Norway

Day 1

On the afternoon of June 7th we departed the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky on a flight to Chicago O’Hare with our friends Christian and Makayla to start our journey to Norway. We arrived into Chicago just after 6 p.m. and our next flight on Iceland Air was scheduled to depart at 10:50 p.m.

We attempted to find a place to eat dinner but every restaurant in our terminal had either closed or ran out of food by the time. After speaking with security guard about our dining options, we ended up leaving go back outside of security to eat at a McDonald’s as it was the only place open.

Thank goodness we were able to find some nutrition as once we returned back to our gate our departure had been delayed until 12:45 a.m.

Day 2

Our Iceland Air flight landed in Oslo, Norway’s capital, at 3:40 p.m. We purchased tickets at the airport and took the regional train to Oslo Central Station. We ate dinner at Peppes Pizza just outside the station and then spent the last bit of daylight walking around the waterfront area while we waited to board sleeper train #605 scheduled from Oslo to Bergen at 11:03 p.m.

At this point it had been well over 24 hours? since any of us had slept in a bed and we all were looking forward to the tiny beds onboard the train when it was announced our train was delayed. The train finally arrived and we departed for Bergen at 1:00 a.m.

Day 3

Our train was scheduled to arrive into Bergen Central Station at 5:47 a.m. but due to the delay we didn’t arrive until 8:15 a.m. We grabbed a few pastries at the station and then took another train to Bergen Airport to pick up our rental car.

We spent some time exploring the Bergen waterfront which was full of shops, vendors, and restaurants. Our last stop in Bergen was the Fløibanen funicular which is a railway that runs from Bergen city center to Fløyen which is one of the “city mountains” that surrounds the city. The top offers a great view of the city below as well as areas for shopping, playing, and hiking.

After riding back down to Bergen we started our three hour drive towards Sekse. We stopped in the town of Voss for dinner at Vossevangen Bodega. Not far outside of Voss we came across the Skjervsfossen waterfall.

Skjervsfossen was the first of many quick stops to check out waterfalls. There was an overlook at the top of the falls and then after a short drive, there was a trail to hike up to the base of the falls below.

We stayed the night at an AirBnB overlooking the Hardanger fjord in Sekse. Once arriving we hung out for a bit before heading to bed since we had to wake up early the following day for our big hike.

Day 4

We started our day with a quick breakfast at the AirBnB and then headed towards the Trolltunga trailhead. Trolltunga is a famous rock formation in Norway located 2296 feet above Ringedalsvatnet lake. The out-and-back hike is 15.8 miles long and has 4,000 feet of elevation gain.

There are several options for parking near Trolltunga. We booked a parking ticket for P3 Mågelitopp when planning our trip and all agreed that it was well worth the $60 as we drove past hikers walking (practically climbing) up the road towards the trailhead as we zoomed past.

Just before 7 a.m. we started our hike up rocky terrain but it quickly turned to snow and the visibility continued to decrease we climbed higher. We hiked several miles in near white-out conditions but luckily the trail was well marked.

Along the way to the top we came across an overlook of Ringedalsvatnet lake.

Once we reached the top of Trolltunga we saw the “Troll’s tongue” the trail is named after. We had to wait in a short line to get a picture but everyone was very friendly and we took turns taking pictures for each other.

We spent around an hour enjoying the view, taking pictures, and enjoying snacks at the top before starting the journey back down. Ashley and Makayla each suffered a few minor falls during the descent but luckily only their pride suffered. The hike took us around 9 hours to complete.

After making it back to the car we drove south to Odda to eat an early dinner at Odda Grillen before heading to our next AirBnB in Voss.

Day 5

Back on the road we left Voss behind and started our scenic drive north towards Jostedalsbreen National Park. Shortly after starting our drive we came across the Tvindefossen waterfall and pulled off the road for a few quick pictures before continuing on to Flåm and then Undredal.

In Undredal we visited the Undredal Stave Church which was built in 1147.

As we continued on we stopped at a Sognaporten gas station (much nicer than those we are used to in the U.S.) for fuel and hotdogs before we entered the Lærdal Tunnel nearby.

The Lærdal Tunnel wasn’t the first or last tunnel we drove through, but it was special because it is the longest tunnel in the world at 15.32 miles long. Norway is considered the world’s leader in tunneling with over 900 tunnels throughout the country.

Shortly after surfacing from the tunnel we rode the Mannheller ferry to cross the next fjord. We ended up on the ferry with a collection of Ferrari’s out enjoying the Norwegian roads and scenery.

