Neat Nordic Navigation

July - August 2023
Follow us (Alison and Samara) as we explore the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Read more
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  • Day 11

    Day in Trondheim

    July 16, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Aah ... Trondheim. A small and compact city but the cultural heartland of Norway. People have lived here for thousands of years and the fertile lands and warm Gulf Stream (making the Trondheimfjord another ice free port) made this a power centre during the Viking Age.
    We enjoyed a walking tour through the city today and took in sights such as St Olav's Church, the Old Town and the amazing Nidaros Cathedral. Nidaros is special because St Olaf is entombed here. I thought it was special because it had gargoyles!! (But only on the north side because that's where the cold comes from and hell must be cold because the heat would be nice. Makes sense, right? We thought so too. Whatever the reason, the gargoyles are always a nice touch on a church in my opinion!).
    The Old Town (known as Bakklandet) is picturesque and the neighbourhood is dominated by wooden houses and narrow streets. The centuries old coloured and wooden warehouses that reflect on the canal waters are the highlight of my day. For Samara, the highlight is patting a giant wolf hound she befriends after a sweaty climb to Kristiansten Festning (the fortress on the hill, built in 1681, which offered superb views over Trondheim). She loves dogs and they love her.
    We also took a ferry ride to Munkholmen, a little island in the middle of the fjord. In ancient times, the island was used by the Vikings as a place of execution. Here they would behead and bespike whomsoever caused them angst. After this, it was a monastery (where the monks brewed beer, got drunk and partied long into the long winter nights), then a prison and now a Cafe and handicraft shop. Imagine, over the years, the screams, the drunken revelry and the woe of prisoners being heard across the city. We simply had a nice walk there...
    Oh!!! And we ate pinnewaffels!!!
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  • Day 12

    Trondheim to Geirangar

    July 17, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    It's a long way from Trondheim to Geiranger ... 438kms to be rough about it. We took 2 trains, 1 ferry and a hairy bus ride which took us to approx 1500 metres above sea level. The Trollstrigen to Geiranger drive is known as the Golden Route and is the most popular drive and destination in Norway. It is absolutely breathtaking, even on a drizzly day! The bendy roads and precipitous gorges, with its 11 hairpin bends (all named for the people who constructed the bend) were extreme, picturesque, magnificent and somewhat scary. There are wild, fast flowing rivers, steep gorges, sheer cliffs and uncountable waterfalls. Samara describes it as heart palpitating 😊 I call it awesome!! There was a bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth from the occupants of our bus as we navigated the 1:10 incline on the way down into the valley! The weather has changed and we are wearing jackets and raincoats. The scenery is misty, ethereal and damp. Who cares though?? It is still one of the most magnificent places I've seen.
    The valley here is relatively warm for Norway and there are strawberry farms and apple trees along the way. Strawberries are sold in stalls at the side of the road - at the equivalent of about $8-9 Australian! - but they are large and ripe and inviting. I say it's warm for Norway, but the top temperature today was 8°. Samara is wearing her layers..
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  • Day 13

