Life of Wry

Through the wonders of algorithms, having lingered on a photo of Norway the other day, I am getting a borage of Norway porn in my FB reels… that is: eye-popping photos of stunning Norway, a good number of which are from places we visited on our 2015 trip to visit Leslie and Svein.

Here are two from a site called Spectacular Norway (not an exaggeration), of probably Norway’s most famous tourist spot, Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), high above the Lysefjord (just 45 minutes from Leslie and Svein’s house):

Preikestolen is that massive square section of granite jutting out from the side of the mountain. In the picture on the right you get a bit of context for that structure. The cliff is sheer and rises 2000′ above the water.

So, one hikes up there (5 miles roundtrip from the parking lot and about 1100′ of elevation gain) and is rewarded with one of the world’s most exposed platforms from which to take in one of the world’s most breathtaking views.

It’s not a solitary experience… there are LOTS of folks who do this. But very, very worth it.

Here are a couple of shots from our visit:

We climbed up above the rock to get a look down on it (see? lots of folks that day):

And here are Jim, Peter and me dangling our legs over the edge, all happy (Peter’s 17 here):

Peter’s the guy in the white t-shirt and shorts, hands in pockets, standing inland of the edge (whew):

Anyway… Norway. Land of granite and amazing hikes. I hope we’ll notch a few more kilometers this summer. Planning a Scandinavian trip as we speak to celebrate 50 years since I did a year of college in Sweden!