Visiting the Fjords

It suddenly occurred to me that I had a whole week off. So I searched for flights to 'Europe' and got a few ideas of where I could fly to. Alesund caught my attention in particular, and the next day the flight was booked. Wow, quite spontaneous for me!

A week later, it was already time to go! I spent the first night in a hostel and immediately felt how expensive Norway is - despite a 15% discount at the cheapest restaurant, I paid €18 for spaghetti bolognese and a small drink.

Tuesday:

Just: WOW! Sunshine (!), cold, and fantastic views wherever I looked. Located right on the Atlantic Ocean, the Alesund region has many fjords. So there is a mountain on almost every island - and they are not easy at all. Many of them already have snow, so the first ski lifts have even opened. Simply breathtaking! It is just the perfect combination: water and mountains. There may not be beautiful sandy beaches, but there are also many lakes. The summer here must be fantastic! Especially when you look at a fjord from the land side. Amazing!

To save money, I signed up for Couchsurfing and even found someone to host me. I went there in the afternoon. A nice man, a nice little apartment, I have my own room and he is very uncomplicated, although he makes sure I eat enough.

In the evening, there was a 'Couchsurfer Meeting' in the city, where I met Martine, Alvero, and Wiveke. Very nice people! A Spanish guy who got lost in Germany and Poland before ending up in Alesund with a Norwegian girl, and two locals, one of whom studied medicine in Poznan *surprise surprise*. Anyway, it was a very pleasant evening in a pleasantly empty pub (because it was Tuesday) with great company and too many medical topics again. What can you do, it's just a magnet for conversation.

Wednesday:

I was nicely advised in the store for all hiking needs and got some tips (and a map). I wanted to take the fastest route and found myself on the way to Godoy shortly after sunrise (shortly after 9). I took the local bus to Alnes. The nice bus driver even told me where to best climb the mountain. At first, I took the wrong path and wandered around the base of the mountain for a while - but it was nice too, so I could take a closer look at the mountain and had a nice view of the sea. Then I preferred to take the right road and there was also the path that I had already seen from the bus. After a few meters, I wasn't so sure anymore if this was the right way? Well, let's keep going for now. Straight ahead or up? It was just flattened grass with a few footprints and a very vague trail. Eventually, I found not only icy stones, but also a small stream. Is this still a hiking trail or already a riverbed? Well, there's hardly anywhere else to go, and here and there you could see a few footprints in the now frozen mud. I suppose I'm going the right way and indeed, further up there was a sign with a mailbox that has something to do with fish (?). (Fishing in the sense of catching fish.) It got more difficult further up as there were icy spots again and I had to look for good footholds and plan a few steps ahead. But all in all, the ascent was okay, it wasn't as difficult as it might sound. You can't really get lost there. Just before reaching the plateau of the Storhornet mountain ( 497m), it got windier and started to snow a bit. Unfortunately, no dream view photos, but it was still nice up there. But since I wasn't sure if it would get really uncomfortable or better, I changed my plan and didn't go around the lake to descend on the other side, but took the same path back. So this tour was only 1.5 hours long and I walked along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean a bit more. Amazing! Passing the lighthouse, which you can also enter, and 4km along the coastal road back to the ferry. Dripping icicles provided an acoustic accompaniment to the path, a nice addition to the sound of the sea. Sometimes the individual droplets merged into a gentle splashing, like a small stream bubbling over rocks. But what's this? The tunnel is closed? So I walked back for half an hour. Two large boulders blocking the road COULD have indicated that the road is closed. Well, understandable, it didn't look particularly safe, especially when ice blocks the size of a softball fall down from above. There was no sign for pedestrians, which would not normally be necessary either. So I just had to wait for the bus.

Thursday:

Today rain was forecasted, so I wanted to visit the museums. Strangely, the Alesund Museum was closed, so I went straight to the aquarium. Since the ferry alone is so expensive, I walked there. In the immediate vicinity of the aquarium, there are beautiful paths and you can also climb the two island mountains - a bit of a shame that the weather was so bad. At the aquarium, you can witness various feedings of otters, penguins, seals, and fish. For the feeding of salmon, halibut, sea bass, etc., there is a dive show in the large aquarium. There was also a German travel group (from Baden-Württemberg?) hurrying through the next room - somehow they fit the German stereotype perfectly. In the next room, you can touch mussels, crabs, anemones, and a few fish - that was pretty cool. Anemones are quite sticky! After the otter feeding (they jump like dolphins when they know they're getting food), I headed back, now with more rain. Since most museums close early, I went to the art museum. A contemporary artist exhibited his works - from his early days to now. Some expressionist work, but mainly landscapes from the area in and around Alesund, with a focus on the changing light conditions. I liked it, there were some very beautiful paintings. But now it's time to go back, I'm getting a bit chilly.

