resurrection fern

on the way to røros

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we passed some beautiful mountains

stopped at a grassy meadow with mounds

a viking burial ground

we found quite by accident a wonderful house or should i say houses of curiosity

everything was for sale

most items "make me an offer"

or rediculously inexpensive if it was still in boxes or in the second house

if my suitcase wasn't already going to be overweight with stones from iceland

i could definitely have spent more kroners in this place

we found a lovely spot to camp minutes away from town

close to a river

the august supermoon was rising over the forest

in the early morning the mist was so lovely

and i met the largest beaver i have ever seen

taking a morning dip

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:)

kristiansund

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i left a bit of my heart in this town

i loved the colours of the houses

reminiscent of some of my favourite towns in nova scotia

i loved its rebuilt tower on a hill top giving a 360 view of the area

i loved its very modern church Kirkelandet by architect odd østbye

how could i not love a church that offers you to choose from a basket of

smooth stones as you enter

and that tapestry in the foyer was really inspiring

i loved the 130 year old shipyard with its rusted and weathered pieces of nautical history

i loved that it was open and free on another sleepy sunday morning in norway

i loved the little cafe that was like a museum

the girls loved the waffles and pancakes too

as i enjoyed a lovely coffee

a perfect morning before another beautiful long drive

heading west towards Røros

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troll day

or should i say troll afternoon

since this is the remainder of the day from the last post

but before we get there we stopped for lunch

at the site of a hydroelectric dam

with really old structures and stone tables

i met a young pup there named jack

he reminded me of turbo (geninne's dog)

sorry this travelogue is taking so long

i hope to be done before the end of the month

and then move on to my life presently

so as the title says this was the day of trolls

trollstigveien , trollstigen, trollkyrkja

amazing roads with hairpin turns

waterfalls

steep cliffs and rock formations

in contrast for the last part of the day we headed to the ocean coast

tranquil fishing villages

and found a most wonderful campsite

just north of bud

:)

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the deep blue geirangerfjord

another misty morning in norway

i love how the mist hangs over the mountains and hills like a cozy blanket

i love the fireweed seen by the roadside just about everywhere

so much so that i was really surprised to read that heather is the national flower

the roads were fantastic

affording spectacular views almost everwhere one looked

the unesco protected geirangerfjord is not just another pretty fjord

it was gorgeous

i loved the narrowness of it

the colour of the water

the peaks seen from a distance

and of course it helps to have such lovely company along the way

defnitely an area of norway i would love to explore more one day

perhaps take time to kayak or canoe in the fjord and hike some of the trails

we headed towards valldal

rebekah and nancy shared a strawberry cake  at jordbærstova

and we bought some cloudberry jam in the town

so much to see and it was only mid day

back on the road again heading north towards the ocean road

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xx

 

ottadalen

when i left off last we were camping in a forest near the otta river

the region is called ottadalen

wikipedia may not have much to say about this area

but i had the most beautiful early morning time exploring the top of the ridge

the softness of the deer moss (lichen) and the contrast of colours

with the extra magical morning sparkle was so very beautiful

i loved it

 

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and other news

Lachlan George turned one on sunday

he is such a very happy boy

xx

oma

 

day 6 of the norwegian road trip

day 6 was quite amazing

looking back on the photographs and map i can't reallly believe just how much

we covered in one day

flám

urnesstave church

nærøfjord

lærdal

an interesting boat museum with mended pink sails

i wondered if they were dyed with madder

undredal with its loveable goat population (population 100 humans, 500 goats)

and a beautiful stave church with a tasty little cafe next door

sogn

swims in the green glacial waters

borgund stave church

sognefjell

otta river

oh and i almost forgot rainbows over the glacier

so many photographs to share but i think you will understand why

incredible beauty

xx

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did you make a wish ?

we used some of this snow in our cooler since our ice had melted

:)

 

 