    Day in Geirangar

    July 18, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    What a day!! Though the temperature has dropped by about 20° since we arrived in Scandinavia, we simply rug up and enjoy some of the most amazing views ever!! That's what raincoats are for, right? We started the day with a cruise along Geirangerfjord. It's misty and cold and threatening to rain. In fact, the chances of rain today are 90%! We board one of the sightseeing boats (it's a vehicular boat) and chug the 7km or so to Hellesylt at the end of the fjord arm, taking a little over an hour. It turns even cooler and the rain starts but that doesn't stop me from spending the entire trip on deck, with trusty raincoat working overtime. I was the only one standing at the end ... mad, right? My fingers are freezing but it's worth the risk of frostbite to take in all that Geirangerfjord has to offer. I think we're lucky to be travelling in the rain ... the waterfalls are waterfalling like crazy and it's spectacular. We pass the Seven Sisters Waterfall with The Suitor on the opposite bank. Legend has it that a young man tried to court seven sisters but none of them would have him. Somehow, they were turned into waterfalls (the famous Norwegian trolls probably did it) and they were destined to stay on opposite sides of the fjord forever. Serves him right for messing with sisters!! Either way, they looked lovely and lively in the mists of the fjord.
    We take the bus along the famous Golden Route to Dalsnibba, the highest lookout in Norway - 1500m above sea level. Again, we take the hairy hairpin bends around uber-steep cliffs and pay the exorbitant toll to take the private road to Dalsnibba. From Stryn (where we stop for lunch and eat Norwegian cake because we can and is delicious so why not?) it's only 21kms but the incline makes the ride 40+ minutes. There is more oohing and ahhing and gnashing of teeth from the bus occupants along the risky way. You will recognise the view here from every travel photograph ever taken in Norway ever!! Our photos show mists and clouds and it is still spectacular. Sam doesn't brave the cold for very long (which is fair ... it's 3° after all) but I try for some sucky selfies to prove that I am brave enough to step onto the cliff, bold enough to walk the skywalk and stupid enough to stand in the cold and the rain for the sake of photography. My fingers are frozen again within minutes because I'm not wearing my gloves. These are the sacrifices we make for photography, right? I love it!!
    We return to Geiranger the "back way" (still as glorious as ever), descending into the mists that is the windy and treacherous road that leads to Geiranger. We get off at the midway point down the mountain to walk the "Waterfall Way" to the township and ogle more glorious waterfalls along the way. It's rugged but the walk is easy. We reward ourselves with a boozy dinner and our room view over the, now, rain-free and ever-beautiful Geirangerfjord. Samara laments because she only patted one puppy today...
    My posts are getting longer ... I don't apologise 😉
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  • Day 14

    Geirangar to Flam

    July 19, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls ... tunnels, tunnels, tunnels! We have a lot of kilometres to travel today from Geiranger to Flåm and ride the coach and one fjord crossing ferry to get there. We attempt to disengrumpify our driver, Gregorius the grumpy Lithuanian, and he may even have started to grin at one point. 😉 It's an exhilarating drive as we wind up the mountain via hairpin bends above the 1000m treeline and into the snowy Alps. At this altitude, the snow is a permanent feature on the north faces, even in summer. We see houses that have no foundations and that are chained to the bedrock. This means they can be moved if necessary! We see gorgeous fjords, spectacular waterfalls, cute-as-a-button villages, low lying clouds and a bit of rain. We pass through the mountains via impressive road tunnels that are 6 and 8 kilometres long and, again, I'm impressed by the engineering minds that created them. The weather is different on either side of the tunnels and we move from one valley with misty rain to the next that is clear and calm. It is known to be sunny on one side and snowy on another at times. We don't see any snow but talk about microclimates! These early tunnels are small fry though because the afternoon brings us to and through the world's longest road tunnel. The Laerdal Tunnel is almost 25kms long (yep, you read that right!) and takes us over 21 minutes to drive through. I'm amazed! Samara plays solitaire... This tunnel has special "caves" every 6kms where the lights change to blue in order to keep the drivers alert. It's very, very cool !!
    We spend some time at the Kaupanger Stave Church along the way. Built in 1140 (can you believe that?) this is interesting, not only because of its age, but because it's the oldest wooden church in Europe that's still in use. It has 29 wooden columns (or stays) hardened from local pine and ... get this ... the ceiling is fashioned in the size and shape of the floor of a Viking ship!! That's because that was really the only shape they knew how to make without nails or screws or whatnot. Even Samara was impressed! We see a woman in the graveyard planting new flowers and deadheading old ones. I'm impressed by the upkeep of graveyards all over Norway (and you know how much I love a good graveyard!)
    I have discovered my Achilles Heel in Scandinavian pastries. We have another tasty delicacy at morning tea ... I will say no more about them (or my waistline)!
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  • Day 15

