Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
News from Norway!
Gday all!
1st shot at making a blog so.....here goes! Photos will be a bit random...some from Shetland, Iceland and Norway...
After 5 fantastic weeks in Iceland I crossed by ferry to the Faroe islands for 3 days. Amazing islands (when I could see them, the fog reduced visibility to about 10 metres much of the time!) however the frequent tunnels don't make it ideal cycling territory. Black tunnels + cyclists + Faroese drivers = high probability of death!
Departing Torshavn on the sunny morning of July 9 I arrived into Bergen, Norway the following day under a thick blanket of cloud. Rain is expected here 280 days of the year so I wasn't too surprised when it started bucketing. Further ferrying took me south to Stavanger where I had planned to meet up with mate Guus from Holland, he'd spent the previous week riding from Oslo. We stayed in Stavanger a couple of days with a visit to the must-see oil museum. Impressive models of the North Sea rigs I passed on the ferry crossing from the Faroes to Norway.
From Stavanger we rode to the Lysefjord (light fjord....light??...what light?). The fog was thick but we managed the hike to the Kjeragbolten, a boulder that is wedged between two sheer rock faces and hangs 1km above the fjord below. Gets the heart going climbing out onto the boulder, especially in the wet! Unfortunately no view from here but the weather improved as we headed further down the fjord the following day and ascended the world's longest staircase - 4444 steps! To the famous Preikestolen (pulpit rock) next and we hiked up late in the evening to camp out on the top and see the sunrise the next morning. The five minutes of light through the cloud illuminated the entire fjord and the vertical cliffs...brilliant.
Back on the bikes and headed north in the direction of Odda and onto Bergen a few days later. It rained almost all day, every day until we reached Bergen for some sunshine! The riding had been tough with some steep hills and amazing scenery and the Norwegians were proving to be incredibly hospitable people. Bergen is brilliant under sun and I recommend peppered mackerel from the fish market! We left for Voss that evening, onto Myrdal and a spectacular descent through the Flåm valley. The sun continued to shine at Gudvanger, next onto Kaupanger and into the Jotenheimen national park for the day hike up Norway's highest mountain, Galdhøpiggen. Great hike but zero visbility from the summit...not unusual so i've heard.
Riding on through Lom and more spectacular mountain scenery on the way to the Trollstigen, another impressive display of the Norwegian's ability to build a road over (or bore a tunnel through as the case often is) imposing mountains. Onto Bjorli where we met with Guus's sister who was hiking with a Dutch group before returning north to Åndalsnes and into Trondheim from where I post this blog! We hope to be in Tromsø by mid August, heading to the Lofoten islands on the way.
Hope all are well and take care. Will update later. Enjoy!
1st shot at making a blog so.....here goes! Photos will be a bit random...some from Shetland, Iceland and Norway...
After 5 fantastic weeks in Iceland I crossed by ferry to the Faroe islands for 3 days. Amazing islands (when I could see them, the fog reduced visibility to about 10 metres much of the time!) however the frequent tunnels don't make it ideal cycling territory. Black tunnels + cyclists + Faroese drivers = high probability of death!
Departing Torshavn on the sunny morning of July 9 I arrived into Bergen, Norway the following day under a thick blanket of cloud. Rain is expected here 280 days of the year so I wasn't too surprised when it started bucketing. Further ferrying took me south to Stavanger where I had planned to meet up with mate Guus from Holland, he'd spent the previous week riding from Oslo. We stayed in Stavanger a couple of days with a visit to the must-see oil museum. Impressive models of the North Sea rigs I passed on the ferry crossing from the Faroes to Norway.
From Stavanger we rode to the Lysefjord (light fjord....light??...what light?). The fog was thick but we managed the hike to the Kjeragbolten, a boulder that is wedged between two sheer rock faces and hangs 1km above the fjord below. Gets the heart going climbing out onto the boulder, especially in the wet! Unfortunately no view from here but the weather improved as we headed further down the fjord the following day and ascended the world's longest staircase - 4444 steps! To the famous Preikestolen (pulpit rock) next and we hiked up late in the evening to camp out on the top and see the sunrise the next morning. The five minutes of light through the cloud illuminated the entire fjord and the vertical cliffs...brilliant.
Back on the bikes and headed north in the direction of Odda and onto Bergen a few days later. It rained almost all day, every day until we reached Bergen for some sunshine! The riding had been tough with some steep hills and amazing scenery and the Norwegians were proving to be incredibly hospitable people. Bergen is brilliant under sun and I recommend peppered mackerel from the fish market! We left for Voss that evening, onto Myrdal and a spectacular descent through the Flåm valley. The sun continued to shine at Gudvanger, next onto Kaupanger and into the Jotenheimen national park for the day hike up Norway's highest mountain, Galdhøpiggen. Great hike but zero visbility from the summit...not unusual so i've heard.
Riding on through Lom and more spectacular mountain scenery on the way to the Trollstigen, another impressive display of the Norwegian's ability to build a road over (or bore a tunnel through as the case often is) imposing mountains. Onto Bjorli where we met with Guus's sister who was hiking with a Dutch group before returning north to Åndalsnes and into Trondheim from where I post this blog! We hope to be in Tromsø by mid August, heading to the Lofoten islands on the way.
Hope all are well and take care. Will update later. Enjoy!
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