Axe throwing, is that a thing? I asked a traveller what cool things I could do in Toronto. Try axe throwing, she said. Believe me, it was as awesome as you think.
We came to BATL Axe throwing as a group of 4 on saturday, and the staff was very nice and helpful. First they showed us the best way to do it, and after some practise, it was time for a match!
I was so proud the first time I hit the inner circle! The inner viking in me came out. Now you can join the league, the instructor said with a smile. Cause they actually have a league in axe throwing!
Where and how
If you want to try axe throwing in Toronto, go to the website to BATL axe throwing. Here you can book a group event or see when you can do a walk-in session.
Pictures from Trolltunga in Norway has gone viral the last years, and people are coming from the whole world to do this 10 hour hike and stand on this “tongue” of stone. But why walk up when you can climb up?
Instead of doing the normal hike up, I wanted to climb. It couldnt be more fun than that!
Himmelstigen to Trolltunga
The tour that I booked was “Himmelstigen to Trolltunga” with Trolltunga Active. We began at 9 am in the morning and were back 11 hours later. The trip began with 7 km cycling before we hiked on stones for a while, and had a lunch next to a river. Totally alone in this wonderful nature.
Here was the place we had lunch. Nice right? After some lunch, it was finally time for the climbing. This was what I was waiting for! When I know I’m secured, the height is nothing to fear anymore. I lean back to take pictures and just have so much fun being on a place that actually would be scary.
I didn’t felt the height that much when I was going up, but on my way down I have to say that I felt the butterflies in my stomach 😉 So I was very happy about going down the same way as we got up!
Take 2 minutes to look at a short video I made from the trip!
Nice to know about Trolltunga
When to visit Trolltunga?
If you want to do the climbing up, you have to do it between June and October. If you want to do the hike on skis or snowshoes, Trolltunga Active arrange hike for that between March and May.
How long time does it take?
Between 8 – 12 hours.
How?
If you have climbing experience and have done some before, you and your group can rent equipment where you begin the hike. If you want to join a group like I did, you can book the tour at website to Trolltunga Active. You can also walk up the normal way without guide.
What to bring?
-Normal hiking shoes and clothes. Be sure you bring enough clothes, cause you can get a bit cold when climbing.
– Food & something to drink. You can refill water from the river where you have lunch.
– Camera or cellphone just for the memories.
Were to sleep near by
Trolltunga is not far away from Odda in Norway, so you can sleep anywhere there. The most popular places to stay for people that are going to Trolltunga is Trolltunga Guesthouse, Trolltunga Hotel and Odda camping. You can jump on a bus in the morning to get to Trolltunga starting point, and one to get back. Be sure to ask about when they are going.
Walk up 900 stairs and you can enjoy this beautiful view over Bergen city. Some people hate this hike, and some people walk it every day as a workout.
The fastest man can run up here in 8 minutes, but if you want to enjoy it a little bit more, estimate to walk up in around 18-30 minutes.
How to get there
Whenever you’re in Bergen, you can walk this hike from the city center. Put in the adress Fjellveien 15 on your map, and you will come right to the starting point.
Different routes down
There is different routes you can walk down, depends on how long hike you want.
(The best one for tourists) Walk further and take to the right in the junction. Walk next to the lake and hold to the right when you are coming to an another junction. Follow the main path all the way to Fløyen. This is maybe the best route as a tourist in Bergen, cause you will see 2 known places in the same hike and also meet the trolls at Fløyen. From Fløyen you can look at the view over Bergen from a different angle, take a picure with a troll (like all the other tourists), and then walk an easy path down.
An another option is to take to the right in the junction as the last one, but take off the biggest path when you’re coming to a sign with “Skredderdalen” and walk down a smaller path. You will come down to the city center with Fløyen.
You can also walk down the stairs the same way you came up. This is the fastest way down, but you will meet a lot of people on their way up and its not the nicest hike down either.
If you have walked the other routes before, and want to discover a new one, go to the left in the junction with the lake. This is a nice road down, but you will come down farther away from the city center.
Walk up around sunset to see the sun go down in the see between the islands.
Its not weird that people think Norwegians are vikings when I show them these pictures from the middle of the summer. This is a place to visit if you want to do hiking in Norway.
Its was in the end of July last year, when me and mom decided to hike the highest mountain in Norway, called Galdhøpiggen. We were looking at the weather forecast and saw that the best day to hike, was the day after. That night, me and my mom drove 5hours from Bergen toJuvasshytta that is next tothe mountain. We arrived at 9 am, and one hour later, we were joining a guided group. The weather was nice and we were ready for a long hike!
The hike wasdivided into 3parts;the firstpart was quite easy and flat. The second part was over a glacier, and the third partwas quite steep up rocks and snow to the top.
For the safety, everyone had to be connected when we walked over the glacier. Sometimes the glacier moves and you can fall down many meters.
Soon on the top!
The hike was in total 6-7 hours fromJuvasshyttatoGaldhøpiggenand down.It was notas hardas I thought,and even7 year old childrenwere with us. If you’re used to hiking, you have nothingto fear if you want to take the same trip. Don’t go on this trip if you’ve never been on a mountain before. But otherwise; It wasa lovelytripthat I would recommend to everyone!
Me and my mom on the top of Galdhøpiggen
Good to know
When can I do this hike?
From 28 of May – 25 of September
Do I need a guided tour?
If you’re not are a big group that knows what to do if one of you falls through the glacier, YES, you need a guided tour for your own safety.
