Norway 2025: A Midnight Sun Adventure

Over the course of two unforgettable weeks, we traded bustling cities for breathtaking natural landscapes—soaring fjords, ancient wooden churches, and the glowing magic of the midnight sun. From Bergen’s historic streets to the snowy peaks of Skåla, every day brought a new adventure.

Day One: Getting to Bergen

We landed in Bergen at 2:10 PM after an overnight flight. A short train ride and a brief walk brought us to our hotel. After unpacking, we set out to explore the city with no fixed plan, wandering the harbor and browsing shops. We stumbled across Rosenkrantz Tower, a castle built in the 1300s, with narrow twisty stone staircases and dark halls.

Dinner didn’t go as planned for Taryne. We went to a michelin recommended restaurant, but the only option they had that was vegetarian was a tomato for the first course and ratatouille for the second course. Taryne decided to leave and went to an Ethiopian place while the rest of us stayed to enjoy the fancy meal. Taryne made friends over dinner and we reunited at a bar to some apres beverages. Even at 1 AM, the sky was still glowing—our first look at Norway’s surreal midnight sun.

Day Two: Views and the Open Road

After a slow start and some pastries from Godt Brød, we took the Floibanen funicular to a scenic viewpoint over Bergen. We hiked down through quiet forests and peaceful lookout spots. The trail back has some gorgeous views as well as magical looking mossy forests.

Later, we picked up our camper van, loaded up on groceries, and hit the road toward Gudvangen. With waterfalls and steep cliffs lining the drive, the views were spectacular. We arrived at our lakeside campground by evening for a two-night stay.

Day Three: Rainy Fjord Day

A steady rain didn’t stop our plans. We drove to Flåm and joined a two-hour boat tour through Aurlandsfjord. The deep green water and misty cliffs created a magical atmosphere.

We continued with a bus ride to Voss and took photos from a foggy overlook. A train ride through rain-soaked valleys brought us to Myrdal, where we boarded the famous Flåm Railway, the most beautiful rail in Europe. Or so we had read, the fog blocked msot of the views! After visiting a local viking brewery, we returned to camp for a cozy meal.

Day Four: Old Churches and Ice

From Gudvangen, we headed to Borgund to see one of Norway’s oldest stave churches, built over 840 years ago. It looked like something from a fantasy novel. 80-90% of the wood was original.

Afterward, we took a ferry and hiked to a high fjord viewpoint. Later that day, we stopped at the Bøyabreen glacier (the amount it has receded since 1997 is astounding) before reaching our next campground near Jølster.

Day Five: On the Glacier

While wandering the campground the previous night, Taryne found a flyer with a WhatsApp number offering Glacier tours. They initially didn’t ahve availability for the next day, but lucky for us as we later found out, another group cancelled so off we went. We joined the guided glacier hike, geared up with helmets, crampons, and ropes. For over three hours, we learned to walk on ice, climbed frozen walls, and worked as a rope team. When we got to the taller parts, we untied ourselves and practiced climbing up and down steep ice walls using different techniques.

Back at camp, we rewarded ourselves with a sauna and a brave plunge into the refreshing lake.

Day Six: Chasing Waterfalls

We started the day with laundry and reading. Later, we drove toward Olden and Loenand the Jostedalbreen Nasjonalparksenter. After driving by and seeing a huge cruise ship, we decided it would be best to see what was closer to the national park centre instead. With the help of an employee, we found a nearby hike that was short up to a waterfall overlooking the lake. Before starting, we stopped at a cute little tea shop in Hjelle then embarked on our hike.

After the hike, we found a sandy beach campground to relax at for the night.

Day Seven Hiking Skåla

Today we attempted to tackle the hike up Skåla, Norway’s tallest coastal mountain. The trail was a nice constant grade up and after 5.5km we reached an alpine lake at a 1,100 meters elevation. This was only two thirds of the way up and the girls where happy with how far we had gone so JJ and Andrew hoped over to the Vesleskåla peak (small Skåla) at 1238m for a selfie before returning to hike back down together.

Off to to Geiranger. We crossed a stunning mountain pass that is closed in winter and enjoyed the snowy mountain views on the way and then drove down steep switchbacks to get to Geiranger. Unfortunately, the site we wanted was full, so we backtracked up the mountain about 15 mins to a different site. We made some dinner and called it a night.

Day Eight: Exploring Geiranger

We spent the morning visiting shops and sampling handmade chocolates in Geiranger. With cloudy weather making the ferry less appealing, we began heading south toward Hardangerfjord, stopping at viewpoints along the way.

Day Nine: Museum Day

In Fjærland, we visited the Glacier Museum and watched an IMAX-style film about glaciers. The museum also had an exhibit about Ötzi the iceman, my great uncle was actually a guide who helped discover the remains. Then we continued through Jølster to Vikøyri, made dinner. Andrew and I went for an after dinner walk to look at the Stave Church in the region - Hopperstad (it was closed).

Day Ten: Fast Boats in Odda

We had another driving day - From Vik to Odda. In Odda, we joined a fast RIB boat tour, skimming over fjord waters. Normally a wild ride with waves and foam, we were met with perfectly still water and clear blue skies! Unable to cool off on the boat, we went for a swim at our campsite in the saltwater Fjord. That evening, we attended a campground info session to learn more about Trolltunga, our next big hike.

