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I checked out of the Annency Sentrum at eleven. In retrospect I should have taken the slightly longer walk to the youth hostel. This place was comfortable enough, but with none of the advantages of either a hostel (i.e. company) or a hotel (i.e. a private bathroom). I took my bag to the bus station where I found a locker to leave it in, and the set off to look around the town.
My first mission was to climb the steps up the Askla hill, all 418 of them. On the way I walked through the main shopping street again, taking in the architecture there. The steps started in the park, and wound their way up steeply. At the top was indeed a splendid view over the town, and beyond. I had thought about going to the Atlantic Ocean centre, but from here I could see where it was and it was too far to walk and still get back in time for the bus. Instead, after looking at the view and resting after the climb, I went back down the hill and found the Ålesund museum.
This showed the fascinating history of the town, which started off as a small trading town and had its own fish industry, rather like Stavanger. Unfortunately, the whole lot burned down in 1904, hence all the Art Nouveau architecture in the centre. The history of shipping was also shown. My favourite highlight was the egg shaped Fearless lifeboat, that was sailed across the Atlantic by its designer and three crew to prove the concept. On the top floor were recreations of the working places of various proffesions in late 19th century Ålesund, and finally I spotted a radio made in 1940 by the company I work for.
After some lunch I got the bus to Geiranger where I was to meet my friends and retrieve my car. We spent the night in Geiranger, and on the next day drove through Trollstigen, Dåmbas, the South to Lillehammer where we stopped for food, and finally arrived in Oslo in the evening.
All things considered, I've had a pretty good trip. I've seen more of Norway than most people ever will (even some of my colleages in Oslo, no doubt!) I still feel there is more to see. Thanks to what I think was a considerable injustice, I lost the use of my car and didn't have time to reach Tromsø, and missed out on a few places that were only accessible by car.
I think the highlight of my trip was probably the partying in Trondheim, where I met some really cool people at the Inter-Rail centre. Which just goes to show, it's not the countryside you see but the people you meet that counts.