Oslo
We have arrived in Oslo. After three flights and about 24hrs. It’s daylight for almost 24hrs here. So the jetlag is even more confused. All the locals make the most of the daylight and are up and around most of the night. The winter is the opposite, 24 hour darkness for a couple of months. There are electric cars everywhere, Nissan Leaf, BMX, eGolf and Tesla Model S and X. Diesel is about AU$2.50/l, unleaded about $3.00/l.
Today we are off doing the Oslo museums. To begin with are the three Viking Ships that have been excavated from a burial site. Two of the ships are in surprisingly good condition. We got here early which was a good thing as there are lots of other tourists!
Nearby is a Norwegian Folk museum where they have preserved traditional housing and day to day furniture. This goes from medieval right up to the 70s. We can both remember a lot of the old record players and other appliances.
The ships and equipment from the Polar Explorers are down the hill. They have preserved the Fram which was used by Amundsen on his expeditions, including the first successful adventure to the South Pole. There is also the Gol that was used to explore the North Pole and North West Passage.
The Kon-Tiki which is a balsa wood raft as well as the Ra which is a reed boat are also on display. Both were used by Thor Heyerdahl to explore migration.
Of course there are also lots of gardens to explore. The one next to where we are staying also houses the museum of natural history. Most of it is shut for renovations.
Tromso
We have flown to the very northern part of Norway to the city of Tromso. It’s 350km north of the Arctic Circle. The weather is normally blue skies every day this time of year and of course 24hr daylight. It’s been raining for the past five weeks which must be depressing for the locals who endure months of darkness during winter. The sun never actually sets during summer. It just goes around in a big circle in the sky which is really weird!
Yesterday three cruise ships arrived with 6000 tourists on board. The guy who owns the Airbnb we are staying at says it’s a zoo. He works as a waiter. Everything is sold out. To escape the tourists we hike the 3 km to the most northerly Botanical Gardens in the world. Thousands of alpine and polar plants from all over the world. Most of them are in bloom. A lot of work has been done building the rock landscape to plant all of this.
We have hung around Tromso till the early hours to catch the Hurtigruten ferry at 1.30am. Still daylight of course. The ship we are on is the Lofoton which is the oldest in the fleet. I think it’s also the smallest which is a bonus.
The ship winds its way down the coast to Bergen. We are getting off at Trondheim. I imagine the views would be spectacular except it has rained with low cloud most of the way. The food and service on the boat is fantastic which sort of makes up for the rain.
Trondheim
Our ship arrived in Trondheim at 6.30am. So we dumped our bags at the Airbnb and headed off to explore the city. Bikes and bike paths everywhere! Also some great street art.
First up was the Royal Palace which is really a huge mansion in the middle of the city. It was built by a really wealthy woman who never really lived there. The Norwegian government bought it from her to use as a palace when in Trondheim. Lots of fine furniture and elaborate hand painted walls and ceilings. No pictures allowed 🙁
Nearby is a huge Cathedral with hordes of tourists. We have no interest in the religion but it’s a spectacular piece of architecture. The bishops residence is next door and houses the crown jewels and robes. The current king and queen have only ever worn these once when they took over the throne. There is an interesting history of how the current royal family actually got elected. If you’re going to have a monarch they sound like the ones to get!
In the centre of the city we also found the Architecture Museum. Lots of really cool Art Deco furniture. I liked the kewl lounge chair, but the winner was the over the top TV.
Pauline dragged me off to see another folk village. Which of course is on top of the highest hill around. On the way we went through the street stalls selling mostly food. The cheese was some of the best I have ever tasted so we bought a couple of blocks. I have the web address so we can see if they are available in Oz.
Our flight to Bergen isn’t till the afternoon, just enough time to explore the nearby (3km) Ringve Gardens, Arboretum and Museum of Music. The gardens are still under construction with the landscaping done and lots of planting underway. We wandered around till the Music Museum was open. The tour is well worth it. The guide takes you around the old farm houses that have all been restored. Each room is filled with musical instruments. The guide actually plays an instrument in each room with a piece from around the time the instrument was made. We had to bail out the last part of the tour or we would miss our flight.
Bergen
We are getting used to the 24hr daylight. By the time we dumped our gear at the Airbnb it was only 6pm. Hours of light left. It does get darker for a couple of hours around midnight, bit like a long sunset or sunrise. So we hiked back into the city. The city square has a stage an orchestra playing to huge crowd. Even more tourists! We walked the old quarter and checked out the buildings perched on the side of the hill overlooking the centre of the city.
The next day we picked up a new camera as the oldest one we had developed some issues. Pauline dragged me around more museums and art galleries! All around town there were marching bands playing. It some national band convention. Everywhere we went there was another band.
Flam
An early start today to catch the speed boat to Flam. The “Speed Boat” carries about 300 passengers and cruises at 60km/hr so it’s more like a speed ship. We weaved our way North from Bergen through lots of islands till we finally arrived at the start of Sogne Fjord. This is the longest fjord in Norway, I think it’s a couple of hundred kilometres deep. The cruise is spectacular and we had perfect weather all the way to Flam.
From Flam we were going to catch a series of trains and busses to get to Martins place in Beitostolen. This was thrown out as the train the next day to Oslo that we had to catch was booked out. Martin suggested we stay in Finse an extra day. So off to the supermarket to gather some supplies as Finse is just a railway station, a hotel and a lot of cabins.
