Journey through the country of waterfalls and incredible panoramas
Journey through the country of waterfalls and incredible panoramas
Have you ever seen a real tall waterfall? And 16 at once? The trip to Norway forever changed Dasha and me's idea of the beauty of the world. Before the trip, we could not even imagine that on our planet there is something as beautiful as the exotic beaches of Asia, but completely different and much closer territorially.
Norway is a country where beauty is not only in certain places, but immediately everywhere and on all routes. Beautiful houses with grass roofs are spread at the foot of the mountain along a large green lake, and several waterfalls flow from the mountain. We had such days when there was not a minute of the route, without high mountain waterfalls.
And this is during the peak of the dry season! Our eyes literally refused to believe what they see. As if a special designer was engaged in the location of each house, lake or forest of coniferous fir trees. Stories that Norway has a railway with beautiful views are clearly understated. Here, almost all roads, including bus routes, are so picturesque that crossings take place in one breath. I even broadcast the beauty of the road to my mother live from the bus. The dense Wi-Fi coverage of all public transport provides unlimited opportunities to share the beauties while traveling.
But there is also the other side of the coin. Legs! There are only two of them for each, and in order to go through and get around everything everywhere, you need at least a few interchangeable pairs. We traveled 9 full days of which 7 were heavily loaded with ascents and descents to the observation peaks. We did an average of two lifts per day. Twice there were even unplanned nights. We got into severe bad weather, three days were completely rainy. But no rain and even downpour will spoil the beauty of this country. Unless the photos come out less successful. Of course, the country is very expensive, it is in the top 5 most expensive countries in the world for tourism. But even here you can approach wisely and save as much as possible. Technical details and costs are described in this story. So, we begin our journey to one of the most beautiful countries!
Preparation
This year Norway has an abnormally hot and very warm summer, but just before our arrival, all the abnormality ended and hardcore began. The weather forecast promised us total flooding with almost continuous rains and temperatures up to 3 degrees Celsius. Usually we make ourselves two summers a year, but this time it looks like we made ourselves two winters. All flights with us are low-cost carriers without luggage, only with hand luggage. In hand luggage, in addition to standard things, I had to put two umbrellas, two raincoats, two warm jackets for Dasha, a warm jacket for me, warm sweaters, spare jeans and a hair dryer to dry clothes and shoes. Back backpacks were significantly lighter, because they did not survive the trip: an umbrella, torn jeans, a killed jacket and a torn raincoat. But the cloak was even more or less taken away. Oh yes, we also took two sets of beds with us (since there are many places where the bed is paid and expensive), two large towels and slippers. And of course, a stick of s / c sausages, a bunch of cheese, a loaf of bread, oatmeal, crisps. Some more food for the plane. Well, everything else is as usual. The task of fitting into standard hand luggage seemed impossible, but we had already done this with South America. And that means it's doable. And yet it's impossible! There was also a third small backpack. There was a whole art here, how to get on the plane with all this so that they would not be forced to stuff the backpack into the backpack and so that our hand luggage would not crack at the seams without a backpack. But in fact, our main backpacks with Dasha came out 7 and 8 kg and passed completely in size. One girl was able to stuff her large backpack into a small hand luggage frame to prove to the manager that she could not check it in. It took her about four minutes to stuff and almost a minute to get out of the frame. I was about to start doing the same trick, but we got a more loyal manager and allowed us to take backpacks on board.
We sat at the WOG cafe in the transit area. The saxophonist played a calm, pleasant melody. We enjoyed the last moment when we can eat at the cafe before returning home. During boarding in front of us found fault with the luggage of one woman. The managers were so taken aback by her luggage that our backpack went unnoticed. Let's fly!
Copenhagen
Airport
Here we had a transfer to another Norwegian low-cost airline. This transfer was remembered by the airport with an incredibly large green area. Tall trees grew here, and the gentle northern sun shone through the window. At the airport, all the inscriptions were duplicated in Chinese. There were a lot of Chinese in the queues and even a 7-eleven store. Just a piece of Asia. We had liquid with us. I asked the officer if it could be carried? The man good-naturedly advised to put it on an X-ray, and it would suddenly work out to check. When they didn’t say anything about the liquid on the x-ray, the guy happily nodded to us saying, “You see how simple everything is. ” The officer of the Schengen zone asked where we were going next and when we planned to return to Ukraine, after which he wished us a good trip and put stamps. The airport itself is like a micro-city. Here, in addition to the green zone, there is a whole infrastructure of hairdressers and shops. Shops give out delicious treats for tasting. And in the Lego department, you can even scan your hand and see which Lego hero you are! The kindness of the local people literally fills the air. It was just what we needed for a successful start of the trip. The inhabitants of Norway turned out to be the same darlings.
