On mountaineering

I haven't been doing a whole lot of travelling this summer. It's got to do with several things, most notably time (in between the job and the studies, it didn't feel like I could take much time off), and money (no student loans during the summer always makes the budget a little tight, but this time it was worse than usual since I didn't work this spring). Thus it sounded like a great opportunity to get away for a while when my parents suggested that I came with them to visit some relatives of ours in the mountainous areas in the middle of Norway.

These relatives (it's actually my mother's cousin and her husband, but since my mom and her cousin are both only childs, they are more like siblings. So for the purpose of this post I will refer to them as my aunt and uncle) have a cabin up in the mountains. It used to be very simple, but with time they have installed power in the cabin, and these days they even have water (it's still outside the cabin, though directly outside it). However, it remains a simple life up there, and the area definitely offers space to let your mind wander.

I'll be away a few days. I have scheduled posts, but I won't be around to reply to comments or visit other blogs. In the meantime you can enjoy some pictures from my last visit:

This picture makes the weather look more dramatical than it actually was. But I couldn't bring myself to touch it up...

This is what all Norwegian homes look like. Well, no, it's not. This is taken at the "fine dining with authentic feel showroom" of the Norwegian master chef Arne Brimi (who is the closest neighbours of my relative's cabin).

The official name for this flower is Skogstorkenebb (which translates to forest stork beak, tee hee) or Geranium sylvaticum in Latin. In my family, however, it only goes by the name "Midsummer flower" due to a particular family story I might consider sharing someday...

This is water coming directly from the glaciers, so even if this picture was taken during summer, the water was ice cold. Makes it perfect for drinking, though.

That would be my dad and my uncle walking ahead. My uncle's family owns most of this valley.

We had been walking for a couple of hours or so when we reached this place, but we parked where the driveable road ended. Back when this place was a summer farm, they didn't even have cars! I'm guessing that the walk from the village took about a day (at least when they had cows with them).

I think this picture gives an idea how remote this place is. No wonders they believed in trolls!

The old weathered cabin, where my uncle spent all his childhood summers.

This ravine, known as Ridderspranget (The Knight's Leap), has a legend tied to it. According to the story, a young man kidnapped another man's bride and ran away with her. They were pursued until they reached the river Sjoa, where he managed to jump across and escape.

"You talkin' to moo?"

The long stretch of mountain in the middle of this picture is the popular tourist route "Besseggen", which is the closest I've ever been to any actual mountaineering. It's quite the hike, and there are parts of it that requires climbing of sorts, but despite that the title of this post is quite misleading...