    Flam to Bergen

    July 20, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Four and a bit years ago, Samara and I sat at her kitchen table to discuss potential locations for our next holiday. We threw around a few ideas - Japan, Russia, Mongolia - and Googled various places. I ended up down a rabbit hole looking at rail journeys across the world and watched a YouTube clip on the Flåm Railway in Western Norway. It took our breath away and we made our mind up on the spot … Scandinavia, in particular Flåm, was our next destination!!!
    We arrived in Flåm last night, 4 years and 3 months later, delayed by the pandemic and then stoopid Putin's monstrous war (we had originally planned and booked Russia with Scandinavia), but we made it and here we most certainly are!!
    The Flåm Railway has been described as one of the world's most beautiful rail journeys and we wholeheartedly concur! We did a lot of "WOW"ing along the way despite the rain. The train runs from Flåm at the end of the Aurlandsfjord (a tributary of the Songnefjord) up to 868m in the mountains at Myrdal Station. My fun fact of the day is that the line was called "The Twenty Line" because it was 20 kilometres in length, passed through 20 tunnels and took 20 years to build! On top of that, 18 of the 20 tunnels were excavated by hand. Sheesh!
    From the comfort of a vintage carriage, we take the 1 hour journey to Myrdal, stopping at Kjosfossen Waterfall for a 5 minute photo op. Here, we are unexpectedly serenaded by a siren in a red dress, singing an old Norwegian folk song. She is the Huldra, an elusive forrest spirit from Norse mythology. We think she might actually be a drag queen…
    The journey back down the mountain is equally as spectacular as the ride up. We are two very thrilled girlies!!
    We next take a 2 hour fjord cruise along the Aurlandsfjord to Gudvangen on a fully electric eco boat. The ride is smooth, fast and fricking freezing! Of course, I stand at the helm with one or two other die-hards in the wind and the rain and love every minute of it. Samara did the sensible thing and watched the view from the comfort and warmth of the very swish lounge. It was a very, very good day!!
    Oh ... and Samara patted a giant slug on our early morning hike!! See photographic evidence below...
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  • Day 16

    Day in Bergen

    July 21, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Bergen - The capital of Western Norway! A pulsating metropolis rich in historic, cultural and educational significance. The second largest city in Norway (after Oslo), the locals here speak a specific Norwegian dialect known as Bergensk. They also speak excellent English (as we have found everywhere) so we are very fortunate travellers. This city is 1000 years old (yes, one thousand!!) and was essentially the capital of Norway until the early 13th century.
    We took a walking tour this morning (I'm beginning to like these) and discovered lots of hidden gems. We start with a visit to the National Theatre, one of the oldest in Norway, then wander along the rose-lined streets past the pavilion to Lille Lungegardsvann, a small lake enclosing the city fountain. We walk past the Leprosy Museum (the leprae bacillus was "discovered" here in 1873 … the beginning of the end of leprosy), the Bergen Cathedral (under restoration so we couldn't go in, much to Samara's delight) and St Mary's Church (which has a cannon ball embedded in its face, courtesy of the British navy in 1665) and move on to the oldest, and arguably most famous, part of town … the old wharf of Bergen known as Bryggen. This is the place you always see on postcards, with the pretty coloured, triangular-roofed buildings lined up along the east side of Vågen Harbour. The buildings are warped and bent and showing their age (450+ years ... i feel like that now and I'm only 29!!) but they are mighty fine indeed. We peak through the windows of Bryggen restoration sites where they lift the buildings to fix them from the bottom up. The back streets here are narrow and coloured and tight and cute. It's quite lovely. There have been a number of fires here over the years and each year the Bryggen have been rebuilt. The worst fire was in 1702 where almost the entire city was razed to the ground. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site and rightly so.
    We were treated to lunch today at one of the restaurants in the famous Fish Market area. I am gobsmacked at the price of seafood here … Luckily we can catch our own at home a lot of the time! We are served a "large fish tasting plate" and it is all delicious. There is one fish I don't recognise amongst the different salmon, mackerel and prawns … it's dark meat and doesn't taste fishy at all. We ask (but perhaps shouldn't have) and discover we have eaten whale!!!! You cannot hate us as much as we hate ourselves right now!! We are ashamed and horrified and feel unclean though it's quite commonly served here.
    We walk off our mortification after taking the Fløybanen funicular train to the top of Mt Fløyen. The day is amazing and the view is amazingly spectacular!! There are loads of people there but it's a perfect day for a viewing. We meet the local goats (Samara has patted goats and dogs today … she's doubly happy) and walk the 3km downhill to the Rozenkratz Tower at the Bergen Fortress, famous for only ever defending against one attack - and that left a cannonball in the wall of the church! After a glorious morning, it turns to rain for a while … long enough to soak me through since I wasn't wise enough to bring my raincoat. Another very full day.
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  • Day 17