Bergen
We arrived in Bergen at 23:30, and in theory we had to take a taxi. But the first surprise was the bus, which was still running. And the second and most pleasant surprise was that recently the train rails from the center reached the airport and now you can get to the center for 37 crowns (4 euros)! Still no rain! All residents are very tall. It was unusual for me, because usually in transport everything is lower than me, but here it’s the other way around. Still all drunk and cheerful. Friday night, people walking. It was also a bit unusual to see so many Caesars. There were a lot of them. Moreover, we never saw sober Caesars.
The coolest Caesars were not only in togas, but also with laurel wreaths on their heads. I see people here know how to have fun. From the terminal to the hotel it was necessary to walk 1.5 kilometers. We really appreciated how cool Bergen is. It's good that the hotel was not in the very center, so you would never know what a cool town it is. They say that during the day there is nothing to do here, but at night it is very atmospheric.
We had instructions with codes for obtaining the key and self-check-in. A separate part of the quest was the search for the Wi-Fi password. For some reason the refrigerator was not cold at all. As much as I didn't ask him. But the freezer was a little cold. Okay, let's put the food in the freezer, so there's at least some chance. And they also advertise Norwegian cold in air conditioners. But apparently the refrigerator felt ashamed, and he decided to improve. In the morning we got food out of the freezer just like in the movie "The Martian" when he took out potatoes from a depressurized greenhouse. After thawing, our Cheddar cheese tasted like old plasticine. And cucumbers (yes, we were able to take cucumbers with us) didn’t resemble anything at all. But it’s good at least the food was not in a solid ice cube. As soon as we got to the bus, the predicted rain started. When you buy tickets for two people, it counts as a mini-group and a 25% discount is applied. If the route consists of several buses and ferries, they will be issued on a single ticket with a total discount. All buses and ferries are always waiting for each other. Our farthest route consisted of three buses and two ferries in 3 hours.
The first 16 waterfalls were already waiting for us literally in the first minutes as we left the city. Landscapes became more and more beautiful, despite the downpour. Due to the rain, fragments of clouds stuck in the mountains, adding mystery to the atmosphere.
It gives me incredible pleasure to write this story as I relive the entire Norwegian route hour by hour.
At first, we wondered why not all the waterfalls were mapped, but then it became clear that then there would be nothing to make out among the labels of the waterfalls. Transport in Norway runs like clockwork. There are, of course, exceptions. But having arrived in Flå m at 12:00 pm, we managed to check in luggage, buy tickets and transfer to the train, which departed at 12:20 pm. How much we have heard and read admiration about the views from the trains in Norway. I thought it was overly embellished. But in fact, both from the trains and from the buses there are such views that it is almost impossible to tear yourself away from the window. The train began to climb up the mountains. Despite the heavy rain, the views were such that I reconsidered my idea of what heaven on earth looks like. It just seemed impossible. We have never seen such beauty among the mountains. All the way through the speakers told the history of the route. A themed conductor checked the tickets.
Next spoiler. If you want a surprise during your own trip, then skip the passage to Murdala.
Spoiler
The train stopped near a powerful waterfall. The driver announced that everyone should go out and admire. When we left, loud and beautiful music began. She was everywhere, from all sides. The acoustics were just amazing. Against the backdrop of the waterfall was the wall of a ruined building. A girl in a red dress appeared from behind the wall and began to dance, when the girl went over the edge of the wall, she immediately appeared from behind the other far edge and continued to dance. The show lasted up to 5 minutes. Dasha knew about the show, but kept a secret for me. I was just stunned. We were on a train that stopped for us to look at the waterfall and the show started. It's just nonsense! THE TRAIN STOPPED FOR THE PASSENGERS TO GO OUT TO LOOK AT THE WATERFALL? ! The show ended and we reached the tops of the mountains in Murdal.
Murdal
Lil rain. It was cold, hands were freezing to hold umbrellas. Dasha was wearing a jacket, two jackets and a raincoat. I was in a sweater, jacket and raincoat. We started our trek through the valley of waterfalls to Flå m. The length of the route was 21 kilometers descent from 865 meters above sea level.
