Due to a few annoying technical issues on Tumblr’s behalf (and a lack of time mine) this entry is more or less a visual representation of our time in the small island nation off the coast of India. But to give you a quick run down, we stayed in a beautiful little oasis called Camp Poe in Ahangama, Southern Province. Here, we did yoga every morning, surfed most days, and plenty of ate local food (did someone say curry and rice?). A few of the non-yoga and surfing highlights were riding bikes to a tea plantation and visiting a Buddhist temple for the Full Moon ceremony (which included receiving blessings from a Buddhist monk, so much good karma). 

Homeward bound...

Prague is more than beautiful old buildings and labyrinth-like streets, in the last few years it has had a massive surge in coffee culture and modern food hangs. Staying true to our travel style we took in the sights of the city by way of hopping from one food haven to another.

The Tourist Trail

Charles Bridge and Old Town are the tourist Meccas of Prague. They’re steeped in history, beauty and selfie-sticks, the latter being the reason for doing a quick whip around these areas before steering clear of the tourist hubs for a majority of our trip.

Food, glorious food

Letna Beer Garden

The beer garden is in a primo position if you’re after sprawling views of the city. It’s perched on the edge of Letna Park and, considering the Czech’s drink more beer than any other country, it’s a hell of a beer garden. Even though we were there at 11am on a Thursday in October, there was no doubt that it would be buzzing on a warm summers afternoon.

Sisters

Sisters is a cute, hole-the-wall cafe which specialises in traditional Czech open sandwiches, or chlebiceks, and coffee. It’s owned and run by Hana Michopulu who has been dubbed the Martha Stewart of the Czech Republic. Among other great feats, she reinvented the open sandwich and put it back on the culinary map. And I’m so glad she did, they are little taste sensations.

We also found out that you can’t eat an open sandwich any way you please, there are rules: one cannot use a knife and fork or fold the sandwich in half. It’s seriously frowned upon stuff if you do.

Coffee Room

We drank many a coffee in Prague because it was just all so delicious. The Czech’s are doing coffee right, they’ve realised that mass produced beans do nothing for the quality of the coffee which has made way for a bunch of local roasters supplying beans to cafes. And they also know how to mix milk and espresso better most. Coffee Room is located in the Vinohrady district and is one of the more outstanding places for a good ‘ol Latte.

Mezi Zrnky

Two words: Bacon muesli.

Another hidden gem of the Vinohrady district, Mezi was just around the corner from our AirBnB and offers up a quirky breakfast menu. I went for an injection of health by way of the smoothie bowl and despite how tasty it was I came down with a serious case of food envy when Casey’s came out. He had opted for the (not so) traditional English Breakfast where the usual suspects sausage, egg and mushrooms were accompanied by helping of bacon muesli. That’s right, BACON MUESLI! Two things I never would have thought compatible are a match made in breakfast heaven.

Almost homeward bound.

Södermalm. It’s Australian equivalent would be Surry Hills in Sydney or Brunswick in Melbourne. It’s trendy and oozes cool. Most days we ended up in Södermalm so many of our Swedish experiences revolve around this particular area.

Fika and Food

Fika loosely translates to taking time out from the day, usually of a morning or afternoon, for coffee and something sweet with friends or family. Every Swede will tell you that fika is so much more than that, it’s an activity, a feeling and a connection all at the same time... It’s one of those words that doesn’t really have an English translation, it’s just... Fika. We had many a fika’s in Sweden. Honourable mentions go to Drop Coffee and Fabrique bakery for brilliant coffee and tasty treats.

Whilst Sweden is an expensive country it’s still cheaper than Norway so we treated ourselves to our fair share of good, delicious food when we were in town. On the recommendation of a few blogs and Instagram feeds we ate and drank at some pretty epic places. Gilda’s Rum in Södermalm lands smack bam at the top of the list for the heartiest salads we’ve ever come across and Meatballs for the People offer up, you guessed it, meatballs. A pretty simple concept to serve traditional Swedish meatballs yet they are the first and only ‘meatballeria’ in Sweden and although IKEA makes a mean meatball... these are better.  

Cycle Infrastructure

If the food, coffee and essence of cool weren’t enough to win us over, the cycle infrastructure surely did. Every second person is on an incredibly trendy bike (seriously, so much bike envy) and most roads feature a duel carriage cycle lane. Dreamy.

Skinnarviksberget

It’s nothing in comparison to Norwegian standards, but Skinnarviksberget is the highest natural view point in the city. It’s a popular picnic spot and the surrounding parks feel like you’re a million miles away from the city centre.

Stockholm Public Library

We visited the library purely to get photos and check out the architecture. The main reading hall is a circular, floor to ceiling thing of beauty. If we could read Swedish we could have happily spent hours there.

Time to hop the boarder...

Gdansk is a real beauty. It has an old world charm and is home to some of the oldest, most well preserved churches in all of Europe (and the Fountain of Neptune which gathers quite the crowd). The city itself, especially the old town, is in incredible condition considering its age and the battle that sparked World War II taking place just across the harbour.

The city is part of the Tri-City area which encompasses Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia. If we had more time on our hands we would have ventured to these other nearby areas but alas we did not, so downtown Gdansk it was! Honestly, we were just stoked to have some sunshine (its been raining in Stavanger for the better part of three months) and splurge on food and drink without spending a small fortune. 

Gdansk Panoramic Wheel 

Gdansk’ answer to the London Eye, only considerably smaller, provides panoramic views of the city and surrounds. It was a slow-paced, but no less thrilling, 25 minutes of photo opp goodness. 

