Day 9, Glomfjord hotel
The next day the weather was not good and the prognosis was not looking good either, so we packed our tent once again, and this time, we headed south. As we were driving we did not really see that many camping sites, only a few. We decided to stay a night at the Glomfjord hotel in Glomfjord. We took this comfortable option also because I was not feeling that well.
Glomfjord is a small fjord village closely surrounded by really high and majestic peaks. The hotel itself looked old, but still very neat, with nice red accents. That night we had a really soft peachy light shining from the sky.
Day 10, The magnetism of the high mountains
The next day I felt much better and after we had breakfast downstairs, we went for a light walk by driving up to a nearby dam by a snakey, narrow road. Up there it was looking rough and beautiful. There were still traces of snow. We saw a few small lakes first. They were incredibly clean and see-through. Probably because there were no algae in them. And of course, they were icy cold. We could see so much grey driftwood throughout the whole way we were driving and also at the dam. It was so interesting. I also took some home.
And look what we found too! Someone was having fun here.
There was a path near one of these lakes that we took a short walk around, until we came to a cottage where we had our snacks and then we went back to our car, with which we drove a bit to a different dam nearby. Actually, it might have just been the other side of the same dam. The name of it was Stroglomvatnet. On this side the path to the dam was really steep up, and then really steep down to the water. The thing is, in this cold place, there was an unbelievable amount of mosquitoes that bit even through thin, skin tight clothing. So we tried to move around as mucha s possible and not stand still in one place. The view at top of the dam was beautiful, though.
It´s interesting that I have heard a few people talk about these high mountain places with dams. They say there is always a sort of a weird magnetic energy there that can even feel uncomfortable at times. I never felt it, but I sure do believe the people who have told me about this. I remember that I read somewhere that high mountains were inhabited by the aether creature called Pamola, a guardian of the mountains. That they can protect you if you have respect towards the mountain, and can even turn against you if you don´t. These mountains sure awakened a feeling of respect in me. I feel drawn to these mysterious things even. Even if they can feel unpredictable, I guess it´s a kind of a thrill.
Day 11, A mountain with a hole in it
On the eleventh day we went on the road again because the bad weather was „chasing“ us and we wanted to escape it. So we went further south. We had to take a few ferries along the way because the Norway´s coast is incredibly complicated. The views from the ferries were incredibly scenic. On one of the ferries we saw the famous red island, Rødøya.
Later in the day we arrived at the Torghatten hike path. Torgatten is a very well known tourist place in Norway, because it´s literally a hole through a mountain. The tourist path there is really easy, and it takes only about an hour to get there by walking. From the hole, you can see the countless small islands in the sea.
After this hike, we went to book a night at a local camping. This was not that much of a pleasurable experience, because we were sleeping in a cabin which was right next to the kitchen and other cabins and it was always very noisy. You can really hear everything through the wooden walls and when one walks on the wooden floor, it´s incredibly loud. The guy who had a room next to us was a very talkative older guy with a very strong voice. You can imagine how it is to hear him talk late to the night and then start early in the morning again. As if that was not enough, there was also an airport next to the camping site.
Day 12, A fairy camping
We planned to go on a hike to the incredible „Seven sisters“ mountains, but the weather got to us again, so we had to change our plans. The seven sisters were these peaky, tall stone mountains with no trees or grass. They looked very interesting, just like the rest of the area, which was called Helgeland. There were also a few bridges connecting the islands, which there were many of in that area. One had even a pretty incredible height and arch.
So we had to drive again, we went through many ferries again and then there was a different landscape that greeted us later in the day. It was more of a foresty landscape in a type of a mountain plateau. The temperatures here changed as well as this was a bit further from the ocean and a higher position over the sea. In the evening we arrived to a camping site in this area, the camping´s name was Flat camping. It was a beautiful place by the stream, with lots of purple flowers and even some fields around there. It looked really fairylike. I tried to spirnkle some food for the fairies too. By the camping, there was a big, soil colored lake. It glimmered beautifully in the evening light and the beautiful weather. We set up our tent and had a bit of a walk around there. There was lots of agriculture there and we saw some cows too.
At night, it got really cold. Even colder than in Bodo. But I survived it and in the morning I had a warm shower.