The train from Flam climbs up from sea level to Myrdal at about 1000m. It winds its way through tunnels and bridges up a steep gorge. The rail line took 20 years to construct in the 1940s. From Mydal we caught the train to Finse.
Finse
Finse is a small collection of cabins, a hotel and railway station next to a lake. To the south of the lake looms the Hardangerjokulen Galcier. The fourth largest in Norway. We camped around the shore from the station.
The next day we set off to climb up to the glacier. This took most of the morning as one of the bridges on the route was washed away. We had to skirt the river till we could find a place to cross it, then climb up to the observation post that has been set up to monitor the glaciers retreat. It is obvious that it has retreated a long way. The boulder fields below it are extensive and go on for kilometres.
We sat and contemplated the sad direction our world is headed due to the inaction of politicians 🙁
The next day we packed up and were off to meet up with Martin. The train was late so we were in danger of missing a couple of connections with busses. Luckily the first bus waited for the train so all was well.
I haven’t mentioned Ice Cream so far as it has been similar to the selection available at home. We have now discovered Chocolate with Chili and Ginger in the Kiwi supermarket. This is very nice, a whole tub was devoured while we waited for one of the busses 🙂
Beitostolen
Finally we have arrived in Beitostolen where Martin is waiting for the bus. He is looking well, we last saw him in Kathmandu. A short taxi ride (he does not own a car) and a walk later we arrive at his cabin. It is beautiful. Set in the woods just below the local ski run and lift.
Martin outdid himself and cooked us a traditional Norwegian meal. Sour Cream porridge topped with cinnamon and sugar. He does not like to cook so it was a great effort. It tasted delicious, we both had seconds!
Lots of stories were exchanged before we got down to the business of planning the next few days. Martin has walked these mountains since he was a boy. So the planning of the best route does not take long. We have six days to do about 75km without side trips. Then we can catch a bus direct back to Oslo for our trip home.
The next day Martin takes us for a stroll up through the mountains and lakes where he grew up. The stroll includes a 450m climb 🙂
Hiking
The next day we hiked into Beitostolen to pick up supplies and catch the bus to the stat of the hike. Its always a challenge to find suitable food when all the labels in the supermarket are in a language you can’t read. We picked up five days of dehydrated meals, some dried spuds, beef stock cubes, cheese, biscuits and muesli. The local bus to the start was 16km but didn’t leave till 1.30pm, so a late start. Doesn’t matter much when you have almost 24hr daylight.
Tofinnsbu
The hike was mostly downhill for 14km to the hut at Torfinnsbu. We arrived too late to get dinner for Martin. (The hut does cooked meals).
Fondsbu
The section from Torfinnsbu to Fondsbu was a challenging 21.6km route over a pass. This involved a 600m climb over very rocky terrain. The higher parts of the route is all over frost shattered boulders, so really slow going. Some of the boulders are the size of a fridge. Lots of boulder hopping for hours. Last time Martin did this route it was covered in snow so much easier to negotiate. In the end we didn’t make it to Fondsbu. Carrying a heavy pack over that terrain is too slow. Martin continued on to the hut and we camped for the night. He was heading home tomorrow on the boat anyway.
Gjendebu
We needed an easier day to recover so we went down to the hut at Gjendebu. Lunch was still on when we arrived, a delicious soup made from a local vegetable. Apparently the Vikings fought over it so we named it Viking soup.
Leirvassbu
From Gjendebu we headed north west up to a huge waterfall where we camped the night. Another spectacular valley with great views of the falls from out tent.
Because we had much heavier packs than normal I thought it would be easier to go north over a 400m pass and along some lakes. All very picturesque! The reality was 400m of boulder hopping again. More ice shattered rocks the size of a fridge! We camped the night where our route met the track up to Leirvassbu. The hot weather had turned cold and it started to rain just after we had the tent up.
The wind and rain continued most of the night but cleared up a bit by the time we headed off the next day.
A steady climb over more ice shattered rock. It took us another five hours to get to Leirvassbu. This is a huge hut with a restuarant. We booked in for the night and dinner. Fantastic food for dinner and breakfast. This is a hikers paradise. There were hundreds of hikers everywhere. Some off on day walks, others doing the traverse of the nearby glacier.
The next day we caught the bus back to Oslo for a rest. There is a four week 350km walk that uses the huts all the way. I think we will be back without the tent and other camping equipment. Boulder hopping with all that gear for days on end is just too hard.
Oslo
The last two days in Oslo we spent finishing off the attractions. The first of these was the Noble Peace Prize. It was really engaging and confronting. The current display is about wealth and inequality. Well worth the visit.
We also found time to do the guided tour of the Oslo Opera House. Followed by a cello and piano recital. The tour is fantastic. The tour guide is a retired opera singer so she knows how it all works. She takes you through the history of the building and all through the backstage production areas – costumes, sets etc. I would really recommend doing this tour.
Our last day in Oslo we went to the sculpture park. All the sculptures were designed by the same artist. He and team of masons took 20 years to build them all. His studio is also right next to the park and still has all the original models and drawings so you can follow the whole process.
We are now back in Oz. Planning for the next trip – the Te-Araroa in New Zealand is already underway. We are only doing the South Island (1300km). The North Island is a lot of road walking, not for us.
Pauline is still talking about doing the Massiv in Norway next Jun/Jul, so I think that will happen. We also want to go back to Japan and do the Northern Alps Traverse and some hikes on Hokkaido.