Only have about half a day in Narvik today... so main aim today is to do some trekking up the longer mountain trails up Fagernesfjell... But before that... we have to go for our FREE breakfast!! haha... well, to my pleasant surprise.. the breakfast was very good... it's quite like those breakfast you will have at hotels(Narvik HI Hostel shares the same building as another hotel...) except the fact that there are no waitress around to serve you and you have to clear your own plates... but that's ok... the most important thing is.. the breakfast was good.. haha! bread with ham and cheese... and also scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon... :D
Along the upward urban trek... we can across the mountain cable car..(which is closed sadly...) and a school... kids here must be damn healthy... have to climb the hill everyday... lol =X
due to the absence of exercise for so long... i was quite tired after that short climb... :(
On the way up...
Narvik School!
With the climb... my body got heated up and for the 1st time after so long.. i sweat!!! wahahahah... well, i remember reading somewhere regarding the gulf stream that keeps Narvik's temperature from plunging down(despite it's high latitude)... Anywayz, after reaching the top of the trails, we took a short rest and i suggested to continue on further in... that's when it becomes more like trekking.. haha! well it's kinda muddy all around...
the muddy road up...
After sometime... i was thinking it's not really quite safe to continue... the terrain is changing and there appears to be more big rocks and alot of grass which is seemingly harmless, but actually are hiding large holes which you can fall into... so i decided to turn back... However, manage to take a few picture while i'm up there.. :)
Halfway up...
At the end of my trek..
Mountain side view...
After the trek.. we made our way down...(me almost losing my way... wahahahah) Well, glad that there's no accident this time.. =X quite an interesting trek.. though it was a really really short one... but at least have a bit of fun la.. hehe~~
On our way back to the bus station... we drop by the Tourist information to see if we can get hold on any nice postcards... when we are there, the very helpful lady was talking to us and she intro us to this Norwegian version of 'dried fish', seems similar to our salted fish... when she took one out.. it really smells.. haha... but according to her, if water is added to it, it'll expand and it's colour will change from brown to those kind of white colour we see in cooked fish... interesting eh?? haha.. she didn't add water to it though... it is expensive.. =X
While waiting for the bus... we went to explore areas around the bus station.. and came across this large pyramid shaped silvery thing... was wondering what it is.. but there's a plate at the bottom.. with words written in the opposite way..(ie: when seen from the reflective silvery thing, you can then see what is written) On it is was written "For Fred og Frihet" 1st thing i thought was this is for some person called Fred of something... haha.. but with the help of the translation tool, it actually meant "For Peace and Freedom"... well it suddenly make sense... since Narvik was actually conquered by the Nazis during WWII...
Anyway, we are taking bus to Fauske... somehow this bus ride reminds me of those i took in China, where the driver will be practically driving in a totally dark road at times... at high speeds... lol... Deja vu eh? =X... one interesting thing would be that to get from Narvik to Fauske, the bus actually took a ferry... lol, yeah was quite surprised cos didn't expect it.... was kinda shocked when i see the bus enter the ferry...(wondering where they taking me to sell.. LOL =X)
The bus took us to Fauske.. where we waited about 30 mins for the train to Trondheim to come...
17th Oct 2007, Wednesday, Fauske -> Hell -> Trondheim
From Fauskem we took a train heading towards Trondheim.. however we will be stopping enroute at Hell... yeah.. i mean it... Hell.. i'm going to Hell.. =X
just stopping by for the novelty of it... it's a rather small town... with only a population of 352... lol... Click here for more information on Hell! ok i'm joking... it's here la...
The train ride to Hell was a tedious one.. cos it takes 8+ hours.. and unlink the Kiruna train ride... we don't have a couchette... meaning we have to seat for 8+ hours... damn shagged... :(
Next stop, Trondheim! Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway... After Oslo and Bergen... It used to be the Capital of Norway and was founded by the Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997. It is famous for being a Harbour... and also for being rainy...
In fact, it rained pretty much the whole day when we are there... so it's quite... demoralising.. lol... but well.. we still managed to do a bit of exploring...
1st stop, the Old town gate... Locals refer to it as the "Bridge of Happiness" and claim that your dreams will come true if you wish for them fervently as you walk across it... yeah i did make a wish...........
ok i lied.. i made alot of wishes... wahahahaha!
Old town Bridge...
