Røros

22 – 31 December 2022

As another year dew to a close, it was time to select a new holiday destination to meet up with my mum. This year was a fairly easy choice. Røros had long been on my wishlist but I had never been able to justify it for anything more than a quick getaway. A tight Christmas window was the perfect opportunity, particularly given the way the town comes alive during the holiday season. A stop in Stavanger was added to pad things out.

As things worked out, we would fly into Røros via Gardermoen, but would reach Stavanger by flying out of Trondheim on one of Norway’s ‘airborne bus services’.

22 – 27 December 2022

The flight to Røros was on one of Widerøe’s Dash-8s. It was a proper local service: a tiny turboprop and it definitely felt like everyone else on the plane knew eachother.

We had a delightfully Norwegian AirBnB, right in the centre of town. Røros just exudes ‘Christmas’, and our location on accentuated that feeling. With daily highs of about -25C, it was bitterly cold. I definitely need to upgrade both my hat and gloves, and it felt like I was at risk of loosing my fingers whenever I removed the gloves to do a bit of photography (I really need to get some glove loners). The cold did mean that ice crystals formed on all the trees, yielding a particularly special winter aesthetic.

Since our flight was out of Trondheim, not Røros, we would need to take the bus. Normally something I would dread, the bus was actually a bit of a treat, winding its way through pleasantly idyllic rural Trondelag. I did mess up the timing though, going with the later of two options. Fortunately, Trondheim is a small airport and we made it.

27 – 31 December 2022

Like our last Christmas trip, our time in the fjords was characterised by rain. On the best day, we headed across the fjord and I hiked Preikestolen. I was hoping for snowy fjords views, and they delivered. As an added bonus, the snow meant that a hike infamous for overcrowding, was extremely quiet. In fact, I had the rock entirely to myself! I am glad to have seen lysefjord, but even with no crowds, I was left somewhat disappointed by Preikestolen. The hike was quite short, and even with winter conditions and some extension, it was extremely easy. There was no feeling of accomplishment and I did not feel at all like I had earned the view.

We visited the petroleum museum, a surprisingly good stop. It would also provide talking points during job interviews related to offshore engineering (both in the Wind and Oil & Gas industries) to come.

Overall a nice trip, I did not do much, but sometimes that isn’t necessary. Røros was the standout stop and exactly what I wanted from a trip there. The mid-morning sunrise views of town were well worth freezing for. Stavanger was less impressive. But it was nice to experience, and it did not come at the expense of a higher-value destination.

Most importantly, I probably consumed my weight in gjetost and pancakes.