Having spent the last few years seeing the rest of the world, Malin Amle spent the summer road tripping her home country of Norway and discovered its beauty for herself with fresh eyes. You can see her video from the trip at the end of the article.
This summer I fell back in love with Norway. After having been on the road the last couple of years discovering what the world has to offer, I finally felt an urge to stay longer in my home country and explore more of the sceneries around there. My adventurous spirit has always told me to go abroad and see the world, however I have slowly but surely realized the potential that we have in Norway. It’s funny how you travel the world to seek out the best kite spots, only to find some of the most beautiful sceneries at home once you give it some effort. Norway is known as one of the most beautiful countries in the world, I wonder how I could have missed it.
Soon after I returned to Norway after my yearly winter escape, Håkon Mæland contacted me and wondered if I was up for working on some fun projects together this summer. I always wanted to make a video from my own country and now after my newfound love for Norway, I thought this was simply the perfect timing.
Håkon had many clever ideas as always, but in the end we decided we wanted to try to shoot a video up in the mountains of Hardangervidda. This is the well-known spot where Redbull Ragnarok is being held every year. I had only been there in the wintertime and was intrigued by Håkon’s idea. I always wondered what it was like up there in the summertime.
Kiting on the fjords in between the mountains all alone sounded pretty magical to me. In addition I was eager to work with Håkon as I have been following his photography work and he has developed into a fine artist. He also has quite the personality 😉 So I knew it would not be a boring moment on the road with him. I was sold.
We decided to shoot the video in August and we were fortunate enough to be able to stay at Haugastøl Turistsenter. Håkon is pretty much a family member up there, so we felt at home straight away and got lots of good advice regarding the best places to kite and shoot.
I must say I’m quite proud that we actually managed to complete the shooting of this edit in only three days. Yeah, I know! Håkon is truly the multitasker and working like 4 photographers at a time.
We were lucky enough to have good wind two of the days to shoot some kiting with one day left for scenic shooting and the classic lifestyle stuff. It was definitely not the easiest conditions to kite in though, very strong wind with big gusts. However, it was a true pleasure to be able to ride around in between the mountains all by myself. I would say it was absolutely one of my coolest kiting experiences to this date. Chilling, but thrilling!
We even had time for sightseeing around in the area and I’m still in awe over how amazed I was by the beauty of the nature in Norway. Touristing in my home country was definitely my jam!
We explored the mountaintops, the famous waterfall called Vøringfossen, in addition to cycling down the Rallarvegen. I would highly recommend checking out Vidda in the summertime for some hiking, biking and kiting adventures. My favorite was probably cycling down Rallarvegen with Bjørn and Håkon. I think they found it funny how excited I was about the nature in Norway. They are so used to it, spending most of their year up there in one of the most beautiful places on earth!
It’s safe to say that this is definitely not going to be my last roadtrip around Hardangervidda during summer. Already excited for the next and to see even more of Norway!
Photo credit: All pictures by Mland Pictures
Vidda from MlandPictures on Vimeo.