Baltic Amber

Being on the coast of the Baltic Sea which is the largest known deposit of amber, Gdansk is rife with amber merchants and you’d be hard pressed to walk a few metres without coming across a store or cart. We spent at least a day and a half scouring the stalls looking at all the variations and ways in which locals have crafted the amber. 

Baltic amber dates back as far as 44 million years ago and ranges from a bright yellow to a dark, almost orange, yellow depending on where it’s found and how old it is. There are a plethora of interesting tid-bits about amber including its antibiotic properties (magical healing powers!), that it floats in salt water but sinks in fresh water and the burning pine aroma it emits when touched with fire.

Sustenance 

We let loose when it came to eating and drinking whilst in Poland, the prices were such a welcome change from Norwegian standards that it was hard not to. Casey’s world was changed when he discovered potato pancakes, a hash brown/shallow fried potato mash hybrid and I found a coffee and craft beer haven in Drukania Cafe. It was everything that had been missing from my world for the last six months - good coffee, good beer, and most importantly; great cafe aesthetics. 

Overall, the food we experienced was quite dense, a la potato pancakes, but nothing we came across was too far fetched or squeamish. Although, it was just a little bit quirky that beers were served to women with a straw. 

Eh, when in Poland...

Time to don the joggers and jeans and head back to Scandinavian soil...

Jotunheimen National Park

Dubbed the heart of Norway, Jotunheimen translates to Home of the Giants and the highest mountain in Northern Europe, Galdhøpiggen, which stands at 2469m. The landscape is overwhelmingly huge and its easy to see why the giants of Norse Mythology called the area home.

We travelled right through the national park, on what was once the Royal Road. The road was established as part of a 15th century decree which required the residents of Lom to keep the mountain crossing passable so trading of farm products, salt, and iron could begin between the residents of Bergen on the west coast. It’s one of those drives that should have taken 2.5 hours but took around 5 because we stopped to ogle the landscape so many times.           

Besseggen Ridge Walk

How long and how far: Around 6-7hrs covering roughly 14kms. 

Highest point: The plateau of Veslefjell at 1743m. 

Where we stayed: Gjendesheim. 

The Besseggen Ridge is a narrow ridge line that runs between two lakes, the dark blue Bessvatnet and the emerald green Lake Gjendes. It makes up about 1km of a 14km hike between Memurubu and Gjendesheim, however, when people talk about the Besseggen Ridge they’re generally referring to the complete hike. The ridge itself is incredibly narrow and requires a decent amount of scrambling over rocks on all fours. On the plus side, the views are spectacular and the emerald green Lake Gjendes is pure insty gold (or, you know, green...). 

Traditionally, hikers catch the ferry from Gjendesheim to Memurubu and walk the 14 kilometres over the ridge and back to the hyttes at Gjendesheim. Not for these budget travellers! Wanting to spare the ferry fee we opted to walk the non-traditional way, cross the ridge (just past half way) and then double back. All the views at a low, low price!

Gjendesheim 

Gjendesheim is a small area on Lake Gjende and the starting/end point of the Besseggen Ridge Walk, regardless of whether you catch the ferry or not. It consists of the tourist hytte, a small general store and the campground/carpark where we stayed. Everyone who camps has access to the facilities at the Tourist Hytte which is run by the incredible DNT (total DNT fan girl right here). Gjendesheim was so still and peaceful that it was hard to get in the car and head back to Oslo. 

Stave Churches

Stave Churches were once scattered all over north-west Europe with more than 1000 in Norway. They are these elaborately carved wooden churches, similar to the great stone cathedrals many associate with Europe, but due to the influence of Vikings, were made out of wood. In addition to these impressive wooden structures, the churches were also intricately decorated with a mixture of Christian and Viking symbolism (crucifix’ and dragons, whatta combo). 

Many of the churches were built between 1150 and 1350, however, since medieval times the number of Stave Churches has diminished considerably and now only 28 remain standing in Norway. The disappearance is due to a number of incidents throughout history, namely the Black Death and pesky little so-and-so’s with a tendency to set things on fire. 

We visited the Lom Stave Church on our way to Gjendesheim. The church was originally built around 1160 and has had very few extensions made over time. During its hey day of the middle ages, Lom Stave Church was one of the most important churches between Trondheim in the north and Hamar in the south as well as being a busy crossroad between east and west Norway, much like present day Lom. 

Bring on the last few weeks of Norwegian adventures...

There were many a bucket list item to be ticked off on our week-long road trip so, after picking up our ever-so-stylish red panel van in Oslo, we wasted no time at all putting peddle to the metal and hitting the road. The plan for the week was to see as much as the Norwegian landscape as possible by heading north-west for a few hundred kilometres before veering east and looping back to Oslo. Our destination for the first day was a small town called Odda where we would set up camp before an epic hike to Trolltunga the following day. 

Trolltunga

Where we stayed: Odda Camping is located on the southern side of Odda, which is roughly a 5hr drive from Oslo depending how adventurous Google Maps is feeling. Odda is the main township associated with the hike to Trolltunga and being that camping is not permitted at the trailhead (about 30mins from Odda) many hikers bunk down in town for the night.  