However, the wind was strong, and the rain was beating on my face... quite a bad experience... haha... so hurriedly we walked across the bridge to see the Bicycle lift...
Designed to assist bike riders in their ascent of the steep hill, this mechanized conveyor belt (most of which is concealed underground beneath a metal-edged groove in the pavement) hauls bicycles, with their riders, up a steeply inclined stretch of a scenic bike path. The cost for 15 minutes of continuous operation is 100NOK (30+SGD), which you can pay by inserting coins into the machine's coin slot.
Well... as most of you guys can guess... no one actually use it... haha.. just too expensive to use la...(even for the Norwegian) People tend to just get down and push their bicycle up... =X
Our next stop, the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Cathedral... However, enroute we pass by the Thomas Angell's Hus. It was originally built in 1770, and extensively restored according to its original design in 1903, this was conceived as a retirement home for indigent widows. Later, its venue was expanded to allow widows to cohabit with well-recommended widowers outside the bounds of traditional marriages -- a liberal 19th-century trend of which many Trondheimers seem appropriately proud. There's a pleasant garden in the building's interior courtyard, but hours of visitation are erratic(according to online sources) and we are lucky that the gate was unlocked when we are there... haha... just really a stroke of luck.. but well, it's not really something that is so magnificent anyway.. =X
Continuing with our tour... we head on to the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Catherdal. It is quite a magnificent Cathedral, and i have to say that it is the most grand one i've seen so far... It is also said to be Scandinavia's largest medieval Church... If you think the exterior looks grand enough, wait till you enter and see the interior... it's astonishing... haha... i would have went for a guided tour(which cost money) to fully understand this Cathedral... However, as there is a Funeral going on later... all tours are cancelled that day.... sigh............
Nidaros Domkirke
Nidaros Domkirke(Side)
The West Front... click for more info
After the breath taking self tour on the Nidaros Domkirke, we carry on to the Torvet, Trondheim's most prominent traffic circle... in the middle stands the Trondheim Torg, a soaring granite column. At its top stands a statue Olaf Tryggvason, founder of Trondheim. Markings on the pavement, tracking the seasonal direction of the sun, define the column on which he stands as the world's largest sundial...
Trondheim Torg
After seeing the viking king...(ok i can't see him cos he's too high up there... -.-)
we continued to the fish market for some salmon burger~~ haha... the burger was pretty nice and fresh... but it's texture felt like fish cake like texture... so i guess something was added... but well, it's pretty cheap.. 55NOK... quite rare in Norway... lol!
That sort of ended our Trondheim trip... the rain is still going on... and we are waiting for the next train... towards Bergen!!
The train we are taking will be an overnight train... and there are no couchette left... only Sleepers... cost quite alot.. :( but well... it was quite high class la... still got key card one... well on the bright side... i had a god night's sleep after sometime... :)
18th Oct 2007, Thursday, Trondheim -> Bergen
Met with Chiao Luan and Weixian (CL & WX) in Bergen... Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norwaym after Oslo... Bergen is famous for being the gateway city to the Norwegian Fjord... indeed, we are here for the Fjords! haha...
We waited at the Station for a while... cos it's cold outside and you can only check in at 9am.... lol... but well, after we reach the hostel, it seems that we have to wait till 12pm b4 we can check in as the previous tenants have not checked out yet... :(
So we decided to just visit the Tourist office to see where we can go 1st... This Tourist information is rather large(as compared those in Narvik etc)... The lady recommended us some places to go and that got us started for our journey of the day... Our 1st stop is the Bergenhus fortress, enroute we will pass by(as said by the tourist officer) some 18th century wooden houses... and some careful observation would reveal that some of the houses seems kinda crooked and doesn't seem all that steady... haah! but i'm sure it's safe...*cross fingers* =X
The Bergenhus Fortress seems like quite a nice place... some of the buildings are built during the 1200s, but most of those that we see are actually built during the 19th century... well, along the way we saw a lot of kids(seems like kindergarten age...) they seem to be on excurison... and it's quite funny to see a whole group walking along the streets... haha..(with a few teachers of course) Anyway, we saw them at one of the open field in Bergenhus Fortress... kinda nice eh... miss excursions? =X
Next stop, St Mary Church, as recommended by the tourist office... When we 1st got there... we were kinda disappointed... cos in contrast to the Trondheim Cathedral... it kinda pales in comparison... haha... but well... this building is from the 12th century and is Bergen's oldest building... so.. not as grand.. but you can feel the difference after you enter the church...
