Our eyes opened after the deep slumber but not to the sound of birds chirping or rustling leaves through a tree like you might expect a peaceful morning to become of. They opened with the feeling of curiosity surrounding them. There was a layer of mist framed by the window that brought on this unpractised sense of solitude which was also aided by a profuse silence. I found my legs and mastered the art of sneaking across the floorboards to the cabin door. Opening the door felt like walking into a different climate. Our once warm cabin had been flooded with a chill from the mountain peaks. It’s amazing how much more you notice when you’re awake earlier than most in the morning. I could hear every stone under my shoes as I made my way down to that beautiful lake again.
The turquoise lake felt like a lure for my inner being and to this day I still feel like there are at least a few hooks still attached to me leading back to that vibrant body of water. Looking down into the water you could see maybe one and a half metres down before the colour took over the canvas completely. I couldn’t see anything moving and just wondered what was lurking deeper down toward the centre. The edge of the lake seemed to decline very quickly. My thoughts couldn’t help but wonder how deep this went?
The water had really calmed down since yesterday, almost mirror like. My eyes began to change focus to the surface of the water where I could see a looming mountain starting to clear itself of the misty blanket. What? Something has disturbed the peace! That sounds like Katie. She was calling out from the doorsteps to the cabin clearly freezing her butt off. It looks pretty urgent so I better get back up there.
So the main question was, do I want strawberry jam or vegemite on my bread? What an urgent question indeed so I decided to have both. The morning gained speed quickly from then on. It was a rush to get everything packed up and in the car ready for a trip up the mountain!
We had barely been driving for 15 minutes before we came upon the mountain with the famous glacier, Briksdalsbreen. The car seems to be parked about 1/5th of the way up the mountain and we had a zig-zagged climb on foot ahead of us. It was fun not knowing what was ahead because it helped me to slow down and appreciate cool things while hiking up the mountain. You could spend 5 minutes on each corner easily just taking in unique compositions. As we ventured further up the mountain though, the grand prize started to peak out from behind the trees and rocky barriers. A humungous glacier off in the distance met our eyes. It was the stillest thing we could see yet the most magnificent. Trapped in time after pouring down the slopes from the peak of the mountain like an eternal blanket of pale blue and white ice. On we went further up watching the ice formation grow in size as we turned each corner. It was getting much colder now and the appearance of the water had more of a glow to it. I imagined the water to be more like a stream of silk gently softening the underlying rocks.
We wandered back down the zig-zagged roads and eventually caught sight of the car which had now seemed to gain a lot of four-wheeled friends in the car park. Being back in the car felt super foreign which was strange considering the amount of time we had been in the car lately. With a click of the seat belt and a twist of the wheel, we were off on the road and weaving our way through the mountains.
About two and a half hours later we stumbled upon a scene we had definitely come to expect, only it was quite different from the photos. We had arrived at the forefront of a huge inlet where large cruise ships were dwarfed by massive mountains and a vast landscape of aqua coloured water. We were now in the land of Geiranger which is a hot spot for tourists alright. It was challenging to drive through some of the roads that were closer to the vantage points. Everyone seemed to have a smartphone or tablet attached to the end of their limbs outstretched almost as a salute to the cruise ships as they came in. A lot of them were very curious about the GoPro that was mounted to the front of our car. Tourists really do seem to flock in packs so we decided to find a more peaceful place to stop and take in the views. The car was doing very well considering how many winding roads and hills we had climbed in such a short amount of time. A shortstop later left us at the edge of a cliff, the car tyres just barely holding to the ground. What a view it was from here! A rain cloud off in the distance was painting itself across the aqua lagoon below. It scenery reminded me of paintings by the Hudson River School Masters. Even though this scenery was so awe-inspiring to be in, it wasn’t enough to keep our attention away from the slowly waking hunger inside each of us.