We continued driving north after the ferry towards the national park. Our next stop was just inside the park at Bøyabreen Glacier. It was an easy walk from the parking lot down a gravel trail to see the glacier.

Bøyabreen is one of 25 glacier tongues that branch out from the Jostedalsbreen glacier.

The cabin we had booked for the night was further around the glacier so we drove on and stopped in Olden for dinner at Yris Kafe & Resturant.

After arriving in Briksdalsbre we found our grass roof cabin at Trollbu Aabrekk Gard. From the window in our cabin we had a view of the Briksdalsbreen glacier. This turned out to be one of our favorite accommodations of the trip.

Day 6

Our sixth day started with a hike to Briksdalsbreen Glacier within Jostedalsbreen National Park. There were multiple waterfalls along the hike and even a place to take a break and swing.

Once we finished our hike we headed towards Geiranger after a quick stop to check out the park visitor center. Along the way we noticed a sign for a scenic route and decided to take a detour to see what sights we would come across.

Shortly after leaving the main road we found ourselves in a valley winding up towards a mountain pass. At first we saw drifts of snow, then the ground became covered, and by the time we got to the top of the pass the snow was level with the car.

As we drove on the snow continued to increase in height until it was more than double the height of our car. At the peak there was nearly 20′ worth of snow! This was by far the most snow any of us had seen in person so we made sure to get out on climb around on it like little children.

The road continued to wind through walls of snow until we came upon Summer Ski Resort at the top. Christian and I debated seeing what it would cost for us to make a few quick runs down the mountain but we decided to carry on towards our hotel for the night.

We eventually found our way back to a major highway and the snow started to turn back into green forests. As we neared Gerianger we made a stop at the Flydalsjuvet viewpoint that overlooks the town and Geirangerfjorden.

Once we descended into Geringer we checked in at the Grande Fjord Hotel. This was our most expensive stay but it offered a stunning view of the fjord from the room, hot tub and restaurant! We enjoyed dinner at the hotel Restaurant Hyskje which offered a great dinner buffet without us having to leave the hotel property.

Day 7

We ate breakfast at the Grande Fjord Hotel which was included with our stay. Once checking out from the hotel we rented sea kayaks from Active Gerianger which was just a few steps from the hotel.

It took us a little over an hour to paddle the The Seven Sisters Waterfall. After taking some photos with the Seven Sisters we crossed the fjord to see The Suitor Waterfall before starting our return paddle back. We were all a little tired by this point and it began to drizzle cold rain on us, so we did our best to paddle quickly and get off the water before it started raining any harder.

After returning our kayaks we drove into Gerianger to explore the town and visit some of the shops. There were multiple cruise ships in port so it was very busy. We didn’t stay long before heading towards our final stop in Norway which was Ålesund.

We made the mistake of waiting until we arrived in Ålesund to eat dinner. Once we were checked into our AirBnB for the night we went in search of food but found most places to be closed. We ended up eating at Master Mats which was a small pizza and burger shop.

Even though it was after 8 p.m. when we got back to the AirBnB, Christian and I decided to go for a short hike up to the Aksla Viewpoint since it was still daylight outside. The trail was a little over a mile long and was mostly walking up and down stairs. At the top we nearly had a 360 degree view of the city.

Day 8

Day 8 was another early start for us as we arrived at the airport around 5 a.m. to drop off our rental car and check in for our flight back to Oslo at 6:50 a.m on Norwegian Airlines. Once our flight landed in Oslo at 7:45 a.m. we took the train to Oslo Central Station and dropped our luggage off in rental lockers so we could explore the city.

Our first stop was a bakery for pastries and coffee. At The Royal Palace we were able to watch a changing of the guard.

We stopped at Mathallen Oslo for lunch which is an indoor market with Norwegian food vendors and retail shops. We each were able to try different cuisines and we all enjoyed a scoop of gelato before leaving.

At some point during the day Ashley managed to somehow give herself a black eye by tripping and hitting my shoulder. We were worried it would turn out to be very dark but luckily it only swelled slightly and was lightly bruised.

We walked off our lunch by exploring the Akershus Fortress and Anker Brygge which is situated next to a pier with marinas, restaurants, museums and shopping malls. This is also where the Nobel Peace Center is located that displays exhibits related to the prizes that are given out each year.

Once arriving back to our AirBnB in the afternoon, Ashley and Makayla quickly fell asleep and we all enjoyed a few hours of rest. We ventured back out to for dinner and found Los Tacos nearby. The rest of the evening we played cards and packed up our luggage to prepare for our flight to Iceland the following day.

You can check out our adventures in Iceland HERE.