2020 Travel Year

2020 is coming to an end and we look back at what we have done this year.

That 2020 has been a special year may be a bit of an obvious statement. But the first year we are not abroad in 20 years is something that can’t pass by without a mention. Due to a change of jobs during the first two months of the year there was no travel, and the rest is history as they say.

But even though we didn’t go abroad we still did some travelling in Norway. Here is a 2 minute summary of our travel year:

Skomakarnibbå

The first small trip didn’t actually happen until May. Not far from home, but a spectacular place nonetheless. Skomakarnibbå in Rogaland is something we can best describe as The Pulpit Rock without tourists.

Fjord cruise to the Pulpit Rock

Speaking of the Pulpit Rock: In June we were visited by the family and took a fjord cruise to the Pulpit Rock. Despite having visited the plateau more times than we can count this was the first time we saw it from below. It is strange how a change in perspective can make a place look so different.

Roadtrip

In the end of July and beginning of August we went on the biggest trip of the year, a Roadtrip from Stavanger to Trøndelag, totalling about 3500 km on the road.

Writings of this adventure is far behind schedule, so much hasn’t been written yet. But more will come in 2021, it’s not like we can magically start to travel again in January just because 2020 is behind us.

Vøringfossen

The first stop on the trip was Vøringfossen, one of Norways most visited natural attractions. A magnificent sight, although a newly constructed bridge over the waterfall certainly makes for questionable aesthetics.

Nearby was also Norway’s very first road tunnel, a very hidden, yet strangely fascinating place to stop by.

Ranastongi

After having read about what is supposed to be Norway’s version of the Grand Canyon and a “hidden gem” we travelled towards Hestebotten, next to the mountain Ranastongi (or Ranastøngji), not too far from Hemsedal. Our “hidden gem” turned out to be rather well known, to such a degree that we struggled to find an available parking spot. Thankfully we arrived a bit late in the day and got the place to ourselves after all. And the view did not disappoint!

Røros

Røros is one of the most interesting mining towns in Norway and has been on our bucket list for quite a while. The town itself is well worth a visit, but the most exciting part was definitively spending the night in a tent in the abandoned mining location known as Christianus Sextus and going underground in Olavsgruven, a huge mine where we even got to explore some off-limits areas (with the approval and accompaniment of a guide).

Harbakhula

The northernmost point on the trip was to a cave named Harbakhula, measuring 40 meters tall and 140 meters deep. This place we got all to ourselves, much due to the weather being miserably wet.

Jotunheimen – Galdhøpiggen

Because of the weather we turned south again, this time to Jotunheimen. Finally we got to summit Galdhøpiggen, the tallest peak in Norway. For a change we actually managed to write about this, the article can be found here.

While we were in Jotunheimen we also visited Klimapark 2469, an exciting set of man-made tunnels in the glacier next to Juvasshytta. We also went to Dumdalen and explored some grottos dug by a river.

Besseggen

Before returning home we made one final stop at Besseggen. As a must visit location in Norway that we still hadn’t seen, it was about time we crossed it off the list. The hike was great, but since we had also hiked Galdhøpiggen the day before it pushed our knees to the limit, totalling more than 2500 meters of elevation up, and just as many going down again. Jørn’s knee therefore decided to call it a day, a problem that lasted for several months. However, after a small hike close to Christmas it now looks like it is back to normal again.

The Flørli Stairs

The Flørli Stairs is among the most well-known attractions in Rogaland. Having lived in the area for the last 7 years it was about time to cross this off our bucket list. Ferries (which is the most common way of arriving at the stairs) were in short, so we decided to hike over the mountains to get there and back again. Safe to say, this was a challenging hike, totalling about 32 km in a single day, including the world’s longest wooden stairs and facing the not so pleasant weather of Western Norway.

Trips from 2019

Not all trips from 2019 were published that year. Due to the pandemic most articles from 2020 are actually of trips from 2019.

The rest of the trips from 2019 can be found in 2019 Travel Year.

See also 2018 Travel Year and 2017 Travel Year.

2020 in numbers

Finally we have gathered some statistics related to our trips in 2020:

0 countries visited (except Norway)
2 flights has been undertaken
More than 3500 km driven on road trips
2 hours has been spent in the air
684 km in the air
20 000 photos taken
Countless good memories!

Next Year

Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic we have not made any major travel plans for next year yet. But we did have some frequent flyer miles expiring and therefore made a last minute decision before they expired to book a flight to Bodø for an extended weekend, so in May that’s where we’re going. Let us know if you have any tips for what to do there!

Finally we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

How has your travel year been? Leave a comment below. 😊

Bilivoka