Norway Part 2: Finse

Monday, September 30

Lisa, Bert, and I got up early to catch the 8:05 train to Bergen. We had some bread and jam at the train station. Henning, our hostel roommate, happened to be on the same train; he and I sat together and both took tons of pictures. Only a few of mine turned out, but the entire train ride was amazing.

The scenery grew increasingly beautiful and strange as the train gained elevation. We passed lakes and green pastures, followed a river up yellow-tinted mountains, and rode through a high valley filled with rust-colored trees. At the highest stop on the line (though we didn't know it at the time), Lisa ran over to my seat with a wild proposal. 

"Jessica, do you want to get off the train?"

"... what?" 

"Do you want to get off the train? It's so beautiful. Let's just get off here and go hiking."

So we did. You should've seen Lisa when we got off the train--she was jumping up and down and nearly crying, and I was laughing and smiling and breathing in the delicious air. We went into the one open hotel in the town of approximately 5 buildings, got a room that was way out of budget, and took off for the nearby glacier.

View from our window

We were giddy pretty much the entire hike from the spontaneity of the trip and the unearthly scenery.

We couldn't read the Norwegian signs, so we decided to go off trail once we had a good view of the glacier. But it was hard to make a direct trail with all the rocky slopes and cliffs obscuring the glacier at various points, so we ended up scaling this rocky bit unnecessarily. 

WHOA IT'S A GLACIER!!!

AND I'M HERE. WHAT IS THIS.

We crossed this meadow/pond (which we called a glacial prairie) on the way back.

After a wonderful shower, we had a couple hours to relax before the three-course dinner that was included with the room. I worked on my essay some more, but really I was just watching the sun set over the glacier.

Across the room was a middle-aged couple with some serious PDA. They were really nice when I asked them for hiking suggestions.

The dinner started with a small scallop served with three different sauces. My main course was a pan-fried white fish, and dessert was a combination of fruity sorbet and cheesecake. (Unfortunately I don't have food pictures.) It was a lovely dinner, and I appreciated it even more after the half-day hike. I went to sleep very happy.
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Tuesday, October 1

Another hiking day! The Finse Hotel's breakfast buffet was a great way to start. I had three courses and packed sandwiches for both lunch and dinner. (Only lunch was technically included, but there was nowhere else to get dinner.)

My sampler crackers. Clockwise from top left: Norwegian sweet brown cheese, brie, strawberry jam, blueberry jam, peanut buter, apricot jam, smoked salmon

Not shown: bread, eggs, mini pancakes, oatmeal, and yogurt.

View out the window at breakfast

Then it was time to hit the trail! Per receptionist's suggestion, we headed toward a cabin by a lake

This picture makes the hike look epic, but at this point, we had just walked up from the buildings on the right.

Another glorious day with glorious views

 In the first few kilometers we got spectacular lake views, a lively glacial stream, and dramatic rock steps. We stopped for lunch at a small lake.

Cucumber, smoked trout/salmot, and cream cheese

Then we got a bit lost. At this point we had gone off trail and were navigating with land forms and a topographic map. The thing is, there were a lot of small ponds, saddles, and peaks to confuse, so we weren't where we thought we were on the map. But we knew we couldn't be too far off because we could see the glacier and the train tracks to the southwest! Eventually I climbed a high peak to get a good view, and we got back on track.

Even the ground was beautiful and fascinating.

View of the lake from the hut.  We intended to come from the right side of the lake, but we came from the left because we'd gotten lost. But because of that, we got great views of the valley below (beyond the bottom left corner of the picture) as we crossed to the hut!

The elusive hut

Looking toward the valley below the lake and hut

 Around 3 it was time to head back. Despite getting mildly lost again, we made it back with a good hour of daylight left, so we chilled for a while on a rock overlooking the lake.

Last lake picture, I promise.

Dinner was another sandwich. The hotel was kind enough to let us stay until 8, when we left Finse by train to spend the rest of the week in Bergen.

I am grateful to Lisa for this trip. It showed me the value of spontaneity and flexibility, and I will carry the beauty and wonder I experienced with me for a long time to come.