After visiting these few places, we went back to our hostels to check in.. and we bought some tuna and decided to have lunch back in our hostels... and that's when we realize... the hostel give free tea!!! wahahahaha... being the typical Singaporeans... all of us had our fair share of FREE stuffs.. :)
Next stop, the Fantoft Stave Church... Saw pictures of this church quite frequently... from magnets to post cards... so i think it should be quite a famous Church... This Church is very different from the few i have seen... it kinda don't look very Caucasian... haha.. and one of them commented that it looked kinda Thai actually.. lol the original Church was built in 1150 and was moved to Fantoft(hence the name) during the 1800s and was burnt down in 1992 and finally rebuilt(an exact replica) in 1997...
We were kinda lost at the start... kinda went the wrong way... and wandered into someone's yard...(lucky we were not prosecuted! haha...)
Did a bit of running around to take photos from different angle.. and being the curious me.. i actually climbed to the other side to see if i can get a better angle.. which well.. it's kinda blocked by trees... haha...
Stave Church
Way back...
After visiting the Stave Church, we took a bus back to the city... and started to climb up Mount Floyen...
the journey up was another tiring uphill climb... (what's with so much climbing.. haha) Kinda similar to Narvik... just that this mountain has more developed pathway up... there's this tram that goes up the mountain(like Hong Kong's Peak...), but we decided to walk up and take the Tram down... Along the way... as we got higher.. we get to see better view of Bergen... it was a nice view really...
Halfway thru...
When we finally reach the top.. view was quite stunning!!(and cold!!!! brrrr) like the view there.. especially when we are there at almost sunset... nice... haha... can see alot of joggers there too... seems like people here will also be very healthy eh..
We also saw a playground at the top... and me and CL decided to try some childhood fun! haha.. swing~~~~ it really feels different swinging at mountain top... looking at the sky... feeling the coolness(or coldness)... so niceeee.... :)
After that.. we took a tram down... and yeah.. it's dinner time!!! However, the things here seem to be pretty expensive...(ok it's ex everywhere in Norway..) and we manage to find a shop with... well, reasonable pricing... we decided to try... the fish!! haha.. i had fried Salmon.. and yes it's delicious... haha... CL and Ant had cod fish and apparently it is very very salty... CL ended eating it with sugar.. =X
Here's the pic.. they looks nice though.. =X
18th-19th Oct 2007, Thursday/Friday, Bergen -> Flåm -> Voss
We left Bergen in the early morning for Flåm... Flåm is situated at the inner end of Aurlandfjord... To get to Flåm, we have to take the Flåmsbana... The line is 20.2 km long. The top station Myrdal is 865 metres above sea level, while Flåm is by the fjord at sea level. In order to manage the climb up the mountainside, the line twists and turns and has twenty tunnels to gain altitude; even so, the steepest incline of the railway is 1:18, the third steepest adhesion railway in the World. Like most of the other operational railway lines in Norway, Flåmsbana is a standard gauge (1435 mm) railway and electrified.
The scenery at Flåm is really amazing... haha... i didn't think it would be that good... and well i guess i'm wrong... coupled with the bright and sunny weather... even when i look at the pictures now.. i really felt that it stood out so much!!
Stunningly beautiful
I really liked the photos taken where the snowcapped mountain had it's reflection in the water with green/brown mountain beside it.. the colour is so vivid.. haha
See what i mean?
We decided to wander around and follow one of the trails to Brekkefossen Waterfall.. However, in the end due to time constraints... we didn't manage to reach the waterfall.. :(
We rush back to take a ferry... yes... ferry ride to Gudvangen and then finally a bus ride to Voss.. where we'll stay for the night...
The ferry ride was... ok... scenery was nice.. but wind is too damn strong.. haha.. and there's alot of erm, Japanese around... and kinda noisy actually.. hehe =X... it would be nice to just take the cruise with your loved ones...(with no one being so noisy around you of course..)
