ANGELA B. PAN

One of the first things we did when we arrived in Norway was head over to the Fløibanen funicular in Bergen. Luckily our hotel was really close by and it was only a 10 minute walk to the station. I was happy to see that we were able to purchase either one way tickets or round trip tickets. Andrew and I decided to do the one way because neither one of us wanted to hike up the mountain but we thought it would be cool to see the views walking down.

Well, it was stunning to stay the least. It was raining on our way up which wasn’t too bad since we were covered by the tram but once we arrived to the top of Mt Fløyen I didn’t even notice the rain anymore. We spent some time walking around the 180 degree semi circle which provided amazing views of Bergen and the surrounding area.

While we were walking down the mountain, the rain was off and on but mostly on. We stood under some trees hoping that the rain would pass quickly but it didn’t. So we just kept it moving. But during the times when the rain was off, the sunlight would come through the clouds and it would create this gorgeous light on the buildings below us. It was like the whole world was glowing. So if you’re ever in Bergen, I’d highly recommend the Fløibanen funicular. It’s a great ride up and an easy walk down. I just hope it won’t be raining like it was when we went.

Quick tip: While walking down Mt Fløyen, I noticed that any scenic view had a bench right by it. It’s like a little sign saying sit down, relax and enjoy the scenery. But it wasn’t just in Bergen that they had that. It was all over Norway. So if you ever had a doubt you would see something nice, look for a bench!

My camera settings for this image is F5.0 at 1/2000 ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

One of our goals for the trip was to get in a little hiking in while we were in Norway. After our camping adventures in Lake Tahoe, Andrew and I were looking for beautiful scenery but not too strenuous of a hike. Well Ramestreken was half of that. It was one of the best views we saw the entire trip, but the hike was probably one of the hardest I had ever done.

For the most part, our trip was very rainy. It wasn’t consistent rain but it rained everyday. However  the weather gods were in our favor when we woke up on one of the last days of our trip to an amazingly beautiful, sunny morning (it rained in the afternoon). It was meant to be that we planned this hike on one of the best days that we were there because I don’t think it would have been possible to do it in the rain. The whole thing is 550 meters (.35 miles) which doesn’t seem like a long hike at all but it’s straight uphill the entire way! If it were raining it would have been way too muddy and slushy everywhere to even hike up. Some of it was paved, but for the most part you’re walking on tree trunks and dirt. In the image you can see a little piece of the decline. This was when we had already reached the top and we were headed down. This part of the hike had steps which made it a little easier but Andrew isn’t that far ahead of me when I took this image. Seriously, the most vertical hike I’ve ever experienced! We have definietly broken in our hiking shoes this summer.

But the strenuous hike was totally worth the views. I’ll post more about it later but it’s absolutely breathtaking. Highly recommended if you’re willing to test your endurance.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1/1000 ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Driving in Norway was an experience all in itself. Initially everything about it seemed pretty normal to me. They drive on the right side of the road, car works the same as they do in America, etc. No big deal. But actually driving in Norway is super different. First road signs are so hard to see. In the cities, Bergen and Ålesund, they were just little signs on the side of a building. I may be getting older but they are so small that you really had to be the first person at the stoplight to see them. Otherwise, we were just guessing if we were turning on the right street or not.

Second, there aren’t many stop lights but there are so many roundabouts. I guess this is there way of making turns easier but we also noticed that not a lot of people don’t use turn signals at these roundabouts either. I swear at one point there was like 3 in a row within 2 miles of each other.

Third, Norway is a very mountainous country. Well, at least on the west coast. So driving up and down these mountains can be a little difficult, especially when you have hairpin turns like this! I showed this image to my brother and he was saying how there’s a lot of car advertisements who film on this road, but I will have to say that this isn’t the only road that’s like there. The whole country is full of them! This is probably just the easiest to capture on camera. While we were driving into Geiranger it was so foggy I could barely see 10 feet ahead of me. It was an experience that would be hard to forget.

My camera settings for this image is F10 at 1/80th of a second at ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Before leaving Geiranger, Andrew and I decided to go on a 30 minute hike. It wasn’t too far from the cabin where we were staying and an excellent way to get some physical activity in before we got back on the road to our next destination. What started off as just a normal hike along a mountain ended up being one of my favorite memories of the entire trip.

The beginning of the hike started off pretty flat, but that wasn’t going to last long. I could see about half a mile ahead of us, we were about to go up a little hill and turn the corner as soon as we got to the top. So we started our hike with that view just ahead of us. It hadn’t even been 10 minutes into when I saw two ears and a little head pop up from around the corner. OMG was that an alpaca? I turned around to Andrew to see if he saw what I was seeing and he was! Then all of the sudden 2 more heads popped up and I screamed “THERE’S EVEN MORE OF THEM!” I could not contain my excitement. I think in the end there was about 5 or 6 of them. I had my long lens on and captured a few images from a distance but immediately switched to my wide angle. There was no way I was not going to walk closer to them. Can you imagine see a group of alpacas with the Norwegian mountains and fjords as the backdrop? Holy crap my mind was blown.

The rest of the hike was great. More about that later but seriously these alpacas were so cool to see. I’m still smiling ear to ear just thinking about it.

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 1/3200th of a second at ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Have you ever gone on a trip for a week and it seems like you’ve been gone for a month? That’s what I’m feeling now but in the best way possible. I think it feels like we were gone for so long because everyday Andrew and I were in Norway there was something thing new and exciting to do and see. To be honest, I didn’t know much about the country before I left. Now I can’t wait to go back. We only got to see a little portion of the massive country and there’s so much more I need to experience and photograph.

This image was taken on one of our last stops on our road trip around Norway in Ålesund. It was one of our first views of the city and had to immediately pull over. The water was pristine and the reflection was amazing. Andrew and I walked all around this water when we decided we wanted to cross the bridge to see what the view looked like from the other side. I tend to walk slow in general but if I have a camera in my hand, I walk even slower. Andrew, on the hand, walks fast. So it’s not uncommon for him to walk about 10 feet ahead of me whenever we’re going somewhere. I love how it worked out though. The scale of this 6 foot guy compared to this massive mountain makes him look so tiny. Next time I just have to get him to wear a more colorful jacket or something. We both tend to wear dark colors all the time.

My camera settings for this image is F5.0 at 1/4000th of a second at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

PS If you’re interested in learning more about how I planned the road trip, all our stops, and things I would do again, let me know! I think it would be fun to write a guide to share all my experiences. Plus this was one of the best trips ever and I think a lot of people would enjoy it.