Well I've been through quite a bit since the last update, I have my books (my sole guide up there was Constance Roo's 'Walking in Norway', and a compass) beside me so I will hopefully get the place names correct the rest of my spelling will be up to my usual impeccable standard :-)
It was my birthday, it was perfectly sunny day and I was in the Norwegian mountains. The hike was pretty tough, and I was still carrying far more than anyone else, my packing skills leave much to be desired. The view from the top though made it all worth while.
I took lots of pictures from the Besseggen Ridge, and have complied this Quicktime VR movie (4.6mb) taken from between the lakes. I came to Norway based mostly on photos by Jørgen so I have a lot to thank him for besides his hospitality when I passed through Copenhagen. That evening I was quietly sitting in my bunk, writing my paper based journal (thanks Josephine), when Mertte, a Norwegian girl in the same room, asked my age. '22, err no 23, today is my birthday' :-) Not much later I was upstairs in the common room eating a birthday muffin (they didn't have any cakes for sale) with her and Maria. We talked for a few hours before I had to call it quits and head for bed. The next day the weather was not so brilliant, and I had reports that the glaciers that were on my planned northerly route had lost their snow cover making them just ice. Without crampons I would have been crazy to take that path, so I took a boat along the Gjende to Gjendebu and then started my walk to Olavsbu, a small self-service hut in the middle of nowhere. No electricity, no running water and no beds for the last people to arrive. They had to sleep on the padded benches in the main room.
At first I was walking through sparse trees and muddy ground, but further up the valley the vegetation dropped off and it became a hike over rocks. Lots of rocks. If there was one other place on earth that Lord of the Rings could have been filmed, Norway would be it, and I was on the edge of Mordor (video 3.9mb). The rain came in and the wet weather gear came out. By 2pm I was at the hut and toasting my feet in front of the fire. Without much else to do, and no native English speakers to compare stories with I spent most of my time in bed, my feet needed it as much as my back. In the morning I started down the hill with sunshine behind me and surrounded by huge snow capped mountains. I passed a few lakes, and some beautiful patches of moss and grass with little snow melt streams running through them. The rain caught me once again and I spent the early afternoon trudging downhill in between little bushes, jumping over muddy patches and avoiding slippery rocks.
I came to Skogadalsboen and decided to fork out for a full dinner because I was getting rather hungry after finishing my loaf of bread and last apple the day before. The man at the desk said I was the first Kiwi of the season which was kinda cool. It was here that I got reception for the first time since the Besseggen Ridge so I made a birthday call to Mark in the morning (a week late) and received texts from others wishing me well for my day. An early start and fast pace the next morning (Wednesday) so that I could get to Hjelle in time for the 3:45 bus to reach the next town for another bus so that I could get the night train to Oslo. Everything went well. The mountains were fantastic, the rain came and went and I got to see some cool things. Mountain huts with grass and lupins growing on the roof, Norway's highest waterfall and some beautiful little valleys, only visible to those willing to put in the time and effort to walk that high in the mountains.
Like the previous two days I spent a few hours without seeing anybody at all. But there where more towards the end, day hikers just doing a hour or two. The final few kilometers were on a dirt track from Vetti to Hjelle and I had time to record this video (5.5mb)The bus ride to Bergen was great, and I definitely want to see the fjords again. Sheer rock walls plunging straight into the water, with moody clouds hanging over them about to drench the place. They have some massive tunnels up there. The longest, at 25km, has some big caverns spaced out along it, with a spacey blue light scheme. The train ride to Oslo wasn't particularly comfortable but when I woke at about half three in the morning all was forgiven. We were whizzing past pine forests and perfectly still lakes with small clouds rising up between them. The sun was coming up and the sky turned a subtle purple colour.
It was definitely up there in the best views of my entire trip. I wanted to wake everyone up and tell them that they were missing out on an amazing experience, but I don't think it would have gone down well. We rolled into Oslo at about 6:30 and I waited for my next train, happy with my time in Norway, and pining for the fjiords.
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Click Norwegian link below for a photograph
Posted by: Norwegian Blue at July 24, 2003 11:01 PMThe photograph linked above was kindly supplied by Jørgen Falck, and was taken at Copenhagen station.
Posted by: Denis Stanton at July 24, 2003 11:18 PMFor your night in Olso you seem to have assumed a generous interpetation of Allemannsrett or Every man's right. ( http://www.willassen.no/guide/generelt/allemannsrett.en.html ) Norway has a special law granting everyone the right to unobstructed hiking anywhere in forest and mountain areas, regardless of ownership to the land, as long as you leave nature in the same condition as when you came. As far as natural areas are concerned (i.e. not fields, gardens etc.), and provided you're on foot, there is no such thing as "no trespassing" in Norway.
If you have looked further you might have found that this law does not actually apply to Royal Residences (http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/system/032005-990408/index-dok000-b-n-a.html ). "it lies on restricted military property where no trespassing is allowed."
Posted by: Allemannsrett at July 27, 2003 03:39 AMCraig your camera has certainly been working
overtime - and has certainly paid for itself
already. The sunrise from the train great -
the other passengers don't know what they missed.
We are enjoying your OE immensely. Keep it up -
and keep well- Regards from us both.
Again, some great photos, but I guess you can't go wrong with that scenery. Is it just me, or do those place names seem to involve a spit filled mouth and a load of gutteral noises in order to say them? And don't tell me you too get Monty Python lines going through your head at inappropriate times. Fjiords, lupins, you can't escape it.
Posted by: Lorraine at July 27, 2003 02:04 PMWho posted as Allemannsrett? I wouldn't worry bout it too much - it seems not even the guards know that law :)
There definitely does seem to be a bit of Lord of the Rings feel to a lot of those pictures. Did that go through your head much? Ever feel like you were on some epic quest, hiking through mountains, eating apples and loaves of bread, peaking out from behind rocks while being filmed - very Bagginsish.
Posted by: Peter at July 28, 2003 02:21 AMRE: Who posted as Allemannsrett?
I did. Somebody has to watch over the hobitses
Posted by: me at July 28, 2003 04:51 AMPININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? Hey.. ;-) Then, allow me a little contribution from Who Wrote That anno 1948:
"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "It's very easy to take more than nothing."
All right - carry on...
Posted by: Jørgen at August 4, 2003 09:42 PM
are for 
