Trolls Hiding in Mt. Floyen, Norway

As a girl who ALWAYS believed in fairies and other enchanting creatures....finding a landscape that could truly hide something so wondrous, made my little girl heart, skip a beat when I discovered the sun-kissed moss covered mountain top.

Norway has always been a land that called to me...for little known reason. Part of me figured it was my bloodline calling me "home", while another part of me just wanted to live out an episode of "Vikings." One thing that I wasn't expecting to find MORE than Viking souvenirs, were....Trolls....

Troll statues, troll clothing, troll figurines, troll dolls, troll crackers...everywhere I looked I saw trolls. It never dawned on me, that Norway was more than tall and handsome men, and powerful shield-maiden women....ok ok....well that's what I thought it was (thanks a lot Vikings).

The story and beliefs of Trolls walking the mountains and lands of Norway is a story that you cannot ignore or miss, especially wen everywhere you turn....there they are!

It is told that when humans first made their way to the snowy caps of Norway, they were not the only ones to have made these lands their homes. Night time a-woke with creatures large and small that would crawl out of the mountains and if they did not return to their dark caves and homes before sunrise, they would turn to stone.

It quickly became an interest, not only to myself, but also to my son, Ayden Orion, to venture into the wilderness and find such an ancient and enchanting creature!

For 95 NOK, we took a rail-bus up part of the mountain to the higher walking and hiking trails. We were immediately greeted by a large troll (and troll playground) once we landed.

After dragging Ayden away from the playground (not easy), we began a beautiful hike into the mountain. The scenery was something I would have dreamed of fairies living in, as a child (ok, as an adult too).

Thick moss covered the trees and rocks and the higher we got on the trails, the more the snow covered the ground.

Though we didn't find any trolls along our hike, we did see countless breath-taking views. There were many trails to choose from, everything from an easy road to walk up, to rocky, narrow, and steep trails to hike. Once you reach the top of Mt. Floyen, there sits a large and beautiful lake, which was frozen during our visit.

It was so grounding to walk in the fresh air, hearing the birds and the flowing streams and just (re)connect with nature.
My not-so-inner hippie was on cloud 9 and within our first week of being in Bergen, we hiked Mt Floyen 3 times.

Still one of the best things were yet to come, when we made our venture back to the view point (and rail-bus entrance)....the sunset over Bergen from the amazing heights of the mountain was glorious!

If you ever venture to Bergen, Norway...hiking Mt Floyen is a must and do-able for all ages!