TWO WEEKS IN NORWAY

First time we went to Norway two years ago. We trained on the Skjak Wave for the Worlds 2009. We had a great time there, but we didn’t see much from the country. This time we planned to discover more. We took creek boats and freestyle boats and started our trip.

Our way to Norway started from Friedrichshafen, where we were on the Outdoor Show. By the way the show was really good! It was even bigger than last year. We had a barbecue party at the adidas booth and met many friends.

But back to our Norway trip. We had over 2000 km ahead us when our car started to do strange noises. After few hundred kilometers, close to the Denmark border it started to be serious so we had to find a car service. It was a Saturday morning and there was just a small chance that we find an open service, where they have what we need. We were very lucky because after a few shops, where they told us, that would we need to wait four days, we found one where they were able to repair in a few hours. It was something with the tire.

After a few hours delay we were able to continue our journey. We went through Denmark over a few bridges. The view was amazing, but the strong wind on the bridges was scary.

Sunday evening we finally got to the Sjoa. We met up with our Slovakian friends and the next morning we started our creeking mission. We are not use to creek much so I was quite nervous and wasn’t sure about my skills especially because the first river in our plan was Jori, which is class V. We did just two first rapids of it because it had not enough water to continue. I really liked that river so I hoped that I have the opportunity to run it again sometim.

Then we moved to Rauma. It is a nice river with one waterfall called Litle Huka. After the two rivers I started to feel more confidence in my long boat. The guys did also the lower Rauma, which I think is a very difficult part. I saw some rapids from the side and it seemed really crazy to me to paddle it down.

From Rauma we moved through Trollstigen, which is the most amazing way, I ever seen. We did a few more rivers but one of the best was a Landelselva. It was a big surprise for me. It looked any special from the road. I didn’t go and was waiting for the guys. Once they arrived they smiled and told me that I have to go, too. This river lies down in a narrow canyon and it has many drops and slides. I enjoyed it so much even I crashed on the last rapid. Don’t worry nothing seriously happened.

When we got back to Sjoa the water was very high. We tried Jori again and we were lucky – enough water. We paddled the Upper Jori and the rest of the river, where we haven’t been able to paddle the first time, it was as good as the first two rapids I liked so much.

The day before our departure the water in Sjoa dropped and so we could have a freestyle session on the Sjoa Wave. I can say that it was a great ending of our Norway trip. That wave is one of the best waves in Europe and we were really happy, that we could paddle the best level of it.

Now we are home and thinking where we will go next. But I think we will have a rest from traveling at least one week and train in our spot. But in middle of August we are planning to go for some Czech freestyle competitions and extreme races and for sure the adidas Sickline! This is what we are looking forward to.