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No name summit at Kyrkjestølen
During the hiking from Maristova to Kyrkjestølen, I haven’t got any chance to climb up to any summit. So, when I saw a path leads up to one of the mountain behind Church of St. Thomas, I couldn’t resist. There were also other peaks around that looks more interesting, but this one was the closest one. I keep in my mind, that I had to make another over 10 km walk to Maristova, so I didn’t want to waste so much time. The summit I headed to, was not so interesting only to me. When I back home and see the map, I realized that someone ignored it, naming the…
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Kongevegen: Maristova – Kyrkjestølen
Kongevegen fascinated me since I first heard about it. I started read about this trail after my June’s trip to Borgund. I put it as a one of the most desireable destination point on my hiking list.I had to wait for return to Borgund area since October. And I still had a doubt that maybe Queen’s Sonja Hiking Trail was better choice. Reading about Kongevegen I found out that whole route has over 100 kilometers and it takes about 5-6 days to run all of it. Good news are that you can take it in phases as the trail crosses in several places road E16. Most interesting for me were short…
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Haraldshaugen, Krosshaugen i spacer do Kvalen Fyr
Haugesund is not one of the most visited cities in Norway. It is far away behind Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen or Trondheim. I guess the reason of that is because the city does not offer too many travel attractions. There is no enchanting old town like this one in Bergen or the climatic streets of Stavanger. A few summer festivals in Haugesud are probably not enough to get more visitors. But there are still several places worth visiting. One of them is visible from the road 47, just north of the city center, Haraldshaugen. Haraldshaugen (Harald’s Mound) is a monument commemorating King Harald’s Fairhaired victory in the Battle of Hafrsfjord in…
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Jettegrytene
A few kilometers east of Åkrafjord is a small but charming Rullestad valley. Driving by E134 road you can see Sagfossen waterfall, which runs down to Lake Rullestadvatnet. Right next to the lake there is a camping site opened in 2008. Travelers can enjoy bakery baked goods, eat local food at the cafe or visit the small shop. Additional attractions of this place are: beach volleyball court, possibility of rent boat or kayak and exposition of interesting stones and minerals. Those who prefer active leisure, can find in the area some more or less demanding hiking trails. The lightest tour is a 4.5 kilometer route around the lake. Other trails…
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Family trip on Gjerdesdalsvatnet-Friarane-Hovda route
Summer this year is extremely wayward. Sunny days are so few that it is difficult to enjoy the sunny weather and I ca only dream about any mountain trip. Every sun ray piercing through the clouds deserves special attention, and a few hours of rain-free weather is a good idea to do some home-work or short walks. One of these temporary breaks in the delivery of another batch of rain we decided to use for a family trip. We packed into the car and went out for one of the most frequently described routes on this blog – the trail to Friarane and Hovda. Our three small trolls got somehow…
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Sletthaug
It’s supposed to be light and pleasant but ended on a 20-kilometer march and climb to Sletthaug (480 m above sea level). But let’s start from the beginning. In recent weeks my mountain activity is not too big. The reason is that I’m trying to recover my achilles tendons. That is why, as long as I’m getting out to stretch my legs, I usually choose some flat routes. And it was supposed to be this time too. I left the house with the intention of going up to 10 kilometers. However, on the way I remained an interesting road where I was with my son two years ago. My kid…
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Flåmsbana
Anyone who has ever heard about Flåm, must have heard about Flåmsbana as well. This twenty-kilometer train route from Flåm to Myrdal is very popular travel destination for tourists from all the world, comparable with Prekestolen or Trolltunga. The train journey is considered one of the most spectacular in the world. Ascending the high steep peaks on both sides of the valley, and beautiful waterfalls can charm the visitors. The construction of the railway between Flåm and Myrdal should be regarded as a masterpiece of engineering. It started at the beginning of the 20th century and the first trains could pass the route in 1940 (20 years after beginning of…
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Borgund stavkirke, Torpo stavkirke & Undredal stavkirke
For more than two centuries, from the end of the 10th to the 13th century, faith in Christ mixed in the north with beliefs in pagan gods. At that time around 1000 stavkirke (stav – stave, kirke – church) was built in Norway, which today still can be admired by nearly 30. Many scientists say that this type of structure was built long before Christianity (the beginning of the 11th century), and the Vikings built they temples in stav style. The base of the stave structure was a skeleton frame made of vertical corner posts (called stav or masts), then pinned by long boards (staves), which were applied vertically like…
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Waterfalls of Norway
I named today’s post as ‘’Waterfalls of Norway’’ but it can be a bit confused. This won’t be about all waterfalls in Norway or management of water resources. I am going to describe some of the waterfalls I had the pleasure to see during my recent tour (the link to that post is here). So, let’s begin. Steinsdalsfossen The waterfall is located about one kilometer from the center of Norheimsund, on Route 7 leading to Bergen. The location near the Hardangerfjord coast close to the often frequented road makes Steinsdalfossen a popular tourist destination. There is a large parking lot, tourist center and two souvenir shops on the path leading…
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Road trip
Norway is not just an opportunity for mountain hikes. My problems with the achilles forced me to avoid hiking trails, but at the same time it opened a quite different possibilities. I decided to go with the car around the Viking country and see places that have been on my list to visit from some time. During the two-day trip, the weather (despite the favorable forecasts) was mainly raining. However, there were better moments, so the photos are not so tragically. Due to the large number of pics I would like to boast, I decided that all the additional attractions that I encountered on the way would be included in…