The rain subsided at times and sometimes the sun even broke through. The views were worth every effort. There were no options with waterfalls along the way. The most pleasant thing is that the eyes do not get used to the beauty, and tides of joy and wow roll constantly.
Killed in the trash, we reached Flam. We took our backpacks and walked another one and a half kilometers to our house. The house was two stories high. We had our own room on the second floor and a shared bathroom on the first. The rain wasn't going to stop. At times he calmed down, but then with renewed vigor poured. Since we had a hair dryer with us, we could quickly dry our shoes and clothes. It was very helpful. This evening the weather miracle began! A very strong hurricane began. Chairs, couches, a flower in a massive pot, it all flew around the territory. This hurricane lasted all night and radically changed the weather forecast in our direction. In the morning it was unexpectedly partly cloudy instead of rainy. We adjusted our plans on the fly and in the last two minutes jumped on the boat to Gudvangen.
Rimstigen
The morning boat is a real ordeal in the Norwegian cold. The ship sailed for 2 hours at full speed along the high fjords. The ship is multi-deck and is always ready to warm travelers. But even despite the panoramic windows inside the ship, you want to see this beauty with your own eyes.
More prepared travelers armed themselves with warm hats. The beauty of the route lies in the houses that are located near the water, right under the slopes of the fjord. At the very top, a waterfall begins and flows somewhere in the middle of the mountain.
Some, under the force of mountain winds, disperse into a haze and somewhere much lower again gather into waterfalls.
I understood that I would most likely freeze my face and catch a cold, but for the sake of such beauty I would stand for two hours and look at the panoramas as if struck by lightning.
Our ship sailed close to one of the largest waterfalls and stood for about 5 minutes so that everyone could take a picture. How we love this country! We sailed to Gudvangen. To be honest, I already regretted that we had planned the return trip by bus, and not by boat. But the price difference of 10 euros versus 76 euros bit a bit. In the market, a delicious shrimp sandwich was waiting for us. For 5 euros for two, we had a great meal and were ready to go on the route.
At first, it was necessary to walk 4 kilometers almost on a flat road to the neighboring town. The weather was fine, at times the sun peeped through the clouds and we had to take off one by one of the jackets. Sometimes it was so warm that even both jackets were taken off. We reached the Riemstigen sign. And we started climbing our first fjord.
We walked up for over two hours. It was unforgettable. The panorama behind me became more and more beautiful. The boats and houses below were getting smaller and smaller. To be honest, the climb was not easy. My legs hurt a little after the Flomov route. It's always like this when traveling, the easiest climbs are in the middle, when the body gets used to it. The most difficult on the second day and the last, when the body begins to give up. Along the route we came across a high, full-flowing waterfall. And at the top, a reward awaited us not only in the form of a beautiful panorama, but also endless supplies of blueberries and mushrooms. Mushrooms looked edible, but who knows))))
But we ate blueberries so much that I even began to wallow in the earth washed out by rains, without noticing it. Upstairs, my first fall awaited me. I flew with a camera in my hands. Luckily, I fell backwards, not forwards. It still seemed to me then that this fall was very extreme. But this time there was even no blood, so we don’t consider it serious))))
At the top, a post with a mailbox was waiting for us. There was a book and a pen in the drawer. Everyone who conquered the route was marked here??? ? Some kind of geocache.
On the way, we met strangely shaped objects. There was a huge stone that looked like an owl. There was a fallen tree - a dragon. Or maybe just against the backdrop of euphoria, our imagination embellished the route even more. In Norway, it is very convenient with water, when it runs out, you need to go to residential houses and ask for water. Norwegians do it with joy and a smile. There are also public very clean toilets, in which you can also get water. The word pure is applicable in all aspects. On the way back, we were in for a surprise. Real Norwegian cork. From time to time something happens in the tunnels, or some planned work is carried out. Traffic stops for 30 minutes completely. On the one hand, of course, transport works like clockwork, but at such moments it becomes scary, but what if we were in a hurry to get on a plane? For some reason, the bus driver decided not to take money from us. Smiled and said “It’s all ok! ” Joyfully. Dasha and I concluded that he was trying to catch up with his schedule and decided not to bother with ten euros. We traveled the two-hour boat route in 15 minutes by bus. Right through the mountain. I mean through the tunnel. The tunnels here are certainly notable, the longest tunnel on our Norwegian route was 25 kilometers long.