 

on to bergen

we travelled along the hardangerfjord

with its gorgeous views

yummy apple cake

shared 3 ways

we took a little detour to find goldfish lake

:)

it was a dark and gloomy day

especially when it started to pour as we neared bergen

we ate our lunch inside the parking garage that afforded us

a wonderful view of the gorgeous terracotta rooftops 

of the area bryggen

we explored that area , as well as the fish market,

a wonderful shop where you can purchase all the materials, ribbons, wool, buttons and trinkets

to make the traditional norwegian costumes that everyone wears on norway's national day

we ended the day walking up the hill for a view of the old town

and then warming our bellies with some pizza

the unofficial national food of norway

and according to rebekah and nancy

norwegians truly love their pizza especially on fridays

the rain continued on our drive out of town heading north west and we ended up finally finding a place to pitch our tent near the town of dale

famous for the sweaters of the same name

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farms, fruit, fossen, trolls and sweaters on trees

so after a vigorous hike up and down the mountain

the rest of the day was very gentile and relaxing

we passes through some of norways best fruit growing lands

in the area of rogaland

we tasted some from roadside fruit stands

and picked some berries while waiting for the ferry

we visited a farm museum , the ryfykle museum

the farm was almost 200 years old

we met a beautiful girl there

doesn't she look a great deal like rebekah :)

the girls sat in the largest jærstol chair in norway

we couldn't help but see the very powerful låtefoss waterfall

along highway 13

we also visited a smoked salmon factory to pick up our lunch

the roadside views were spectacular

at the end of driving day we ended up in eidfjord

love at first sight with the main road lined with sweater covered trees

although i think rebekah was smitten by a certain troll with a very kind face

i really loved the eidfjord church , one of the oldest stone churches in norway that is still used for services

it was built in 1309 by the jacobians

it still has the old paintings on the walls

very beautiful and very haunting images

i found the stairs to the windows to be so striking

we found a lovely campsite near a river

surrounded by lupins and angelica

perfect

xx

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the really funny thing about this day was that when we all changed after our hike we were all wearing the exact same little black dresses from h&m

we looked around and started laughing

and all day long enjoyed seeing strangers looking at us and wondering what interesting canadian community we were from

it still makes me smile to think about it

:)

 

 

hiking to preikestolen

we got up early as we usually did

and drove to the base of the hike up to preikestolen or pulpit rock

it was a gorgeous morning and not yet too warm

it took us less time than normal

following in the quick footsteps of two young fit women helped

even though we did pause to photograph the views and mountain lakes along the way

there were some exceptional camping sites on the way up

when we got up to top there were only a handful of early bird hikers from all over the world

some very brave having young children with them

as you can see here as in iceland there are no barriers or guard rails polluting these sites of extreme natural beauty

we left a stone in a place with a wonderful view

took some classic photographs

and headed back down the mountain , encountering a stream of hikers along the way

one fellow was singing italian opera with a very amazing baritone voice

another hiker was experiencing angina and i hope i convinced him not to continue up the mountain

he wasn't even half way there

we went back to the campground , packed up our tent and began our drive north towards bergen

xx

m

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the lysefjord

42 km long and 500 m deep

one of the most visited fjords in norway

and my first to enjoy

we took the ferry the length of the fjord

enjoying the fresh air and views along the way

resting up for the hike the next morning

it was cool seeing our hiking destination from water level

we also some some fjord seals , abandoned lodges and farms

and some habitated buildings along the shore

the water was a wonderful green colour with the grey sky

we were told of a family with ten children that used to live up high on the steep slope of the mountain

in fact it was so steep that the children had to wear ropes around their waists tied down securely for

for fear of them falling down the mountain

it is amazing to see the sheep grazing on those steep slopes 

with their skinny leggs and top heavy coats of wooley goodness

the day ended with finding a campsite just in time to enjoy the sunset

tomorrow the hike up to preikestolen

xx

enjoy your sunday

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