Blood moon, super moon, harvest moon, and a total lunar eclipse

Last Sundays full moon was truly spectacular. It was the first time in my life that a super moon coincided with a lunar eclipse - and there won't be another until 2033. That alone would be already enough to get up in the middle of the night! In addition, it was also this years harvest moon, and - and this might be the most amazing point - there were no clouds above Oslo whatsoever. Wow.

På sykkel i Oslo Marka

På sykkel i Oslo Marka - with the bike in the Oslo forest.

Nope, I did not bike with my road bike through the Marka - I bought myself a new mountain bike!! The first mountain bike that I own, and anyways, the first proper bike at all (ok, since my childhood... .). It's new, nothing is broken, the breaks work, the gears work, it's light, it's stable, its a lot of fun!!

I tested my skills during a couple of trips through the Oslo forest. The forest surrounding Oslo, called "Marka", is the perfect area for bike riding. From easy gravel roads, to steep rocky climbs, or wet mud paths - there is everything in the Marka. Even decent downhill tracks. But so far I just crossed them accidentally... . Unfortunately, I feel like a terrible beginner on such tracks. I thought I learned biking as a kid. But I learned it on a road, and that's a different kind of biking. Biking on uneven paths requires a lot more balance, technique, and also a good portion of strength (not so much in the legs, but in the back!). Not to forget, it also requires some courage - as the trails that a mountain bike wants to travel are rarely flat. :)

First picture of the brand-new bike.	Coffee and waffle stop in the Marka.	The trees start to turn yellow.. .
Idyllic lake in the Marka.	Coffee and boller.	Proud of the bike!

After testing the bike on some shorter trips, we decided to explore the Oslo Marka somewhat further. On a nice sunny autumn Sunday, we did a very Norwegian trip - cycling deep into the Normarka to a hut where they serve food and drinks, and enjoying coffee and boller in the sun :) In total we cycled 70 km on that day - and I could feel every single muscle afterwards!! But I assume, it was a good training :)

Last warming sun rays.

Practicing to jump!

View of a colored Oslo.

I am really enjoying that bike, and I am already looking forward to the next tour!

Himmelstigen til Trolltunga - up the Troll's tongue

Tataaatataaa... yr.no, the preferred Norwegian weather forecast, promised two days of good weather for Odda. Can it be trusted? Who knows... it might just change within the next hour again... . But whatever. Hiking boots, climbing gear, bread & cheese, torch, sunglasses and rain jacket, and a fistful of faith, all goes into the car, and off we went to Odda and towards the famous Trolltunga - the Troll's tongue. Trolltunga is one of the major tourist attractions in Norway, just like Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten, it is an exposed rock high above the fjord. Or well - while the other two are above the Lysefjord, Trolltunga is actually above a lake, the Ringedalsvatnet. But on pictures it just looks the same :)

Trolltunga is certainly the most demanding of the three hikes, as the shortest way is a 22 km roundtrip with 900 m ascent. To make it even more spectacular, we chose to reach it by climbing up "Himmelstigen", a via ferrata (Klettersteig) underneath the tongue. It can be reached after a 7 km walk along the lake and a steep ascent following the dried out river Tysso up to Tyssestrengene. Then, the last 200 meters up to the mountain plateau is spiked with metal ladders and a thin wire for belaying with a via ferrata kit.

After reaching the plateau, it was very easy to find the way to Trolltunga. We just had to follow the busy trail of other tourists and hikers. I clearly did not expect so many people up here. Wow. But I could see why they all made this long trip up there on this day. The perfect weather multiplied the spectacular view of and from the Trolltunga. The deep blue lake mirrored the sky, the white clouds seemed to detach from the snow capped mountains and the Folgefonna glacier on the other side, and flowers were blossoming in the sun. 

For a while we just enjoyed the great view and watched others doing heart-stopping stunts on the tongue. People were running, jumping, lying, or just walking and sitting on the tongue - but everything looked reckless and crazy. When it was our turn to venture out on the rock, I realized how easy it actually was. Without fear, we just did the same daring stunts - lying and sitting on the edge, jumping, and even a backward roll. The rock is huge, a bit tilted, and it's not going as far down as from Kjeragbolten or Preikestolen. A nice test of courage. :)

For our way back, we choose the normal hiking track, had some funny conversations with Japanese tourists, and even more beautiful and spectacular views of the mountain landscape surrounding us.

Back down in the valley, we spend the night at the beautiful camping in Odda, happy about being able to warm up under a hot shower in the evening. During our return to Oslo, we had a short stopover at the Haukeli mountains to do another hike in the same area. But the weather had changed - after just over an hour walk, cold wind and rain was chasing us off the mountain, back to the safe car, and back to Oslo.