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October 16, 2016

Hiking Norway’s Fjord Country: A Travel Sketchbook

Europe Cultural Traveler Stories

Watercolor Memories From a Hiking Trip Through Norwegian Landscapes

This August I went on my fifth Wilderness Travel adventure, Hiking Norway’s Fjord Country, and for the third year in a row, I kept an illustrated sketchbook to record what we did each day of our journey. I’ve found that it’s a good way to document my trip without spending too much time with my face behind a camera while on the trail. Each night after dinner, I went back to my room, looked through the snaps I’d taken with my iPhone during the day, and penciled in text and images. Once satisfied with the layout of the pages, I inked over the pencil marks with a pen and then finished up with watercolors.

Any time I travel, I take along a Moleskine A4 watercolor sketchbook, an inexpensive set of 24 pan watercolors, a small brush, a large brush, a couple of pencils and black ink pens, and a rubber eraser, and I’m ready to record my trip.

A sketchbook entry dated 23 August 2016 features a drawing of a man speaking, a group of sheep, and a Norwegian flag. The text details a ferry ride amidst the stunning scenery while hiking Norway's Fjord Country and mentions a guide named Neilan.
A travel sketchbook page featuring six colored illustrations labeled: lion figure, church details, feline face, door image, intricate design, and pilgrim engraving. Perfect for capturing memories from hiking Norway's fjord country.

These two pages were from our second day, when we visited the Borgund Stave Church. There was a perfect mix of nature and culture on this Norway trip. Imagine seeing soaring mountains and medieval architecture in the same day.

Handwritten journal entry dated August 26, 2016, alongside colored sketches of a mushroom, deer tracks, and a man holding a saw. The entry describes the sound of bells and a tour through a town while hiking in Norway's Fjord Country.
A hand-drawn journal page from a travel sketchbook depicting a visit to an orchard in Fjord Country. Includes illustrations of a woman with a basket, apple trees, preserves, and cider bottles, along with written notes and descriptions.

This day brought another great walk, led by a local Norwegian guide and landowner through the woods and across the fields on his own land, and a fascinating visit to a local family-run orchard.

A journal entry from 30 August 2016 includes a sketch of a person in a blue sweater, handwritten notes about an adventure on the Folgefonna glacier in Norway's Fjord Country, with illustrations of crampons and an ice axe—a vivid page from a travel sketchbook.
A journal page featuring a drawing of a man playing a fiddle, notes about hiking in Norway and visiting the Hardingfele Folk Museum, as well as illustrations of a painted pattern and wooden "House God" from the 13th century.

It’s still hard to imagine we packed in everything that we did on this day. It started with a hike across a glacier and ended in a 13th century farmhouse listening to a master musician play folk music on a Hardanger fiddle by firelight.

You can see all the pages, as well as all of the pages from last year’s Wilderness adventure, Hiking the Greek Isles (with the pre-trip Archaeological Sites of Classical Greece Extension) at www.susannereece.com. Follow me on Instagram @susannemreece.

A handwritten journal page with illustrations details a visit to the Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis on September 3, 2015, including a guide named Vasso, museum artifacts, and a Greek-style dinner. The page also hints at future adventures in Norway's Fjord Country.

This page is from the first official day of the trip when we met up with the hiking group. We toured the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum and then had a ferry ride from Athens to the island of Tinos. The trip had such long, busy days, that I was barely able to keep up and only managed to do one page a day.

-Sketchbook and text by 5-time WT adventurer Susanne Reece, Hiking Norway’s Fjord Country and Hiking the Greek Isles

See pages from Susanne’s Hiking in Tuscany Sketchbook here.

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