Deer Country

Why Norway? Several of our friends are simply in love with this country: some lived in it and traveled a lot, others made a mega motor rally from St. Petersburg through its territory. Their stories inspired us on this trip to Norway.

At first we were worried about the visa - before that we had never done Schengen or been to Europe, but it turned out that now there is a visa center in Vladivostok that issues visas to 12 European countries. Our documents were accepted even without confirmation of hotel reservations, and after 2 weeks we received our visas.

Thanks to the information received from our instructor, ( Kirill Yasko) we quickly reached our city campsite in Oslo. I would like to say that Kirill planned and organized everything perfectly in advance - a true professional in his field! In the evening we got to know the participants and the instructor while drinking tea and a signature cake from our Primorsky pastry chef. In the morning, another participant, the merry fellow Andrey from Dnepropetrovsk, joined us, and there were 11 of us.

The group was international: from Ukraine (Kharkov, Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk) and Russia (St. Petersburg, Vladivostok). All the guys turned out to be very pleasant and interesting people, and a comfortable microclimate immediately formed in our company, which greatly contributed to the success of our trip.

Guys, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your company! Come visit us in Vladivostok!

Next was a bus, and then a trail through Jotunheimen National Park with backpacks on our shoulders. That day we walked a little, got used to it, acclimatized. We spent the night on a high-mountain plateau, at an altitude of about 1000 m, where there was snow in places.

All around was moss-shrub tundra with many streams and generally an excess of moisture. The views were amazing: rocks, waterfalls, lakes, they accompanied us all the way. Wild herds of reindeer also graze here. That’s why this song came to my mind: “Take me deer to your country like a deer...”. That’s how I nicknamed Norway the country of deer.

The next day I remember our vacation spot - a sandy beach on a lake, where we cooled our feet and lay in the sun, and some even took a swim! The lake reflected the opposite shore with majestic snow-capped mountains. And then there was rain at times turning into rain. At the end of the day we were wet and tired, no one had any desire to sleep in a tent.

But the trick of Norway is that there are shelters where you can sleep in warmth and comfort, they have a hot shower and a dryer for clothes! This was the only thing that saved us, because... The following days it rained every day, and sometimes it turned into snow. But it’s so nice to know that in the evening, cold and tired, you’ll take a hot shower, dry your things, drink delicious cider or beer with pizza, and in the morning you’ll put on dry, or almost dry, boots and hit the road again! As a result, our route was from shelter to shelter, or as Anatoly (one of the participants in the hike) said, through the shelters of Norway.

One day we had a radial exit to the highest peak of Norway, Galhöpiggen (2469 m), but the weather was rainy as always, and visibility was almost zero, so the only surprise was the working cafe at the very top. We could have warmed up here and had a snack, if only we had known! After all, we decided to have lunch right on the snowy slope approximately in the middle of our climb, because... We were afraid that it would be even worse: wind and snow. It rained during lunch, so while we were eating and drinking, we were completely frozen. But in the cafe on the mountain you could take off your wet jacket and sit at the table.

But one day we were lucky with the weather - it was sunny all day! And my God, what a beauty all around!!! Blue sky, snow, rocks, waterfalls, blue lakes and bright lush greenery! On this day we left the Skogadal shelter past Kirka Mountain and Lake Leirvatn through a pass into the forest area. Cameras were clicking left and right all day, Andrey expressed an interesting idea about why mountains are always so beautiful in photographs, because cameras are only taken out of backpacks in good weather!

The next day it rained at times again. Kirill reassured us by suggesting that a Norwegian mother says to her child, who has been waiting for summer all year: “Well, maybe next year, son, you’ll be lucky with summer.” Yes, we are only here for 2 weeks, but they live here!

We were very impressed by the Vettifossen waterfall (about 275 m high), and there were many other large and beautiful waterfalls. One day we found delicious mushrooms, I think boletus or boletus, and cooked buckwheat with mushrooms. It's a small thing, but it's nice!

After completing the first part of our hike, we took a speedboat along the Sognefjord to Bergen. Bergen pleased us with good weather; we were able to take the funicular up the mountain and explore the surrounding area from there. I also liked the Hanseatic Quarter and the museum, where you can see the life of merchants of that time, and of course the Fish Market, where they sell fresh seafood. I recommend trying seafood milk soup and seafood salad there.

The second part of our hike was to Troll's Tongue. We were a little stupid here, refusing a minibus that could have taken us 6 km along an asphalt road to the trail, but we ate our fill of strawberries that grow along the side of the road. As a result, we arrived at the trail around 2 p.m., when all the groups had already left and many were returning back. Those returning were very dirty and looked at us clean with smiles.

Indeed, the trail turned out to be a champing quagmire, in which we also got all dirty. We walked with backpacks, because... We planned to spend the night there and then go further along the lake. We walked for a long time (about 6 hours) and it was hard, rain poured down on us. A strong wind was blowing on the plateau near the Troll's Tongue rock. Everyone was tired, wet, cold, and there was no desire to even take pictures. I had no idea where we should put up a tent, because... there was water and puddles all around and it was cold, rain, wind. There was no mood.

But nearby there was a hut built as a shelter. Now it is in a deplorable state - there is a terrible garbage dump all around, a broken window in one room, dirty and broken things and some food items are lying around. When we arrived, a couple from the Czech Republic had already settled there, but they cordially moved and our entire company (9 people at this time) fit in. The guys closed the window, we turned on the burner, changed clothes, and life got better! It became cozy and warm, so little is needed for happiness!

The next day we had to go around Lake Ringedalsvatnet, a beautiful view of which opens from the Troll's Tongue. To be honest, I did not believe in the success of this event, because... the shore of the lake was dissected by deep gorges, sometimes blocked by dams; in addition, there were no traces of people on the path, therefore, it was necessary to follow a path.

But on this day the weather smiled at us again, and there was practically no rain. There were magnificent views of mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and dams. Amazing! In the evening we reached another uninhabited shelter, it seems to Mosdalb. We didn’t live in it (the price list was too high), we put up tents nearby, but that didn’t stop us from having dinner and lunch in the house. The next day, late in the evening, we were already in Oslo

Good weather accompanied us throughout Oslo all day! I liked the city; there are interesting modern architectural structures, for example, the opera house. We looked at several museums: the castle fortress, Fram, Kon-tiki, Viking Ships, a folk village, then we went to the sculpture park and the Karl Johansan pedestrian street. Having bought gifts for home, satisfied and happy, we went to spend the night at the campsite; we had a flight tomorrow morning.

We were pleased with the trip, but it’s still a pity that because of the rain we might not have seen all the beauty of the national park. Thank you very much to our instructor Kirill Yasko! Everything was perfectly organized and planned!