Norway #5: Sky • Sheep • Snow

The Glacier

Our initial plan was to hike up to Trolltunga, and we even completed a figment of the hike (though the toughest part), but then our preparations were not good enough for the weather and marshy conditions there, so we decided to keep it for the next trip.

Disappointed, we arrived at our cabin in Jondal. Turns out our host worked with a skiing company, so when he got to know about our failed hike, he suggested us to go to a glacier nearby where he takes people for skiing, turns out, this was Norway’s third largest Glacier – Folgefonna.

The drive towards the glacier was one of the most scenic.

Norway #4: Wheels • Waterfalls • Wanderlust

Estrella

If you ask me what I enjoyed most on this trip, I’d surely say Driving, who won’t enjoy driving on such scenic roads, especially when you are driving a V70, we ended up naming our car – Estrella. So here are some pictures with Estrella.

Norway #3: Routes • Rocks • Rain

Norwegian Routes

What’s the best part of a road trip, of course, ROADS! and when it’s Norway, it becomes even better, driving across Fjords, tunnels, bridges, narrow roads, valleys, it was all unforgettable. While I wasn’t driving, I was shooting 😉 here are some of the views of Norwegian routes. The most scenic was Route 5, Route 63, & Route 64.

When Norway starts resembling Iceland, somewhere on Route 63.

Norway #2: Cities • Cabins • Colors

Oslo

When it comes to exploring cities in Europe, I am a bit reluctant, especially when someone recommends going to the “old town” (I know there would be cobblestoned streets, a church, a town hall and a lot of expensive cafés).

However, Oslo turned out to be a pleasant surprise, a city flooded with modern architecture and music, we explored the area around the Opera House in Oslo for a couple of hours before setting off to our cabin in the countryside.

Norway #1: Friends • Fjords • Fun

I don’t consider myself as a person with a Bucket List, maybe, because I have a broken bucket, so whatever plans I put in there, just leak out and never happen. So as soon as I realized that it’s possible to drive around Norway with an Indian driving license, I planned a road trip with my friends. Although, when we started with the plan, we were 9 people, planning to take a big Mercedes Vito van and drive around Norway. But, by the time of the trip, it was just 5 of us. So we rented a powerful Volvo V70 and sailed on the road trip of a lifetime.

So in 5 days, we traveled a little shy of 3000 kilometers, drove through and explored over a dozen of cities, drove through hundreds of kilometers of tunnels. And saw such a heavenly country that you can never get tired of watching. I won’t bore you with this text, enjoy the pictures.

A “study trip” to VENICE !!

I remember that in my previous blog, my closing sentence was “I won’t go to Venice or Milan unless someone pays for my ticket”. Guess what, we got the chance to visit Venice for a “Study trip”. Currently, I’m attending a summer school in Italy at the University of Trento, which Includes a study trip as well, and luckily, the plant that we were supposed to visit was just 30 minutes away from Venice. I will skip the details of “Study visit” part of the day for obvious reasons.

Venice in Pictures

Venice is a totally unique place, I have been to places deemed as “Venice of the East”, “Venice of the north” and I used to proudly flaunt about those as well, but believe me “Venice is Venice”, irreplaceable. No matter how many times you have seen it in Casino Royale or The Italian Job, the real thing is totally dreamlike. Everyplace where one could imagine a road, lies a canal, with water all around. An island that looks like a fish on the map houses a plethora of colorful houses, cafés, and shops. There are a lot of magnificent churches as well, roaming around directionless in those narrow alleyways is a wondrous feeling in itself.

I’ll stop boring you with text and let the pictures do the talking.

The Longest bus journey of my life (YET)!

Summary of the Journey

40 Hours of Traveling
5 Countries (Sweden – Denmark – Germany – Austria – Italy)
2200 kilometers