Geiranger Fjord and The Pulpit Rock in Norway

Geiranger Fjord and The Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen in Norwegian) are the must see places in Norway, because they are Norway's most spectacular natural tourist attractions.

I went to Geiranger Fjord, via Oslo (capital of Norway) then take a 55 minute flight from Oslo to Ålesund (a strikingly beautiful coastal town Northwest of Oslo), then use Ålesund as my base (leaving 9am and returning 7pm same day) to travel to Geiranger Fjord by public buses/boats (cars carrying ferries). This is a very scenic route that most tourists take. Below is the panoramic view of Ålesund from Fjellstua.

What is most famous about Geiranger Fjord is the myriad photos we see on postcards, travel brochures, etc showing people standing on a protruding cliff with Geiranger Fjord in the background, but then most tourists find this cliff elusive, as they cannot find it. Below is the picture showing me standing on the edge of that cliff. To get there, one needs to hike up from the village to the viewing platform (well beyond the museum) it takes  half to 1 hour to climb, the cliff is hidden but is somewhere behind or below the viewing platform.

Preikestolen, also known in English as The Pulpit Rock, is a massive cliff 604 metres (1982 feet) above Lysefjord. The top of the cliff is approximately 30 by 30m (85 by 85 feet), almost flat. But to get to the top of this rock, one must hike a very rocky and challenging terrain 3.8 km (2.4 mi.) long from the parking lot of the lodge. In average, it takes 2 hours to hike up for fit people with sturdy hiking shoes, and coming down is also 2 hours hike due to the dangerous and steep terrain. One cannot sit like me (pictured below) on the edge of the rock if one takes a boat to see the rock from below through Lysefjord. In case you were horrified or concerned, the girl in the background wasn't committing suicide, she was just elated to be on top of the Rock (but there had been cases of people jumping off the cliff deliberately to end their lives).

Then you can hike further up to see the rock from high up, it takes another half an hour to hike.

To get the Pulpit Rock, one needs to fly to the city of Stavanger (from Oslo or other Scandinavian capitals or Amsterdam), then take a ferry to Tau, then by bus to Preikestolen Lodge (24km from Tau township). There is no public bus service from Oct 1 to Apr 30. The hike is not recommended in winter and spring when there is snow and ice, and the track is treacherous and slippery. Best season to hike the trail is from May to September. Sturdy shoes, warm clothing and rain gear are recommended for the hike, as it is cold even during summer and rains a lot in this region (the picture above was taken on 30 September 2012).

Croatian Natural Wonder - Plitvice Lakes National Park

National Park Plitvice Lakes or Nacionalni Park Plitvicka Jezera (in Croatian)

With a surface area of almost 300km2, Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest of Croatia's 8 national parks, it also contains the tallest waterfall in Croatia). Plitvice lakes was proclaimed a National Park in 1949, also making it the oldest national park in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage sites.

The Park represents a phenomenon of karst hydrography. The lakes are known for their cascades and the ongoing biodynamic process of tufa formation under specifice ecological and hydrological conditions. Tufa or travertine is a porous carbonate rock formed by the sedimentation of calcium carbonate from water. It build barriers, sills and other forms in karst rivers and streams. With this travertine development and formation numerous magnificent warterfalls are created, while the pristine lakes are with crystal clear water teeming with fish.

To get there, the best way is to rent a car from Zagreb (the capital of Croatia) or join a tour group from Zagreb. Public bus service is scarce and unreliable. So I rented a car from Zagreb, spent 2 days 1 night in Plitvice Lakes. Distance between Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes is 167km and is about 2 hour drive, then distance between  Plitvice Lakes and the ancient seaside city Zadar is 132km and also is about 2 hour drive. Accommodation is plentiful in Plitvice Lakes district, majority of them are in villas with room for tourists (in Croatian, it advertised as "sobe" meaning "room" for rent).

The good thing about renting a car, is one can return the car in Dubrovnik (another Croatian gem) with no extra charge (this is what I did) and I got to drive along the spectacular coastal Highway 8 all the way from Zadar to Dubrovnik. Below is the picture of Dubrovnik.