One would think that, given all the amazing imagery and stories out there, I would have found my way to Norway earlier. We were debating making the trip last year, but with the Mont Blanc climb, there just wasn’t enough time. You hear it often described as a mix between Scotland and New Zealand which makes it hard not to fly in with high expectations. But guess what, it really is that incredible!

Renting a car, we spent two weeks and 3,816km driving up and down this vast country (really, it’s huge!). Yet it feels we’ve barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and do. Rather than a typical post with lots of detail, I’ll leave the photos to do most of the talking. And there’s quite a bunch, it was hard for me to even get them down to 48…

But trust me, you should start planning your next trip 🙂

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Just your average view in Norway…

 
I’ll just leave this here.

 
The closest we came to seeing a moose, sadly. Though this 10m (~32 feet) tall silver statue is certainly a sight to see. Well played, Norway, well played.

 
As we quickly found out, July’s the month where locals just disappear, probably to go into hiding from all the tourists. But kids (I assume?) certainly took the opportunity to wish everyone a great summer 🙂

 
Just a remote little village in the middle of nowhere, northern Norway. Notice the attention to detail with the double chimney serving as letters. Nice.

 
They do love their red paint.

 
A great little pit stop.

 
I suppose you have to show some engineering ingenuity with all those fjords and islands.

 
Ferry crossings are the norm in certain fjord-heavy areas. Surprisingly quick and efficient, I must say.

 
We crossed the Arctic Circle! I was very surprised that this was the farthest I’d been from the equator, including my trip to Antarctica.

 
Fields of gold.

 
A glacier casually coming down the mountain.

 
Just look at that view… stunning!

 
A tucked away little house on a lake without road access, quite neat.

 
One of the most serene hotel locations you can find. We didn’t stay there (I emailed them 2 months in advance and I could almost hear their condescending laughter when they emailed me back saying they’re taking bookings 8-12 months ahead), but took the opportunity to explore the grounds. For which we got grief, but that’s a whole other story 🙂

 
You will see ominous clouds as a running motif throughout these photos.

 
Looks like a turtle!

 
Drying fish heads… because, why not?

 
Silver lining after a storm.

 
What a poser. That’s some yoga mastery right there.

 
As picturesque as it gets.

 
Yummy 😉

 
We spent the night in one of these cottages on Lofoten islands… not bad, not bad at all.

 
Given how far north we are, sunsets lasted hours.

 
Yep, that’s past 11pm and it was still light outside. That day the sunset was at 12.45am and the sunrise at 1am… crazy.

 
Could have fooled you that this was the Caribbean somewhere.

 
Lofoten islands in all their might and glory. Easily a top 5 spot I’ve been to. We got really lucky with the weather, too.

 
Despite the many tourists at this time of year (and yes, I am fully aware we’re also part of that throng of annoying invaders), you can still find plenty of places with some solitude.

 
Sunset over Lofoten islands on the way back to the mainland. Lasted for ~2 hours 😀

 
Plenty of those to go around.

 
We sat here for a good 30 mins just taking it all in.

 
V for Vendetta.

 
I know it’s probably hard to tell, but the light was streaming into the valley almost parallel to the ground, as if someone had opened the floodgates at the end. Best part? It was like this for close to an hour.

 
Postcard material. A very Instagrammable location, I have a photo with 20+ people on that rock…

 
Reflections.

 
For some reason, no one ate the berries! Not that we’re complaining, more to go around for us 🙂

 
A typical Norway medieval stave church. Look them up, quite interesting. I liked this all black version.

 
A random house in a middle of a remote pass somewhere in Northern-ish Norway…

 
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I think you get the idea, the place is spectacular. But what’s even more amazing is how nicely it lends itself to black & white imagery, especially when stormy clouds are around. The remaining images are hopefully a testament to that.

Not a bad spot for grabbing a bite.

 
Angles.

 
Off the beaten path, minutes before the rain started coming down.

 
Norway in one image. Perhaps my favorite of the trip.

 
I love the mountain lurking in the background. That in front of it is a bird, btw, which I think only adds to the image.

 
Nature at its finest.

 
This works on many levels.

 
Despite the enormity of the valley, the images gives off a “closed in” vibe with the clouds pressing down.

 
Textures.

 
The journey never ends.

 
So, looking at tickets already? 🙂