growing collection for photos. Usually I work pretty fast on a pc, but with the clock ticking at 2Kr per minute it felt like I had never seen a mouse ! Gave up after 30mins having accomplished nothing – really frustrating. Will be more prepared next time. No galleries uploaded yet.
Sim did not have such a good day today. Not only did he lose his sunglasses but he also got dragged around the art museums.
We think he might have left his sunnies on his bed at the hostel and someone has walked off with them. Not a good start to the day. sim: pretty sure they were in my jacket pocket and got removed while we were in the kitchen ! Lesson learnt
Took in the cultural museum and learnt a little bit about the Vikings. Seems they got around – Ireland, North America and Russia. Followed that up with the art museums. Paintings by Picasso and Munch plus some very weird contemporary stuff.
Noticed a lot of youngsters around town in uniforms carrying swords and beating drums. Not sure what the event was that was going on. It might have been some sort of competition or something to do with the upcoming public holiday on Monday. Bergen seems to have good accoustics for drummers.
We have decided to go from Bergen straight up to the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. To get there we are having to take a 14 hour overnight bus to Trondheim followed immediately by a 10 hour train ride to Bodø. We spend only an hour in Trondheim.
Survived the 14hr night bus to Trondheim even though the bus stopped every half hour or so to drop and collect passengers in the middle of nowhere. Trondheim looks like an intersting town but we are just passing through. 12hr train ride coming up ! I’m longing for a shower.
The train trip from Trondheim to Bodø (pronounced Booda) was stunning. Passing along huge fjords, lakes, snow covered mountains, frozen lakes, vast wilderness areas and endless forests – but did not spot any reindeer.
There was a rockfall on the track on the section that passes the Arctic circle so we had to change to a bus for that bit. As we passed the line V and I had a muted celebration, the rest of the bus was full of locals – nothing new to them I guess.
Bodø was hot (> 20C odd) but dead and dull. Sundays in Norway – most things are closed. Sundays in winter are even worse. We checked into the cheapest (still expensive) dive of a hotel in town and went in search of food. Nadda! Peanuts, an apple and a cereal bar for sups 🙁
I was greeted with a sunrise and street sweeping truck at 3:30. Our plan was to head out to the worlds most powerful maelstrom (whirlpool) some 30km outside town… But… Today is the Norwegian eqvalent of the US 4th of July (without the fireworks) so again, everything was closed along with the busses and car rental agencies. The only option was an insanely expensive taxi. A brief consultation with my boet (a more experienced traveller) and we decided to skip it and take in the pomp and ceremony of the national day parade in Bodø. When I say parade; The entire town got dressed up in traditional clothing or their smartest spring outfits and marched into town mixed with marching bands and drummies of varying degrees of competance.
We had our first bit of rain as we headed for the ferry to Moskenes. Our mood was sinking and the thought of peanuts and 3 cups of tea (without milk) for supper was not helping.
On the 4 hour ferry crossing we met a German (Arne) who is riding sections and camping all the way to Nordkapp (northern most tip of Europe). Really intersting guy who works in TV and has interviewed people from the Queen to Harrison Ford.
We were planning to walk the 5km from the ferry at Moskenes (Lofoten) to the hostel at Å but the rain convinced us to take a taxi. We dumped our packs at the Stockfish museum (our ‘hostel’) and took a stroll around town. We were supposed to have had a room to ourselves with a sea view but another traveller had taken our room so we had to settle for sticking our head out the window to get our sea view.
Å (pronounced “Or” ) is a tiny old fishing village turned tourist attraction. Countless rows of drying cod provide the occasional fishy wiff. Most are exported to Italy. It took 15mins to wander around ‘town’ and of course – the general store, resturant and fishing museums were closed.
Arne was planning to camp in Å but ended up at the Stockfish Museum with us as the campground was not open (thankfully). He was kind enough to invite us for sups. Two huge bowls of soup and pasta never tasted so good. We would have been feasting on half a packet of peanuts without him. We are eternally grateful.
BTW. The sun sets around 23h30 now. So there is no ‘night’, just dusk and dawn for a few hours. Freaky !
Travel Tip
There are NO cash machines in Å. The closest is 10km away in Reins. Everyone takes cards, but will not let you draw cash. This was a problem for us because the hostel’s card machine was not working so the owner had wiped us out of all our cash. Thankfully the Nor-express bus to Svolvaer takes cards.
