[Home] [Norway Index] [Mail me on the road!]
Preikestolen is a big chunk of rock that juts out 600 metres above Lysefjord. To get there involves a one and a half hour hike from the road below. Despite it still being a bit drizzly, it was here that I decided to go today.
I like to leave things to chance, not plan too much. Usually, things work out anyway and this way there is no stress associated with well made plans going wrong. It's also slightly more interesting not knowing exactly what the day has in store. So it was that just after parking my car in Stavanger, I found a ferry leaving for Tau in two minutes' time and jumped on it. I knew I could get a bus from Tau to Preikestolen.
What I didn't know until arriving in Tau and looking at the timetable was that the bus only runs four times a day. I had to wait two hours for a bus and would have almost no time at Preikestolen before having to take the last bus back as early as 16.15. My luck had run out. Knowing when to retreat, I got back on the ferry to Stavanger. I had wasted quite a bit of time and money, but at least if I took my car to Preikestolen I could spend as much time there as possible.
Having regrouped, I headed for the Lauvvik-Oanes ferry, a route which involved more driving but less ferry. I was soon fooled by a confusing roadsign into taking the wrong exit from the motorway. Turning around I discovered yet another toll booth. I am becoming suspicious that the poor signage around toll booths is a deliberate conspiracy.
Route 13 to Lauvikk is narrow, twisty and lined with small, rural villages. There were plenty of photo opportunities, and the landscape was becoming more like I was expecting it to be at Preikestolen.
Well, after two hours and several false summits I have finally made it. It was hard work, but I'm sure you'll agree it was worth it; this is the view I have as I type this:
And this is Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock itself:
I stayed at the top long enough to eat about a kilo of chocolate to recharge my batteries, explore around, take photos in every conceivable direction, and start to feel really cold. It was quite windy up there. I then began my leisurely descent. I stopped to refill my water bottle from some water that was trickling down the rocks. This kind of thing makes one feel rather in touch with nature. The descent was not as tiring as the ascent, but was rather more treachorous on the ankles. I wished I had brought a decent pair of boots.
At the bottom I rewarded myself with an ice cream from the shop, and then headed back to Stavanger.