Norway

One of my favourite adverts from years gone by was for Lurpak butter, where a group of older ladies were sat in their local cafe, served by a much younger Danish woman, and who were reminiscing about what regrets they had as they advanced in age.
One of the ladies turned around to say, "I wish I had more grass stains", much to the gasps, laughter and being named a hussy by her friends, and the phrase and laughter stuck with me ever since.

This adoption was just one of the reasons I decided to go to Norway for my 2 week holiday this year, and which, looking back on that point of decision, makes me wonder how one event or moment in time can have so many ramifications.

I had toyed with ideas of going to Knoydart and wandering in the wilderness there for a few days. I'd also thought about wild camping my way through Dorset in the footsteps of Tess d'Urberville and perhaps writing some sort of walking guide to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the book. I'd thought back to my week back in February with Kim where we'd spent a few fantastic hours in Rothiemurchus Forest and which experience I sought to recreate in part. And for quite some time I'd thought about joining a certain Norwegian friend, Thomas W. Gauperaa, to hike with him in Norway.

I'd become friends with Thomas back in October last year, through Twitter and each others blogs, with a somewhat similar appreciation of the environment and ways of expressing it. It was an interesting prospect to visit Norway and him, and, I rationalised with myself, not that much more in terms of cost and travel time than heading to Fort Bill. When the awful atrocity of Utøya happened on the 22nd July this year, I think my decision was made in some way, confirming to me that life is too short and to just get on with it rather than to ponder and deliberate too much.

Giving Thomas the good news(!) I then pontificated over what route to follow. In fact when I arrived a few weeks later I still didn't have much more of a plan than that I knew I wanted to walk in the forests. I wanted to almost lose myself in the similar environment to Rothiemurchus that the forests of Nordmarka, north of Oslo lend; and I also knew that my fitness wasn't up to much so a major hike in the style of Thomas and Joe wasn't really on the cards. The results of not having something prescriptive allowed one of the most enriching times of my life.

I discovered a part of Norway that I suspect many overlook but which stirred my soul. Areas very much like the hills where I started walking, with twisted dingle dells of stunted woodland or strapping birch trees with mini kingdoms of lichens and mosses and various fungi which were so much more wide spread than in the UK. That remnant of Caledonian Forest in Scotland extends for days worth of walking in Norway, with it's ensuing sense of space and guttural, primeval attraction. And of course the bog, which I became relatively intimate with, on one occasion more than I really wanted to, but which in retrospect lent me faith in my ability to handle 'unfortunate circumstances', and was a learning opportunity about the trails in this great land.

In addition to the natural environment I spent some time in Oslo itself, enjoying a city over looking the harbour with it's boats, the museums, galleries and metro. Many of you will now know that a major draw became Mr G himself, whose surname I still have to work to pronounce (sorry), with whom I shared lots of laughter and a passion for life outdoors. While I came back from Norway, I have definitely left my heart there. This Norwegian adventure has only just begun...