Norway - Roadtrip, Forest & Such - 5

This morning I woke up quite refreshed but Ben hadn't really slept due to the cold. He was exhausted. After breakfast we tried to decide on what to see today. I had my mind set on Galdhøpiggen, the highest peak in Norway. Seeing the actual peak would've required a 2 hour hike and 600m ascent though, and we didn't really think that one was very plausible. We decided on driving along route 55 throught the mountainous area. The route passes by Jotunheim, the nature reserve of Galdhøpiggen, and crosses a plateau area at an altitude of 1300m.

All rivers we saw on the way were glacial water. Our first stop was at  Riddersprånget along the river Sjoa, The knights Leap the spot is called. The story is that a knight had fallen for someone elses bride. She had a liking for him too, so he stole her and they fled to the river where he jumped over a gorge with her in his arms. The other knights were chasing close behind, and he actually pushed one of his own men into the water to show the pursuers what would happen to them if they followed.
Our second stop was at Stuttgongfossen, a 22 m fall. The forest around the area was fabulous too. It was filled with moss-like lichen. There was so much of it that the forest bed was almost white grayish-green.






We drove upriver and after a while we reached a whole lake of glacial water. It was extremely beautiful and looked treacherously much like Mediterranean water. It almost beckoned one to come take a swim, but glacial water is FREEZING!

The route continued up to the plateau area where we ended up inside a cloud. The mist was so thick we had to creep forward carefully because we really couldn't see very much. This slow going kept on for quite a while,

until we began the descent.
Ben was freezing for a long time this day due to the previous chilly night. We decided on not sleeping outside the upcoming night, and instead did a long drive back over the border to Sweden. That night we spent back home.