So after a late start (local shop only opens at 10) we started up the road on our hike. 2 kms along the coastal road before heading inland. An easy climb with spectacular views of the ocean, lakes and waterfalls cascading down practically every rockface. One of the lakes was still completely frozen though to get there we had to walk through melting snow and cross some pretty soggy ground. Gore Tex lined takkies worked well keeping our feet dry, though mine seemed to have sprung a leak somewhere and my socks were decidedly damp by the time we returned to the coastal road. It was a lovely day out.
We spent the evening plotting an alternative route to Finland. We had got hold of a Hurtigruten (fast ferry) timetable and pricelist and had come of with the idea of taking the boat to either Kirkenes or to Nordkapp. Alas after hours of planning and trying to find prices for buses etc. we came to the sad conclusion that it would completely blow our budget for the Scandinavian leg of our trip. We decided to go back to our original travel plan and leave Nordkapp for a trip in itself one day in the future.
The 4 hour bus ride up the E10 was magnificent. Perfect sunny skies, clear seas, huge rockfaces and lunatic tunnels. It’s the kind of trip that would be perfect with your own car so you could stop to take photos or pause at some of the old fishing towns to absorb the ambience (and smell). We passed Arne on his bike. I have to admit that I was a little jealous.
Svolvaer is again tiny and quite with almost everything closed, which suited us. The town has an excellent outdoor shop with lots of climbing gear to drool over. The area is well known for climbing. Made me wish I had brought my gear !
V is feeling a little fluey, so we bought some supplies and opted for an afternoon at our ‘hostel’. Great views of the surrounding mountains and the harbour. A pefect spot for a nap after some tea and choc chip cookies.
Sunset 23:41, Sunrise 2:12
Travel Tip
According to LP the Sjøhuscamp is the cheapest accomodation in Svolvaer (still not cheap to us). They also charge Kr50 extra for internet access. The public library is just up the road with free access but it closed at 15h00. If you stand across the road from the library you will find an open access point “dlink” that will give you access as of 19 May 2010 (not sure if it is the libraries AP). It’s a little slow but seems fine.
We found an open museum, and what a find! If you are ever in Svolvaer you must see the Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum. It’s a private collection of WWII memorabilia created and run by one seriously passionate Norwegian (William Hakvaag). It’s taken him over 30 years and is obviously a labour of love.
Everything from uniforms to Hermann Goering’s ceremonial revolver. The highlights for me were a 1kg Nazi gold bar, Eva Braun’s purse and Hitler’s magnifying loupe. The watercolour and sketches he has by Adolf have raised authenticity questions around the world.
Our first day of miserable weather making the bus trip from Svolvaer to Narvik less scenic than it should have been, but still good.
Narvik looks like a dreary mining town. It’s main purpose is as a sea port for the ore from the Kiruna mine in Sweden.
Our hostel (Spor 1) alongside the ore railway looked questionable from the outside, but inside the converted rail station was better than any other place we have been in. We took a stroll around the town – absolutely nothing to do. Pity the ski slopes around the town are melting – could have been fun.
Free highspeed net at the hostel meant I could download some more podcasts and the latest eps of ‘House’ and ‘Dr Who’ – my phone is now full and happy 🙂
Tonight is our last night in Norway and we’ll just miss a midnight sunset by a couple of days (15 mins). It’s been a wonderful start to our adventure and we’re excited to be moving on.
A quick list of things to remind us of our time in Norway.
– Hei hei
– Fjords get borning very quickly
– Flåm – bit of a flop.
– Expensive. Talking £100 pp/day and that’s eating in !
– May is very early – almost everything is still closed. June would have been better.
– You can do Kjeragbolten in early may. The drive there, hike up and the view are all awesome (like a million hotdogs)
– Dorms (online like hostelword) lie. They are not full if they say they are.
– Dorms are not safe for your sunglasses. Never leave anything unattended. I miss my polarized Oakley minutes.
– Japp bars (Bar One) and Marie biscuits, Vimmi (Inca cola-ish)
– Norwegians are polite, helpful, proud (of their country), walk faster than they drive and are English speaking.
