AASebWorldTour

May 24, 2013

Roskilde and the Viking Ship Museum, Denmark

This was our last stop in Scandinavia for now. We were feeling that you can’t come to this part of Europe without learning about the Vikings. That is why we visited the museum back in Stockholm and that we stopped here in Roskilde to see the Viking Ship museum. They found 5 old boats in the bottom of the see from the Viking time and dug them out to restore them. They rebuilt the ships as good as they could with the pieces left. It is a really interesting process. Now, they are also building copies of ships, by hand, with the same tools and techniques the Vikings were using at the time.

Viking Ship Museum

Andrée-Anne as a Viking

Seb as a Viking

The copies in action

The best way to spend our last 18 kroners.

To leave Scandinavia, we took a train to Germany. When the train gets to Fehmarn Belt, they put the whole train on the ferry to cross to Germany. We were impressed as we weren’t expecting that.

May 24, 2013

Stockholm, Sweden

After another nice train day, we visited the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. We slept in a red boat hotel for two nights, giving us one full day to visit. It is a boat parked on the side of the river with a bar and restaurant upstairs and rooms downstairs. The old part of the city is really nice. We also visited a history museum, Historiska Museet, which was really interesting with part of the viking history.

May 22, 2013

Bergen to Stockholm, Norway to Sweden

The train ride from Bergen to Oslo is a really scenic route 1222 meters above sea level and goes through 182 tunnels. There was 15000 men working on this railroad track for 34 years from 1875 until its completion. It was a really impressive route. The nicest part for us being the highest one, since we like mountains.

And this is the only moose we saw in Sweden…

May 21, 2013

Bergen, Norway

Bergen is as we expected it. A lot of great views with a lot of tourists. That is why we preferred Alesund over Bergen. There a nice view point we walked to that is right by the city at 425m. There is also a funicular going up there.

Funicular

View from Mt Floyen

Bryggen

The houses from Bryggen are wooden houses that look like they are falling apart. They are the oldest part of the city.

Statue

Small cobblestone alley

May 20, 2013

Bus to Bergen, Norway

The bus from Hellesylt to Bergen was around 7 hours long. It offered great views over multiple fjords. We really enjoyed the scenery.

May 19, 2013

Hellesylt – Asenakken hike, Norway

For our next day in Hellesylt, we choose a bigger hike to Asenakken. The hike was 3.5 km long with an elevation of 870 m. This was, for both of us, the hardest hike we did. It took us 4 hours to get up, after getting lost a couple times. We were gone for 8 hours that day, and came back really tired from climbing 2 mountains in a row. The view was also really rewarding, even better than the day before. We had a view over a lot of white peaks overlooking the Geiranger Fjord.

View of Hellesylt

First stop, with the mountain still in front of us.

Hellesylt view

The Fjord

The summit

870 m high

The Valley next door

Hellesylt waterfall

Seb waiting for the bus with a nice view

Hellesylt – Geiranger Ferry

May 18, 2013

Hellesylt – Skaret hike, Norway

For our first night in Hellesylt, we decided to do a “warming up” hike as we wanted to keep the big one for the next day. We picked a view point called Skaret. It is a 2 km long walk with a 700 m climb. The views were worth all the efforts.

Seb half way there

Andrée-Anne

Seb

We had a nice view from the top.

May 18, 2013

Bus to Hellesylt, Norway

We stayed in Alesund for 2 nights. On our last morning, they were having a special buffet where everybody was dressed up in suits and traditional costume. We woke up to the sound of a parade outside. This is how they start their Syttende Mai, Norway’s national holiday. Before taking the train, we watched the parade.

Traditional outfits

The parade

View from the bus

Ferry

Even the bus had to take the ferry to get across fjords on the way.

Gerainger Fjord

We arrived Hellesylt around 2PM, got off the buss and started walking toward the hostel. We were half way there when Seb realized he didn’t have the wallet with the passports anymore. He dropped everything and started running back to the bus. Good thing the bus arrived a few minutes early and had not departed yet as the passports were left on the seat.

May 17, 2013

Alesund, Norway

Alesund is a small town in the west of Norway right in the fjord. It is like a smaller Bergen but less touristic and with white top mountains. The railway route from Dombas to Andalsnes was very scenic, passing in between mountains with a lot of really tall waterfalls. The train ends in Andalsnes and then we had to take a bus for the rest of the road. In Alesund, we climbed 418 steps to Aksla Park viewpoint. The views of the fjord, mountains and the small town are amazing.

Andalsnes

Bus to Alesund

On the bus

Bus

Alesund canal

Andrée-Anne in Alesund

Quiet street

Aksla Park viewpoint

Norway’s mountains

Aksla Park view

May 14, 2013

Preikestolen, Norway

Preiskestolen was an amazing destination. We had to walk a few kilometers in a trail not always so easy but it is really rewarding. We walked for two hours and then get the view of a lifetime. It is the best view we had so far on our trip. Hopefully not the only one as we hope to see a lot of amazing things. We are very happy we chose to come and experience Preikestolen.