Friday:

Rain. And wind. Rain. Persistently stormy. Oh, now it's getting a little better, maybe I can go out for a walk...? Oh well, it's raining again. I ventured out for half an hour at noon, but came back quite wet. I didn't think about bringing my ski pants, I want to hike, not ski. Besides, the ski pants are in Magdeburg, not in Danzig. So it turned into a quiet day of watching movies and lazing around.

Saturday:
The weather was good again today. Time to conquer the mountain behind the house! I want to climb to the summit of Vardane (776m), but at least up to the huts ('Vonhytta', around 480m). Per, my host, said there wouldn't be too much snow on top, it'll be fine. So off I went! It was a bit slippery at the bottom despite temperatures above freezing, but it quickly became more pleasant as a very light layer of snow covered the ground. Apparently, the snowline is quite low in the valley despite temperatures above freezing, because at some point there was more and more snow. And... even more snow. Okay, my shoes keep me warm, no problem. Oh... now the snow is already above my ankles. Soon I was once again more than happy to have bought leg warmers. They are made of wool, but at least they kept some of the snow off my jeans. Now it became quite cumbersome: snow up to my calves was now the norm, and in one or two places it was even knee-deep. Every step is pure effort, I stop every few steps to catch my breath. Quite exhausting... Move forward? It's too slow. Just before reaching the intermediate goal, it started to blow terribly - headwind, of course. Now it's getting a bit chilly around my face. Keep going. Just a little further to the huts. And finally - I made it. Finally some shelter from the wind. It's only 0 degrees up here. But there was probably quite a lot of snow yesterday, as much as it rained down below. A little tea break, then I start feeling cold and make my way back. Not up, that's out of the question. Too windy and uncomfortable, not to mention probably even more snow higher up. So I go back the same way. In the meantime, I also saw a few people, one woman even with skis. Genius or crazy - that's up to you. The way back was a joy! The first 200m, I was practically blown down the path - now I have tailwind. The snow slows me down on its own, so I can almost completely save myself the effort of braking with my muscles. A walk through a beautiful snowy landscape! The child in me would love to have a snowball fight and lie down in the snow. Laughing, I went downhill. I can hardly imagine how exhausting the way up was. It was just beautiful. And of course, way too short. Too bad! My calves have gotten a bit wet in the meantime. Thanks to thermal leggings and super warm shoes, I don't feel cold at all.

At the bottom, I took a walk to a heathland. If there was still a dry spot on my feet - now it's gone. The area was like a field of sponges, interrupted by mud. At home, I hang everything up, put my shoes on the heater, and take a shower!

Sunday:

Surprise! The Couchsurfing people had already mentioned it on Tuesday and apparently didn't find me unsympathetic, so they invited me to go skiing with them. They said they could lend me pants. I definitely didn't say no! So off we went on Sunday - first good news: great weather! We took the car ferry and drove for a while until we arrived. That was also the only destination for all the other drivers ('Nobody does anything else so early on Sundays'). Borrowed the gear and off we go! Okay, I had a few hiccups. In 3 years (or is it already 4??), you forget quite a bit. I really had to practice in the first slope, but it got better in the second. The view was simply breathtaking! The white peaks at the top (the highest slope start of 'Strandafjellet' is at 2100m), mountains like in Switzerland, lots of snow (many people also ski off-piste), and below in the valley a fjord that winds along like a wide river. And pure sunshine! Not a cloud in the sky. Simply beautiful. My companions always waited for me at the lift and were generally very nice. Another person I didn't know was also there - a super nice girl, an Australian from Sweden who just moved to Alesund and has Norwegian and New Zealand parents. We had a good conversation in between and I hope we stay in touch.

So that was my vacation. Experienced a lot despite the early darkness, got a lot of rest, and felt very free again. I missed the mountains a bit. Papa, we should do that again soon. ;-)