Hardangervidda: Meeting trolls, stone man and sheep

Solitariness

After two nights in Oslo in a crowded camp site (more than 1,000 camp lots) we feel the urge for tranquillity and nature. Our next destination is the Hardangervidda national park, a perfect spot for fewer people.

Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau in central southern Norway, the largest of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and one of Norway's largest glaciers. This sounds exciting to me, especially when you are on a summer vacation, looking for warm sun, beaches and a cool bath in a lake.

We are starting from Oslo. Our destination is about 300km to drive but we prefer to have a night stop. Once we have left Oslo the streets are getting smaller. Typically there is only one lane for each direction, with limited opportunities to pass or stop, steep inclines and many bumps. Sometimes we feel like riding a horse carriage to Laramie during a cattle drive, and are pretty worried that our wine stock is getting damaged. Arriving at the first stop we are happy not to continue farther on this day. Our average speed is about 40km/h.

Is this the Gotthard?

We are driving for hours through an interesting landscape characterised by barren, treeless moorland interrupted by numerous pools, lakes, rivers and streams. It is a vast land of emptiness with many huts and houses that can be seen from the road. Sometimes only a board with mailboxes indicates that people seem to live somewhere around.

Stylish painted house in Nowhere.

Tourists worsheeping the Troll.

Lucky tourists can catch sight of a mythical native inhabitant: the troll. Internet enthusiasts might get worried now but I can ensure you, the ones in the national park are well trained and tourist approved.

Stone men all over the place.

Another typical habit in Norway is the building of stone men. At one popular viewpoint the whole area in front of the parking lot was covered with small statues. Literally there are no more stones that are not in one of the pyramids or totems.

Other frequently seen residents on the plateau are sheep. Not rounded up like in Switzerland they are freely roaming around, most of the time in groups of 10-20 but also singles or couples. The knowledge of traffic rules is limited as well as common sense. One couple had a lot of fun racing with the cars and nearly run into Ronda. JY as the poet of the day immediately cast it into the refrain of the day:

“Sheep in a hurry, running from a curry.”