The Drive
Everything started in Villingen-Schwenningen. From there we headed north through Germany, crossed into Denmark and eventually into Norway — around 1,650 km to reach Oslo. The drive alone was an experience: the landscape shifts gradually from motorway monotony to wide Scandinavian forests and long, open roads with almost no traffic.
Oslo
Oslo surprised me with how compact and modern the city centre feels. The Barcode district along the waterfront — a row of high-rises with distinctive facades — stands in sharp contrast to the older parts of the city. We only spent a day here before pushing west towards the fjords.
Odda & the Industrial Past
From Oslo to Odda is another ~390 km, winding through mountain passes and alongside fjords. Odda itself is a small industrial town that once housed a large zinc smelter. This rusted excavator near the harbour is a remnant of that era — left as a monument to the town’s working-class history. The hills rise sharply behind it, crowded with colourful houses clinging to the slope.
Trolltunga
The whole reason for coming to Odda. The hike to Trolltunga starts at Skjeggedal, climbs roughly 800 m in elevation, and covers about 22 km return. This shot was taken looking back along the trail — the lake below is Ringedalsvatnet, carved into a dramatic glacial cirque with near-vertical walls on three sides. The teal colour of the water comes from glacial sediment still suspended in it.
Wild Camping & Night Sky
Norway’s allemannsretten — the right to camp anywhere in nature — meant we could pitch the tent in the forest well away from any campsite. The darkness far from any city made for exceptional night sky conditions. Both shots show the Milky Way core on a clear night; the second catches the silhouette of the pines against the band of the galaxy. A kind of stillness that is hard to find closer to home.
Total distance: ~4,000 km round trip from Villingen-Schwenningen.