I think you will know why I have to share and put this up here after watching it...
Featuring some of the places we've been to on our hiking trip... just enjoy!
Monday, 1 October 2012
Short commercial break... AWESOMENESS redefined
Today I found this amazing video on facebook, in the group of the international ESN students...
I think you will know why I have to share and put this up here after watching it...
Featuring some of the places we've been to on our hiking trip... just enjoy!
I think you will know why I have to share and put this up here after watching it...
Featuring some of the places we've been to on our hiking trip... just enjoy!
Hiking Trip Part 5
After some adventurous and rather hard hikes through the rough nature here in Norway, we figured we could use a "day off" and went to Stavanger, one of the bigger cities here, in fact it holds the 4th place with ca. 127.000 inhabitants. One of our main goals there was to visit the Oil Museum, which was our first stop just after arriving in the city. Before getting there though, we had to get on a ferry first...
A typical sight when you travel by ferry... fjords all around
This is what a ferry's "interior" looks like...
The Oil Museum from outside... as you can see, it lies just in the open harbor of Stavanger, also one of the city's famous sights
This is part of a British/Norwegian joint operation oil rig... now standing just outside the museum's main entrance...
Leaving Britain...
Leaving Norway...
First sight after entering the museum: the world's biggest drill bit!!
An illustration showing some of the countries with natural oil and gas reserves...
And one of my favourites... some sand from the Norwegian desert that existed thousands of years before ;)
Norway's big bad boys... the biggest oil rigs out there: "Troll", "Ekofisk" and "Statfjord"
A one-man modern diving capsule! The business of oil drilling is tied closely to underwater exploration, diving and repair missions on the ocean ground...
A rescue capsule from one of the oil rigs. I think its made for 25 to 27 people...
And these are the suits you have to wear when you go out to sea to work on one of the "giants"
Nice details about the hunger of the crews ;)
A drill operator's working place... you can even try to control the drill yourself, but like many installations, this was not working properly...
Rescue boat! If something goes wrong, be sure to hop fast on it...
AND FINALLY... some videogames! Too bad this game was awfully hard, I kept dying after lousy 30 seconds...
A view from the top of the museum towards the harbor...
And one of the last parts of the museum, dedicated to the divers and underwater workers... this device was actually pretty fun. When putting your head inside one of the diving helmets, you could talk to people on the other helmets, but with "diver's voice" - which sounds like helium or chipmunks. This is due to long transmission distances and interference in the ocean, so they have to use strange frequencies... :)
Street Art Stavanger
A part of the huge open harbor
More Street Art... same street as the graffiti above. Seemed like some kind of fancy cultural street...
Wooden houses in colorful variety. Also notice the ad on the blackboard in the lower right...
I guess this is somewhat like "Main Plaza"
View towards another part of the harbor, and the seaside monument
Old Town Stavanger... cute little streets, cute little houses
Another view of one of the places in the Old Town
So much for Stavanger, next stop would have been another camping site, but we were sent away because it was raining too much and we werent allowed to build up our tents anymore. So we had to look for a hut rather spontaneously. Good thing we found one, and a very nice one, too... up next: the last evening and the last day of the trip!!!
A typical sight when you travel by ferry... fjords all around
This is what a ferry's "interior" looks like...
Oil Museum
The Oil Museum from outside... as you can see, it lies just in the open harbor of Stavanger, also one of the city's famous sights
This is part of a British/Norwegian joint operation oil rig... now standing just outside the museum's main entrance...
Leaving Britain...
Leaving Norway...
First sight after entering the museum: the world's biggest drill bit!!
An illustration showing some of the countries with natural oil and gas reserves...
And one of my favourites... some sand from the Norwegian desert that existed thousands of years before ;)
Norway's big bad boys... the biggest oil rigs out there: "Troll", "Ekofisk" and "Statfjord"
A one-man modern diving capsule! The business of oil drilling is tied closely to underwater exploration, diving and repair missions on the ocean ground...
A rescue capsule from one of the oil rigs. I think its made for 25 to 27 people...
And these are the suits you have to wear when you go out to sea to work on one of the "giants"
Nice details about the hunger of the crews ;)
A drill operator's working place... you can even try to control the drill yourself, but like many installations, this was not working properly...
Rescue boat! If something goes wrong, be sure to hop fast on it...
AND FINALLY... some videogames! Too bad this game was awfully hard, I kept dying after lousy 30 seconds...
A view from the top of the museum towards the harbor...
And one of the last parts of the museum, dedicated to the divers and underwater workers... this device was actually pretty fun. When putting your head inside one of the diving helmets, you could talk to people on the other helmets, but with "diver's voice" - which sounds like helium or chipmunks. This is due to long transmission distances and interference in the ocean, so they have to use strange frequencies... :)
Stavanger City
After the museum, we went strolling around the city, looking through shops and points of interests. Best thing: We found a nice fast food restaurant which sold thermo-cups including one free fill of coffee for just 20 NOK!!! Now we can get refills for just 10 kr in every other "Big Bite" restaurant around Norway - good thing the one in Stavanger was the only one I saw until now :DStreet Art Stavanger
A part of the huge open harbor
More Street Art... same street as the graffiti above. Seemed like some kind of fancy cultural street...
Wooden houses in colorful variety. Also notice the ad on the blackboard in the lower right...
I guess this is somewhat like "Main Plaza"
View towards another part of the harbor, and the seaside monument
Old Town Stavanger... cute little streets, cute little houses
Another view of one of the places in the Old Town
So much for Stavanger, next stop would have been another camping site, but we were sent away because it was raining too much and we werent allowed to build up our tents anymore. So we had to look for a hut rather spontaneously. Good thing we found one, and a very nice one, too... up next: the last evening and the last day of the trip!!!