The road took us up to Gudbrandsjuvet, a pocket of architectural structures among forest and running water. The sun had also held its presence in the sky, warding off any lingering clouds. I think this had been the first time I was able to strip down to a sleeveless top! Now, this felt like the warmer part of the year I had become used to over my life so far. We found a shaded spot on a bridge that was floating itself over a surging amount of falling water below. It seemed to get quite busy shortly after with a bus and trail of cars all making a stop to lap up some of this much-needed sunlight. There was a medium sized cafe just beyond the falls with full height glass walls that looked out onto the water. I really enjoy seeing structures that blend artistically into the environment whether it’s super modern or ancient. Eating time had come to an end and we were all keen on the next stop, Trollstigen!
We drove for about 30 minutes up the road and there it was, the famous Troll’s Ladder, or Trollstigen officially. It is named this because the road zigzags its way up a very large mountain where there is a viewing platform at the top which juts out from the edge of the mountain. The top of the mountain hosted a beautiful walk alongside crystal clear water that was making its way to the inevitable drop below. Upon getting to the platform we were definitely not the first there. It was quite crowded and I wondered just how much weight this piece of engineering could handle. It was maybe a 300 meter drop downward? I am not really afraid of heights having done skydiving a few times and cleaning my parent’s roof of a two-story house occasionally, but standing here on the edge with so many footsteps wobbling the platform around felt like I was already dangling. I took a few photos and then decided that I would not be the beta tester for whoever engineered the platform.
Onward we went, furthering ourselves north. The drive had just gone over two and a half hours when we finally reached another sight that we had seen so much of through photos. A famous bridge that looks like a dream in good weather and a real gritty test in bad weather. Of course, I am talking about Atlanterhavsveien. This long bridge has pit stops every few hundred metres across little islands that seem to be like border patrol for the ocean beyond. Thankfully today was calm weather and the car made its way across the slopes like a gazelle bounding through a field. There is a walk you can do around one of the islands that connect the bridge across the ocean but time was pushing itself on us pretty hard so we kept moving forward. So, here is the first hurdle of the day and quite a big one though it was for the best as later on in this article you will see why. Alright, the car has stopped at the last ferry of the day, it is around 10:30 pm and the ferry had just departed not too long before we arrived. By this time we were super hungry and tired. We just wanted to get to our base camp for the night as soon as possible. So it seems the second ferry doesn’t operate this late at night so we had around 45 minutes to kill. There was a table and chairs not too far from the waiting line of cars. It was an easy decision to go eat though super cold outside and we were just eating the same old rations of vegemite on biscuits. Don’t worry it gets better, I promise. So those 45 minutes, they went by quite fast and we found ourselves scurrying to pack up as the ferry drew closer to the docking point.
The ferry ride was over before we knew it and the car made its way off into the sunset for the last leg of the journey today. By now it was now just after 11:00 pm and we had a long drive ahead to get to our slumber. Seems like we won’t be getting in until almost 2 am!
The houses on this side of the water were larger and most had larger yards than what we had seen on the journey so far. It was interesting to see the sun slowly floating down to the horizon. At times I thought it was just stuck still in the sky but sure enough, it began to scrape the horizon. I guess it must have been around midnight as it dipped below some hills and by the time we came around a bend it had begun to traverse its way back up into the sky.
The atmosphere had become quite magical, misty pink ambience, very silent and still. Our car made a very gentle park beside a lake where our beautiful lakeside cabin was waiting just below. No one wanted to carry things, we were too tired. With just the essentials in hand, down we went toward the cabin on the lake. Remember just a minute ago I mentioned that the wait for the ferry would definitely make it worth it? Well, the time had come to realise this. I looked out over the water and it really felt like a dream. Arriving this late had left a purple ambience with a stillness that just cannot relive the experience.
The cabin hosted enough for four people. Katie and I took the queen bed on the ground floor while Matt and Arne had to climb up a ladder onto a platform that overlooked the kitchen and living room area, it was quite cool. Anyway, time to pass out!
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