    Bergen to Oslo

    July 22, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    So long Bergen and thanks for all the fish (except the whale ... not doing that again!). Next stop Oslo (after a 7 hour train ride. It's the Bergen Railway, through the mountains, so will be beautiful)
    (Note the Douglas Adams reference 😉)
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  • Day 18

    Day in Oslo

    July 23, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Oslo certainly has much to offer … cobbled streets, expansive blue waters, a thriving dock, gorgeous, tall old buildings, an amazing fortress, a Royal Palace, bustling streets and sculptures, sculptures, sculptures.
    We walked our little legs off today, strolling through the city and around the waterfront to the City Hall. First stop, museum island which we reach by ferry (once we figured out how to buy a ticket!!). Destination, the Fram Museum.
    Fram was a ship designed specifically for polar exploration and is considered the strongest ship ever designed. It was built in such a way the it could withstand the pressure of the frozen arctic waters (freezing ice could crush a ship), not by pure strength alone but because it's shape caused the ice to push the ship upwards so it would "float" on top of the ice. The idea was that they would sail the ship into the Arctic waters and wait for it to freeze and float over the north pole. A bit of a cheaty but clever idea to get there. After 3 years, though, they still didn't make it to the pole. They did discover loads of things about the geology, marine biology, oceanography, cartography and geography of the area so their time wasn't wasted. The museum itself is a good one in that you can actually board the ship and explore it yourself. There's a great 360° video that plays around the ship which depicts the seas and the weather as well as the Aurora Borealis. The Fram managed to make explorations in both the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans. It was impressive.
    We ferried back to the town square over warm and sunny waters and decided to walk the distance to the Vigeland Sculpture Park, taking in the sights along the way. I say "decided to walk" because we had no luck buying bus or tram tickets (the machines were down) so we were forced to leg it!
    We detour past the Royal Palace and manage to see the changing of the guard. It's a grand and imposing building but not ornately decorated or distinctive in any way other than by its size, its gardens and the fact that its set out on a hill on its own. The gardens are lovely and people hang about sunbaking and playing bocce. It's quite peaceful.
    We walk through backstreets filled with old and impressive buildings. We think this must be the consulate district. We have come to see the Vigeland Sculpture Park but are blown away by the unexpected size and extremity of the place. We buy ice cream and start to walk.
    Gustav Vigeland was a Norwegian sculpture who had a penchant for sculpting nudes of all ages, sizes and descriptions. The Vigelandsparken is his life's work and features the famous and iconic Sinnataggen - we think he looks like a grumpy baby. There are more than 200 sculptures here in granite, bronze and wrought-iron, all of them nudes, and dominated by a huge fountain, a bridge and a very phallic monolith. You'll see what I mean when you look at the photos. It was extraordinary, impressive and, frankly, a bit weird. I don't pretend to know anything much about art so feel free to form your own opinions….. it was certainly worth the walk though.
    We finished our afternoon with a walk through the Akershus Fortress, a medieval stronghold, on the Aker peninsula on the Oslo Fjord. The Castle within (Akershus Castle) was first built around 1300. The newer fortress walls were built in the early 1600's. It can be seen from much of Oslo and was very impressive, as were the views from the fortress walls.
    I'll head out to look at the city under lights soon (if it ever gets dark) ... Samara is done! It's been a big, big day!
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  • Day 19

