Still in Hordaland (Norway), our next stop is Odda, a relatively small city with over 7.025 inhabitants.
As we saw in the last stop, Odda is located in a valley, which is on an arm of Hardangerfjord, itself called Sorfjorden. Odda is known for it's amazing views and hiking spots, having two of the most stunning Norwegean places; Trolltunga (Troll's tongue) and Hardanger.
The area is the 42nd largest in Norway, and the 146th largest by population (Bergen was the second).
What is a normally ~4 hour car ride was for us more than a week of activities, including: walking, running, hiking and sometimes swimming. Having fun and challenging ourselves along the way.
After this rewarding process, we were delighted with the view of the city -
There is was, covered in snow - Odda
It might have been obvious, but what surprised us the most geographically-wise, was the large amount of waterfalls and lakes, due to the location of the settlements, in valleys.
Lined within a radius of only a few kilometres, the waterfalls are: Tjørnadalsfossen, Strandfossen, Vidfoss, Espelandsfossen and Låtefoss(biggest)
We will mostly just hang out here and visit all the sites we gladly have the chance to see, including Trolltunga and Hardanger, included on the top 10 places in Norway.
Tysso I plant. Part of Smelterverk
Due to the intense migrations to work with smelters and energy generation for the country, a new dialect was born here. There are many dialects in Norway, even between very close communities the dialect can be so varied that it's not mutually inteligible.
Take your time and have a look at what we've been waiting to see here for so long!
After a well deserved 2 weeks rest, we continued our adventure from Iceland to Norway, also passing through the Faroe Islands. The entire journey was over 904 miles, both through sea and land. We thank our mages and rogues for arranging all our supplies for our stay here, including food and clothes (Luckily for us, Norway gives "right to access", right to camp for up to 2 nights on the same spot without inconvenience) since, as we have learned, life in Norway is very expensive for tourists.
A fact that we only learned on our way here (while also counting who makes the most puns with the country's name) is that Norway covers the entire coastline of Scandinavia, being the westernmost, northernmost and also easternmost of the three Scandinavian countries.
Norway covers the entire coastline of Scandinavia
Travelling by boat, practically anywhere we landed would still be 'Norway
The country's landscape is largely influenced by its shape, being very long and close to the ocean. There are more than 450.000 lakes throughout the country, giving amazing views and panoramas at any point. There are also countless islands (more than 20.000 identified) throughout, which shelters the coast from rough waters.
BERGEN
As many of us already knew, we have gotten ourselves in a world heritage city, a protected historical site with many interesting and innovative solutions, which we'll see for ourselves now.
The first stop we made was in Bergen, Norway's second largest city (after Oslo) with 250 thousand inhabitants.
The city is surrounded by seven mountains and fjords, which contributes to it's tittle of 'Europe's rainiest city', and the nickname "City of the seven Mountains"
From our research we could tell that our visits and experiences here will come mostly from the country's unique settings and solutions rather than visitor attractions, of which most are museums.
The records say the city was founded in 1070 by Olav Kyrre, and was the capital of Norway until 1299, when the title was passed to Oslo. It is a municipality in Hordaland County, today the 3rd largest by population.
The visits we are to make here include:
Edvard Grieg Museum (Troldhaugen);
Bryggen: small town from the Hanseatic League era.
Edvard Grieg, a widely known composer and pianist, and the most celebrated person from Bergen, -with numerous statues depicting his image, and many cultural entities named after him- is for us the most interesting find of this visit. He was born (15 June 1843), and died here (4 September 1907) at age 64, his and his wife's body, Nina Grieg, were buried in their former home, now made into a museum in his name, Troldhaugen.
His music is widely used in popular culture and is easily recognizable, we found that these two were the most common among us:
Although there are many more to discover, just search for his music and enjoy!
Another interesting aspect of Norwegian music is the development of the Norway Metal genre, with bands such as Burzum; a one-man Heavy-metal band by Verg Vikernes, which gets it's name from TLOTR, meaning 'Darkness' in the black speech - Ash nazg durbatulûk ash nazg gimbatul ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul (One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them) And the band Emperor, coming from Bergen.