The hike: Trolltunga is one of the most well known natural attractions of Norway and rightly so; a rock-ledge jutting out 700-metres above Ringedalsvatnet (a glacial lake) is a spectacular sight to see. Getting there, however, is no easy feat. The hike is 23kms in total and took us roughly 9 hours to complete. The first 1.7km’s is an almost vertical climb through ankle deep mud (leave the Nike’s at home, folks, this is a walk for your trusty hiking boots) but the view at the end is 110% worth the effort. We got up early and were on the trail by 6:30-7am which was by far the best way to avoid an epic line up for photos once at the rock. Having now ticked off Norway’s three big rocks - Preikestolen, Kjergbolten, and Trolltunga; the consensus was that Trolltunga, contrary to popular belief, was by far the least fear-inducing of the lot.  

Added tidbits: Norse mythology believes that trolls are made of stone, hence why there is a great deal of troll myth in Norway (...heaps of rocks). Trolltunga, or Trolls Tongue as it is known in English, is believed to be exactly that, a trolls tongue and the area where it is located is believed to be the ‘home of the trolls’.

Voss 

Voss is the adventure sports capital of Norway, home to the Ekstremsportveko (extreme sports expo) and despite popular belief, not where they bottle the ever-trendy Voss water (much to my disappointment). We spent the morning wandering around the sleepy town, drinking instant coffee on the shores of Vangsvatnet and then finding a better alternative at the local bakery. Before skipping town we checked out the Bordalsgjelet Gorge, about five minutes out of town. Although much, much smaller in size, we dubbed it the Karijini of the north, due to similar rock formations. 

Aurland

From Voss we headed towards Aurland via Flåm. As with most fjord-side towns in Norway, Flåm is a major stop on the cruise ship route and seems to be almost purposely built to cater for the ships tourists. Aurland on the other hand is not an oversized souvenir shop and we ended up spending the afternoon basking in the sun beside the fjord before bunking down at the local campsite for the night. 

650m above Aurlandsfjorden, on the National Tourist Route between Aurland and Lærdal, is the Stegastein lookout. The National Tourist Routes around Norway are scattered with architecturally designed lookouts, rest stops (even toilet blocks) and Stegastein is one of these. The lookout is made of timber (standard Norwegian building material) and steel and is pretty impressive, as is the view (the toilet blocks are also pretty snazzy). 

Time to head east...

Trollsteinen and Larsbreen Glacier:

Being an avid hiker and interested in anything new, there was no way I was going to the arctic and not walking on a glacier. Trollsteinen is one of the highest peaks around Longyearbyen, sitting at 850m above sea level and providing a great view of Longyearbyen, Larsbreen Glacier and the surrounding area. 

We lucked out with the weather, managing to do the hike on a bluebird day and were able to fully appreciate the amazing views.

The hike started at Nybyen, at the southern end of the Longyearbyen valley where we met our guide, complete with rifle, flair gun and supplies. From there we crossed the glacial river and headed up the ravine to the start of the glacier. 

Soon into the climb, we left behind the small amount of vegetation in Longyearbyen and cruised along what can only be described as barren rock doing it’s best impression of the moon. Only the occasional Svalbard Poppy and snow drifts broke up the landscape. 

Larsbreen Glacier, while small compared to the others that cover 60% of Svalbard, is easily accessible and a great introduction to what a glacier walk is really about. Stepping onto the glacier and walking across was quite easy, just watch out for the glacial rivulets snaking their way down into the valley! 

After stepping off the glacier, we headed up a steep ridge and climbed to the top of Trollsteinen. The mountain peak, with it’s large overhanging boulder atop the ridge is supposedly a troll that was caught by the dawn and turned into stone. This seems to be an extremely common theme throughout all of Norway. 

The 360° view from Trollsteinen is breathtaking. Having lunch at the top of the ridge, we could see down into Longyearbyen and Adventfjord, over Larsbreen and Longyearbyen Glaciers and out into the wilderness of Svalbard.

Pyramiden and Nordenskiöld Glacier:

Who would come to Svalbard and not try to see a Polar Bear? With this in mind, we hopped aboard the MS Polar Girl and went on a tour of the abandoned Soviet mining town of Pyramiden and nearby Nordenskiöld Glacier. 

The tour left Longyearbyen and headed through the fjords to Pyramiden, stopping at a few inlets to hear local stories from our Russian guide, including a sad tale of 30 Russian explorers that were stranded over winter. After finding a refuge hut for shelter and enough supplies to survive they thought they were safe, only for everyone to die from lead poisoning from the canned food. 

Pyramiden was founded by the Swedes in 1910 and sold to the USSR in 1927, where it operated as a coal mining town up until 1998. At its peak, Pyramiden had over 1000 inhabitants working in the coal mine and surrounding village. Nowadays, there are 8 permanent inhabitants, running tours and operating the small hostel. 

Home the the worlds northern most statue of Lenin (and the northern most grand piano), Pyramiden has all the facilities of a standard mining outpost, albeit abandoned. Oddly, Pyramiden reminded me of Pannawonica, the iron ore mining town we visited way back in “All Aussie Adventures”.

A little history: During the cold war, a harmony between Soviet owned Pyramiden and NATO aligned Norway seemed unlikely. There were many accusations that Pyramiden was being turned into a Soviet base and defying the demilitarization of Svalbard. In an effort to combat this, the people of Pyramiden were welcoming and open with all other residents of Svalbard. The remains of a message written in painted rocks on the adjacent hill can be still be seen from the town. It reads “Peace to All”. 

After visiting Pyramiden, including a brief stop in the hostel to sample the local vodka, we boarded the Polar Girl to head over to the nearby Nordenskiöld Glacier. Nordenskiöld is one of the largest and most accessible glaciers in Svalbard and home to a huge array of wildlife. Motoring up to the glacier, we scattered a large flock of birds including Svalbard Gulls, Guillemots and even a couple of Puffins! 

