PØK-BLOK

Short trip to UK/Wales

After attending an inspirational social event with Anja (2 x B-day + 1 wedding anniversary) at Melksham (UK), our next destination was The North Wales.

A castle in Wales along our route to Betws-y-coed in Eryri National park

We met Iratxe in Betws-y-coed and next day did great round hike to Devil's Kitchen and up in the mountains. Ca 10 km took us 5 houirs, as the terrain was steep.

Break above Llyn Idwal lake

and up up up

more above the lake

up on the plateau.

Amazing landscape formed by fire and ice.

It reminds Norway

Anja, well known photo super model, running down towards Tryfan peak (we avoided to climb up due to upcoming rain)

Next day, as I was flying back and had only limited time, we walked along Afon Llugwy to take a look at slightly unimpressive Swallow Falls,

however the lanscape with old oak trees and sheep was really nice.

A 4-day trip to the west coast of Norway with Lukas, visiting Ray and his family (thanks for the hospitality!) in Stavanger. We stopped in Bergen as well, from where we took a boat to Stavanger, so it was quite an intensive trip.

The flight from Oslo to Bergen is a short one (less than 1 hour) with amazing views. It was great to see my favorite fishing area in Nordmarka (left picture) and the full winter landscape inland (probably Hardangervidda)

We had just 3 hours in Bergen before catching the boat. We were lucky to have great weather and used the opportunity to take the Fløibanen — a funicular railway connecting the city centre with Mount Fløyen.

Bergen is known for its vibrant graffiti scene.

Skillingsbolle — that’s what they call a cinnamon roll in Bergen. Unfortunately, despite all the teaching efforts by Anja, who is a Bergen native, I am still not able to pronounce it correctly - I always say it in a way that makes it sound like “chickenbolle”

A boat trip from Bergen to Stavanger takes about 6 hours. It follows the scenic west coast, so the views are fantastic.

Stavanger has a graffiti scene as well.

On our first day in Stavanger, the weather was sunny (but windy). Ray took us on his motorboat and we explored the nearby island of Stora Marøya. We also stopped in city centre for ice cream at Siddis Gelato on Pedersgata.

The second day was rainy, so we spent the whole day at the local science and technology museum, Vittenfabrikken. It is a great place for kids. The third day was sunny again, so we took public transport to the opposite side of the fjord and walked to Dalestranden and Søsterhytta (picture on the left). The picture on the right shows an abandoned psychiatric sanatorium in Dale.

The area around local Central Station (both the bus and train terminals) was rebuilt a few years ago. Previously, it was just a large parking lot, but now it is a great place to play and relax while waiting for public transport.

Old man and his friends on Savalen

On Wednesday, right after the trip to Vigelsjøen, Louka and I drove to Savalen, where we were supposed to stay in a cabin in Gardvikåsen, starting the next day. It was good that I had snow chains and Louka in the car, as the section up to the cabin was challenging. I contacted the owner, and it turned out we were allowed to check in one day earlier—thanks, Hilde! The hot shower was really nice.

The next day, we drove to Tynset to pick up Vit, who arrived by train directly from the airport, and for the next three days we enjoyed Savalen.

Our basecamp, 2 km from the lake

One of the reasons Vit and Louka came was that I turned 50 in March, and celebrating with friends was the best gift. Thanks for coming!

Well, I also got some beautiful presents, such as this art piece from Vit.

The water level at Savalen was 4.8 meters lower than in January, which meant there were some interesting ice formations around the lake. And it was neccessary to adjusted fishing spots as well.

We celebrated through hard work—waking up at 5 every day, driving to the lake, skiing to a fishing spot, fishing until 11, then heading back to the cabin for lunch and a nap, before returning to the lake for an evening session. There wasn’t much energy left for any night celebrations…

We tried many spots on the lake. In general, the fish were not as active as in December, but despite that, we caught enough for several full dinners. The best depth was around 10 meters. Interestingly, evening fishing also produced some fish, despite the general rule that the best fishing at Savalen is early in the morning. The largest fish was caught by Vit one hour before our departure—a beautiful Arctic char, 41 cm long, which is a very good size for this lake. It was a rather unforgettable moment: the fish unhooked itself in the hole and slowly headed back into the depths, but after a brief hesitation, I took off my glove and grabbed it by hand deep in the hole. We were happy as kids.