Norway is one of Europe's most sparsely populated countries, with a population of 5 mi in a land of 385.802 km² - 50% of it being of barren mountains - (equals to 16 inhabitants per km²). It is also a very prosperous country, with free education and most basic systems, in exchange for the high taxes..
Due to this nature, we will focus in the most important cities, skipping the small stops and hopefully get to see all the regions of this enormous country.
Another 2 things surprised us once we got here; almost everyone speaks English (90% of the population), making Norway one of the most English proficient nations where English is not an official language.
Also regarding languages, there are two languages spoken; Norwegian and Sami, the latter being related to Finnish. Most Norwegians also learn French, German and/or Spanish as well, and there are also many dialects spoken around the country.
We also noticed that instead of dubbing their content, they prefer to show programs such as foreign television in their original language with subtitles, which is probably why almost everyone is fluent in English.
The other surprising fact is that Norway (Or the Kingdom of Norway) is a unitary monarchy, being so for 1.445 years, with a list of over 60 kings. The current monarch is King Herald V, with only representative power as head of state (the Prime Minister is the head of government).
As mentioned before, Norway is a very prosperous city, with extensive reserves of important resources such as petroleum, oil and natural gas, being the world's largest producer on a per capita basis outside the Middle-east. It also has the fourth highest per capita income, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund (USD 1 Trillion), world's highest Human Development Index and most importantly, the first rank on the World Happiness Report. We will look later for some practical examples of why that is.
So is life: Only after we put Norway on our map did we suddenly start seeing it everywhere, now there is a lot to see here. There is a lot of controversy about the true state of the country, with problems including immigration crisis, unemployment, socioeconomic problems and lack of privacy(some say endorsement of sick/envious behavior). Though we can't say for all of that on our own, we expect to learn much more about it, and see the country from all sides.
Edvard Grieg Museum
Museum Shuttle bus; takes to all main museums in one fare- Bus-lightrails transport in Bergen.
Bryggen, a series of Hanseatic commercial buildings in Bergen
Halfway across Norway and Iceland we made a obligatory stop at an archipelago called Faroe Islands, which is an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark.
First we made ourselves busy with the logistics, making predictions about the place based on our previous experiences. We figured out that the Island has around 1,400 square km (541 mi sq) and a population of 50.030 scattered around 18 islands.
The language spoken is Faroese, which is a North Germanic language with similarities with Icelandic.
Interesting Facts:
There are no Mc Donalds in Faroe Islands.
Streymin Bridge, connecting Stremoy island to Eyturoy is the only bridge over the Atlantic in the world.
You are never more than 3 miles from the ocean in the country.
The name means Island of Sheep, and there are about 70.000 of them, a big portion roaming freely in the country. sometimes causing accidents.
The smallest island, Litla Dimum, is uninhabited.
The capital and largest city is Torshavn in the southern coast of Streymoy, it is the only town we'll have the chance to visit.
As a sign of it's connection with ancient viking settlers, the city is named after the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
The fishing industry (followed by tourism) is the primary economic activity in Faroe Islands, accounting for over 80% of the total export value, which has led to multiple unemployment crisis in the past. However nowadays the unemployment rate in the country is extremely low, due to conscious measures.
Making our way through the Isles, Islets and skerries, climbing mountains and counting sheep, we saw incredible sights which cannot be expressed in words; the best we can do is hope this gallery can make it justice.
If the gallery is not enough, you can warg into this person and see it from his eyes
.
We arrived during the Heystfagnaður festival, with workshops, lectures, competitions and music, celebrating the Faroese shepherding culture, village life and related events. It is taking place on October 12.
Bonus:
Grindadrap : A controversial Faroese pilot whale hunt where whales are lured and brutally slaughtered by the community on the beaches of Faroe Islands. (Click the link for a documentary)
Finally, we reached what for most of us is the apex of the entire journey, the most urban you can get in Iceland, the northernmost capital of the world, Reykjavik.
As expected, the range of sights and activities here is enourmous; museums, galleries, landscapes, historical places and many memorable sights.
The city, which now has over 123.3 thousand inhabitants, is believed to be the first permenent settlement in Iceland, being established in AD874.
