Back to nature in Norway

Scandinavia is infamous for how expensive it is. And Norway is no exception. In fact it’s in the top five most expensive countries in the world. Thankfully, one of Norway’s biggest draw cards is nature. There are heaps of things you can do that cost nothing, or next to nothing.

For something different, this year I decided to celebrate my birthday in Norway.  I had been before, back in 2005, but it was a bit of a fleeting visit, and I’d always had dreams of returning.

Armed with an entire eleven days off from work, I got down to planning. The idea was to do a big road trip to see as much of the country as possible.  I also wanted get right into a few of the fjords, and of course, hit up some of Norway’s most famous hikes.

To maximise the amount of time we had on the ground, we decided to fly directly into Stavanger, and leave Oslo, the capital, for the end. In eleven days, we managed to get as far north as Alesund, hike Pulpit Rock, Kjeragbolten, Flørli Stairs,Trolltunga, and Rampestreken, before joining a Norway in a Nutshell tour from Bergen to Oslo.