People keep asking me, “How was Norway?” And all I can say is, “Norway was awesome. I want to go back. Every single day.”
I consider myself lucky to have built a lifestyle very much revolving around travel, most specifically traveling to do things I truly love: climbing, skiing, and running. In the last two or three years especially all of my trips have revolved around some sort of adventure destination, and when I say I have my travels planned out through 2016, I’m not kidding (Thailand this Christmas anyone?!?).
Even with all of the places I’ve visited though, very few of them have captured my imagination quite like Norway. Maybe it was having a “local” guide, maybe it was the stark contrast of mountains to sea, or maybe it’s just that Norway is freaking awesome and deserves to not only be at the top of my “favorite travel destinations” list, but at the top of my “oh yeah I’m going there next year” list too. =)
My love for Norway is clear, but as I’m up to my ears in work right now (we, The Mountaineers, are launching a new website on May 5th, which means a lot of (super fun and challenging) work for me) I am just going to let these photos speak for themselves (for a better view, click on the photos to expand). I promise I have great stories and many, many more photos forthcoming.
We landed, and saw this. Quite a contrast from the moon-like, barren landscape of Iceland.
A 2-minute drive from the airport, and a close up of the fantastic (and hard to photograph) view flying in.
Rolling hills with stark tree lines.
Don’t worry, there were jagged peaks also.
All of these photos were taken from the car.
One of my favorite (and completely unedited) photos from the trip. Also taken from a moving car.
We flew in and out of Tromso, Norway’s 4th largest city, and one of the largest cities in the world that lies north of the Arctic Circle. We stayed in a little hamlet (if that’s what you can call a “town” of four houses) about an hour drive from Tromso. I felt like we were in our own secret hideaway – complete with insane bedroom views.
We were quite pleased to find our little Norwegian home-for-the-week, get unpacked, and gape at the mountains until our mouths went dry.
Our chateau.
Unloading the car. With a view.
I hopped out of the car, walked onto the snowbank from the driveway plow, and this was behind me.
Closeup from the previous shot.
What about the views the other way? Yup, they don’t suck either.
Gnarway Coulior
I have to hand it to the Norwegian’s, they know how to pick out some primo real estate. Here’s a panoramic view. From my bedroom window. In fact, all the photos below were taken from the house. Get why I want to go back?
A girl could get used to this.
Can you see the moon?
How about now?
The moon traveled from one side of the mountain to the other while we were eating dinner, then we got to watch it rise all over again.
Hey it's Ashley, your old partner in Mountaineers crime!
Looking at these photos make me miss Alaska. This is exactly what it is like to live and explore there. If you haven't been, you'll never want to leave. Get thee self to Alaska pronto. Can't wait to see the new site next week!
Hey it's Ashley, your old partner in Mountaineers crime!
Looking at these photos make me miss Alaska. This is exactly what it is like to live and explore there. If you haven't been, you'll never want to leave. Get thee self to Alaska pronto. Can't wait to see the new site next week!