Photos: http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2398654007/a=38054161/
Since this trip was quite long; I'll break from my normal daily description and just give an overview of the trip, as well as some of the things we noticed along the way. Some of which are shown in the photos.
Jen and I flew into Stockholm, Sweden, and headed down the Eastern Coast of Sweden. We were disappointed on how little of the water you could see from E22 down the coast. You really had to go out on the spur roads to see the Baltic Sea. I was also surprised at how lots of Sweden's landscape reminded me of Michigan. Wooded, rolling hills, and lots of water. There were many differences though; some cultural. We saw some windmills, the roads had wider markings as well as cables for dividers, they used natural (dirt and grass) roofs, and a lot of the waterfront we saw was either commercial or undeveloped.
We then headed West along the Southern part of Sweden and made our way to Halmstad for Jonas and Misty's wedding. It was a great time, and we even got to see Fritjof who we hadn't seen in a while, as well as meet his girlfriend Erica. Wonderful evening, met lots of new people and got to experience many tastes and traditions of Sweden. Took some night shots of some lit bridges in Halmstad; and then spent the next day with Jonas and Misty as well. Went to the beaches of the "Swedish Riviera". No offense to the Swedes, but the beaches there are nothing like the Riviera. The water was shallow for quite a while, which makes it a great destination for families though.
We said goodbye to Jonas, Misty and Jonas' family; and continued up the Western coast of Sweden. Checked out a fortress and the climbing scene in Bohuslan. While I've seen some great (and very hard) climbing in Bohuslan in magazines, I guess I'm spoiled living in Boulder as I doubt I'd plan a trip over there just for the climbing. Good rock, but two pitches at most. We explored the beautiful area around Marstrand; and saw Carlstens fortress on the island from both sides. Noticed that some of the ferries run on cables. The ferries in Sweden are free to use, as they consider them part of the road. Not much else is free, or even cheap, over there though. If you are going to visit, definitely be prepared to pay premium prices. We were in sticker shock in Sweden, and were warned by several Swedes that Norway was going to be expensive. (Which it was, around 20% more than Sweden.)
Saw some really neat old churches, including Lysekil and Fjallbacka. Watched a beautiful sunset and spent an interesting night on the mountain overlooking Fjallbacka. Complete with a late night tent move, because of having our tent set up in an area with a beautiful view - but the tent was quite exposed and a thunderstorm rolled in. Never a dull moment!
We entered Norway around Oslo and then headed West, then Southwest towards Lysebotn. Along the way, enjoyed views of some great rivers and ran across our first Stave Church in Heddal. Stave Churches are medieval churches; specially constructed and quite ornate. They don't have many windows, and they coat the wood in a tar for durability and water resistance; so they have a very dark and eerie look to them. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church It was pretty cool, and we made an effort to see several more of them along our trip.
Overall, it seemed that Sweden's infrastructure and houses / businesses were in better shape than Norway's. Norway had a lot of very old structures though; many still had the old wooden style houses in their backyard. As we moved Westward in Norway, the scenery got more and more dramatic. It was neat to see that even many new houses in Norway still used the natural (dirt, grass, bushes) roofs.
Upon reaching Lysebotn, we did a couple of touristy hikes. One to Kjeragbolten, which is a boulder wedged between two cliff faces. On the boulder, it was over a thousand feet down to the Fjord; quite the sight! Did a little exploring along there and even ran into some basejumpers. One jumper was from Louisville; just miles from my house in Boulder. Wild! Watched them jump from the steep and towering walls above Lyse Fjord. Explored a different and backcountry path back; getting cliffed out a couple times, running into snow fields, and finding some really great lakes and scenery.
Headed around to the other side of the Lyse Fjord; and did the second touristy hike; heading out to Pulpit Rock. It was raining pretty hard at times, so didn't get great photos, but had the place mostly to ourselves. Pulpit rock is a great rock outcropping with sheer cliffs down to Lyse Fjord.
Went North heading towards Odda. Saw many lakes and rivers along the way, as well as an old mill and waterwheel. It poured one of the driving days, which turned out to be an incredible day to see the waterfalls off 13. They were really rocking, and the lakes were overfilling; like the photos of Roldalsvatnet Lake with the trees underwater. Past Odda, we saw some great views in Undredal and another Stave Church; one that is still in use - they were even having a service at the time.
Headed over to a very touristy Flam, where a giant cruise ship was parked. They had a cool pub that was made to look like a Stave Church with ornate carvings both inside and out. Saw more old buildings in Otternes, including a barn which had a ramp up to the upper level; like many of the old and current barns had there. Went through the worlds longest tunnel in Laerdal, stretching for 24.5km and complete with some neon lighting sections. ( http://www.lotsberg.net/data/tun10.html )
Visited a world heritage site, a gathering of historic houses, also in Laerdal. Saw some of Sogne Fjord; the worlds longest and deepest Fjord. Lots to do here; you could spend a lifetime exploring and playing at just this one Fjord. Continued Northwest at this point, seeing the Kaupanger Stave Church, then on to an area where we could access an arm of the Jostedalsbreen glacier.
Jen hadn't been on a glacier before, so we took a trip up onto the glacier and saw some of the more rugged parts; up close and personal. Continued farther up the 604, and hiked at a high altitude lake that ran right up to the Jostdalsbreen glacier. Great views; including a wild overflow structure with a huge tunnel carved through the earth.
Drove along Lustra Fjord, checking out some waterfalls, an old Chevy, and even some Highlander cattle along the way. Headed on to climb Galdhopiggen, Norway's highest peak. Took the scenic route, and got hit by a snowstorm on the climb. The summit hut was heated (way too hot) and packed! (Lots of folks took the shorter, glacial route up the mountain.) I love that Norway and Sweden have lots of open country. They also can't stop you if you want to go out into the backcountry; you are free to explore, enjoy, and/or get yourself into trouble. Wonderful freedom!
Continuing Northward, we checked out the Lom stave church, and Geiranger Fjord with the seven sisters waterfall - which is also a world heritage site. Was jonesing for some climbing when looking at the awesome granite walls near the Stigfossen waterfall. Checked out the Troll Wall, which is Europe's highest vertical wall; and the only place in Norway where base jumping is prohibited.
From here, we started heading back East; enjoying the beautiful and clear Rauma river, as well as stopping at another world heritage site in Roros. The farther East we went, the less dramatic the scenery. Saw a few ski hills and then crossed back into Sweden; making our way across the country to the Eastern shore near Sundsvall.
From Sundsvall, we headed South along the Eastern coast of Sweden. Saw an old factory, took a photo of trailers with attached large tent rooms which were common, and some stone streets which several towns had. We made our way towards Stockholm and kayaked from Blido checking out the Archipelago. Sadly, our trip came to an end and we were treated with another double rainbow on our go home day.
Overall, it was a good trip. A bit too much driving for my tastes; I would have liked to stay longer at multiple places and play. Since Jen wasn't really up to long hikes and/or harsh conditions though, it was a good balance; and allowed us to see quite a bit of Sweden and Norway. We ended up driving around 3000 miles over the course of our trip; crazy! Saw many areas, and now will do things different for the next trip back there. I'd definitely go to Norway again; they have an incredible landscape. Would likely just fly into Norway though; and take the bus or a train to one location. Geiranger fjord, Odda, Sognefjord, or the Troll Wall would all be good destinations. Plenty of stuff to see and do at any of those locations....
This was also the first trip I was doing with my new camera setup where I could take 3D photos. I included three 3D photos at the end of this album. You will need a set of blue and red 3D glasses to view them...
Hope you enjoy the pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2398654007/a=38054161/
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish