Honeymoon for the Wanderlust Adventurer | Norway

May 16, 2016

Okay…so, I know that a lot of folks choose to go somewhere tropical, romantic, and relaxing for their honeymoon…BUT…for those that crave travel and adventure, might I suggest Norway??

Not only is Norway absolutely beautiful! The people and culture is just amazing and down to earth goodness. A few years back, my husband and I decided to go on one last big trip before we settled down to start a family….because being married 6 years still didn’t seem like enough time together before kids, lol. To be fair, we did also go to Sweden, and it was lovely as well, but man…Norway!!!

TIP: work out..not a lot, but be in shape

Our biggest mistake was looking at beautiful images from Norway, saying we want to do that, and then having no plan whatsoever or any idea of what was ahead of us. My initial thought when we landed in Norway was…we’ll drive to these locations, follow the signs to the scenic overlook and voila! um…no. 

I was wrong. 

If you want the beauty and adventure, you are going to have to work for it! (I didn’t know this). We drove all day to get to our first “site seeing” location. We arrived in the late afternoon and the place was pretty empty. Looking around, I thought to myself…where is the lookout point?? So, we went in to the information booth and asked. Our first trip was the steep Preikestolen cliff. aka…Pulpit Rock. The attendant politely informs us of the starting point and that it would take approximately 3-4 hours round trip. (my jaw dropped) I was NOT expecting to be hiking this far and this long. Boy was I in for a shock. Of course, panic, disbelief, and denial set in. We finally decided we had to do this. A full bag of gear and bottles of water…we both started. When we arrived, most of the rock was cleared of tourists and hikers as it was a dreary day and had started to rain. It was wonderful because it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! So worth it!

When we got back from our little hike, I researched to other two places we wanted to visit, only to learn that this hike was the shortest and easiest of them all. LOL!!!

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Isn’t Norway beautiful?!?! I swear I could have stopped every two feet and taken a picture. The scenery was breathtaking. And we even went in the off-season, so I can’t imagine just how stunning it is when the sun is shinning and the mountains have beautiful white caps and there is lush greenness everywhere. 

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Our second hike was to Kjeragbolten. A rock that is wedged in the mountains that is suspended over 3,200 feet above water. That’s THREE Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each other and then some!! Insane. This hike was so challenging, that they bolted chains onto the huge boulders you had to climb in order to make your way to this location. A few slips and falls and many many complaints later (my husband is a saint)…we made it. And I was happy it was foggy and I couldn’t see the deep abyss thousands of feet below me, because if I had seen it, I probably would have chickened out and not climbed onto the rock! This one was a 6 hour round trip for us.

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My favorite and least favorite hike. Trolltunga!

This 9+ hour hike was brutal! It rained, it sleeted, it snowed! I complained and complained and complained. I complained before we got there, when we got there, and all the way during the hike. LOL. I’m surprised my husband didn’t accidentally knock me off the ledge when we finally made it. haha

This was such a challenging hike both physically and mentally. First, it was very steep and very long. Secondly, as we continued, the weather got worse and worse and worse. The winds picked up and it was bitterly cold. Twice…twice it happened that we ran into other groups that had given up and turned back around. At one point, I was very very much considering the same. (glad I didn’t)

When we were getting close, I got so excited I started running a little. (not a good idea on rocks and muddy landscape). The weather suddenly calmed and the sun peeked out. It was like the clouds had parted just for that brief time to show me that my efforts was worth it. And it was. We arrived and there was not a soul around! It was so amazing to have this beautiful place all to ourselves. (for a short amount of time). Luckily, a lone hiker reached it and he graciously took our photo. If I could look out every day and see this view…ahhh…it would be so amazing. 

9 and a half hours later, sweat and tears, complaints and blisters….we finished our final hike and it was the best experience and my favorite one. (hindsight, right?)

You can check out my full Trip Advisor Review Here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1096319-d3522548-r182863671-Trolltunga-Odda_Hardanger_Hordaland_Western_Norway.html#REVIEWS

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And lastly…my favorite photo from the entire trip. We rushed down the most haunting and scary road known to man. I swear…this was the steepest, most narrow and most windy road down a mountain ever and I was white knuckled the entire time fearful that we’d fall off the cliff at any moment. But we made it all the way to the bottom just in time for the sun to kiss the mountains goodnight. This was taken at the east end of Lysefjorden. I can look at this photo every day and it would bring a smile to my face! For all my lovelies that meet with me in my home for consultations, you get to see this beauty hanging on my wall. 

I know this was a rather long post but my point remains the same. IF you love to travel and have that wanderlust itch and still haven’t picked a honeymoon destination. THIS is it. You must do Norway! Don’t forget to thank me with your favorite image when you return:)

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