Seeing the face of a glacier coming out of the sea is amazing. The experience was somewhat humbling seeing just how big it is and the sound of the ice calving almost knocks you over.

After enjoying the glacier we started to motor out of the glacial fjord to head back to Longyearbyen. There was a sudden shout and word traveled around the boat that a polar bear was swimming across the bow. We managed to see the worlds largest land carnivore (from a distance) and ticked off a massive box from the to do list.

The trip home to Longyearbyen took us passed the migratory bird cliffs and we even spotted pods of Beluga and Minke Whales making it just in time for our flight back to mainland.

Time to migrate south.

C.O’S

Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on the island of Svalbard, a Norwegian Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. With a population of just over 2000, Longyearbyen survives on tourism, a university research station and a small coal mine. 

Svalbard, a brief summary:

Svalbard attracts a huge range of visitors for the wildlife, research opportunities and adventuring in this one of a kind landscape consisting of 60% glacier, 27% barren rock and 13% vegetation. Year round skiing and snowmobiling, hiking, kayaking and bird, whale and polar bear watching are just some of the attractions. The majority of the locals work in tourism or are researchers with the local university campus. 

With over 3000 polar bears living on the archipelago, it is the prime spot to see the world’s largest land predator. With this comes the safety responsibility of visitors, it is illegal to leave the settlement of Longyearbyen without the protection of a rifle, flare gun and GPS locator. It’s common to see signs at the entrance to shops stating “leave guns and shoes at the door”.

*Not my picture

While technically part of Norway, the Svalbard Treaty gives equal rights to all the 40 or so original signatory countries (including Australia!) giving them free access to commercial activities on the archipelago. In short, this means that Svalbard:

is an entirely visa free zone. Any person can live and work here indefinitely regardless of nationality. 

has little or no taxes. For someone used to Norway’s ridiculous prices, this means cheap clothes, beer and snüs.

is a demilitarized zone. No country can have military bases or activities within the archipelago.

The Museums:

Keeping up the mantra of the sabbatical “Always read the plaque”, we visited the two museums in Longyearbyen to learn as much as we could about the area.  

Svalbard Museum shows the sad history of the Archipelago from it’s discovery in 1596 by Dutchman Willem Barentsz through to present day. It’s easy to think of Svalbard as the wild west of the arctic, with the European seafaring nations occupying the area and fighting over the natural resources. Hard to believe that no country claimed nor took control of the islands until Norway ratified the Svalbard Treaty in 1920. 

Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, the wildlife of Svalbard was targeted for resources, following the pattern of hunting one species to near extinction, then moving onto the next. Firstly, whales and walruses for blubber, meat, ivory and baleen, then polar bears, seals and finally arctic foxes for pelts. Once humans started to realise their mistakes (and the populations decreased to the extent that hunting wasn’t financially viable... sigh), coal mining operations started, some much more successful than others. 

Nowadays, Svalbard relies on tourism, research and some small scale coal mines and operates in a much more sustainable nature. It is also the home of the Global Seed Vault, a bomb shelter type structure that holds more than 400,000 samples of the worlds cultivated seeds for preservation.

The North Pole Expedition Museum documents the first attempts to reach the illusive North Pole by foot, boat and airship. With too much information to include here, I can just say that it is well worth reading up on the many interesting attempts (some a lot more ridiculous than others) or better yet, going for yourself. 

One of the best parts of the museum was learning of Roald Amundsen’s raising funds, a crew and ship to reach the North Pole, only to change his mind and heading to the South Pole instead. After setting out. Without telling the crew. 

He became the first man to reach the South Pole on this expedition. 

Mine 2B:

Set half way up the eastern side of the Longyearbyen ravine, Mine 2B is the entrance to an abandoned coal mine that provides a look into the old mining operations and is conveniently located within the polar bear safe zone. 

After hiking up to the mine, you can enter into the wooden cable car station and walk up through the buildings to the mine entrance. For this engineer, it was great to see the old structures and be able to explore throughout, something that would never be allowed in an OH&S loving country like Australia.

The law on Svalbard states that any structure built before 1945 cannot be removed or modified in any way as a preservation of the history of the islands meaning many of the old mines and cable car towers can be seen scattered around the mountains.

Kayaking on Adventfjord:

Kayaking through Adventfjord is a great way to see Longyearbyen from the water. We took a guided tour along the fjord, out to the migratory bird cliffs nearby then across to the other side of the fjord to see the old Norwegian mining settlement of Advent Town. 

We bombarded the guide with questions of the area and the surrounding wildlife, managing to learn a lot in the process. We also saw a huge range of birds, including the much sought after puffins, and a herd of reindeer, complete with two calves who were amazingly cute compared to their stocky parents.

Stay tuned for more Svalbard adventures and even a sighting of the elusive polar bear!

Perdika, Egina

After boarding our yacht in Athens we bee-lined to the first of six islands, Egina, two hours from the Greek capital. The port side village of Perdika is littered with white square houses, narrow streets and the water is crystal clear so swimming off the side of the boat is common place. Overall, we didn’t spend much time in Perdika but we were there long enough to sample the local goods: fresh fish, souvlaki and a butt load of tzatziki.    

Ermioni

The second stop on our whirlwind Greek Island adventure was Ermioni, about four hours from Perdika. The village of Ermioni is located on a tiny, remote peninsula off the coast of main-land Greece and it was during our journey to the village that my buddy Liv and I got a delightful bout of seasickness. Queue extra drowsy anti-nausea tablets followed by a solid nap below deck and we were (almost) right as rain once we arrived at the quaint little village. We arrived with enough time to walk around the peninsula; checking out the nature reserve before sampling gelato and the best baclava I’ve ever tasted. 

