Sunset over Snøhetta, Dovrefjell's highest mountain (2286 m). The name literally means Snow Hat, or: the mountain with the hat of snow. By the way, I think he had taken it off for this occasion....
This morning I wanted to go to the viewpoint to see Mount Snøhetta before my service as a summer guide started. Snøhetta is the highest mountain in Dovrefjell and I have seen it many times before AND photographed it from the cycling route, but now I wanted to take a closer look. When I got to the top, however, there was some commotion at the viewpoint. There was a herd of reindeer to be seen! This is the only area in Norway where wild herds of reindeer still live, but they are rarely spotted (in the north you only find domesticated reindeer). I was a bit disappointed, though, that you could barely see them with the naked eye AND I had also forgotten my good camera. Fortunately, a guide was filming on site and you could watch on a screen. Moments later, the herd disappeared and to the surprise of all visitors, musk oxen actually passed by! They too are rarely observed, so this was truly a gift! I managed to photograph them with my phone, but I will never forget my camera again. And for my birthday I'll ask for binoculars!
The reason I am still in Norway is that I have been invited on a press trip, at the end of August. A press trip along a part of the pilgrimage route on the west coast where I have been asked to write a cycling guide for it. Our holiday was over at the end of July, and since I have time doing useful and even necessary things here in Norway, I had decided to stay here until after the press trip and not travel back and forth.
I wrote the previous newsletter while I was in Oppdal for a week. The day I left there, storm 'Hans' had also left by then, but had left a lot of misery behind. I drove the car north to Trondheim, out of the Code Red area and into the beautiful weather.
Trondheim
And then you get to a point where you lose count. As of 2019, I have been to Trondheim a few times every summer. But how many times I don't remember. Ten? Twelve? Either way, I love coming there! Oh yes, and it seems to rain often here. Well... I now had rain for the second time in Trondheim out of all those ten or twelve times, but it was only a few-minute summer shower this time. Does that count?
I spent two nights in Trondheim and had several appointments there. Apart from 'business' appointments, I also visited two Dutch cyclists (they live very close to us in NL) who were stuck in Trondheim. The trains no longer ran and they were forced to take the plane. Fortunately, there was enough room in my car to take some heavy stuff for them.
Photo with box: "The box is waiting for you outside next to the door".
"But this is the centre of Trondheim, they can steel it!"
"But, who steals a box?"
Well, I wouldn’t try it in the Netherlands
Stjørdal
From Trondheim, I drove further north to Stjørdal. That's where Janne, the leader of the pilgrimage centre in Stiklestad, lives. For a new route guide (yes, there are more to come), I had to check a bit of the route. I was able to spend the night at her place, had a lovely evening with her family and was able to go over everything with her in the evening and make some decisions. As icing on the cake, in the evening, at dusk, we saw a moose near the house.
Hjerkinn
And now I have been in Hjerkinn for a week. Together with Ria Warmerdam, we are summer guides for passing pilgrims and other visitors. From 15:00 to 19:00 daily, we sit in Eysteinkirke, which is used as a pilgrim meeting place and information centre of Pilgrim Centre Dovrefjell. We stay a kilometre away, in the 'Besøkssenter Villrein', or Reindeer Visitor Centre. This is also where the pilgrim centre's office is located.
It is a fantastic place in the middle of Dovrefjell. And wherever I am, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, 'my workplace' or a little further in the Eysteinkirke, the view is phenomenal everywhere. Since we don't have to be in church until later in the day, I have time in the morning to do incredibly fun things. For instance, I discovered that walking The Olav Trail is also incredibly fun. There is a section of about 30 kilometres where cyclists have to cross the motorway (mind you, a motorway where sheep also walk). There is no other option and the walking route is definitely not for cycling. For that reason, I have never seen the footpath there either. Until now... Together with Ria and Halldis, we walked parts of that walking route and also fixed it right away. The hiking trail was impassable on that stretch since 'Hans' and hikers had to cross the highway here too. There had been mudslides and the waterfall could no longer be crossed safely. On Tuesday, Halldis went to check and 'fix' the route on the spot and Ria and I went along. Me, being an inexperienced hiker! At least, my experience does not extend beyond the flat Netherlands, and this was different of course. But cool that I thought it was! I might even go and sell the bike!
For those who have by now cycled The St. Olav Ways: you might recognize the waterfall from the E6. A little above the stretch where you see the waterfall coming down, there is a flat section there and that's where the hiking trail crosses. Halldis has now stretched ropes there and placed stepping stones. Ria adjusted the marking there and I took the photos. I thought that was a nice division of labour. I had Halldis check the only knot I laid, because apart from not being a hiker, I'm not a knot-layer.
The spots where the mudslides were are now passable again too, so we cyclists have the highway to ourselves again. Well, apart from a few cars and sheep.
The Eysteinkirke
And this, then, is Ria's and my workplace. We alternate. I am there almost daily this week and Ria next week. By then I will have left for the west coast. It is very quiet at the moment in the church because many pilgrims had to cancel their trip last week because of 'Hans'. However, I am having a great time here. I could do some work on my laptop and what I absolutely love: I can study clarinet here, outside opening hours! And I have to, because I have a concert the first weekend after I get home.
Speaking of home... first the press trip and then home. I feel at home here and would love to stay here. Fortunately, I will soon have lots of fun things to do in the Netherlands and I do miss Remy a little... I hope to be back home by the end of August!
Other photo's
And these are some more pictures of another part of the walking route. This was Wednesday. At the end of the day, Halldis and I (Ria was on duty as guide) even swam!