The bus drove over it for about 20 minutes. And even there was Wi-Fi with the Internet ???? . At home, we had dinner with pasta and nipples. Looks like it's around 21:00. It starts to get dark, but the weather is so pleasant that we couldn't resist and went one more track to the local waterfall. This time the climb lasted about 40 minutes. Upstairs, a large green meadow, a waterfall and an observation deck right on Flam.
The night lights of the houses shone like an expensive model of a children's railway. Everything was like a dream. The dream was stronger than ever. In general, during the entire trip there was never a hint of insomnia. Every time the dreams were very strong.
Stegastein
From the very morning we made a small hiking route through the hills of Flå m. Out of curiosity, there was a moment when we met a statue of shit. There was also, of course, a statue of a crown in the rock, but this is not as romantic as the previous mentioned statue. The Stegastein Lookout was within walking distance, but the hike would have taken a full day. We didn’t have such a time, so we signed up for an hour and a half tour. While we were riding in the bus, the audio guide told us about Norway. The trick of the guide was that you had to switch records by scanning the numbers on the map. The technology is a little outdated, but fun. The most memorable audio guide in our experience was in Poland, at Malbork Castle. The Polish guide himself determined us by GPS and told us what we needed. The Norwegian audio guide spoke in such a calm voice that sometimes we were knocked out in a dream. The delight from the review was a little less than the previous one. The reason was simple - we did not get here on our own, and there was no wave of pride-joy from the achieved goal. But nevertheless it is worth paying tribute.
It is beautiful here. We also captured a historical moment when one guy proposed to his girlfriend. They are very lucky that Dasha and I have a lightning-fast reaction. Now the guys have memorable photos from such an important event in their lives. When the guy wrote me his email, his hands were trembling with excitement. How touching it was))) The tour lasted only an hour and a half. It's a bit of a pity that we didn't go through such a colorful route on foot. We even walked for about 20 minutes from Flå m on the way to Stegastein. But fortunately, we still had a lot of these routes ahead of us.
Sogndal
This was our first crossing, which connected not only buses, but also ferry crossings. Here, the views from the ferry are much easier, since the crossing is through a wide sea, and not between narrow and high fjords.
City hosted us incredibly sunny. Our apartment was on the outskirts. We handed over our backpacks to the storage room and went to the nearest hiking route. The route ran up the hill through the church with an incredibly juicy apple orchard. Churches in Norway are very beautiful from the outside. The most interesting was on the route in Flå m, it was black.
Church near Flå m
Obzorka was not at all high and easily accessible. A view of the sunny Sogndal opened up from the snow. In fact, all the beauty is hidden behind the turn on the left, where the city of Kwam. But we didn't know that yet. On the way to the hotel, we went to the supermarket to stock up on groceries. I bought a huge piece of delicious cheese for 8 euros. The whole trip this cheese made us happy
. But even more joyful was the coffee. In Norway, coffee is often not cheap. But here it was just free! It's good that we knew the meaning of the word Gratis in the price tag! You just press a button and the machine pours it for you. We had booked a room in the apartment. But since other tourists did not stop by today, we got just the most luxurious Norwegian apartment with its own terrace.
True, the path was not easy and uphill. Maps me was cruelly mistaken, and we are stuck in a dead end. Our hotel was nearby, behind one of the houses, through a cliff. But the bypass is half a kilometer from the mountain and uphill with things. To be honest, there was no way around the forces and we, like in a real detective film, decided to make our way through another house. The owner was fascinated by the lawnmower and did not hear us. We quietly walked through the territory, found a makeshift bridge over a cliff and moved to the right house. When we told the hostess how we got to her son's apartment, it turned out that we made our way through her house))))
To say that the apartment was luxurious is an understatement. She was just Lakshari and completely ours??? ? It is clear that for the night it was not possible without a hiking track, but we didn’t last long, honestly???? . What we, in fact, chose Sogndal. Our morning bus to the glacier started from here. By the way, the glacier in English is pronounced as “Gleishe”. If you are going on this route, then without this word you can’t explain yourself) We ourselves learned it from the hostess. The road to the glacier consisted of two buses with fantastic views. Although it would be strange if the species were somehow simple. This is Norway, everywhere is beautiful. In the beginning there were fantastic lakes of the city of Kwam and other small towns. The beauty of the lakes was hidden in their color and viewing angle. The lakes themselves reflected all the houses and forests in the same color as in reality. As a result, under the shore there was an ideal mirror image of everything on the shore. Stable Wi-Fi allowed my mother to broadcast the beauty of the lakes live.