Spetses, Spetses

Coming in equal first (along side Hydra) as my favourite island, Spetses is beautifully romantic and I could have spent at least another two days exploring the island. Hiring mopeds and quad bikes is a super popular way to explore the island, so popular, in fact, our little girl gang missed out and ended up on push bikes. Not that this stopped us from peddling around the main township, nearby headlands and beaches. The town itself is full of boutique stores and seaside restaurants where I stared longingly at hand-made leather sandals and had my first taste of gyros (souvlaki, tzatziki and chips wrapped in pita - winning combo).

Hyrda Idra, Nisi

En route to Hyrda our fleet of yachts stopped off at what the skippers have dubbed Jump Rock Bay, which, as the name suggests is a secluded bay with a rock jump. No pictures can do the height of the rock justice, it’s pretty damn high and a lot of fun to jump off. 

Hydra is old-school cool. No wheeled vehicles are allowed in the town and locals still use donkeys as their main mode of transport. The streets are lined with alfresco restaurants and Lonely Planet dubs it as having the third best sunset in the world, it’s perfectly relaxing in so many ways. The cherry on top of all this? Watching the sunset (which lived up to the hype) sipping Aperol Spritz’ at a bar overlooking the ocean. 

Poros, Poros

The highlight of Poros was without a doubt the food. When travelling with MedSailors, four of the dinners throughout the week are organised, the dinner in Poros being one of them and with good reason - it was incredible. An abundance of fresh seafood, souvlaki, salads, and other Greek specialities. Not to mention Poros is home to a store with 46 flavours of gelato. Food heaven. 

Agistri, Agistri

By far the most touristy of all the islands we visited with the beaches littered with beach-bars and holiday makers, Agistri was our final stop. The island itself didn’t offer too much activity and sightseeing wise and I get the feeling the main reason we were there was for the dinner/party organised by MedSailors. Knowing I had 13+ hours of transit to look forward to once we got back to Athens I ate and bailed back to the boat to try and get some shut-eye so my feelings towards Agistri are somewhat nonchalant. 

I am usually one to pass judgement on people who do these kinds of Contiki-esq trips, purely because it’s not the way I like to travel. I can now fully back up my judgements with personal experience and say I’m not that kinda gal. Whilst Greece is beautiful and I had a great time, I spent a majority of my time on a boat and I don’t think I even scratched the surface of what the country has to offer. I’ll know for next time. 

Now, back to the great north.

The rock itself is impressive but getting a glimpse of it requires you to put in the hard yards; you’ll climb rock faces with nothing but a chain in the rock for support, traipse through snow, and cross rivers. The scenery and views are 110% worth it though, so good, in fact, we did it twice... in one week.

So where the bloody hell is it?:

The hike (Kjerag) and the bolder at the end of the hike (Kjeragbolten) are high on the southern side of Lysefjorden in south-west Norway. Stavanger-Sandnes are the closest cities, about 2.5 hours away by car, however, there is a quaint little town called Lyseboten at the end of the fjord, about 15 minutes away, which is accessible by ferry from Stavanger.

The drive from Stavanger to the trail head (Øygardstøl) is a stunning drive on it’s own and after leaving the main road, sheep became more of a driving hazard than kangaroos and the single car, hair-pin bends are freakier than Friday. 

We happened to have hired a car for a few days (because, surf) and drove to Øygardstøl from Bore on the coast (also about 2.5 hours away) and, boy, are we glad we did. Having a car allowed us the freedom to hike at the time of day we wanted, in the afternoon/early evening, which meant we missed what can only be described as the mass pilgrimage to Kjeragbolten. Another bonus to hiring a car instead of opting for the designated bus is getting the rock almost to ourselves. This is handy for when you take three attempts to step out onto the rock and don’t have the pressure of 100-odd people waiting for you to pull yourself together. 

The Hike:

After ogling the incredible architecture of Øygardstøl, we found the trail head at the top of the carpark. Being one of the most popular hikes in Norway, Kjerag is exceptionally well marked with the National Trekking Association’s red T’s and even if you’re all types of colour-blind, a la Casey, you won’t veer too far off the trail.

The hike to Kjeragbolten is 4.5km’s and 4.8km’s to the cairn (summit/end of hike). It takes roughly 2 hours to reach the boulder and includes three uphill climbs before reaching a rocky plateau which eventually drops down into the crevice holding Kjeragbolten. The hike is probably the most challenging we’ve done in Norway thus far. The uphill climbs are lengthy and at times felt a little sketchy (especially in the rain), definitely a hike that requires a decent amount of fitness and leaving the Nikes at home. That said, we saw all ages, shapes, sizes and species (dogs) on the trail as well as a guy who looked as if he’d just stepped off Wall Street. It just goes to show if you’re keen, you’re keen.   

The Rock:

Suspended between two rocks, high above Lysefjorden, Kjeragbolten is a sight for sore eyes after the 4.5km hike. It took both of us three times to make the step up onto the rock and even then I lasted an impressive 20 seconds before an uncontrollable leg shake started (didn’t stop us getting out there a 2nd time for a couple shot...). Having a photo snapped on the rock and gaining bragging rights is the primary reason for getting out onto it, however, the “holy shit!” endorphins you receive for the next half an hour are pretty darn spectacular too.

