Norway 2023

Heia Norge - Fulfilling a Dream in Scandinavia

  Finally, I came back to Norway - my favourite country. Hiking to the top of the Preikestolen was a long-term dream and luckily, I could fulfill my dream this year by travelling to Stavanger in July. It was also amazing, that I could spend my birthday in Norway by escaping from the rain in Freiburg. When I made the travel plan to fly to Norway, I also concluded, that it makes sense to rent a car to explore the beautiful natural surroundings. Since it was planned to hike to the Preikestolen, I wanted to stay the first two nights in Jørpeland, a cute little city, 20 km in the east of Stavanger and approximately 10 km away from the Preikestolen hiking starting point.

  Arrived at Stavanger airport, I was very surprised about the sunshine. I didn't expect, that the weather in Norway will be much better than in Freiburg - to be honest. With a smile on my face, I went into the rented car to drive to Jørpeland. During the way, I crossed the Ryfylke Tunnel, currently the world's longest undersea road tunnel and the deepest tunnel of any kind. After I drove out of the tunnel, I made a short break in Strand, to enjoy the wonderful view of the sea and the islands. 

  Then, I continued to my hotel in Jørpeland and started to walk around. The highlight was definitely the recreation area on the Jørpelandsholmen island. Via a pedestrian bridge, it was possible to reach the island for a nice afternoon walk. It was a beautiful island walk with wooden carved figures, islands like Klungholmen and it's Sun Mirror or a breathtaking view of the harbour and the surrounding fjords.

  The next morning, I woke up early to start the hike not too late. Since the round trip was supposed to be a four hours hike, I thought, it should be better to be there early enough and then enjoy some time with lunch on the granite plateau of the Preikestolen, the Norwegian word for pulpit. From Jørpeland, it was a 15 minutes car ride to the Moslimyrå Parking P2, a parking area, which was a kilometre away from the real starting point of the hike at the base camp. The hike itself was a real adventure, starting on a gravelled path through the forest and followed by a hiking trail over granite rocks, stones and partly swampy plateaus. A few years ago, this path was strenghtened by Nepalese sherpas, who made it safer for the many tourists.

  The views during the hike were breathtaking and due to the sunshine on the most parts of the hike, I could also see far away to the Lysefjord. The closer I came to the granite plateau of the Preikestolen, the more excited I got. The Preikestolen was created by frost shattering 10,000 years ago and once you've made it to the plateau, the rim drops almost vertically over 600 metres to sea level and the Lysefjord. Because of my fear of heights, I only dared to look over the edge for a short time, but it was simply stunning. Now, after a 2,5 hours hike for four kilometres, I really deserved the lunch break with this fabulous view.

  Even if I was doing the hike on a Thursday morning, the plateau was already really crowded with people - especially German, Dutch and French tourists had the same idea like me. But nevertheless, it was a dream to stay there and to enjoy the brilliant fjords and mountains. After my lunch break and a photo session, I slowly went back, with enjoying some time around the mountain lake and the high moor. At the end of the day, I felt really happy, that I could fulfill my dream to hike to the top of the Preikestolen, but I was also glad, that I didn't start hiking in the middle of the night for the sunrise, because the hike was more difficult than expected with its slippery stones and granite stairs.

  After hiking is before hiking and so, I decided to check out the surroundings of Stavanger the next day by starting with a hike to Dalsnuten, the most visited mountain on the east side of the Gandsfjord in Sandnes. From the car parking area at Gramstad, it was supposed to be a short and easy hike. But again, I was surprised, what it meant to be "an easy hike" in Norway. The hike started on easy gravelled terrain, before it changed to a slippery stone subsurface. Moreover, the stony uphill roads - especially at the last metres up to the summit, were really steep. Nevertheless, all the effort was worth it for a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding fjord, mountains and lake. 

  After writing some words into the summit book, I returned to the parking area in Gramstad and decided to drive to the Månafossen waterfall, with a free fall of 92 metres the largest waterfall in the Rogaland region and the ninth largest in Norway. Due to the speed limits, I needed one hour for the 55 kilometres road trip to the parking area of the waterfall. From the parking lot, it was another 20 minutes hike and almost climbing session to the observation area. On the most steep sections, there were stairs and chains to hold on to make the ascent, but also the descent, easier. But when I arrived at the scenic viewing point, I was more than stunned about the waterfall and the formed rainbow. For some little moments, it was also possible to see a double rainbow, but unfortunately I couldn't get it on a photo. But it was the perfect stop for my lunch break, so I stayed there for another half an hour, before I decided to carefully climb down and drive back to Stavanger.     

  Arrived in my hotel in Stavanger, I already wanted to take the time to go around, since it didn't get dark before 11 pm and the weather forecast predcited rain for the Saturday afternoon. While walking around, I really enjoyed the cozy atmosphere of the city. Especially, the Harbour District with its many colourful houses was really impressive. Surprisingly there was also an open air concert on the Friday, so many people gathered in the area around the harbour and it wasn't possible to find a restaurant for dinner here. However, a few metres away – on Øvre Holmegate – there were a few bars and restaurants, as well as a few walls covered with street art. As I was already very hungry, I decided to have a burger. Nevertheless, a traditional fish dish - a fish soup with the catch of the day - couldn't be missing the next day. I decided to have the fish soup in the restaurant called "Fisketorget" and I could highly recommend it. For the quality of the food, it was worth to wait at the long queue at the entrance of the restaurant. 

  A little further away from the old town, it was possible to visit the Swords in Rock - in Norwegian "Sverd i fjell" - a monument which commemorates the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872, as a result of which Harald Fairhair became the first king of the unified Norway. It's located on the eastern side of the Hafrsfjord's Møllebukta Bay, where the battle is said to have taken place. The largest sword represents the victorious Harald, and the two smaller swords represent the defeated petty kings. The monument also represents peace, since the swords are planted into solid rock, so they may never be removed.

  On the west bank of the old harbour is the historic centre of the city - Gamle Stavanger - which means Old Stavanger. It is characterized by white-painted, carefully maintained wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest surviving building is the Blidensol house on Øvre Strandgate, which was probably built at the beginning of the 18th century and was first mentioned in a document in 1767. In the 20th century, the city architect Einar Hedén campaigned for the preservation of the district and the designation of a monument, which is why a square was named in his honour.

  It doesn't matter whether I visited Gamle Stavanger in the evening or early in the morning, the streets with the beautiful houses and the flowers were the absolute highlight of Stavanger. I could have spend hours just by photographing all the amazing details of the houses or the beautiful coloured house doors. At the end of the tour through Gamle Stavanger I treated myself with a coffee and one of the famous Norwegian cinnamon rolls and a skoleboller, a sweet roll made from yeasted dough filled with custard and decorated with icing dipped in grated coconut.