Topp7. Trondheim.

Norwegians have a different idea of what "to go for a walk" means. I remember the first day I arrived here--the first day. On the way from the airport, Ellen asked me, "Hey Lindsay. You wanna go for a walk this afternoon?" I said, "Sure, why not."

Three hours later, I got home.

Welcome to Norway.

On another trip last year, me, Alex, and Anna were like 10 miles into the forest and I saw more than one family with very small children trodding along to some distant hytta to have a coffee and a cinnamon bun. I mean, some of these kids were in strollers. What the … ?

Welcome to Norway.

As some you know, I desperately need a Norwegian passport. Mostly because I hate paperwork. Yes, America, you are dumb in so so many ways. But I digress. So, I've been trying to do everything really Norwegian lately, hoping it'll speed things along. Brown cheese? Check? Cross-country skiing to a hytta? Check. Brewing beer? Check. Home-made lapper and knekkerbrød? Check. Knitting? Half-check.

Then I found out there's a race/ hike every year here in Trondheim that goes all over Bymarka, the very huge forest next to city. 30 kilometers, 18.65 miles. So Norwegian.

Easy-peasy (that's a Norwegian expression you know).

Some friends of ours, Ane and Audun, had never done the route before either. Were we in? Why, yes, yes we were. Let's do it.

The fateful day occurred yesterday. And I must repeat, it was a fateful day.

We all had taken the hike very seriously and went out and partied the night before. I personally got home at like 1:30 in the morning--with just enough beer in me to feel it the next morning. Carb-loading you know. It's what the professionals do.

We met at a crisp 10 a.m. I needed time to dilute some of the beer. The sky was ominous and it was windy, and cold. Hm. We embarked in good spirits. Rain, wind, or snow. We would do this. Because we were awesome and it must be done.

Needless to say, the trip took a good nine hours. There was cold. There was rain. There was wind. There was sun. There was clouds. It was like a smorgasbord of weather.

Welcome to Norway.

I was particularly pleased with all the rain gear we had just bought. Already got our money's worth.

The 7 Tops:

1. Våttekammen: oh wait, Vincent didn't take the picture right. Ahem.

2. Geitfjellet

3. Tikneppen (we made our own trail up this one)

4. Gråkallen

5. Storheia. (It poured rain on the way up this one. Welcome to Norway).

6. Henrikåsen

7. Lille Gråkallen

While my knee and the other parts of my legs are taking revenge on me today, the trip was all-in-all just fantastic.

Ane, Audun, and Vincent were great trekking comrades--and they even graciously dealt with my whining and complaining (let's just say, they are WAY more in shape than I will ever be).

Come visit. We can go for a walk!