The Wonders of Walking

With closed borders and no possibility to travel abroad like I’ve done every summer for the past twenty five years, an idea from last spring reappeared in my mind. I wanted to spend parts of this summer walking one of the main pilgrim paths in Norway. The Norwegian pilgrim paths have different starting points, but most of them lead to the cathedral in Norway’s third largest city Trondheim, or Nidaros as it was called for a long time. Saint Olav’s holy shrine in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim has been an important pilgrimage site ever since the former viking king Olav II Haraldsson was canonised in 1031. It is still a treasured destination for pilgrims from all over the world. Last year between 600 and 700 people started their hike in Oslo, with Trondheim as final destination. In 2019, 1276 people received The Olav letter which indicates that you have walked the last 100 kilometers or cycled the last 200 kilometers to Trondheim. Knowing that about eighty percent of the pilgrims are foreigners, this year could be something quite different. And so it was. I’ve never been an outdoor person and I never walked far. However, my challenge was clear: to walk the 643 kilometers from Oslo to Trondheim along the longest pilgrim path in the country, and also to spend as many nights as possible outdoors in my hammock. It was very quiet along the route, so my most of the time only company was myself. Long-distance hiking is not the same as walking. You will, after some time, fall into your own rhythm. Walking creates thoughts. Some might deal with the big questions in life and others will be focused on the simple things. My journey took place in different landscapes, from urban environment to almost untouched nature, from the coast to the mountain. On all possible surfaces such as large busy paved roads to small overgrown paths, and in all kinds of weather from above thirty degrees Celsius to close to zero. This was a journey in more than one sense. It was a long and quite tough journey physically, but it was also a long mental journey. I experienced everything from the high peaks to the deep valleys – from pure joy to sadness and melancoly. Some of the things I learned during hike were that small and everyday happenings can bring great joy and strong emotions. I also experienced that Norwegians – that are said to be reserved, quiet and even shy – are really helpful and curious. I met many helpers along the way, of all ages. My three weeks journey taught me a lot about the Norwegian people, nature, history and religion - but most of all about myself.