Favorite Quote

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel,
read only one page." St. Augustine of Hippo

Monday, May 28, 2012

Preikestolen

One of the things that Stavanger is known for is Preikestolen also known by the English translations of Preacher's Pulpit or Pulpit Rock, and by the old local name Hyvlatonnå (the carpenter plane's blade) It is a massive cliff 1982 feet above Lysefjorden, opposite the Kjerag plateau, in Forsand, Ryfylke, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 meters (82 by 82 feet) square, almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway. Over 100,000 people will take the 3.8 km (2.4 mi.) hike here each summer, making it one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway.  I have done this hike 4 times, and Ron has done it at least 6.  The last time he did it, he was carrying our almost 2 year old grandson on his back.

Here we are just starting out.



Now we start climbing over rocks.








Now for the easy part .... we walk across this wooden sidewalk across the marsh.




1.5 km down!




We are heading up to the crevice at the top of the two mountains.


More rocks to climb.  The trail is easy to follow.  Just follow the T on the rocks.


I told Ron we needed a picture of him, but I really just needed to rest.



I just LOVE the views!


He decided since we have a picture of him, we needed one of me.


More climbing.


The sign says that you can swim here.


And now the views really start getting good.


We are headed up to the top right corner.


My dad told me that I was not allowed to come up here because it was too dangerous.  I figured since I was over 40 I didn't really have to listen to him.  I had Ron take this picture and afterwards my mom showed it to him.  She said it made him smile.  :) Probably because he knew by then I was already down!



I am actually afraid of heights but I decided when we moved to Europe that I was going to experience as much as I could.  But when it came time to go back down it REALLY got to me.  We saw a sign saying that we could go down via the cliff side or the hill side.  I was SO relieved so we headed for the hill side.  Not realizing that we would have to keep climbing first to get there! There is Preikestolen below us and it is almost empty (this never happens during the summer months!)


And one last view.


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