Another warm up hike, and grocery prices in Norway

Our friends Marti and Ryan flew from Texas to Sweden, then rented a car and had a five hour drive to meet us at their Airbnb near the village of Sinnes.

But we were already fairly close to Sinnes, so while they were driving, we decided to go for another hike.

It was only a few kms to get to the trailhead, but there is so much to see here it's difficult not to stop and admire the scenery along the way!

Isn't it gorgeous here in Norway?

Ruth takes all of the photos while we're driving, and of course it's difficult to get level photos without the occasional obstacle in the way. So while the photo above came out almost perfect as it was taken, some shots are not so nice.

For example, this shot is of a very scenic area, but it's not really the best.

Fortunately, we have the technology to fix these things...

The same photo, straightened and cropped!

We decided on the hike up to Havsynsknuten.

Yes, the sign is pointing uphill!

It's only 3.5 kms (2.2 miles) one way, but it's a steep uphill climb, gaining 562 meters (1,850') over that distance.

Ruth, ready to head higher.

I like how the sky in this shot seems to follow the contour of the hills.

Lake in the distance.

Me!

We are headed up there!

Notice the cabin on the right side of the lake.

Zoomed in. We cant figure out how they got the materials up here to build this!

Made it to the top!

Beautiful views.

Ruth, enjoying the views.

Me, at the top.

There is a weatherproof box at the top with a sign in book. There were only about a dozen names up here so far this year.

Heading back down.

Waterfall in the distance.

I almost stepped on this snake.

It is a venomous European Viper.

There are only three different types of snakes in all of Norway, so this one was pretty easy to identify.

While venomous, they are not aggressive.

Almost back to the bottom.

It was a good hike. There are a lot of "average" hikes like this in Norway, but there are several very popular hikes, all with a different reason for being popular. We're doing the first of the popular ones today!

Only a short drive to meet Marti and Ryan at their Airbnb rental, but of course there is always something to stop and see along the way.

Huge boulder.

This bridge doesn't look very big, but there is a very deep narrow canyon below it.

And another view.

Deep gorge.

Looking down.

We drove to the town of Sinnes to do some grocery shopping. We had forgotten that Monday was a national holiday here in Norway, so most shops were closed. In fact, we were surprised to find this one store open. It was a fairly small store, but it had a really good selection.

Norway is well known to be a very expensive country. And we were prepared for the prices to be high, so we weren't that shocked. And yes, they are high... but really not that much higher than Canada. Which maybe gives you an idea of how much grocery prices have increased in Canada. Also, all food prices in Norway include a 15% tax. A few examples...

Eggs are pricey though... a dozen eggs for 48.90 kr ($6.50 CAD, $5.20 USD). 

A loaf of gluten free bread for 41.90 kr ($5.60 CAD, $4.45 USD), which is not bad.

500g of Greek yogurt for 22.90 kr ($3.05 CAD, $2.45 USD) which is not bad.

4 Pack of frozen salmon fillets for 109 kr ($14.50 CAD, $11.50 USD) which is about what we've paid in other European countries.

Apples at 37.90 kr per kilo ($5.05 CAD per kilo, $1.83 USD per pound). Not bad.

500g (just over a pound) of seedless grapes for 25 kr ($3.34 CAD, $2.65 USD).

So, the only thing that was overly expensive was eggs. There was certainly nothing that could be considered "cheap" though. It will be interesting to see what our final grocery bills for June and July come out to.

We met friends Marti and Ryan at the grocery store! They just happened to arrive while we were in there doing our shopping.

Then we drove to their Airbnb. Ruth made us all a nice dinner and we got caught up on things.

This morning, we are up early and we are all taking their car to the trailhead of the famous Kjeragbolten Rock trail. Trying to get there early before the crowds! Unfortunately our streak of nice weather is over, but we'll just do it in the rain!

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Large Digital Kitchen Timer.

And in Canada...

Women's Swimwear.