After the ferry ride and bus ride... we finally got to Voss... kinda tired after a whole day of activity so we quickly walked to our hostel... it's quite a distance away though... :(
Well, one good thing that happened is that we got extra discount for our room... hehe.. ok.. it's not a very good thing but... we are entitled to 15% discount cos we have HI card... then the receptionist was calculating... and it appears that it's very hard for her... and after we have calculated the correct value for her... she did another 15% discount from that value......... well... we didn't cheat her... we just didn't tell her that is wrong... =X
the room was very good... comfy and nice.. though a bit far from the city center... but well.. we got quite a discount.. so no complains.. =X
Well... i slept pretty much as soon as i finish showering.. haha.. was kinda tired la.. =X and another long day tomorrow ma... hehe...(now everyone knows i sleep alot! =/)
20th Oct 2007, Saturday, Voss -> Finse -> Oslo
Woke up early today too... another early train ride.. haiz... had our quite nice complimentary breakfast(yay! free!!) at the hostel... then off we head to Finse.. just a short 40mins away...
Finse is at 1,222m is the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system. Since there are no roads to Finse, the railway provides the sole means of transportation to and from Finse. During summer, however, it is possible to walk or cycle to Finse.
WX said that there's Glaciers here but well, i don't think i saw any... haha... but weather was good and at Finse... we managed to have our 1nd round of snowman building... and... snowball fight!!! haha!!! i was quite good.. i feel.. hehe... though i tio 'head shot' by CL...(didn't expect it ma..) but well.. it's quite fun.. but we were playing around a muddy area... so after we have depleted the snow.. the mud appears and... yeah... it get a little messy... =X
After hours of snow fun... haha... we continued the long long train ride to Oslo... we bidded WX farewell halfway through the journey.. and well.. slept through the rest of it... ehe...
Finse...
Oslo was just a stop over as we are planning to take a cruise from Oslo to Frederickshavn(in Denmark)... I was busy walking around Oslo trying to get rid of my Norwegian Kroners... since i won't be coming back anytime soon... and exchanging it back to DKK would be quite stupid.. so shop around for souvenirs lor..(or food!) hehe
well.. thought we were early at 1st.. so we walked around a bit.. and got to a pretty junkie area... see alot of those Norwegian Ah bengs and Ah lians... =X don't really have a good impression of Oslo... cos it's too expensive... and i find that of the Scandinavian capitals, Oslo is the one with the most junkies... hehe...
We ended up kinda late for the Ferry... so we ran there... yes ran... cos we are scared we will get left behind.. till Someone told Ant(who is infront) that the ferry won't be leaving so soon... phew.... really sweat like hell this time... :(
However, when we enter the Ferry.. to our surprise... it's actually a Cruise! haha.. and we got a cabin for ourselves!!! so cool!! and it cost us only 75 SGD!! so cheap... =X Cruise for 75 SGD leh... well it's pretty much like a cruise ship.. there's restaurant.. casino... bar.... etc etc... CL went to buy her perfume..(i went to smear some on myself..wahahahah) and we bought a Baileys to drink.. hehe... Ant drank very little.. followed by CL.. and i drank the most and soon, i'm floating around.. =X
21st Oct 2007, Sunday, Frederikshavn -> Skagen -> Cph
Last day of my 10 days trip... we are going to Skagen today... At Skagen, you can find Grenen, the northern-most point of continental Europe... in addition, this is where the two parts of the North Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak meet and this makes for turbulent seas and strandings... As the train station lady in Denmark told us.. u can see the 2 seas 'swooosh... swoooshh....' LOL! and it's really true!!! haha... u can really see the 2 waves clash to each other and u can seldom see it anywhere!
It's a really nice place to just have a leisurely tour and walk along the beaches... But in my oppinion, there's just too many tourists... haha... u see the “Sandormen” (”The lug worm”) bringing loads and loads of tourists into Grenen... and well.. it kinda make this picturesque place too... human?? haha!!
Grenen
Initially we planned to visit the Church in Skagen that is overwhlemed by sand dunes... but as we are pretty tired(in particular me and CL...)... we decided to call it a day... and took a leisurely walk..(though it start to drizzle..) back to the station... where we realised we missed the train and have to wait anoter hour for the next train.. we had lunch at a rstaurant near the station...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the trip was a very eye opening one... though it was kinda rush... i always liked leisurely tour... but i'm really glad i got to see the stunning scenery that Norway have... to play with snow... it was fun! haha.. to experience a different culture... travel in train... now.. time to rest... and recharge myself for my next trip!!! haha!! :)
Kelvin
----------------
Now playing: Missy Higgins - Going North
via FoxyTunes
No comments:
Post a Comment