No trip to Rjukan would be complete without admiring Gaustatoppen, the highest mountain in the province of Telemark. It is not as if you could miss this giant, which I will prove to you even had snow in the middle of summer. Okay it wasn’t a lot of snow but enough to make a snowball and throw it at my good friend (who was the chauffer that day so I am lucky I got a ride home! Hehehe)
The view from the summit of the mountain is incredible. They tell us on a clear day one can see 60,000 square kilometres. In the summer time it is popular to climb this mountain as they have made a fairly good hiking trail (it is very rocky though) to the summit which lies 1883 meters over sea level. In the winter time there is of course a ski slope which is popular for downhill skiing, snowboarding, and competitions. I am sorry that the weather was a bit cloudy the day we were there, so in most of the pictures (in the slideshow below) you can see the clouds surrounding the top. So I include one picture from last year with a much clearer view of Gaustatoppen in the background:
We were also very lucky that weekend because we got to see the famous Rjukan waterfall:
The Rjukan waterfall is now normally much reduced in size as the water is used to make electricity, however because we had a lot of rainfall that week they opened the damn and let the waterfall run full force on Sunday just when we were on the way home. If you look at the water in the river which we crossed on the way to my friend’s cabin (the last picture in the slideshow below) you can clearly see why that was necessary. This is really what I would call white water! With a drop of 238 meters the waterfall is a dramatic vision in white, and the roar of the water is truly breathtaking! We stopped at a well known tourist path beside the fall, and it seemed like the entire village had come out to enjoy the event. This was an unannounced opening of the waterfall, so it wasn’t tourists rushing to see the beauty but the local folk coming out to enjoy their natural treasure in full glory.
Renny also made a slideshow again of the rest of the pics from Gaustadtoppen and Rjukan. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed being there:
I hope these two articles (click to readthe first one!) inspires a lot of you to go out and enjoy your natural treasures in the area where you live. If you want to come and see Gaustatoppen and Rjukan yourself please let us know and we’ll be happy to guide you!!
I’m popping in bright and early to see those breathtaking views. That waterfall is wonderful! I’m not surprised the village turned out to see it.
DianeCA
Glad we could give you a good and fresh start to your day then :D
What exquisite countryside!
DianeCA
Thanks! It was a huge experience to be there first hand. Glad I could share it!
Ah, wonderful views. I love the mountain scene and waterfalls!!! Magnificent!!! I suppose that’s why I love the highlands in Scotland so much too :-)
Though I don’t like snow at all, I’d love to have the opportunity to throw some snowballs…. *giggles*
Another great post Diane – isn’t it about time that you get yourself an own blog…? *hint*
DianeCA
Thanks for the encouragement! I am thinking of some ideas for a blogg but at the same time I know it takes a big commitment of time and creativity to make it stand out. I am the kind who can’t do things halfway…so I have to make sure I can give it my all.
Watch out! Here comes a snowball! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Wow! You did a really good job of putting all this together. I admit I sent you just the words and my photos, and you have added your magical touch to make it look so artistic! Good job, honey!
RennyBA
I do hope the world can see we are a smashing team dear – cooperate with you is always a pleasure!
what a wonderful surprise to get to see the waterfall in its fully glory. just such a beautiful setting. thanks for sharing!
DianeCA
Yes we were really lucky, the waterfall is seldom fully open. There are actually some advantages to so much rain! Who knew:-) Thanks for coming by!!
Hi Diane, I just popped in here in between work. An excellent post about the Telemark and Rjukan area. And it was wonderful shots of the Rjkan waterfall. I’ve never seen it like this live – only on pictures. Your’s a great.
DianeCA
Thats a real compliment coming from you, my photo happy friend!!
The waterfall is especially breathtaking! I adore seeing other parts of the world that I’ve yet to visit. Thank you for sharing your part of the world with us!
DianeCA
Thanks for coming in to our little corner of the world! Would like to come and visit yours too! I love to travel :-)
That waterfall pic is stunning! I want to be there!
DianeCA
Thanks, just dont jump in!! I was thinking when I looked at it that I would like to take a shower down there like you see in these commercials, but I wouldn’t advise it, that water is much colder then it looks!!
Wow! Lucky you. This is stunning.
joy Your Love Coach
DianeCA
Romantic too, was almost a shame that it was a girls trip just then!
Fantastic view with fantastic people,there’s nothing else we can ask for! Thanks for sharing them to us!
DianeCA
I agree on both counts. And how nice to share it with lots more fantastic people!! Thanks for coming by!
It looks wonderful! I think I remember that area when we were driving towards Tønsberg.
DianeCA
Thanks! You probably passed the area when driving over Hardangervidda if you came from Bergen, yes!
Telemark sounds really familiar. Is that mentioned in “The Chronicles of Narnia”? Such majestic pictures!!! :-)
DianeCA
It’s not in the Chronicals of Narnia as far as I know, but then its been a while since I read them. However the landscape is magical enough to be a part of a fairy tale :-)
Wow! The mountains and waterfall are awesome! I live on a tiny island and we don’t have mountains nor waterfall, only concrete jungle. Oooo…. snowballs! It never snows in Singapore. sigh…..
