The South coast of Norway
After leaving Oslo, we moved along the South coast of the country, where we had a few nice hikes planned.
The first one was special indeed.
Close to Larvik, you can hike along the "Tommerrenna", a disused timber slide, which was built in the 50s and used until 1981.
It is the only one of its kind in Norway.
Nowadays, you can hike the complete length of it, around 4km, mostly along a majestic river, crossing it various times on slightly swinging bridges with amazing views all around.
You even have to go through a 100m long tunnel, pitch-black and dripping!
Since this is a rather special path to trod, my human decided against a round trip and came back the same way instead.
Although it is called a slide, there is hardly any incline, so the whole thing is very easy to do.
Close-by, we found a very idyllic spot to park up for the night, right beside a beautiful lake.
After a quiet night and some yoga on the jetty, we moved on to hike the small brother of the famous Preikestolen, one of Norway's most famous sights.
This little version is hidden in a lush forest - of course lush, it does rain a lot here, as we were soon to discover - and, as the name suggests, small (in comparison).
But, and that´s a huge upside, there was not another person in sight throughout the whole hike!
And still, a sheer drop of 100m down three sides of this rocky outcrop is good enough to give you vertigo!
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| To be fair, it´s a lot more impressive in real life |
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| The local wild life |
We kept moving along the coast, which you can´t do for very long before you come to a lighthouse. This particular one, Lindesnes, has been here for 380 years and was manned until 2003!
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| By far the cooles car in the parking area |
We tried our luck with another hike the next morning, but my human was stopped twice by fast flowing rivers where normally there are none.
There has been a lot of rain in the last few days!
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| No chance of crossing here... |
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| ...or here. |
After this disappointment and another look at the weather app, the plans for the next few days were abandoned, since they all had to do with hiking.
Some paths were particularly described as only doable in fine and dry weather.
So maybe next time...
One sight we did have a look at, despite the rain, were the old houses at Helleren.
In the 1800s, there was a whole settlement here, with some of the houses, like the two still standing, nestled close to the wall of a large overhang and where therefore somewhat protected from the elements.
The biggest city on the south(-west) coast of Norway is Stavanger, which is the 3rd largest settlement in the country.
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| "Swords in Rock", a monument by Fritz Roed |
These 10m tall swords mark the site of the epic Battle of Harfrsjford in 872, where Harald Fairhair - what a name - united Norway into one Kingdom.
Stavanger is a cruise ship port and they get one ship per day during the cruising season on average.
As we were there, the Costa Diadema was in port, accounting for all the Italians in the city.
Probably a small ship in comparison with others, but she looked absolutely enormous, lying in the narrow harbor.
The city has a very inviting and relaxed vibe, with a nice lake next to the center, colorful houses, cobbled streets and a bit of public art on the house walls.
The old part, Gamle Stavanger, is a picture perfect little gem, where the locals must feel like zoo animals, with all the tourist walking around, taking photos of their pretty white houses.
The weather was kind that day, considering the forecast, and it promised to be dry at least until lunch time the next day, too.
So that was the chance to hike up Preikestolen, the big one.
We parked in a small harbor a few kilometers from the actual start of the hike. But there was another route, which ran from and back to the harbor in a big, 27km long, loop.
Needless to say, that´s why we parked here and come 6am, my human was on her way.
A very wet and boggy way, mind you, but that´s all part of the fun.
At least, she had it all to herself for the first half of the trek, until she joined the actual route, starting at a busy parking lot.
The first people were already on their way back down and many more moving upwards, one stone step after another.
By 9am, she had made it to the Preikestolen.
And it is quite a sight, one must admit. There is a reason why this place is one of the most iconic ones in the country.
Upwards of 300.000 people make their way up here every year!
The view is spectacular, with the Lysefjord stretching out in two directions far beneath you and picturesque hills providing the backdrop.
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| There it is! |
You can climb up some boulders to get an even better view of the whole scenery, including the dramatic cliff itself.
There was a short line to take a photo at the edge of the cliff, a 600 meter drop!
The weather did hold until my human was halfway back, and she was very thankful for that.
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| The line |
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| The drop |
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| Stairs all the way |
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| An alternative route down takes you past this peaceful lake |
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| There are a couple of floating saunas you can hire |
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| Lunch break |
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| Glamping? |
Before we headed a fair bit north, we visited one last place in the area, Skomakernibba, also called the "Little Trolltongue".
Lucky indeed, it was dry throughout the whole hike. At least from above, not underfoot!
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| Just a couple of the many thunderous waterfalls |
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