Day 13, Trondheim bath and heading to an old place
On day 13 we drove again. This time we ended up near the town of Trondheim and the temperatures warmed up so much that I was wearing a T-shirt. We found a splendid beach to take a bath at. There were many people and children bathing and having a happy, vacation mood.
After a short bath, we decided what our next destination was going to be. We have been in that place before. That place was the village of Gaupne. We were taken there by one of the most beautiful mountainy areas I have seen in my entire life. And they were all lit in the midsummer golden light.
I also remember a mountain pass where the satnav was showing us that we were going downside, but the entire time we had a feeling that we were going up. That was really peculiar. What is more, the mountains in that place were so mysterious. I remember many red houses. I almost started to smell the old wood smell. I felt like I was in a fairytale. What better holiday could one even wish for? Who wouldn´t want to experience a different world like that? I was in total awe and speechless. I hope I can some time portray this place while doing it a justice.
In the evening we went up and up, through the valley that went to the Jotunheimen national park, we drove near the Galhoppigen mountain, which is the highest peak of Norway. There were many, many wooden cabins. This time built of dark wood. They were swimming in the evening darkness of the valley. These are the houses that fairytales talk about. This is what inspired them. This is the quiet mystery. This is where even the un-alive things are living. This is where the mist is breathing.
At the absolute peak of the valley, there was the Sognefjellshytta mountain cabin in a hopeful golden light. This cabin is located in the northern Europe’s highest mountain pass. We went to check the price and we did stay there. The place looked heavenly with all the snowy peaks around. And in the cabin, the old wood smell really visited my nose. It was so strange. It made me feel a certain way. It was a strong feeling that I can´t really explain. I was so happy to sleep in a comfortable bed that night. It was so cozy and we even got little chocolates.
We saw a tourist map hanging in the hallway of the cabin and we researched some destinations on it. But even after the first glance, I saw something familiar. The Flatbrehytta tourist cabin. I have actually been following an instagram account of this cabin for quite some time. What a surprise! It is also the highest positioned tourist cabin in the whole of Norway. Woah! We decided that the next day, we would do a hike to there from the Sognefjellshytta cabin. As it was a pretty demanding hike, it was only allowed to do it with a mountain guide. There were luckily groups of people hiking there with a mountain guide every day so we also booked that. After all, one must hike a distance directly on the glacier to get to the cabin, so it´s not something to be careless about.
We took a little walk in the evening too around a small lake near the cabin.
Day 14, Wet shoes
The next day we woke up and had breakfast downstairs. It was really nice and there was a lot of food to choose from. There was also black tea. For the first time on this trip, I heard people around me talking in Norwegian. And I enjoyed that. We were seated on beautiful carved wooden furniture and we saw the view out of the window with red curtains around it too.
The weather was looking cloudy, but not unbearable. So soon, we headed off to get to the foot of the mountain where the group was supposed to be awaiting us at a certain time. The path lead us through a rocky landscape with small grass and patches of snow. I think we could say it was the tundra landscape. All that was surrounded wth mountains in the distance. However, at a certain point, we came to a halt. That halt was a stream that had no bridge and however hard we were trying to not get our shoes wet, the water was simply too deep and it soaked right through them completely, so we had to turn and go back to the cabin. When we thought about it later, we actually thought that we could have simply taken our shoes off and then put them on again. At least we will be wiser next time.
Then we packed our stuff into the car and traveled to the beloved town of Gjende that we have visited many times before to set our tent up there. It was about one and a half hours to get there down the humongous mountain where Sognefjellhytta was, in the awe inspiring, fairytaly Jotunheimen national park (what a beautiful sounding name). But before that we traveled a bit further, to check out a different camping at the Breheimen valley. Unfortunately, they have closed that camping site, so we went back to Gjende. But at least, travelling through the valley, we saw this wild, light blue river.
In Gjende, it was raining lightly. That day we only did some grocery shopping after that and not much more.
Day 15, Lots of sheep
We had figured a hike for this day. The weather was mostly cloudy with some occassional sun. But that is an okay weather for Norway. After all, we had raincoats. So we took our car to a different mountain plateau, right above Gjende. It was a steep snakey road that took us to an idyllic place with grass, sheep, horses, some small red houses and views to mountaintops that looked quite icelandic. We hiked and the horses and sheep said hello to us. I think that the horses also wanted to say hello to the food in our backpacks though.