Some lakes were replaced by others. When it seemed that there was nowhere more beautiful, the bright turquoise river began to meander along our path. I think I saw similar photos about Canada. But it's here and now. The river was mountainous, nimble, constantly hurrying somewhere. But how can one rush in such beauty. And the best part is that we still have a two-hour return route along this beauty. Needless to say, the beauty from time to time was complemented by high mountain waterfalls and beautiful houses? We were taken to the information center. A place where you can buy tours of the glacier itself. But on this trip, our clothes didn't quite match the ice. We planned to just walk to him. To do this, they asked the driver to drive a little further to the beginning of the walking route. Dasha read about this chip on the Internet. The driver was supposed to go to the starting point much later, but he fulfilled our request with pleasure and drove only us, and then returned back as scheduled. The road to the glacier is a whole obstacle course. Through gentle boulders. The journey takes about an hour one way, which is right next to the next bus. Or we will be stuck on the glacier for 5 hours. We were in such a hurry to get to the very miracle of nature faster that, with a fright, we overcame the entire route in 30 minutes. Along the way, we came across ice floes and whole ice floes in the river.
The glacier itself is unusually blue. The truth is dirty, but without it it does not seem like it. But the blueness of the ice, to be honest, was very surprising. Why is he so blue? He must be white. From the glacier blew real northern cold. Dasha and I agreed that when we go to Iceland, we will definitely go through a glacier track.
On the way back, we were in no hurry, but nevertheless, this did not stop me from falling off the boulder so that the passing tourists gasped, my jeans were torn and my knee was broken. Luckily spare jeans were waiting for us in a backpack at the bus station??? ? Current jeans, of course, could be attributed to fashionable torn ones, but somehow I'm not in this business. They won’t appreciate it much at work) We took a return bus ticket to Kvam, that very beautiful town, with a huge mirror lake. There was no longer a mirror reflection, as a light breeze raised ripples on the water, but how beautiful it was there. I even took a nap on one of the rocks by the lake. It should be noted that here the Chinese could not do without.
Even in secluded Kwame, on a boulder in the middle of an immense lake, two Chinese found us. Well done people, they are actively traveling! Dasha and I also once spent a whole evening in a restaurant learning how to distinguish Asian races from each other. Just then, a Chinese was sitting at the next table and we analyzed him on Wikipedia. But in order to test our skills, we probably approached him at the end of the evening and asked where the guy was from, he was from Hong Kong. So now we are experts and we can say with confidence that they were Chinese.
Stryn
Photo from Flom
This city was intermediate before Geiranger. Here we had a clean overnight stay. This was our first campsite. In Norway, there are cities where hotels are either very expensive, or they are simply not available on booking and similar services. In such cities, it is necessary to settle in campsites, pre-booking a house for yourself by mail or phone. More often it was necessary to book by phone in English. With English, the Norwegians are all right. If the check-in is after 18:00, then it is necessary to warn and preferably not by mail, as the mail is often simply not read. We hit all our campsites after 18:00. I was able to resolve calls to campsites through a concierge service that the bank forced me to pay. She was very helpful here. The first campsite was in the form of a house with its own toilet. It was considered a high-level house. The city of Stryn, of course, is glorious, but how it stank there. Something must have happened to the sewer. We walked a little in the evening among the elite houses and went to sleep. The next day we did not work out a bit along the route. At the bus station, we missed one of the buses, and the other wait 5 hours. It wouldn't be a problem as you can always get down in Norway, but it was raining heavily. I had to take a very expensive bus marked with UNESCO. The bus was considered a tourist bus and therefore tickets for two cost 90 euros for an hour and a half. And the driver generally knocked out a bill for 180 euros, when I argued that the driver was clearly mistaken, he had an argument that this is a tourist bus, it can cost that much! But the driver did understand where his mistake was and wrote out for 90 euros. The tourist bus does not stop for photos at the sightseeing tours, unlike some regular ones. The tourist bus passes by the main remote viewpoint Dalsniba but does not stop at it, it does not stop anywhere except the cities themselves. The tour bus has a story about Norway type as a guide. In the brochure issued by the driver, it was written that this brochure is your guide. There are a couple of pages that you can read while you go to the desired city. Well, the bus also does not pass through the ferry along the fjord, unlike the route on a regular bus. In general, everything seems to be so thought out and wonderful in Norway, but it's just some kind of money laundering from tourists. Oh yes, another distinctive service was that the tourist bus broadcast views of the road from the webcam outside the window on a small screen. But in fact, 5 hours in Norway also could not be lost, and then we understood this very well.