Day Eleven: Trolltunga Trek

The guys had an earlier start and left the campground by shuttle bus to get to the Trolltunga hike starting spot. They wanted a longer, tougher hike - an additional 3km with a 500m altitude gain. Missy and I decided to start at the beginning of our tours hike, where Andrew and JJ met us. It was another beautiful sunny day which is fortunate for this climb as there are lots of rocky areas and one pretty steep part. The views were stunning, and we thoroughly enjoyed stopping to see them. We hiked about 8km before we got to our domes where we had a bit of a break with some snacks. We timed it to try to miss the lines at the lookout from the day hikers. We headed over to do the final 2km to Trolltunga and found it with few people and perfect views. We spent about an hour there taking pictures and just enjoying being there. We then hiked back to the domes where dinner was ready for us. It was very delicious, and then we chatted a bit before bed. It was extremely windy and bright for all but a couple of hours during the night, so I was happy to use my toque as a sleep mask (Andrew used his sweater).

Day Twelve: Trolltunga Trek

We woke up to clouds, coffee, and breakfast (oatmeal and toast) and enjoyed the view a bit more before heading back. We only had 8 km to hike back given the glamping site was still a walk from the Trolls Tongue. It started off just a bit drizzly and ended up more rainy as we progressed so the views were mostly not visible. Fortunately, Missy and I had hiking poles which helped with the slippery rocks (JJ and Andrew didn’t have issues haha). We walked back in just under 3 hours and our guide was very nice to drive us down to the further parking lot as the shuttle bus wasn’t running. It was a funny ride since 3 of us were sitting in the back of a van in the dark haha. We then started the drive back towards Bergen, stopping at a campground en route in Børve. It had beautiful views of the Hardangerfjord that did clear up as the rain went away, and we had dinner on the picnic table.

Day Thirteen: To Tromsø

Last day in the campervan! We woke up and packed everything up and then drove back to Bergen. We flew from Bergen to Tromsø, watching the Arctic landscape from the plane. After checking into our hotel, we went for sushi and enjoyed the glowing midnight light. We’re excited to be in the land of the midnight sun!

Day Fourteen: Bikes and Kayaks

Our first full day in the arctic circle! We didn’t sleep too well, it was very bright and the seagulls were noisy so we tried to sleep in a little. We had different activities today so Missy and JJ went on a hike with huskies and Andrew and I rented ebikes to explore the island of Tromsø. We started on the south side, looking at the beach and the mountains across the water. Then we biked through the trails to the lake in the middle of the island. We then biked to the ski jumps and took in the view from much higher up. After, we made our way to the Alpine-Arctic Botanical Garden - the most northerly botanical gardens (although most stuff here is the most northerly thing). There were lots of cool plants and Andrew said it was the most in bloom botanical garden he’s been to. We then dropped off our bikes and stopped for lunch at the harbour. We then met up with Missy and JJ, made dinner and then headed back out for our midnight sun kayak trip. We were driven a bit further north outside Tromsø to Nordfjordbotn to set out on our trip. We paddled in a pretty strong wind to a small island to watch the sun. We climbed up the hill a bit in our dry suits and had tea while we rested and enjoyed the view. Andrew says we didn’t see the midnight sun, just the regular sun. We then kayaked back, and we’re lucky to spot a few porpoises. On our drive back, we stopped around midnight to see the sun just after its lowest and beginning its rise again. Our guide dropped us off at the gas station near our hotel and Andrew was thrilled to get a hot dog.

Day Fifteen Exploring Tromsø

We had a slow, late morning given how late we were out last night. Andrew and I went to the Polar Museum. The exhibits focused on hunting and trapping for seals and polar bears (the King of the Polar Bears killed 713 polar bears). Another section focused more on polar exploration and had a big section on Amundsen (first man to the South Pole) and Nansen (explorer and scientist). We then met up with JJ and Missy who had decided to head straight to the main shopping street. The guys got hot dogs from the “smallest bar in the world” (Raketten bar & Pølse) and we all perused the shops. We meandered and made our way to the “smallest soup bar in the world”. To my dismay, it is closed until October, because apparently people don’t want soup in the summer. We then went back to our apartment hotel to make dinner, watched a movie and then headed out for a bar hopping night. We figured this is the best way to adjust back to Canada time.

Day Sixteen: Hidden Tunnels and Pasta

Another later start to a beautiful day. We were very lucky with the weather for our time in Tromsø, from what tour guides had told us, there had been a fog for days prior to us getting there. Andrew and I went on a guided fjord cruise where we learned a little about the history of the fjord and how Tromsø was impacted during WW2 (including seeing a formerly secret submarine mountain tunnel). After boat touring we met back up with Missy and JJ (who had gone to the botanical gardens) and got ready for dinner. We had wanted to go to a nice fish restaurant nearby, but forgot it was Friday and didn’t have a reservation so there was no space. We ended up going to a pasta place that left a lot to be desired and then headed back to the hotel for our early morning flight to Oslo.

Day Seventeen: Oslo and Goodbye

Our last day - we woke up early to catch our flight from Tromsø to Oslo. It was a short flight, and we were in Oslo before noon. We started with a walk over to and on the opera house, then by a local downtown beach. Missy and JJ wanted to go shopping so we split up with Andrew and I going on a self-guided walking tour. We saw the new library, walked through the old fort, the old city main square, new city hall, nobel peace centre and as it was very hot (over 30), we decided to go through the National Museum. Lots of art (I liked the painting of the fjords of Norway and Andrew liked a painting of a troll chasing a person) including 1 of the 4 versions of The Scream. We continued on the walking tour to the Royal Palace and along the main tourist street (Karl Johans Gate). We then met back up with JJ and Missy for dinner and called it a night. We had an early morning flight back through Warsaw (absolute mess of an airport).