Two rocks down, one to go (Trolltunga)

To get to Flørli, we took the Lauvik-Lysebotn ferry from Stavanger along Lysefjorden. The ferry ride is beautiful and even though it was raining we couldn’t pass up the chance to stand on the bow and see one of Norway’s amazing fjords from the water. We also passed Preikestolen on the way, giving us a new appreciation of just how high the rock is (and how far we could have fallen!)

The Place:

Flørli is a tiny hamlet comprising of the ferry wharf, the old power station turbine and generator rooms and a dozen or so traditional wooden cabins. Since these cabins no longer house the power station workers, they’ve been turned into simple accommodation that overlooks the fjord below and provides adventurers like us a place to rest their heads.  

After arriving at the ferry pier we headed to the hostel reception/power station museum/local store (the place really is that small) and were shown to our lovely cabin. 

A cup of tea in front of the window would have to wait though... we were going climbing!

The Stairs:

The hike up the longest wooden stairs in the world begins at the old turbine room and follows the penstock and maintenance carriage way up to Flørlistolen and the dam above. The thin, wooden stairs, all 4,444 of them, climb straight up the side of the fjord and the enthusiasm shown at the start of the climb quickly changed to leg burn.

The stairs are only a foot wide and very steep, climbing a total of 700 vertical meters. This, combined with only a loose steel cable for a handrail and a dodgy step every now and then, means you really have to stay on your toes. Literally.

This was a great excuse (not that we needed any) to take advantage of the many rest stops and enjoy the view over Lysefjord.

Though we didn’t have the greatest weather for the climb, even with the cloud cover it's easy to appreciate just how beautiful this place is. It was a strange experience to be so exhausted climbing with backs to the view, only to have our breath taken away each time we stopped to rest.

The Walk Back:

We reached the top of the stairs and Flørlistolen just as the clouds started to fully roll in. Thankfully there is a loop trail back to the bottom, avoiding a dangerous climb back down the stairs, so after a quick packed dinner, we headed off through the mist and followed the little red T’s down into the fjord.

While hardly the magnificent views of the stairs, the walk back was amazing in it’s own right. With the cool mist making it’s way between the trees, the sound of bubbling water in the many streams and no one around for miles it was hard to shake the thought of Norwegian fairy tales and trolls hiding beneath every creaky, wooden bridge. 

Now, where’s that cup of tea?

Fast forward to 1962 when oil and gas deposits where discovered in southern parts of the North Sea and Stavanger quickly becomes the on-shore centre for the oil industry which put Norway on the map as one of the world’s leading oil and gas exporters. The city oozes an essence of Newcastle; a city who’s recent history is so ingrained with heavy industry, yet is hell bent on establishing a new identity that doesn’t revolve around the exporting of oil and gas.

Whilst Newcastle’s rejuvenation is in full swing, Stavanger’s still in it’s early stages, but you get the sense that is has a lot of potential and it will be interesting to see what develops in the next two or so years, especially with projects such as Urban Sjørfront in place. The city has a lot going on, and every day we seem to find ourselves somewhere new, whether it’s a new part of town, cafe, or simply taking a different route home from the sentrum (city centre). 

Given that we’re constantly finding new things to do/see/eat around this seaside city, this will no doubt be the first of many ‘field guide’-esq posts, but to get the ball rolling, here are five things that make the cut for the first field guide of Stavanger, Norway.  

Norsk Oljemuseum + GeoPark: 

The Norwegian Oil Museum (Norsk Oljemuseum) is actually a good time.

Considering oil makes makes the world go round, my knowledge on the whole industry is embarrassingly limited... but not any more thanks to the delights of the Norwegian Oil Museum! There’s a bit’o’history, a bit’o’interactive display, and a bit’o’3D movie watching. But in all seriousness, there’s a full history on how the Norwegian economy has revolved around the sea; from fishing and whaling and eventually drilling for oil; there’s fully functioning scale models of the off shore rigs, old lifeboat capsules that you can sit in and smell the oily grime of days gone by, and a great little ‘day in the life of’ film about deep sea divers (side note; our landlords dad, John, used to be a deep sea diver back in the day). 

In a time when climate change is the hottest topic out and oil is a major contributor to that discussion, you couldn’t have an entire museum dedicated to the oil industry without acknowledging the elephant in the room. Luckily, they turned that elephant into an interactive display and acknowledged the heck out of it. The display is dedicated to the changing environment, the move towards renewable energies and what that means for the oil industry and my new found expertise* gave it two thumbs up.

As stickler’s for boycotting museums (cough, fish canning museum, cough), art galleries, and other attractions that cost money, I’m glad we went all out and payed the admission price for this one.

The GeoPark is located outside the Oil Museum on the foreshore and unlike it’s sheltered companion, it’s free (hooray!). The park is built entirely out of repurposed mining paraphernalia which is super cool and grungy but what makes it even grungier than a mid-80′s sub-genre of music is the graffiti that some punk kids have spray painted all over the place. 

*basic knowledge.

Street Art:

Speaking of punk kids who spray paint stuff, some of them must have become quite good at some stage and migrated from the GeoPark to legit graff-artist status because there’s a great deal of incredible street art around the Stavanger sentrum. This isn’t by coincidence, the street art is a product of the NUART Festival that takes place every September. It’s a festival dedicated to the street art movement and, among other cool things to do, invites national and international street artists to use Stavanger as their canvas. 

Stokkavatnet:

Stokkavatnet is a big-ass beautiful lake (actually it’s two lakes, one big-ass one and one petite-ass one) and parkland about 4km’s from the sentrum. Walking around the big lake will give you ten extra kilometre’s on your daily FitBit total and will take you through some delightful woodland and grassy park areas. I guarantee you’ll pick out at least nine future picnic spots on the lake loop. Along the way you’ll also come across an outdoor calisthenics gym (which we frequent when we’re not intimidated by the massive dudes that work out there), a golf course and the pump house which doubles as a swimming jetty/teenage hangout. 

