Silver Map: Places, People, Impressions

Whenever one googles "Norway" pictures of people sitting on the edge of the famous Trolltunga will appear. When I moved to Norway for my one year work experience, this mainstream place was on the top of my bucket list of things to do while in Norway. So here I was, on the 18th of June, 10 days until returning home, trotting my first steps into conquering this rock...

Before the hike:

Since the hike itself takes 22kms, it requires some extra thinking and planning. I didn't have much time to prepare, since the idea to climb Trolltunga was quite spontaneous and the final decision was made some 12-14 days before.

My whole preparation consisted of more intensive jogging for 20 minutes every 2nd day and a thorough list of what to pack. Since I am no frequent hiker without proper hiking backpack my main priority was to bring essentials as well as make sure it was light enough for me to hike for 11 kms.

My packing list looked this way:

- 2 pairs of socks
- a hoodie/sweater
- a jacket
- 1/2 t-shirts
- a sweater to sleep in
- a tent
- a sleeping bag and an air pillow
- a rag
- food
- 1 bottle of water (since you have a possibility to refill it every few minutes)
- antibacterial gel
- little towel/napkins
- a scarf and gloves
- a portable smartphone charger
- a camera
- a bandage and other 1st aid kid
- a sunscreen

- extra trousers* - proved to be optional, since I planned to get more muddy on my way up than I actually turned out to be.
- extra pair of shoes* - I didn't have proper hiking shoes, so having an extra pair was essential, since by the time I got up my feet were wet.

Supposition 1: It's expensive

Well, not really. Or at least if you are travelling in a group. We spent around 70 Euros for a trip from Oslo to Odda and back, since we rented out cars, so our costs were all about the car itself, toll roads, fuel and parking for 24 hours. Also, a good cost reduction solution was to stay up in a tent overnight (plus it was a super awesome bonus to the hiking experience!)

Supposition 2: It's too difficult for beginners

The reality is NO. Or...not really. Of course the first kilometer is a HELL due to its rock stairs (also on the way back knowing you already passed another 10 kms , the 11th one seems to never end), but once you overcame that, it's just a long hike with breathtaking views and from time to time little challenges like crossing a mountain stream, going through snow and climbing a bit steeper hill on the edge.

I decided to really enjoy the hike and do as many breaks as we wished just to sit and enjoy the view while having a snack, so it took us 6 hours to climb up. Also, staying overnight was a good idea, cause after 6 hours hike we had an opportunity to restore our energy for going back.

Supposition 3: You need a special hiking gear to climb Trolltunga

Nah... Of course hiking gear makes it all easier, that's why it's called "hiking" gear. However in case you are not a frequent hiker and have no opportunity to borrow some special shoes, it's not a big deal. I wore my old sneakers on the way up and a bit warmer boots on the way down. Since at some point of time my non-waterproof shoes would be wet inside, taking an extra pair of shoes was a good move.

Supposition 4: It's dangerous at some places

The hike is long and beautiful , but nothing dangerous was found. Of course, one should mind their step into somewhat melted snow as well as sandy rocks can be even more slippery than wet stones.

Supposition 5: One might get lost

There are a couple of reasons you can't get lost while hiking to Trolltunga:
1) You see the red T-shaped marks all around the place, guiding you to the direction you need to take
2) You see human-made little stone towers (like the one on the picture below)
3) You see other people constantly

Observations about the hiking:

- Community feeling. It is indeed amazing how people say "hi" while passing each other, the others wish you good luck or just start conversation with you.

- It's about the journey not about the destination. Trolltunga itself is of course breathtaking. However so is the way to it. I tend to watch my steps all the time to make sure I don't fall anywhere, but at the same time I found it important to look around and to enjoy the hike, rather than just racing it to the final destination.


- Importance of applying sunscreen.  I never do that usually even when going sunbathing, but underestimating the power of sun and wind was a huge mistake: by the time I reached the car my face was a red frying pan.

- Staying overnight is possible at the top of Trolltunga and many do camp there. It can get a bit cold at night, but once you have a proper sleeping bag, tent and clothes, it's a piece of cake.



The hike is tough, but that's what makes it so special to finally see the famous rock and what's more important - to feel amazingly proud of this accomplishment, challenge yourself and feel close to the nature.

Making a dough for the Easter bread according to an old recipe book.

Here comes the creative part: decoration of the bread. This is the moment when you let yourself unleash an artist within you and no matter how much of an artist you are, it always ends up being a "masterpiece" with the unique vision and interpretation. As you can see, my pottery classes when I was 4 didn't really help me much :)

Sweet bread with raisins, nuts, cottage cheese and lemon zest.