Part 2
Geiranger
It was 2.5 km from the city to the camping one way. Accordingly, it will take 5 km to drive and leave things. For storing things here they wanted 8 euros in tourist information. Unlike Flom, we were in no hurry and went, left things at a local travel agency. The guy said that if we did not have time to return before closing, then he would transfer things to a nearby cafe. In general, clearly, we also saved 8 euros. The guy, of course, at first was surprised that we did not want to leave things in tourist information, but when I said about the price, he gladly helped us. It seems to me that many Norwegians have karma just on top. They also have a very interesting way of communicating. In public places such as receptions, tourist information or market cash desks, they communicate with you in such a way that even the most honored Emirates flight attendant would hardly win by good nature. Tourists are treated here with respect and a smile. They also say hitchhiking is very easy to travel, but our attempts at Geiranger failed. They put on all the jackets, raincoats and armed with umbrellas. Now we are not a hindrance to the downpour. We went uphill to the famous local waterfall. At first, on the way we met a black sheep.
She silently and mysteriously looked at us. But she refused to be photographed. We walked to the waterfall for several hours. And finally we are at the waterfall! More specifically, the waterfall!
This is a waterfall that you can walk under. As foreigners say, it was our new experience! Despite the fact that we have already seen hundreds of waterfalls, we still liked this one. In the meantime, the rain has subsided and the beginning will clear up. On the way back, we went to a sheep farm, behind which two of the most beautiful views were hidden. And also two amazing alpacas!
Let's take a photo, but the alpacas, like the black sheep, were not in a photographic mood. From the obzor there was a good view of the sea and the fjords. I think this is one of the most easily accessible hiking views on our way. Also, clouds flew by at our height, just caught the perfect moment.
And in a moment, a dirty puddle ideally caught me falling. The return descent was filled with extreme sports, it was slippery as if we were descending from a mountain of banana peels. We managed to return even to the closure of the travel agency. There was already another girl who gladly gave us backpacks. A huge liner has moored at Geiranger. I didn’t even know that it was so deep here that entire liners could fit. But we were not up to the liner, we dragged our things to a distant campsite. Here we had a house without a toilet and hot water. But we were given a price 50 euros lower and they even gave us a cold one. We just rejoiced. All the same, in the shower and toilet to walk 30 meters a little uphill. By the way, showers in campsites are also paid. The grandfather at the reception was probably trying to get an Oscar for the best grandfather in Norway. How cool he was with the guests. He must have worked in Norwegian bedtime stories before. He has a super-diction and a charming smile. Grandfather took out a large magazine and said that he would register us now! After we had dinner, we had to go for a walk. We decided to go to the city again, which is already plus 5 km to the general route. But in the city we studied what hiking routes are and already knew where we were going next.
Our best route to Mount Vinså shornet
In the morning we decided to swim for an hour on a boat. Compared to Flom, the boat was very simple and the panoramas too. After the boat, after drinking a cup of coffee (in the market, not in a cafe, of course), we began our ascent. The rise consisted of two points. The first point was waiting for us at an altitude of about 800 meters above sea level. The weather was relatively good, the sky was almost overcast, but it was comfortable to climb. The mountain did not seem to want to let us in, on the way we were waited for by dense thickets of ripe blueberries and raspberries.
We had to stop several times for harvesting. Mushrooms here were already quite indecent size. But we fought, we moved on.
We reached the first point in about an hour in 2.5 hours. From here there was an excellent high view of Geiranger and the fjords. Feeling the strength was still full, and we decided to move on. On the signs, in addition to the next overview, there was an arrow to the next tourist hiding place that awaits us at the end of the route.
When we started our route, the tourist information guy pointed to one of the sharp peaks of the mountains and said that along this path we would go straight there. But, to be honest, from below it seemed that the guy was just joking. And even at a height of eight hundred meters, the top of the mountain seemed unattainable for mere mortals. We thought that the second review would be somewhere under the top. We passed through a hunting lodge with a green roof and came out on a mountain plateau. Here nature has already changed a lot. The powerful full-flowing waterfall where we walked yesterday was in the form of many rivers and a lake.