The grassy land was very wet there. There was lots of mud. That isn´t uncommon for Norway. And there was so much sheep poop everywhere, even throughout the whole mountain. But we didn´t mind that. As we were slowly elevating, we heard sheep announcing to each other that we were there and occassionally, some sheep would come to check us out.
Finally, we got to the top of the mountain (Jargolnipa) where we found some strange reindeer cup lichen. It was a peculiar plant with a totally mushroomy scent that grew in the high altitudes in abundance. I wonder if one could make a soup out of it and also how it would taste. The views from the top rewarded us for sure. The vast mountains and deep valleys between them all in blue colors with occassional clouds of mist traveling through them took our breaths away. It was a quiet and an ethereal oasis. We didn´t even meet more than two people while hiking. I felt so beautifully solitary.
On the way back the rain caught us. But we had raincoats, so it was all good. Our shoes soaked through completely, but it wasn´t that long of a hike, so it didn´t hurt us.
Day 16, The national museum in Oslo
This day was the day to travel home. Our time was up and my father had to go back to work. The time flew by incredibly fast and I wouldn´t have minded to spend another two weeks in this beautiful place, but we had to go. We packed our tent and drove. THere were many more interesting settlements and landscapes that we saw aroung the place. We decided to go to the direction of Oslo and then to a town in Sweden from which our ferry to Germany would depart. There were some more ferries we had to take through the coast too and near Oslo the roads were really crowded and slow.
We had some extra time until the ferry departure, so we visited the Oslo National museum, per my request. My dad was not sure of the idea at first, but then he really liked it there, he especially liked seeing and reading about the historical relics. My favorite part, as you have probably guessed it, was the art gallery. I have always wanted to see some of the artworks that were there with my own eyes. It was a dream come true that I didn´t expect to happen. I saw the artworks of one of my favorite artists from the past, Harald Sohlberg. I saw the huge „Vinternatt i Rondane“ (Winter Night in the RondaneMountains), but also Sommernatt, Street in Røros and Evening glow. My favorite of his, The fisherman´s cottage, unfortunately wasn´t there. Another one that I love especially is the Flower Meadow in the North, but they didn´t have that one either. However, they had so many more interesting and beautiful historical landscape works of art by artists like Theodor Kittelsen, Thomas Fearnley, Hans Gude, Hans Dahl, Lars Hertevig and others.
After we finished, we had some tea in the café and then we drove again. We crossed the swedish border and found a nice spot to park our car at night and sleep. It was a place by a lake and it was a big parking lot with lots of cars, and it was far enough from the highway, so it was totally peaceful. There were some cute red houses in that area and also lots of oak trees, which I also know from my hometown in Slovakia.
Day 17, Ferry from Sweden to Germany
The next day we wanted to wash ourselves in the lake, but we couldn´t do that because the shore was filled with rotting seaweed. There was a really long pier also, but I felt too lazy to walk over to it, as it was far away.
After only two or three hours on the road we were in the harbor where our ferry was to leave from. There, we took a short walk and then went to board the ferry. It was around six hours on this ferry till we came to Rostock again. My dad drove a bit after that, but soon we parked somewhere and we went to sleep. It was pitch dark outside again. This part of the travel was less interesting than the rest an also a little sad.
Day 18, Arriving home
On day 18 we traveled through Germany, Czechia and then we got to Slovakia. My family and dog greeted me and that was the end of this beautiful adventure.
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Amazing travel blog, pretty fascinating and inspiring for us who ain’t been there. More stuff like this pls 🙂
Thank you, Zuzana 💗
Hi Monika. I’ve read every day of your trip in Norway. You and your dad had an amazing trip. Regarding to your question about reindeer lichen, which really is a mushroom; it’s not usual to eat it, but you can eat the white tops. Not the dark stems. You can dry it and make flour of it. Or you can rinse it and stir fry it as a side dish for dinner.
Usually it’s used for Christmas decorations. It’s not allowed to pick it everywhere, but I guess you as a tourist can pick a very little amount without having trouble.
I’m in the west at my daughter’s house now, going home next Monday. Have a nice week my friend 💁🏼♀️🥰
Hi Vivian! Thanks for commenting, these are interesting things to know! Hope you have a great time :)🥰