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In Oslo we settled at the YHA near the palace, and near the park in which I slept last time I was in town. I was much relieved to have a roof over my head this time. Plus walls, a shower, a door and all the other comforts that come with paid accommodation. Bronwyn and I met up with Kristin and Kristine, two of the Norwegian girls I met in La Rochelle. It seemed like ages since I met them on the beach, but it's only been 5 weeks, so much has happened since then. We wandered for a bit as we told our stories of travelling in Europe and retold what our plans are for next year. Martine was in town but working so the four of us dropped by her coffee shop to say Hi. The clouds were coming in but we headed for Akershus Festning anyway. When the rain started the girls decided that it was time to go pack for Kristin's move to Denmark that evening so Bron and I ventured on alone around the old fort. It cleared up as we returned to the hostel. That night we met Angelo, a guy touring Europe on his motorbike and detailing his trip online. I really like the idea of touring by bike, and hope to get to it some day, for now I'm happy with the trains.
Neither of us got much sleep that night, thanks to the old American guy who comes in third on my list of all time snorers. I have plenty of angry things to say about him, but moving on I'll complain about the hostels lack of showers. For 4 dorms of 16 people each there were exactly 5 shower heads in the male washroom. They were communal. No thank you. I made sure I showered the night before rather than wait in the queue with the 31 other guys in the morning. A video from Bronwyn
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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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