There was snow somewhere. But a little above our level. We moved from late spring to very late spring with golden landscapes. Our itinerary was strictly curated by maps. me. But then she gave a strong slack and something went wrong with the route. We saw the marks on the stones, the route on the map, which coincided with the marks, but here it was clear that no one had walked for a long time. Something is wrong. There should be a fork, one at the peak, and the other just a dead end. I found a fallen pole with a pointer, which had not had any inscriptions for a long time. We tried to make our way along the marks on the stones, but our attempts failed.
We decided to move along a dead end branch. Fortunately, a new fork was waiting for us in the distance, dividing the same route into difficult and very difficult. We decided to go to the right on a simple difficult one, and we will return on a very difficult one. We read in the brochure what the black routes mean. We could not say with certainty that we had all the skills that were required to overcome the black routes. But sometime you have to try it for the first time! It's like the first time you take on a leadership position. A plateau with mountain lakes and rivers simply did not let go of our eyes, as if it kept them open all the time so that we would not miss a single moment. Our red route started to gain altitude and turned into real hardcore, we climbed up massive stones and cobblestones. It was necessary to look for red marks.
Moreover, the label was not always found the first time. There were strong doubts about the safety of the venture. After about 20 minutes it was already clear that we were on the route to the very top of the giant mountain. Rain is expected to start at 4:00 pm. As scheduled at 15:54 light rain began. The idea began to gain notes of doubt, and the expedition threatened to fail. But the weather seemed to decide to help us, the rain ended in 10 minutes and the bright sun began to illuminate us through the blue windows in the sky. True, it was quite difficult to look for marks against the sun, but we did not complain. Was it hard? Yes, it was generally a very strange activity, if it were not for the labels, then I would never have believed that it could be safe at all. It seemed that as the cobblestone flies back, everything falls down. Dasha and I deliberately kept a distance so that there was time to dodge the flying stone. On the way we had a stop to touch the snow.
About two hours and we are at the next peak, also the sun. It was a height of 1340 meters! It was very beautiful in every way. There, serpentines of roads are like an artist's pen, and there are rivers with lakes at an altitude of 800 meters that go down, where the sea and mountains are. We were waiting for another postal tourist box, where we checked in. Today we were the only ones on this route. Also in Norway it is customary to build trolls in the mountains. We also made a contribution in the form of a pebble.
At the top there were quite dangerous places with a sheer cliff a meter and a half from the path. We marked this route as the most beautiful among all we have seen. No wonder the fjord in Geiranger is considered the most beautiful in the world according to some of the ratings. Even if you are already completely exhausted, you still have to come up here.
The descent was another adventure. Against the background of the marks, there were often just cliffs and this inspired the horror of the coming descent. It was necessary to jump down a meter and fall from the slipperiness and be afraid and be strong in spirit. When we returned to the first point and once again looked at the top of the mountain, we could not believe that we had just climbed and descended there. From the side of the black route, it looked like a simple sheer cliff. The advantage of our choice with the red route was that the beauty opened up all of a sudden. If you go up the black one, you will get used to it even before you go up.
The whole journey took us almost 9 hours and it was just super chic. Thanks to maps, we were able to reduce a significant part at the very beginning of the route, where it was recommended to go by car. The navigator led us through the secret paths of the campsites. It was the first time when, after returning to the campsite, we no longer went for a walk and conquer new surveys.
After dinner, we lay in silence, watching a movie on a tablet about how a man tried to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy. Today we climbed what is the longest and highest straight climb in our six year history. And it was great!
We decided to mark the beginning of a new day and yesterday's victory with a four-hour route directly from our campsite.
The forecast promised showers, but instead we were waiting for the most beautiful torn clouds that fell right on Geiranger. This route was not so much up as with obstacles. We walked through swampy terrain and slippery rocks. It was pouring with rain at times.
There was even a fall of Dasha such that I caught her riding down the rock. One of our umbrellas sprawled helplessly on the rocks. But the forest, fluffy with moss, and abandoned houses with green roofs reached the very heart. At the end of the route, we had a view of the fjords and the Seven Sisters waterfall. This was our last fjord climb on this trip.