Reykjavik was founded in 1786, officially as a trading town, growing steadily over the decades, later becoming the national center of commerce, population and governmental activities in the country.
Interesting Facts:
Reyjavik (and Iceland overall) is among the cleanest, greenest and safest cities in the world.
The settlement of Reykjavik, believed to be the first in Iceland, is described in the Book of Settlement, Landnamabok. The name means Bay of Smoke, or Smokey Bay, and is said to be inspired by the steam from hot springs in the area.
Reykjavik Golf Club has the largst and oldest golf course in Iceland, the Korpa, opened in 1963. The club, also the oldest in the country was opened in 1934.
Austurvollur park
We always like to spend some time at regional parks, specially at places such as Reykjavik, a beautiful capital full of energy and interesting visuals. Just upon arriving at the city center we went to Austurvollur park.
After a long 142 miles journey, we couldn't enjoy this stop more, a very quiet and pretty place next to the Icelandic House of Parliament, where we couldn think and discuss our next stops.
Intersting Fact: In the middle of the park is the statue of Jon Sigurdsson, leader of Iceland's independence movement. Iceland's Independence Day is in June 17
We passed by Hofdi on our way to Hallgrimskirkja, the place where Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in an important step to end the cold war.
Can you remember the last time we visited a church? -There are many imponent cathedrals and churches in England and the surrounding areas, so a church/cathedral visit was very common there. But in Iceland there are not nearly as many interesting churches to visit. Of these exceptions is Hallgrimskirkja, a Lutheran parish church, named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-1674), author of the Passion Hymns, a collection of 50 religious poetic texts.
At 74.5 meters (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in Iceland.
The church is in the center of the city, being visible throughout the whole of Reykjavik, and is one of it's best known landmarks.
Hallgrimskirkja took 41 years to be completed, from 1945 to 1986, the design of the church was done by Architect Gudjon Samuelsson in 1937, who said to have inspired it in the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland. -Which is a felling we totally get-
View from the top of Hallgrimskirkja
Interesting Facts:
The church is also used as an observation tower. There is a lift to a viewing deck with open views from the city and the surrounding mountains.
In front of the church is a stutue of the explorer Leif Eriksson, who we learned about in Eiriksstadir. The statue predates the construction of the church and was done by Alexander Stirling Calder and sent as a gift by the United States commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament, in 1930.
The tower was completed long before the church, in 1974.
Kringlan shopping mall
After visiting the church we went to the main street in Reykjavik, Laugarvegur, and got ourselves in a shopping mall called Kringlan, the second largest in Iceland. Though we didn't spend much time there, our time in the shopping helped us understand more about the life in the city; not a lot of local stores but many international, global brands.
Interesting fact: The name is derived from the Kringla Marsh (Kringlumyri) meaning 'circle' or 'pretzel', although the mall has nothing to do with any of those things.
The shoping also has a supermarket, a library, a theater and a cinema.
It is of course a big shopping, but small compared to the ones we saw in Ireland for example.
Perlan
The next stop is a very important multi-purpose complex, a remarkable landmark with 360° views of the city, enabled by it's glass dome design. It's name is Perlan, "The Perl".
Not only is it an exellent viewing deck, but also a huge hot water storage facillity which supplys the city with regional geothermal water, through six large tanks pilled on top of each other creating decks. Each tank has a capacity of 4 million liters (1 million gallons). The space between the decks (over 10.000m³) is used for many different events such as concerts, as well as housing several museums and exhibitions.
The current arrangement of the museum includes;
Viking Saga Museum: Maritime Museum
&;Glacier Exhibition; Icelandic Natural Wonders:
Many top notch attractions are on the way; on May 1 2018 Perlan Museum will open a new cutting edge planetarium with the best quality available in the world today - Sadly we came to early! but now at least we now about it in advance. We will surelly hear about it again, maybe even visit it when it's finished.
Interesting Facts:
The viewing deck das panoramic telescopes at each six corners of the deck, it is from here that MT. Snaefellsjokll can be seen with frequency in Reykjavik, (which we learned about while in Olafsvik)
There is a rotating restaurant on the top of the dome, it takes 2 hours for a full rotation. A cafeteria is located under the restaurant.