– Internet domains are apt. Is it open in May ? .no
– ‘Next time’ rent a car
– if you want to feel like a king: Stand at a pedestrian crossing. Even royalty will stop for you to cross.
– Å i lofoten is a great place to chill out (just remeber to bring cash)
– Nikon sucks 🙂
– I still don’t like fish (sim)
– Narrow roads, crazy tunnels no ‘motorways’ (by my definition).
– Stunning day hikes and fun in the mountains.
We’ll be back ‘one day’ to see Nordkapp and the Aurora Borealis with a quick pop over to Sweden’s ice hotel.
Norway is imediately more impressive than Denmark. Rocky coast, hills, forests, more than 3 people per street. We arrived at Kristiansand and after ditching our gear we went for a walk. 
In the morning we were planning on going to see the canon museum, but again.. closed for the winter. Pity, it’s the second largest canon in the world. A WWII relic that could fire half way to Denmark. So we got up and strolled around town before catching the train to Stavanger. 
Our LP guide is out of date…We eventually gave up looking for the tourist info office and headed for our accomodation (some 3km away uphill). We arrived at a delapidated old house with junk strewn across the garden. I was worried, V even more so. Turned out to be a place the guesthouse owner is renovating. Apparently our host would have collected us at the station and taken us to the guesthouse perfectly located some 500m away from town. Should have checked email and confirmed the address before we arrived. Another lesson learnt. 
Perfect (acceptable) weather for the first ‘must do’ excursion on our list – 
Neither rain nor snow nor sleet will keep us from Kjeragbolten. 
At the deserted car park we prepared ourselves for the hike ahead with our improvised gloves (socks) and scarves (travel towels). It started to snow lightly as we started the first steep climb. Thank goodness for the chains that had been put up to hold/haul yourself up the rocky face. 
It was an awesome hike. We were well chuffed with ourselves for not having given up on getting there. We finished up the day with a quick drive down to the town at the bottom before heading back to Stavanger. Some minor confusion with how to use a Norwegian petrol pump and worries about toll roads (no booth u just drive though and it either picks up a transponder in the car or photographs the number plate – guess they will add it onto the car rental bill) and we were done and dusted. 
Survived one night in a dodgy dorm. My ear plugs are fantastic but V didn’t get much sleep even though it was quiet.
We set out early again in search of bigger, more impressive fjords. Our tour took us to the Hardangerfjord.
The train trip from Trondheim to Bodø (pronounced Booda) was stunning. Passing along huge fjords, lakes, snow covered mountains, frozen lakes, vast wilderness areas and endless forests – but did not spot any reindeer. 
On the 4 hour ferry crossing we met a German (Arne) who is riding sections and camping all the way to Nordkapp (northern most tip of Europe). Really intersting guy who works in TV and has interviewed people from the Queen to Harrison Ford. 
So after a late start (local shop only opens at 10) we started up the road on our hike. 2 kms along the coastal road before heading inland. An easy climb with spectacular views of the ocean, lakes and waterfalls cascading down practically every rockface. One of the lakes was still completely frozen though to get there we had to walk through melting snow and cross some pretty soggy ground. Gore Tex lined takkies worked well keeping our feet dry, though mine seemed to have sprung a leak somewhere and my socks were decidedly damp by the time we returned to the coastal road. It was a lovely day out. 
We spent the evening plotting an alternative route to Finland. We had got hold of a Hurtigruten (fast ferry) timetable and pricelist and had come of with the idea of taking the boat to either Kirkenes or to Nordkapp. Alas after hours of planning and trying to find prices for buses etc. we came to the sad conclusion that it would completely blow our budget for the Scandinavian leg of our trip. We decided to go back to our original travel plan and leave Nordkapp for a trip in itself one day in the future. 
The 4 hour bus ride up the E10 was magnificent. Perfect sunny skies, clear seas, huge rockfaces and lunatic tunnels. It’s the kind of trip that would be perfect with your own car so you could stop to take photos or pause at some of the old fishing towns to absorb the ambience (and smell). We passed Arne on his bike. I have to admit that I was a little jealous.
We found an open museum, and what a find! If you are ever in Svolvaer you must see the Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum. It’s a private collection of WWII memorabilia created and run by one seriously passionate Norwegian (William Hakvaag). It’s taken him over 30 years and is obviously a labour of love.
A quick list of things to remind us of our time in Norway.