Trolltunga, Norway by Tori

Trolltunga is one of those places that 100% needs to be visited at one point in your life.

Trolltunga is basically a large slab of rock that sticks out about 700m above lake Ringedalsvatnet and the surrounding canyon. The cliff also stands over 1, 100 meters above sea-level creating the most breath-taking views.

The large granite formation has been moulded and sculpted by nature over the past 10, 000 years and is only available to visit from about mid-June to mid-September.

The hike to the cliff is around 10-12 hours long and covers 23 kilometres but is still frequently visited by thousands of tourists even though there is little to no safety railings; there are a few small metal hooks have been placed into the rock to act as footholds.

Since my trip was during the cooler winter months, I wasn't able to make this journey but will certainly be apart of my travels in the near future.

- Tori

This brings us to the end of our glance into Norway! Also check out the other Norway posts at Introduction to Norway , Aurora borealis, and  Norwegian culture!

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My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)

Iran part 4: Sports by Poorya

Iran

Part 4 : Sports

By Poorya Mahdavi

Sports in Iran like any other country is a huge topic that is followed intensively by all people, with activity's such as soccer, weightlifting, basketball, volleyball, futsal and many other sports. Tehran was the first city to host the Asain games in 1974 out of the whole of West Asia.

In the photo above, my cousins (centre and right) and I (left) are outside the Azadi stadium waiting for the gates to open for everyone to enter to watch the showdown of two of the most popular Iranian soccer teams going head to head in a grand final fixture, the two teams Persepolis (Red) played a team known as Esteghlal FC for the league final, however unfortunately the team we were supporting didnt come out on top and lost the game in the closing moments 1-0, the experience all in all was a great opportunity as I saw first hand how big the sport of soccer was in Iran as the stadium was completely sold out, which was incredible as the Azadi stadium is the worlds forth largest soccer stadium.

Apart from soccer, another sport that is considered very important to many Iranian's, is weight lifting, this is all thanks to a very important man known as Hossein Reza Zadeh, who is regarded as one of the greatest weight lifters of all time, he holds the world record for two types of weight lifting super heavyweight class, first being the clean and jerk and total where he lifted an incredible amount of 263.5 kg, a small youtube video regarding his time as a weight lifter can be found here.

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Incase you missed last weeks blog here is a link for it right here!

Part 1: Introduction

http://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/iran-by-poorya.html

Part 2: Architecture

http://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/iran-part-2-by-poorya-mahdavi.html

Part 3: Cuisine

https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/iran-part-3-cuisine-by-poorya-mahdavi.html

Norwegian Culture by Tori

Welcome back! This week we'll chat about the Norwegian culture and day to day life. Do you want to read about the Aurora borealis first?; read last weeks blog using the links at the end of this post!

The Norwegians live a very care-free, stress-free lifestyle. From taking regular long-weekend vacations up to the ski fields for a family retreat to actual government schemes which stress personal and relaxation time, the Norwegian lifestyle is very comfortable.

They have a range of recreational activities that are usually done as a family unit like bike rides and soccer but many people there are very skilled at long and short distance skiing; not surprising considering the geography and their national sport.

One in particular that we were lucky enough to try out was dog sledding. Dog sledding is literally 5 dogs connected with harnesses and ropes, pulling along a wooden sled which held 2 people; the driver and the passenger. We followed closely behind our guide who led the dogs through the pitch black countryside for around 2 hours.

Dog sledding is a major part of these northern European countries and countries close to the Arctic circle and is still used by people who live in under these same extreme temperatures.

We also got to go out on a small boat a few days later hoping to see some Killer whales. They didn't come up to the surface for very long or very close but we did see glimpses of the whales.

After all this, I can easily say that Norway is such a beautiful and unique place and can't wait to visit again.

- Tori

Don't forget to read other Norway posts and stay updated:
Introduction to Norway 
Aurora borealis

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My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)