Lost in Bergen & Troll Tongues

Posted on by stead005

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and located on its west coast.  On our day off from hiking, we decided to take the 3 hour out-of-the-way drive (each way) to see the city.   They are known for their seafood market, and food is Jeanette’s favorite aspect of traveling.

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Our campsite in Odda is famous for having the largest boulder in Norway.
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Waterfalls are so common in Norway that you barely even see them, but this one caught my eye during our drive to Bergen
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We learned how to use the sunroof while waiting for the ferry.
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Riding the ferry and getting an adjustment.
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Some crooked buildings with gift shops inside.
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One of the pretty yachts in the port of Bergen
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Preparing Gravlax (where we had our Halibut meal)
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While others shop, I pose with a polar bear.

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In Bergen, Jeanette got her seafood meal; we split a grilled halibut steak with sauteed vegetables.  I am not the best critic of seafood, but it was pretty good.  The cost was 150 Krone which I think is a good deal in this country.  After a bowl of ice cream, Jeanette was fully satisfied with her city experience (she will tell you that I pushed for the ice cream).

During the drive, we had our first chance to fill up.  Gas is 15.90 Krone per Liter which equates to about $7.39 per Gallon.

From Bergen, we headed back to Odda where we camped for the night.  The next morning, we got an early start for we were going on the longest hike of our trip (and personally my longest ever) – Trolltunga.

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We stretch 8 km into the hike
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…and then pose for a picture.
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It was almost a 2 hour wait before we got to go out on the Tongue.  Thats after the 4.5 hours of hiking to get there.
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I bravely make my way out for a photo on the tongue with Jeanette.

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Mika and Kenny out on the tongue.  It was a little less scary watching Kenny on this one.

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Jeanette cools off by making a snow angel.  It was probably 80 degrees or more for the entire hike.

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The hike is 14 km both ways adding up to a total length of 18 miles (once I add in the walk from the car to the trail head and a few wrong turns).  The trail ends at a rock that juts out over a fjord like a diving board about 800 meters over the water (it kind of resembles a tongue).  The first 7 km had most of the climb for the hike so the second half of it was actually pretty easy.  Jeanette did get a little discouraged when we could not find the “2 km to go” sign, but once we got passed that, she had a renewed energy.  We were both proud of ourselves for finishing because we both had our doubts going into it.  I think Mika and Kenny were a little more optimistic.

-Jason

P.S. – The hardest part of the hike was handing over the 500 krone (about $63) to park at the trail head, so have a full wallet if you want to do this hike.

 

 

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