We were very excited to see a man-made version of two small geysers, one of which we assumed was Strokkur, imitating the sprouting action we saw in Haukadalur on our way to Eirikstadir.
The building was designed by Igimundur Sveinsson and is situated on a hill, Öskjullid. The project was completed in 1991, largely at the behest of mayor David Oddson.
Aerbajasafn
Lake Tjornin
From the observation deck we checked some future stops off our list, including the lake Tjörnin in the city center, next to the city hall and Reykjavik Airport, and Arbaejasafn; an open air museum. We also located our next stop, the National Museum of Iceland, right next to Tjornin.
National Museum of Iceland
As an ending to our journey in Iceland, we visited the National Museum of Iceland.
We came here expecting to leave fully enlightened about the making of Iceland and it's history. We were not mistaken, but also not entirely right. Although the premise is good, the practice seems to disappoint.
The many exhibitions and displays richely illustrate the story of Iceland's past, from the Viking settlements to currently culture. With over 2000 items in it's main exhibition, there was no little doubt that we couldn't erase regarding the history of Iceland. Some of those doubts were answered by interactive displays, including touch screens and phone calls with historic figures.
The Valþjófsstaður door in the National Museum of Iceland
Amongst the museum's many treasures, the Valthjofsstadur door stands out, featuring unique elaborate engravings depicting scenes from the 12th century knight's tale 'Le Chavalier au Lion' , where a knight slays a dragon, thus freeing a lion that becomes his companion.
Our jorney through time started in the permenanent exhibition; Making of a Nation: Heritage and History in Iceland, with the ships in wich medieval settles crossed the oceans to get to the island, and progressed with the help of over 1.000 photographs and 2.000 artifacts from various periods, ending in a modern airport.
Along with the permanent exhibition, there are currently 4 more:
Points of view: A collaboration of 6 different cultural institutions
Bundled up in blue: Investigation of a viking grave
Iceland in the world, the world in Iceland: Centered in transnationalism
Thoughts of Home -Inga Lisa Middletion: Photographs by Inga Lisa.
This time we are exploring West Iceland, before we leave for another country, which we'll soon decide as a group.
Our exploration took us to Olafsvik, the westernmost sizable settlement in Europe.
Olafsvik is a small town with a notable trading history, specially with Denmark. The town is on the western end of Snaefellsnes Peninsula, in Snaefellsbaer, which has been named 'Iceland in Miniature', because many national sites can be found there, including: Snaefellsjokul volcano, with 1.446m/4.744ft and a glacier on top, which can be seen from as far as 120 km (74 mi) away in Reykjavik. The mountain is also known as the setting for the novel "Journey to the center of the Earth" by Jules Verne.
Interesting Fact:
Nearby, in Hellissandur, one of the two other towns in the region, is the tallest structure in Western Europe, the Gufuskalar radio mast, 412m (1.351ft) high.
The population was 1.010 in 2010
Our only cultural visit in the area was Pakkhus Museum, the regional museum of Snaefellsbaer, located on the second and third floors of an old building from 1844 which then served as a trading store.
Honestly, we have no concrete memories from the displays in the museum, only memories of an old cozy house, with frozen memories from the past, as if held the past in a bubble, and a deep respect for the locals which were making handcraft items.
Now during summer it is open from 12:00 to 17:00 pm, but during the Winter it's only open on request.
A general store and a shop selling handicrafts are on the ground floor.
Next we continued walking, planning to visit the regional Park, the notorious Snaefellsjökull National Park.
The park is replete of landscapes, including volcanoes, caves and waterfalls, which such diversity that we made it a personal decision to visit everything by choice: Some decided to stop at Anadarstapi, a small village close-by, (which was in our route at some point) and take a small, but rather dangerous, 2.5 km (1.55 mi) hike to Hellnar on the cliffside, others headed to the glacier on the top of the mountain, while others went to see the lave on the volcano site.
When we regrouped, we were finally ready to visit our next and probably last destination in Iceland, the capital Reykjavik, 142 miles away.
Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland. The world's northernmost capital.