We understood this and it was a little sad. The legs, of course, rejoiced at such an event, but they did not yet know that they were waiting for a night climb up the mountain today. The itinerary we had booked for the next day was Andalsnes. But it will take 5 hours to get to the campsite, and the weather most likely will not allow you to see his troll trail for half a day tomorrow. It was decided to shorten the route and spend the night in Molda today.
Norwegian cities have their own charm, there are many buildings, modern, but not tall. Three floors. Refreshing air and cozy atmosphere. Not even two minutes from the bus, we met my grandmother. The woman enthusiastically told us something in Norwegian. We suggested switching to English. She happily informed us that cheap strawberries had been delivered to a nearby market for 10 crowns per basket (1 euro). And showed a whole bag of purchased strawberries. How cute is that. Let's go and visit the market! There is a whole cult with strawberries in the city. There are special stalls and stalls selling strawberries everywhere for about 30 crowns. But today, surprisingly, they sold other berries) They are unlikely to buy strawberries for that kind of money today. We settled in an apartment with a Russian man who has been living in Norway for a long time. He told us a lot of different things about life in the country and his experience of moving. In the future, he plans to rent out his house and move to live with us in Lviv. There are caves in Molda, there is a beautiful Atlantic road and a mountain. Where to start... we started from the mountain! The owner assured that it was only 40 minutes to go up there. But the ascent at a brisk pace took about an hour and a half through a dense forest. More than two hundred mountain peaks should have been visible from the mountain, but not with our weather. The route was complicated by the fact that on the way back in the dense forest it was already night and it was raining.
We also got a little lost as the GPS was a bit behind us. Legs finally gave up. When we got to the hotel, we had to cancel tomorrow's caves and the Atlantic road. I started having a problem with my feet, Dasha with her knees. The foot was released only 4 days after arrival in Kyiv. Dasha's knees gave way immediately after arrival.
The morning began with a powerful explosion! It’s our fault (It’s good that the owner hasn’t woken up yet. We quickly peeled off the microwave from the exploded egg. We knew very well that eggs explode. But we thought that this only applies to raw eggs. After breakfast, we went to wander around the cozy city. The highlight of our trip There was a visit to Norwegian McDonald's.
Norway manages to keep prices so high that it is impossible to get used to them. But since eating at McDonald's in every country is as important as a photo with the Hard Rock logo in the background, we decided to walk like that. We ordered a Cheeseburger! Unbridled holiday!
Alessund
One of the northern cities was already waiting for us a few hours drive from Molde. The city greeted us sunnyly. In our route, “Sunny” means that in addition to rains, the sun and blue sky sometimes peeked out. He met us with a food festival with many tastings. Norwegians build excellent cities. It is clear that you are in Europe, but a little different, not the same as everywhere else.
In good weather, you can take bicycles and ride around the neighboring islands. We walked for a long time, visited two islands, covering 12 kilometers. We climbed the surveys and watched the family go fishing. In the evening we watched Eagle and Tails about Norway. Early in the morning we started our chain of flights to Kyiv. For the first time along the route, we had three planes in one day.
Oslo
Here we had a transfer of 5 hours. The city is far from the airport. There is a high-speed train that takes 20 minutes, but it costs 20 euros. Luckily, there is a slow 210 km/h train that takes 24 minutes and costs 10 euros. It was a great alternative to the five hour wait at the airport. Oslo is just the perfect city for walking during a transfer.
We had 2.5 hours in the city itself. But it could take a couple more hours to wander around. The sun shone so clearly here that it was even impossible to imagine that the fjords are now flooded with rain. In this city, we first saw the Hard Rock cafe, the prices in which were as usual as elsewhere in Norway. We just walked around nicely. The train arrives immediately in the center and runs three times an hour strictly according to the schedule.
Since our next flight is to Warsaw (within the Schengen area), you can arrive quite close to the landing and walk as much as possible in the city. The last pleasant surprise was waiting for us in the duty free zone, they accepted my coupon for 10 euros, which I received in the mail from their network 4 months ago. On a layover in Warsaw, we asked for boiling water and drank the last remaining tea bag from our provisions.
After the successful completion of the route, Dasha and I feel great pride in ourselves and everyone who also did it and plans to do it. Norway is a country that will conquer absolutely everyone with its beauty, I think there are no people in the world who do not like such a beautiful country, which even bad weather will not interfere with! We have done a relatively small tourist route. There is also a more southern part in the Stavanger region, where the Troll language and its attractions. There is also the northern part with polar bears and aurora borealis. I am sure that this was not our last expedition to Norway.
