Blogs from Preikestolen, Western Norway, Norway, Europe

So, as we suggested we elect to separate the journey up to the Pulpit Rock from the actual tabletop rock itself. Here we go-departure from our fjord-side apartment occurs a bit after 9am with temperature in the 50's and overcast skies. We lament a bit the weather, yet later will be quite pleased it is neither warm nor sunny. Bird confirms the trek begins at 9:23 as we observe essentially everyone wearing coats, warm hats etc. Are we missing something, the high should be sixty or so (at least at a coastal town two hours to the west), and we are attired in summer weight pants and short sleeve shirts. We do have light raincoats tucked away in a backpack. Undaunted, we confidently strike out. The grade quickly becomes rather steep but even, and our pace ... read more

I decided at the start of the year that I was ready to ask the ultimate question of my beloved, Maria Chiara. It's not simply a matter of popping the question of course. A ring needs to be found and bought (which I duly achieved) and finding an anecdote-worthy (and blog-worthy) location to go down on one knee. Enter Norway. We already had the trip planned, but I had to wait six weeks with an engagement ring hidden away before our trip, but I felt Norway would be worth waiting for. I didn't have a specific location in mind for the proposal to take place other than three mandatory requirements: there had to be a fjord, a shaft of late evening sunlight, and we had to be alone. A normal day in Norway, in other words. ... read more

Probudilo nas startovani motorek, ktere po chvili kolem nas projeli. Nas stan byl nedaleko nastesti nefrekventovane silnice. Peto to komentoval slovy, ze jsme se zrovna mohli stanovat na dalnici. Celkem me to pobavilo. Slunicko zacalo krasne svitit a cekal nas krasny den. Po snidani jsme sbalili stan a vyrazili smerem k Preikestolenu/ Kazatelne. Parkoviste jsme objevili hned po ctyrech kilomenetrech, ale tak tak jsme nasli mistecko pro nase auto. Jeste ze je tak malinke. Cekala nas ctyrhodinova tura. Nebylo ani tak moc narocna na teren – po kazdem kopci se slo chvili po vrstevnici, takze clovek si vydechl, trochu se lezlo po kamanech do kopce, po obrovskych balvanech po rovine, prechazelo pres drevene lavky pres baziny, kolem jezirek, po retezich a drevene lavce … Ale ty davy, ty davy, ty davy. Nejspis kazdy clovek, ktery prijde ... read more

Prologue One day while living in Enschede, Netherlands, I have decided to visit Norway. Since I have always been infatuated in this country nature and pureness, the temptation was even bigger than the Scandinavian prices (or, maybe, a little smaller). I was ultimately encouraged by the Bremen-Haugesund flight prices, which were about 4€ per person one way (regards for Michael O’Leary). Why not? I said to myself, and booked the tickets for me and my three friends also, arranging the four-day-long trip. Considering the big expensiveness of Norway, we had to do some cuts before departure. So the final assumption was made, that we DO NOT want to spend more than 100€ per person for a whole trip. If you think it is impossible – you may stop reading now. But I strongly encourage you to ... read more