Hiking Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)

---

We got up early and were amazed at the breakfast spread at this Scandic hotel. They’ve all been good but this put Embassy Suites to shame and we all know how much we like that. We took Rick Steves advice and hoarded snacks, sandwiches, and fruit for our hike. It takes multi-transport to get to the start of the Pulpit Rock hike, so you really need to want to go there. We took a bus to the Ferry Terminal, then a nice ferry ride to the city of Tau. A bus is waiting there to shuttle passengers the 40 minute ride up into the mountains. Amy spent the ferry ride crafting one of her “special” emails to the rental car company. They were sticking to their story but needed to “talk to Oslo” for a final determination. Amy had a firm talk with the nice young man with words about disputing the charges, resisting legally, and blasting them on every social media outlet we know. We put that in writing so he could “send it to Oslo” as well. Then we released the stress by climbing 4 km up to Pulpit Rock. It doesn’t sound far but almost all of the climb is a scramble over large and small rocks and boulders. At times, you had to crawl on your hands and knees or slide down. Brian was like a billy goat and had it pretty easy. Amy was bad at picking her path but had no mishaps. We saw Grandmas of all nationalities, ancient guys puttering up all alone, kids, dads and moms carrying kids in backpacks and snuggies, and tons of dogs. Some were going slow, some were huffing and puffing and some were going fast but everyone made it. The last km seemed like it went on forever but the view was worth it. We didn’t get TOO close to the edge but we got some good pictures. We were happy for snack/rest/picture breaks and the nice weather. The return trip was just as long and maybe harder to go down but we shaved 15 minutes off our time – total time of 4:15. We got back and had a celebratory ice cream and Cola Light. The hotel has a nice restaurant serving local Norwegian cuisine and we enjoyed local fish and lamb in a real (and expensive) dinner with vegetables! We also heard from the rental car company. They emailed saying all was resolved and we wouldn’t be charged at all. Nice is a good way to start but apparently does not win the day. We will now give them a much better review. We had our obligatory prosecco to celebrate the good news, our successful hike, and to close out another amazing day in Norway. Tomorrow we travel to Bergen. Home stretch. Stay tuned.

---