DianeCA
I’ll make a deal with you, I will come and visit your nice warm island, and you can come visit us and play in the snow!
I love these photo’s…Very dramatic with the overcast cloudiness….And the one from last year is gorgeous—You live in such a beautiful country…It is always a pleasure to go on these excursions with you! Lovely Post, Diane.
DianeCA
Thanks for coming along! I can’t take much credit for the overcast skies, thats just how they were….but as long as the effect is nice we will count our blessings.
This is lovely. I had only heard of Telemark skiing…I suppose it originated here.
Beautiful landscapes, I love mountains :)
DianeCA
Yes you are correct! Telemark skiing is from Telemark province, and if you look at the landscape its not hard to imagine why ;-) Thanks for stopping by!
A great way to promote the perfect Norwegian wildlife :-)
DianeCA
I love the Norwegian wildlife, and welcome everyone to visit us…but I also am in favor of getting out wherever you are and enjoying this wonderful world around us! If you are lucky you don’t have far to go to a natural area, take a walk and listen to you thoughts :-)
I went to Norway in June/July, and thought it was beautiful.
DianeCA
We are happy to have visitors! It’s a bit expensive to travel here but well worth the expense in my humble opinion!
Wonderful views and sceneries, Renny! I suddenly wish I was in Norway and experience the summit summer with snow! The picture with the ladies at the terrace reminds me of Kitzbuhel, Austria..I’ve a favorite small restaurant just on top with almost the same view…fantastic!!
I wish you and your wife a fine weekend…..kind regards from Holland!! :)
DianeCA
Thanks we will be getting out together this weekend I hope. I don’t know if I would really compare Gaustadtoppen to Austria (I am now thinking Alps…) but the comparison is flattering!
wow – now that looks like paradise. I wet your pallet with sweets and you wet mine with beautiful pics. What a great trade off!
DianeCA
Hey I’m all for sweets!! Pack them in a backpack and we’ll take em to the mountain!
What amazing pictures and adventures! Thanks for letting me know of the problem, Renny! I don’t know what to do. It looks like this full white canvas and all my sidebars are on the bottom of the page! It looks like this both in Safari and Firefox browsers. It works fine in Netscape, though. Don’t know what to do! Eeeek God helg!
DianeCA
Thanks Mark, good to see you here and hope we can meet again soon!
I know you and Renny and you have some blogger template problems going on, so I’ll pass it over to him:-)
Diane, this is so beautiful! It’s so neat to see the snow too. I think this annual event (Babefest in the Mountains you could call it!) is just great!
DianeCA
I so much agree. I wouldn’t give up my girls weekend out for anything. Of course I again must thank our husbands for being willing to fill in and take care of the family while Mom is out to play!
Hello Renny, yes, unfortunately I do know that the Solheim Cup is ongoing as of yesterday and the USA is doing well. Which means that between the FED Cup, Solheim Cup, and Turbo Tennis, I’m going to have to carry a television in my purse all weekend or make sure to duck into establishments that have one!
RennyBA
I was out in the fresh air most of the day, but as far as I know the European has taken over again. Tomorrow will be an exciting day of golf then and I do hope your portable TV works!
Great nature beauty. I missed all these. It’s a stupid rat-race down here.. :(
DianeCA
Don’t let those rats get you down :-) Glad you made it in anyway!
Hi Renny! Think I got your link finally fixed. :-)
Diane, that video is wonderful. I especially loved the photo of the village nestled at the foot of the mountain. Thank you so much for a lovely tour through a part of Norway.
DianeCA
I have to give Renny credit for the video, although I am the photographer. He is good at putting these things together. Magic touch! The village is Rjukan and that valley is so deep and the mountain so high that in the winter time the village gets no sun. The sun doesn’t come up high enough in this northern sky for the light to clear the mountain. Just a cool fact (real cool!)
Great pics! Hope I can do the rounds in this country sometime soon.
DianeCA
Welcome over! If you ever make the trip please let us know!
Thanks for this second post about your mountains, Diane! I imagine it must be wonderful to admire and walk in the middle of these beautiful landscapes! And the fresh air! Not this from south!
DianeCA
Thanks! We really do enjoy the fresh air and landscape. Glad you could stop by!
This kind of reminds me of our holidays a couple years ago to British Columbia. We passed by a similar waterfall on our way from Vancouver to Whistler. And on the top of Blackcomb Mountain, they were still skiing … in July!!
Thanks for the well wishes renny! I wish you & your lovely family just the same! take care! happy weekend:)
RennyBA
Your welcome CheH, it’s always great to see you here and I do wish you the same:)
Hi RennyBA, I followed the link here from Sue’s site while lying in my virtual hammock. Your pictures are amazing and have rekindled in me a long standing desire to visit Norway. It is such a beautiful country. I will just have to make sure that I visit in the hottest month, because I live in such a temperate climate.
RennyBA
Hi Max, welcome over – always great to see new readers
I’m glad if I could peruse you to come and visit and the warmest time is of course May to September. But winter time is lovely too – if you know how to dress properly (read my blog and you’ll learn :-) Since you are new, let me repeat my saying: ‘There is no such as bad weather, only bad cloths!’