Summer in a hidden paradise

It's been a pretty good summer, so far! There was a particularly sunny week in between, which, somewhat uncharacteristically, I chose to ignore completely :). I guess the few hectic weeks and weekends had begun to catch up a little.

However, I probably more than made up for it last weekend :D. As far as last minute plans go, this was pretty out there, a weekend cycling along Rallarvegen. The fact that trains here are quite cycle friendly, even over long distances, helped no end.

We took the Bergen train to Haugastøl early on Saturday morning, and started working our way west through some of the most spectacular terrain I've ever seen! The weather was perfect, just to top things off :).

We reached Finse, the highest railway station along the Oslo - Bergen train line, just in time for a relaxed lunch next to the lake and the still snow covered mountains. Then it was onwards to Myrdal. Of course, on the way there were more views to gape at :).

With not far to go, we even took a break at a particularly inviting beach at the edge of a lake :). Eventually when we did make it to our stop for the night, it turned out to be quite the perfect place. Not only were the rooms cosy, we'd made it just in time for a very satisfying dinner.

The next morning we weren't in any particular hurry as we set off for the rather famous Flåm. The first couple of kilometres were so steep, we decided it would be much more enjoyable to just walk down with our bikes and enjoy the view :). Soon we were in the valley though, and things got much more reasonable!

Having reached Flåm with a long time to go for our train back, we decided to explore the area up to Aurland along the fjord. Soon it was time to head back on the historic Flåmsbana back to Myrdal and then on the Bergen - Oslo train. It was quite entertaining spotting the many bits we could recognize from our cycle route the day before and that very morning!

There was a little bit of drama with some breaks in the train service and the associated trouble with trying to fit our bicycles on the replacement buses, but eventually we made it back to Asker, rather tired, but thoroughly satisfied with the 100 plus kilometres of cycling :).

Currently: wondering what's next
Listening to: Avicii - Wake me up