Besseggen

This was my first time in Norway, a country I’d always wanted to visit but somehow kept postponing because of how expensive it’s known to be. This time, I had the perk of dating a Norwegian woman whose family lives in Oslo, and the summer felt like the right moment to finally go and meet them.

It was during the pandemic, but travelling to Norway was somehow still possible. Things felt much more relaxed there than in Germany. Nobody was wearing a mask, which felt genuinely strange after months of Berlin life.

During the week, we headed to Besseggen, a beautiful and well-known spot about a 4 to 4.5 hour drive from Oslo. It’s one of Norway’s classic ridge hikes, usually done in a day between Gjendesheim and Memurubu. The trail follows a narrow ridge with Lake Gjende on one side, famous for its almost unreal turquoise-green colour, and a darker blue lake on the other. The contrast between the two is hard to forget, and the views are breathtaking from start to finish. It was clearly a popular place, as we were surrounded by other hikers the entire time, but that didn’t take away any of the pleasure of being there.

It was only a couple of days in the region, but it was enough to spark a strong desire to come back and discover the rest of the country, and particularly to head further north.