Old Town:

As mentioned earlier, Stavanger is old, and there is a whole area of the sentrum affectionately known as Old Town which is incredibly picturesque with it’s cobbled streets and pristine white fishing cottages. Old Town sits on the side of the hill which runs the length of the harbour, next to the Fish Canning Museum and, despite it being completely residential with nothing really going on, taking a stroll down the main street is a real treat and highly recommended. 

Fun fact: Only fancy-pants rich people have white houses in coastal areas of Norway (not 100% sure whether this is still attributed to the current day social status but it was definitely the case way back when). The sea salt spray makes white houses look dirtier, quicker, so, to avoid the constant upkeep and associated costs with repainting a salty haus, those whip-snapper Norwegians decided to start painting their houses in a colour that would require less maintenance and money (that colour ended up being red). And so, it was the fancy-pants rich people who could afford the upkeep, hence white houses became a symbol of wealth and status. 

Øvre Holmegate:

Øvre Holegate, also known as ‘the colourful street’, is a cobble-stoned pedestrian street in the sentrum. It’s dubbed ‘the colourful street’ because it is exactly that, colourful. Every building is painted a different set of colours and on a beautifully sunny day it will put a smile on the most upside down of dials. 

Whilst having a coffee at one of the six or so cafes and bars that line the sidewalk (Boker og Børst, if you must know, but Hanekam and Cirkus have also been frequented) we met a lovely Stavanger local who explained that until 5 years ago there were no colours or cafes, it was just a drab street in the middle of the sentrum. Then a guy came along, saw the potential, and got to painting the street in a variety of colours. The cafes came soon after, followed by the people and now it is one of the busiest streets in Stavanger. Neat huh?

Ha det bra (good bye)

1. It’s beautiful (like, really, really beautiful): 

If Disney were to make a movie about two sisters in a magical frozen, mountainous kingdom, it would 100% be based off the Norwegian landscape (that’s a good movie pitch, someone should get on to that... oh wait) because it is quite literally, the land of fairytales. 

2. Parks and lakes and hiking trails galore:

It’s not an exaggeration to say that there is either a park, a lake or a hiking trail in whatever direction you look. And to make accessibility and navigating yourself in the mountains a little less stressful, the trusty people behind the Norwegian Trekking Association (or Den Norske Turistforening, DNT) have, among other things, marked a majority of trails with little red ‘T’s or dots. You’ll develop a new mantra in no time at all - “follow the little red ‘T’s, follow the little red ‘T’s”. 

3. It’s expensive

No matter how many people say “Norway is super expensive” nothing quite prepares you for just HOW expensive things are. Paying $32 AUD for a round of beer and $50 AUD for a stock standard steak at a pub/bar is gut wrenchingly average pricing. On the plus side, the expense gives more drive to earn in Norwegian Kroner so everything is relative. 

4. You don’t make friends with salad* 

(*red meat)

Because as numero tres highlights, red meat is expenno. But you do make friends with fish, because fish is in abundance which means fish is cheap. We’re talking 500g of delicious salmon for $8 ‘all-your-Australian-Christmas’-have-come-at-once’ cheap. It’s something I think we’ll become far too accustomed to and I’m totally ok with it.   

5. Unpredictable weather

Rain, hail, blue skies, sun, snow, wind, sleet. As it turns out, experiencing ALL the weather in one day is not a rare occurrence and a decent rain jacket doesn’t go astray (nor does a beanie, some gloves, sunglasses or an extra layer).  

Time to...follow the little red ‘T’s. 

Getting there:

To start our day, we caught the ferry from Stavanger to Tau, then bus to Preikestolhytta, a lodge and bar on Lake Revsvatnet at the start of the track. The offical Preikestolen hiking season began on the 16th of April, so in an attempt to beat the plague of tourists who invade the area every summer, we went as early as possible in the season. We couldn’t quite get the rock all to ourselves but we were lucky enough not to be sharing it with 300+ other visitors.

The Hike:

As soon as the bus pulled in to the car park, we were off up the track, trying to be the first to the top and take some solitary photos that are all too hard at a place this popular. The rapid pace lasted all of 100m before we before settled down for the long haul of the 3.8 km track and 334m altitude climb (not including the many ridges and valleys the path crosses).  

The first 2 km includes 3 steep climbs over a rock path, one of these even traverses a waterfall, before plateauing out for the remainder of the walk. Over the 2013 and 2014 summers, the path underwent an improvement project to provide better access, even employing the expertise of Nepalese workers to build the rock steps used in many of the steep climbs. 

This work was much appreciated by two very sore Australians later in the day.

As we neared the summit, our excitement was getting the best of us and we couldn’t wait to get to the top. It was still slow going though on an early spring, icy path which made for a very concerning walk along a steep cliff face. We’re learning to take things carefully when the only thing between us and a long drop to sudden stop is a thin chain bolted to the rock face. Though that’s just how the Norwegians do it and it’s all worth it at the end of the day.

The Rock:

Preikestolen is a 25m x 25m plateau that sits 600m above the Lysefjorden providing spectacular views and heart stopping moments.  Nothing I can say will do it justice, so just have a look at the photos and get here as soon as you can.  

