Al and Amber come to stay

We arrived in Lillehammer on July 25th to meet Al and Amber outside the train station laden with big packs and bikes. They were at the beginning of their 3 month holiday in Europe - some if which will involve cycle touring. They were amused by our wonky little new car and its strange noises - nevertheless we crammed everything in and took off towards Lom via the scenic route 51.

After many hours driving and lots of excited catching up we arrived in Lom, ate some terrible Lom burgers and found a spot to put our tents. In the morning we continued through to Geiranger Fjord along the tourist route - then over the amazing Trollstigen road and down into Åndalsnes. We stopped every two minutes to jump out of the car and take photos of the amazing view.

Breakfast on the jetty

We liked this first aid vehicle

Above the Trollstigen
Rock perch

From Åndalsnes we headed up the valley and parked our car at Rabben. We spent a while reorganizing gear, before heading off on foot into Svartvassbu. It was an enoyable walk in, the sky was overcast but it was warm - so warm that when we arrived at the hut we impressed the Norwegians staying there by jumping straight into the iceberg filled lake.


Maps for trip planning in Geiranger Fjord

Heading up to Svartvassbu
The semi frozen lake we jumped into

Fresh salmon and pasta with veggies was on the evening menu courtesy of top chefs Emily and Chris.

Morning sun on the hut

In the morning Chris's "little climb before lunch" turned out to be a 6 hour mission up Sjøvdøla. We crossed an enourmous rock garden before climbing up around a lake and crossing a little snout of glacier onto a flat plateau with great waterfalls tumbling off the side. It was cool, but some food along the way would have been nice!


Past a beautiful lake on our way up the mountain
On the summit
Cool views down to the lake

We got back starving at 4, stuffed ourselves with fried polarbread and cheese, then started out on the 4 hour walk to Vasstindbu. We arrived there around 9, quickly cleaned ourselves in a freezing cold stream, then cooked up a 10 oclock feast....Al and Amber were not sure about this new routine they were being introduced to!

On our way to hut number 2: Vasstindbu
Arriving at the hut - finally!

The last day of our trip arrived and we wandered out across more great boulder fields and down to the valley. Chris ran to get the car while we admired the cute Norwegian sheep with bells.



Past yet another pretty lake on our last day
Al + reflective lake
Sheeps with bells

A long but pretty drive through Trondelag farmland took us back to Trondheim and another late dinner. The next few days Chris worked (and orienteered) while I showed Al and Amber the sites of Trondheim. The weather was pretty good now, so we managed a swim in the lake. We visited the busy festival that was taking place in town and I ate my first toffee apple in years!



Trondheim cathederal - Nidaros - and big crowds

Out cycling on Fosen - watch out for elk!
Bymarka trails

Taking the car ferry across to Fosen with our bikes - which means its free!

Nice weather in rolling Trondelag farmland

We also had time to take Al and Amber for a spin on the nice trails through the forest of Bymarke, and on Saturday we caught the car ferry (for free!) out to Fosen and completed a nice ride round there. After humming and haaaing about what to do the following week we discovered some cheap flights up to the Lofoten Islands and decided that sounded like fun.

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