The Easter Egg Trees exhibition from all over Transcarpathia in front of the regional council.

When tired and bored in still dark Norway in February, the hormone of travelling pushed us to go somewhere cheap and southern. We managed amazingly with the first part, however didn't quite succeed with the "southern" part of our intention. Anyway, we didn't regret it for a second. Even though it was still cold, we discovered a very authentic country - Latvia.

The monument of Bremen Musicians. One of the top tourist photo places in Old Riga. For me, though, it's a call from my childhood, when we watched a USSR cartoon about those classy fellows. One of the best memories.

The Art Nouveau window on the right.

Old town is bursting with colours mainly in golden-brown spectre, which makes it look warmer and cosier even in bad weather. It also combines very different architectural styles (especially art nouveau in the old town) just next to each other, although they still remain in a harmonious composition.

One of the wooden houses near Latvian Academy of Science (a smaller brother of Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science)

I would compare Riga to a salad of Latvian + European/Scandinavian cultures seasoned with traces of USSR influence that still feels to be present every here and there. It was extremely interesting for me, sharing the same historical past,  to see how the paths of our countries have gone.
Just roaming around the city is already a pleasure, however for the full experience, I would recommend getting a local free tours, which from our experience proved to be a great way to see Riga in all its beauty and contrast. The tour guide or I would say "our actor" was great at public speaking and what I valued the most was the places we visited: mostly outside of the heart of the city, since people always go there anyway and we got a unique chance to experience local markets full of more or less organic food from villages (Ukraine, I miss this part of you in Oslo), hear about the history of Riga canal, local port and see old wooden houses. The one we took started at 12 sharp and the meeting point was in front of St. Peter's Church.

St. Peter's Church

Russian language was still to be widely heard in the city centre, turning into more Latvian outside of the old town. Everyone we met could also interact with us in English. It was an unusual feeling of technically being in a foreign country but understanding most of the conversations of locals, which made me feel quite at home.

A nice Latvian girl welcoming tourists to the souvenir shop

Riga is full of nice little details scattered all around.



One more thing that I found very favourable was the fact that we could rent out the whole apartment via Airbnb just 15 minutes away from the "touristy" places for a very cheap price and with a very pleasant service.

Riga City Hall

On the way to the main market of Riga, that consists of 5 departments for fish, meat, groceries, fruits and other useful and tasty stuff :)

French Riviera strikes with its burst of life and a feeling like you have a million dollars in your pockets.

View of Nice Beach.

Antiques and Flea Market offers a variety of vintage cutlery, paintings, clothes, vinyl records, postcards, jewellery and other interesting and quite expensive things.

Antiques and Flea Market

And, of course, nothing can be better than spending last 2 hours before the plane at the beach, where local grannies are playing cards and you are smiling at the setting sun and throwing stones into the upcoming waves while listening to ''Rivers and Roads''.


In colour or monochrome,
Nice still bears the combination of retro charm with its sunny beach, old town,
vintage soap shops and cosy little cafes, where one can enjoy authentic crepes with wine and stop the time enjoying life observing the streets.








Songs of the day:

The only wish I had there was to spend a week staring at the view outside of a cider house we were living in.
Little cabins, stone pieces of art that could be found every here and there were full of history about fishermen and kings and legends about trolls and mr. Northern wind. If I was curious to see a true Norwegian lifestyle and spirit, Balestrand was totally a right place to go to.
Beyond breathtaking scenery we've got an opportunity to see an ordinary day-to-day life of a Norwegian family, busy with taking care about their garden, picking up fruits and preparing for winter, visiting their own factory and running a family business of cider and juice production.
Balestrand is extremely small,so one must be really occupied  throughout a day not to feel an inevitable boredom of a little town.
Balestrand was referred to as a very inspiring place for the artists. And it's totally true. Fjords form a gigantic wall around the area, and watching rays of sun dancing on the top of the mountains while dark clouds above gather in a pattern is, indeed, an impressive scene that can deeply move and inspire artistic souls.
Hiking here is a must. if local Norwegians tell you it's going to be an easy hike (and you are not used to hiking almost at all), don't trust them. It's going to be harder. Far harder than "that's very easy". But it also is going to be worth it.
During our 5 hours hike we managed to enjoy wild blackberry, fall into the mud, fight the desire of quitting every step taken forward, get frustrated after every milestone we thought would be the end of our journey, but still having "just 30 minutes" to go...a couple of times. All of those little happenings were worth of what awaited us on the top.
Tiny us. Tired but happy. Enormous fjords, talking to us with their icy silence. Echo of the boat 900 meters down and our voices, relatively loud yet quiet.