They say first impressions last, after meeting the tour group both Emmett and I wanted to run the other way very quickly. The bus was full of young, giggling girls. My favourite type. Being they had started the tour 8 days earlier in Berlin, packs had been formed and we were not sure we'd fit in and if we actually wanted too. Felt a little like being back in high school and I didn't particularly like that the first time around.

Half way through turns out we're in the majority, not the minority and have met some really great people with only a couple we'd still like to push off one of the many cliffs. That said there are still some challenges. The IPod has come In very handy to block out constant inane chatter and singing of Delta Goodrem. I'm not sure when I got old but there is no need for music to be played so loud it feels like your ears are bleeding. We're on a bus, not at a festival people!

The tour itself has been fantastic mostly due to Norway being such an amazing country. We started in Oslo at the Viking museum which houses a couple of huge old Vikings ships they unearthed years ago. Hard to believe the Vikings actually existed but it would appear they did. Otherwise someone has set up a rather elaborate hoax.
The Fram museum is also in Oslo, I actually had no idea what it was. Turns out to be the ship that first reached the south pole carrying a crazy bunch of people with too much time on their hands. Maybe they didn't realise how cold it would be? A cruise around the fjords of Oslo finished our day there nicely.

On the way to our first stop Andalsnes there was a pitstop in Lillehammer. It was here we went bobsledding on the Olympic track. Those people are clearly short a few brain cells, but it was super fun. Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme........

Getting on the bus and heading out of Lillehammer is when I really started appreciating Norway. It is absolutely and constantly breathtaking. One beautiful view leads to another just around the corner and then an even better one around the next bend. Forest covered mountains with lakes, rivers and Fjords breaking through them. Waterfalls are everywhere. Sweet wooden house in reds and yellows with flowers on the window boxes dot the land. Quite the sight.

We stayed at the campsite (eww, but thankfully in cabins) in Andalsnes for 2 night. It's set on a river surrounded by mountains. Just horrible. It was here a little something called the "Viking Olympics" started. Basically a range of challenges set up by our leader to keep us entertained due to the lack of civilization in Northern Norway. The first night was the opening ceremony so we had to dress a team member up for our country ( being Finland we did Santa). Al from Sweden (or New Zealand in real life) downed the better half of a bottle of tequila while the girls on his team dressed him up as a Viking covered in sanitary pads. Fair enough really. What ensued was magic. It ended in him jumping a barrier, falling down an embankment and then into the freezing lake for a swim. God bless tequila. He was more or less fine by the way, just a little blood.

From Andalsnes we took a stunning day trip to Greinger Fjord, a UNESCO world heritage site. To get there we had to make it up Trolls Ladder. This is a long windy road that criss crosses some of the mountains to get you up the top. The 9% incline, 11 hairpin bends and 900 meter elevation at the top make it equal parts terrifying and beautiful. More on the terrifying side when the driver stalls the bus going around bends.

A long drive had us looking down into the spectacular fjord. A couple of cruise ships were in there, they looked like little toy boats dwarfed by the sheer size of the mountains dropping straight into the water.

The cruise along the fjord was stunning. Once again many cascading waterfalls. Remarkably there used to be farms along the Fjords sides. Just by looking at the houses you'd think the folk must have been a little crazy. Then I heard they would tie their children to something when they went outside to ensure they wouldn't fall off the cliff face and my thoughts were confirmed. Unsurprisingly the farms are now all abandoned.

A drive day to Steinkjer took us to Trondheim and its beautiful cathedral. Another stop had us in Hell. With any luck my first and only visit. Once again stunning scenery all round. More evening Olympics lead to further injuries during a piggy back race. It reminded me of the time my brother went flying over his bike handlebars, except this time it was a little Korean girl flying over the top of an Aussie. Don't think they will play that game on an athletic track again.

We have just pushed further north to Korgen, just short of the arctic circle and the temperature reflects it. Getting chilly! Saw some rock carving that are around 6000 years old on the way. Unbelievable. Tomorrow we head to a glacier, my first!