What’s the price?
Adult 250 NOK. Children 150 NOK. This price is for the guided tour up to the mountain. If you want to sleep in the cabin, that cost extra.
What should I wear and bring?
The weather can change very quickly, so bring warm clothes! Even when its the middle of the summer.
– Good mountain shoes (its possible to rent that on Juvashytta)
– Gaiters (if you’re in early June/July)
– Wool
– Mountain pants
– Waterproof jacket
– Sunglasses & sunscreen
– A warm hat and mittens
– Food and water. Something hot to drink is nice to.
Where can I sleep?
You can sleep at Juvashytta where the hike starts. You can also buy the ticket for the guided tour there.
Tlf:
E-mail: [email protected]
5 small cities so close that you can hike between them in just a few hours. On our way, we passed wine yards, forest and a small village. It was a beautiful hike up in the mountain!
Looking down on Cornelia
Cinque Terre have 5 small cities; Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. The most popular hike is The blue path on the coastline. If you rather want to go up in the mountain, you can choose between all of the red paths on the picture below. If you just want to walk on the red paths, its free, but the blue path require a hiking pass that you can buy in the of the cites. You can get this map and information in every city.
Hiking map of Cinque Terre
My travel buddy and I decided to walk the red path between Manarola and Corniglia, up in the mountains. It was a very hot day, so it was nice to hike in just a shorts, sports bra and sandals. I was thinking about using high heels, but the sign in the map was showing that I wasn’t allowed to do that. Haha. Im just kidding. Who does that?
ManarolaOn my way from Manarola to Cornelia
On our hike, we passed so many grape trees, olive trees, blackberries and even a fig tree. I had to taste them all.
Looking down on Cornelia
Its very easy to take the train to the other cities, so we discovered a lot in just 2 days. All of the cities are quite small, and its very many tourist there compared to the size. But the streets are charming, the food is good, you have the opportunity to hike and to be on the beach, so Im very glad we visited this place.
Monterosso al Mare was my favorite of the 5 cities. The beach was overcrowded and some of the parts was even private, but it was still nice to just chill out in this city and walk around after some days in Rome.
Monterosso Al MareMonterosso Al Mare
It was also a beach in Vernazza. But that was mainly stones. To find the beach, we just walked into a hole in the mountain as you see on the picture below, and suddenly, we were at the beach!
VernazzaVernazza
If you like to be in the ocean, Riomaggiore offer dives and places to do snorkeling. Unfortunately, the diving center was full booked when we asked, so it can be a good idea to ask them som days in advance or on your first day in Cinque Terre.
Surf into the sunset, surrounded by green palms and a beautiful beach. Drive a scooter to a hidden beach, take a mask and snorkle on to discover the biggest aquarium in the world with colorful fish and coral reefs. Weligama is a place that is touristy enough to rent surfboards at the beach, but where its still more locals than tourists.
SURFING
Weligama has places to surf for both beginners and the ones that are a bit more experienced. If you’re a beginner, go to the beach in Weligama where you can rent surfboards and get lessons if you want that. If you’re a bit more experienced you can try to surf with the coral reef some km away called Gurubebila. The waves are bigger and its fewer people there.
The sun is very strong, so try to surf early in the morning and late in the evening. If you live near a rooster, you will probably wake up around 6-7 o’clock anyway, so then you have a nice chance to surf before breakfast!
SNORKELING The first day I was snorkeling here, I was totally amazed and I didn’t wanted to go back to the beach. I was out snorkeling for so long time that I got sunburned on my back, even with sunscreen 50. It’s was a whole new world that I wanted to see more of.
The place I was snorkeling was with a beach close to the “Devil’s Island” that you see in the background. It was just us and 2 other people at the beach. Its a bit away from Weligama, on the way to Galle, but you can reach it by tuktuk or scoother in around 15 min.
There is a rumor that says it’s a tunnel under the island, where you can swim. Unfortunately, it was to much waves the days I was there to find this tunnel. The best way to swim out to the island is to swim to the stones in water in front of the island, then go over to the left side and swim closer to the island.
SLEEP
The best place to sleep depends on where you want to surf. If you are a beginner, try to find a place near the beach in Weligama.
Have you surfed much before, I will recommend to stay near Gurubebila. Its a lot of homestays there, where you are paying for a room in their house, so just walk in the neighborhood and look for signs “Room for rent” and ask the locals. They are very kind and helpful. Not everybody speak english, but there is always at least one in the family that will understand you. If not, use google translate.
SAFETY & BEHAVIOUR
Even in the taxi from the airport before I reached Weligama, I got a proposal. It’s probably because of my white skin and blue eyes, but Ive heard from many others that the boys in Sri Lanka can be a bit to much some times to. I was travelling on my own, but they were never doing anything else to me than talking and starring. Most of the people are in general nice and helpful.
Walk along the beach and be fascinated by how they fish in Sri Lanka
BARGAIN
But the tuk tuk-drivers and salesmen always wants to get as much money as they can from you, so you always have to bargain. Ask the locals what they normally pay, and always try to get the same price. If you dont get the price that you want, ask someone else. The locals normally pay between 50 and 100 Sri Lankan rupies per kilometer with tuktuk.
ENGLISH SPEAKING
When the locals didn’t understand what I was saying in english, I just used Google translate on my phone to translate it to their language. Worked well every time!
The active and adventurous way of living and travelling. New post every sunday! Blog by Veronika Stuksrud