    Oslo (Norway) to Gothenburg (Sweden)

    July 24, 2023 in Sweden

    We arrived in Gothenberg (back in Sweden) this afternoon after a 4 hour train ride from Oslo. This is a lively city, celebrating their 400 year anniversary with musicians, bands and dancers on almost every corner and park. The music is varied and there are people enjoying themselves everywhere. It's busy for a Monday afternoon. We walked along the canal towards Trädgårdsföreningen (the home of the Garden Society of Gothenberg) and catch Irish musicians in the garden square. You know how much I love old Irish music but it seemed quite out of place here. Later, we see a young band there which had the crowd tapping their feet. The Trädgårdsföreningen (herein known as the garden) was lush and green and gorgeous, filled with undulating lawns and flower beds of native and exotic plants. The amazing wrought-iron Palmhouse was a piece of art in itself and was filled with heat and tropical plants. Though these may be a sight to see in Sweden, I think I grow a great deal of these plants in my own house and garden.
    We take in the sights of the city … the lovely old buildings, various parks and gardens and the old town (which was filled with modern shops). There are murals on walls and doors throughout the city (not on the historic buildings) and we seek a few out. We stumbled upon one of the oldest buildings in Gothenburg, the Kronhuset, built in 1642, just 21 years after King Gustav II Adolf founded the city … a quiet and culturally significant landmark within the bustling downtown area.
    Tomorrow we pick up our car and attempt to navigate the south of Sweden from the wrong side of the road.
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  • Day 20

    Gothenberg to Halmsted

    July 25, 2023 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We picked up our little car this morning and drove around in circles looking for the Oscar Frederick Church and the Skansen Kronan Fortress in Gothenberg. Various roadworks had us ditch the church idea but we found the fortress high above the city. Built in and after 1687, Skansen Kronan and its sister fortress, Skansen Lejonet, were built on opposite hills to protect Sweden from the Danes. The views here were worth the driving anxiety and we had a good view of the church from there anyway!
    We headed south out of Gothenberg to find the very impressive Varberg Fortress at Varberg. It was easier driving to get here! Varberg Fortress was built in 1287, again as a fortification against the Danes, and we were almost blown off the fortress wall by the wind. The views here were amazing and the moat even had water!
    Next stop Tylosand, supposedly a popular 7km stretch of white sandy beach. Hmmmm… they haven't seen an Aussie beach!! Though, pretty, the sand was full of shell, there was lots of weed and the "surf" was rough. There were plenty of people out swimming (the water was surprisingly warm for being so close to the north sea) and we even saw the lifeguard start to rescue a kid in chest deep water. His mumma made it there first though. It was a nice place for lunch and the kite surfers were having a wow of a time!
    Next we took an easy hike to Danska Falls, so named for the death of some Danish soldiers in 1676 who, while fleeing from the Swedes, trusted a not-so-trustworthy suspension bridge and fell to their doom. It was also a pretty, though strangely coloured, waterfall.
    We had the devil of a time trying to locate Galgberget near Halmstad … a forested area with historical buildings within. We located the tower known as Utsiktstornet, a 13m observation tower built in the early 1800's. It's spiral staircase freaked Samara out but the views from the top were pretty darn fine. Also within the tranquil forest we found a pet cemetery (one of two here, i believe - eewww, though obviously well loved) and the Hallandsgärden open air museum, which was free and very cool.
    Our accommodation tonight is part of the Wäpno Castle estate. The grounds are pretty but smells like cattle and ducks! Samara no likey… We had dinner in a cute side street in Halmstad and enjoyed a walk around this old university town. A full day, yet again.
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