Bergen #8: Ulriken to Blåmanen over Vidden

While Tromsø was 'enjoying' fresh snow falls and an official snow depth reading of 9 cm, Bergen still had summer weather, albeit a little cooler than the last week. Perfect weather for a relaxed walk on my day off. This time I chose one of Bergen's most popular walks over the Vidden, the mountain plateau east of Bergen. A nice walk with excellent views both towards Bergen and the coast and towards the higher snow covered mountains further east. 

Route

Top of Ulriken, end station of the cablecar.

Higher snow covered mountains in the distance.

Easy track over the Vidden marked by large cairns.

Remains of an old ski jump, Bergensbakken, built in 1930

Ruins of a German anti aircraft gun range on Blåmanen.

One of many old tracks in these mountains.

Fjellhytten, one of many huts in the Bergen city mountains.

Bergen #7: Lyderhorn-Damsgårdfjellet-Løvstakken

Pleasant, albeit rather hot, 3-hill hike on the first warm day in May. All photos are from Lyderhorn; my camera battery was running low and Løvstakken has already featured on my blog more than once.

route

There are a lot of ruins along the main route up to Lyderhorn. The ruins are part of Kvarven fort which was built in 1895 as part of a series of coastal defenses around Bergen.

Skåleviksvannet

View to the northwest from the top of Lyderhorn, with the bridge to Askøy. 

View to the northeast, to Gravdal and Laksevåg, with the centre of Bergen in the distance.

Bergen #6: summer arrived!

I just had to post this - the weather forecast for Bergen for next week!

Japanese garden - Clingendael - The Hague

A brief visit to The Netherlands to celebrate my mother's birthday with her. On one of the days we visited the very colourful Japanese garden in the Clingendael estate in The Hague. Quite a change from snow covered Tromsø! The photos speak for themselves, I think.

Last skiing for the season - Riksgränsen

This was my last weekend in northern Norway before going back to Bergen for another session of counting fission tracks. We were hoping to do some resort skiing in Riksgränsen, just across the border in Sweden, together with a friend from Narvik. Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side and the ski lifts were closed early in the afternoon because of strong winds and poor visibility. The weather did not improve on Sunday either, so we changed to cross country skis for a nice trip through the Abisko valley. It is still full winter here, but the first signs of spring, like flowing water in the river and half white/half brown ptarmigans, are visible.

At the top of the ski lifts in Riksgränsen: for a moment it looked like it would clear up, but this didn't last.

Chris and Tony in the Abisko valley.

Spring is coming, open water in the river.