For those of you ready to scream this is dangerous and there should be a fence around the edge, it is a policy of the Norwegian Government that guards would detract from the natural beauty of the place and "we cannot fence in all nature in this country". I tend to agree. 

Although that might have stopped Stef being a daredevil... and then me having to do the same out of pride.

After a packed lunch and view that’ll be hard to beat, we made our way back along the track to the lodge for a well earned beer.

This is my backyard.

Henningsvær:

Don’t be fooled by the quiet streets and minimal people, Henningsvær is by far the most lively fishing village in Lofoten. And it is 100% worth a visit. 

Henningsær is a group of little islands and inlets, which, once upon a time were only accessible by boat. That was until the industrial age of the roaring 1980′s when Henningsvær was connected to mainland Lofoten via a series of bridges. The population is 500 strong (although we’re not sure where everyone was) and fishing is still the main trade, as it was in the 1800′s. 

Despite the graffiti art around town stating ‘in cod we trust’, Henningsvær isn’t all cod and fishing, it is home to a bunch of quirky little stores, the Nord Norsk Klatreskole (North Norwegian Climbing School), and KaviarFactory, a contemporary art museum. Topping the list of quirky little stores in Henningsvær was the Lysstøperi og Cafe. This candle shop come cafe is located in the centre of town (which isn’t big, so you won’t have a chance to miss it) and their cinnamon buns (or kannelbolle) alone are worth a visit to Henningsvær. 

Reine:

Picture postcard perfect. That is the best way to describe Reine. 

Located on the island of Moskenesøya, Reine’s red rorbuer can’t be missed from the E10. Given it’s incredibly picturesque surroundings, the town is quite touristy come summer, however, it is still an operational fishing village and an outdoor adventure hub for hiking, biking, and kayaking. 

Sakrisøy:

Why is this hole in the wall on the side of the E10 worth the stop? Because Anita’s Sjømat has delicious fish burgers, that’s why. We were guided to this little gem of a place via none other than Instagram (totally throwing my love-hate relationship with the social media platform out of balance). 

Come for the fish burgers, stay for the views, and return for the chilli hot chocolate. 

Ramberg & Flakstad:

If it was sunny and warmer and the waves weren’t so.... flat, Ramberg and Flakstad would made for the perfect arctic beach day (don’t forget your summer down jacket). Instead it was quite the opposite, it actually bucketed snow, still a damn cool place and one for the ‘need to go back to’ list.

All in all, Lofoten gets an A+. 

Being a popular hike in the summer, Kvalvika is quite well signed, by Lofoten standards, and, visible from the road there is a make-shift sign, stone steps and even a small carpark about 3km’s past the town of Fredvang. 

Getting to Kvalvika is a relatively easy 2km walk, however, it had snowed quite heavily the day/night before and 90% of the usually visible path was covered. Lucky for hikers there are wooden planks scattered along the way which are a reassuring reminder that you aren’t veering too far off track. The snow and ice also meant these two silly Australian’s, who needed to be more prepared for winter hiking, found it difficult to descend down on to the beach (if you’re not vibe’n it, don’t do it). 

The beach has a reputation amongst Lofoten locals as being a good surf spot too. So much so that a few years ago, two young guys decided to camp on the beach in a make shift hut for the whole nine months of winter... Because, waves (duh). They also happened to be handy with a cam-corder and made a film about their crazy antics which goes by the name of North of the Sun . I rate the film (turns out the Banff Film Festival also rate it... first, even) and if you’re a lucky bugger and get down to the beach you can take a pilgrimage to the hut they built which is still standing. 

Regardless of accessing the beach, it’s a brilliant hike and as always, those Lofoten views are nothing short of amazing (this hike probably accounted for about 1,000 “WOW! Look at that!” expressions I mentioned earlier).

The Place:

Our home for the next 3 nights was to be Unstad Arctic Surf, a camp and surf school 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, making it the Northern most surf school in the world. Talk about cold.

We arrived mid afternoon and were greeted by our host, chef and surf guide Rachel. Turns out she was a Newcastle local too after spending a year in Gods Country on exchange. Small world.

The Waves:

So with snow on the ground and a chill breeze in the air, it was time to get in the water. I put on my borrowed 6mm hooded wetsuit, 7mm booties and mittens and grabbed a board from the shed. All while Stef bravely decided to take photos and let me test out the water temp first. 

Despite initial fears of pneumonia and killer whales, I was actually pretty warm with all the gear on and nothing could wipe the smile of being back in the water off my face. Even surfing by myself in 2 foot slop. 

The Creature Comforts:

That night we forgot we were poor Australians and forked out the money for a lovely three course dinner (including more Cod) then settled down in our cute little cabin before a few more days of waves. 

The next morning I managed to convince Stef to struggle into her wetsuit and join me for a paddle, taking out one of the soft surf school boards. With me swimming beside, Stef managed to get onto some pearlers and even got to her feet once or twice.. for at least a few seconds. 

The Other Attractions:

And it’s not only surfing at Unstad. You can ski within 45 minutes of the village (or out your front door if you prefer touring and don’t need a chairlift) and there are some purely spectacular hikes starting right on the beach. One morning we took the Northern walk around the cliffs to a small, secluded lighthouse overlooking the North Sea. 

The walk continues onward to Eggum Nature Reserve. In a country of beautiful places, this is where the King of Norway decided to spend his 60th birthday and is meant to be wondrous. I probably should have checked this out, but, you know, surfing. 

With smiles on our faces we said goodbye to Unstad, promising to return as soon as possible, and headed off to explore the remainder of the area.. still kidding ourselves we could see it all. 

Pack up your swag, let’s go.