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Hiking Trip Part 4
On the fourth day we left Odda and the surrounding area to go to the Lysefjord. There, we wanted to stay in a hut for one or two days, and see the Preikestolen as well as Stavanger. After a 3 to 4 hour drive to Forsand, we arrived at our hut and were simply stunned by the size and the place in general. As pictures say more than thousand words:
The living room... not only looked, but also smelled like a antiquarian shop ;)
One of the single rooms, in fact the room I slept in
The kitchen (or at least part of it)
First floor featuring a treasure chest!!!
The oven in the living room... we didn't use it, though
After setting in... cooking time! Masters at work:
Cutting vegetables...
Cutting meat...
And preparing the pans...
...resulting in this wonderful and very tasty dinner meal!!!
Naturally, happy faces all around!!!
And after the dinner, some relaxing card games, featuring beer and snacks...
And this is the view from the garden area, featuring a big transition bridge in the background.
Finally, the house from outside.
Start of the hike, featuring a very rocky way
After climbing the first little hill, you reach this plateau. In general, the route is marked by steep passages that lead to flat plateaus
The path is often looking like this... notice the red T on the right. It is used to mark hiking routes all over Norway by the Tourist and Traveling Association
Textbook Norwegian landscape!
A first look over the shoulder... right of the lake is the parking lot and "base camp" for Preikestolen. Far in the background, exactly in the middle of the picture, lies Stavanger, which can be even seen from here.
A perfect place to dance!
Posing 101 #2: Crane on a rock
At least there are some foot trails here!
In total contrast to this next area, where you actually have to go through the cascade to advance...
Our destination is getting nearer and nearer...
One of the best things here on hikes: the amazing landscape on the high plateaus of the fjords...
...often featuring huge lakes and rock formations like this one!
Rough beauty...
And now we are almost there... it is a pretty long way down from here already...
Posing 101 #3: Smile while standing on a rift of a 600 m high cliff
The Preikestolen! Finally there... this is the view while approaching it
A better example of the natural and incredible beauty of this cliff...
Finally, the fog starts clearing and one can see the fjord below...
Adventure Time #3: Climbing around to take awesome pictures
View right down into the fjord from the edge of the cliff...
The Lysefjord in all it's glory... at the far end of it (background of the picture) lies Kjerag, another famous landmark
Posing 101 #4: Ridiculously photogenic Asian girl
A shot showing the flat structure of the cliff.
Posing 101 #5: Look painful in front of Nature's greatness
The group! Relaxing with a lollipop on the edge of Preikestolen...
The other side of the fjord.
Dito. It was pretty hard to get shots without fog or clouds ruining the sight...
First hut - Forsand
The living room... not only looked, but also smelled like a antiquarian shop ;)
One of the single rooms, in fact the room I slept in
The kitchen (or at least part of it)
First floor featuring a treasure chest!!!
The oven in the living room... we didn't use it, though
After setting in... cooking time! Masters at work:
Cutting vegetables...
Cutting meat...
And preparing the pans...
...resulting in this wonderful and very tasty dinner meal!!!
Naturally, happy faces all around!!!
And after the dinner, some relaxing card games, featuring beer and snacks...
This is the view from right outside the "hut"... splendid. The small city/village on the other side is Forsand.
And this is the view from the garden area, featuring a big transition bridge in the background.
Finally, the house from outside.
Ascent to Preikestolen
The next day we started early in the morning to visit one of the most iconic places in Norway, the Preikestolen above Lysefjord. It is a large cliff towering 604 meters above sea level, almost flat on the surface and with the size of 25 x 25 m. Because of its look, it is also called "Pulpit Rock" in English. Although it looks so perfectly shaped as to be made by man, it is most probable that it was created during a frost explosion in the Ice Age. The hike takes roughly 2 to 3 hours and covers a distance of almost 4 km.
Start of the hike, featuring a very rocky way
After climbing the first little hill, you reach this plateau. In general, the route is marked by steep passages that lead to flat plateaus
The path is often looking like this... notice the red T on the right. It is used to mark hiking routes all over Norway by the Tourist and Traveling Association
Textbook Norwegian landscape!
A first look over the shoulder... right of the lake is the parking lot and "base camp" for Preikestolen. Far in the background, exactly in the middle of the picture, lies Stavanger, which can be even seen from here.
A perfect place to dance!
Posing 101 #2: Crane on a rock
At least there are some foot trails here!
In total contrast to this next area, where you actually have to go through the cascade to advance...
Our destination is getting nearer and nearer...
One of the best things here on hikes: the amazing landscape on the high plateaus of the fjords...
...often featuring huge lakes and rock formations like this one!
Rough beauty...
And now we are almost there... it is a pretty long way down from here already...
Posing 101 #3: Smile while standing on a rift of a 600 m high cliff
The Preikestolen! Finally there... this is the view while approaching it
A better example of the natural and incredible beauty of this cliff...
Finally, the fog starts clearing and one can see the fjord below...
Adventure Time #3: Climbing around to take awesome pictures
View right down into the fjord from the edge of the cliff...
The Lysefjord in all it's glory... at the far end of it (background of the picture) lies Kjerag, another famous landmark
Posing 101 #4: Ridiculously photogenic Asian girl
A shot showing the flat structure of the cliff.
Posing 101 #5: Look painful in front of Nature's greatness
The group! Relaxing with a lollipop on the edge of Preikestolen...
The other side of the fjord.
Dito. It was pretty hard to get shots without fog or clouds ruining the sight...
Next stop: Stavanger! The first city on our whole trip... and just a few km away from Preikestolen and our hut. coming soon....
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