Sognefjord is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway at 204km and 1308m respectively. It has many other fjords veering off it like branches of a tree. We spent a couple of days driving around the fjord and sleeping in idyllic spots next to the calm waters with the occasional seal visitor. I’ve realised Norway…
Beautiful Bergen and a taste of whale
We got pretty shit weather for the whole of the Hardangerfjord drive, but it still looked beautiful and the rain only made the valley of waterfalls more impressive. The driving has been a bit stressful as the roads are so narrow and the Norwegians like to leave a huge gap between them and the wall….
The mighty hike to Trolltunga
The hike to Trolltunga is said to take 8-10hrs, it’s 22km return, and 900m elevation gain, but you are rewarded with the incredible ‘trolls tounge’ at the end. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, my longest hike was probably in the sweltering jungle of Nepal searching for rhinos for about 30km on foot, it…
Buarbreen glacier and the return of the cat
It was due to be a rainy day so we decided to save the long Trolltunga hike for better weather and hike up to the Buarbreen glacier near Odda. It’s an ‘arm’ of the Folgefonna Glacier, and at 200km2 it’s the 3rd largest glacier in Norway. In the past 100 years it’s been receding back…
Stavanger and the waterfall highway
So it’s another birthday away from home, so far I’ve had my 20th on an island in Thailand, my 21st on a pub crawl in Toronto, 22nd in Buenos Aires, Argentina with an old friend, my 23rd snowboarding in New Zealand, 24th finally reunited with my family, and now my 25th in Norway. I’ve just…
A hike to Norway’s top attraction
On the opposite side of Lysefjord is Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) which is said to be the top tourist attraction in Norway and one of the best views in the world. So we got a car ferry across from Lauvvik to Oanes and took the road up to a carpark. What a difference from our hike…
Brown pants moment – Kjerag Boulder
The past few nights I’ve been picturing myself standing on the Kjerag boulder and dying. There were a few options of how exactly I would die: 1. The classic ‘Lauren’ – trip on my shoelace, stumble, die. 2. Slipping on the rock, and holding on to the edge of the boulder for dear life, Craig…
Route 45 and the midnight sun
The most direct route to the Stavanger region in the south western corner of Norway was route 45, which travels diagonally across the country. I wasn’t aware that it’s the highest altitude road in Southern Norway. Poor Pablo, but lucky us – it’s been an incredible drive. There wasn’t many other cars using the road,…
Climbing Mount Gausta
Mount Gausta is said to have the finest view in Southern Norway, and you can even see one sixth of the country from the 1883m summit. Clearly we wanted to hike it. The day we took the steep drive up to the trailhead though, it was raining, and the cloud was so low that it…
Travel sickness, and the ferry to Norway
Rotten fish, that’s what the car deck smelt of as we stepped out onto the luxury Fjord Line ferry. The floor was all wet and it smelt exactly like a fish market in Asia; it was rather unpleasant so we left Pablo in the stench and found ourselves a seat well away on the 7th…