Windy Viglsjøen

March 2026, and another long-awaited five-day ice fishing trip is here—Louka and me again. This year, we decided to try another location instead of heading to Femundsmarka as usual. I somehow suggested Viglsjøen, a lake in the Tydal area, about 50 km north of Røros, that should offer good trout and Arctic char fishing. There is also the option of doing a loop around the Guevtele mountain, visiting lakes along the Swedish border.

I bought a Paris pulk and built a hauling system for it, got new skis and boots, and upgraded my ice fishing rods. While preparing, I realized I had actually visited Viglsjøen before—in September 2018 with Emilio—and left empty-handed after two days. I also remembered the area being very exposed, with no trees and plenty of wind.

The weather forecast for next5 days wasn’t particularly promising—windy, with unstable temperatures hovering around zero—but we decided to give it a shot. I picked up Louka at the airport, and we drove to Stugudal area, sleeping in the car along Road 705. On Saturday morning, we packed our pulks and set off. We had 15 km ahead of us.

The first couple of kilometres across Syndre Langsvola—just perfect conditions.

Ahead of us lies Lake Langen. The plan is to ski down and cross it from north to south—about 5 km.

It looked simple—just a few hundred metres down through the birch forest. In reality, it took us an hour, several crashes, and I even lost my sunglasses along the way. A combination of deep snow, a steeper slope, poorly packed pulks, and my not-so-stiff hauling system made this section quite a challenge.

Finally, we crossed Langen lake (of course with a strong headwind) and headed up into the mountains, following tracks left by other fishermen. This section was really nice, skiing along the river canyon with beautiful views all around.

This place felt like the gateway to paradise as we approached Vigltjønnan.

And finally, we reached the lake—but still had 2 km to go in strong wind before reaching the spot where we planned to pitch the tent.

Suddenly, the wind dropped. We set up camp and went fishing nearby—we still had about two hours before sundown. By the way, the 15 km route had taken us five hours... we were not very efficient...

First hole, first fish—a beautiful Arctic char. What a start! As it turned out, it was also the last char we caught (apart from a few very small ones).

The next day, after a surprisingly cold night, we woke up early and skied to another part of the lake to fish and have breakfast.

We fished all day, moving between several spots, but had no success. Louka hit a rock with the drill, and we lost a big fish when it broke the line under the lure. After a day of beautiful weather, the wind began to rise again in the evening.

The night was very windy. Luckily, Louka managed to secure the tent using extra ropes and his pulk. It was cold, wet, and windy, and the forecast didn’t look any better. We decided it would be best to move on and try somewhere else.

So we packed everything and started heading back… but as we skied across the lake, it somehow didn’t feel right to leave. Luckily, we found a nearby spot sheltered from the wind, only few minutes from the lake. We decided to build a snow wall as a windbreak and set up camp there.

Over the next two days, we moved between different spots on the lake, building snow walls and mostly relying on passive fishing. The video below shows me promoting the fishing here—arguably the best speech of my life…

Our last day had arrived (we decided to leave a day earlyier because of the forecast) and we headed out for one more round of fishing.

We built another snow wall, drilled 5 holes, and settled in to wait.

We caught one nice trout, and together with the one from the previous day, it turned into a great soup—a perfect meal on the ice.

After lunch, we began considering a change of fishing spot, so I went to check the holes one more time. In one of them—a big trout! After a few tense minutes, I managed to pull it out. A beautiful male fish, over 60 cm—the perfect final fish of the trip.

On the way back - instead of skiing across Langen again, we skied over Langsvole "ridge" and it was good decision

Louka, Langen lake and Viglfjella in the back

Our route (blue line is the way there, purple line the way back) and camps

and this is how we looked after 4 days on the ice and wind

Cold weekend near Femund

It had been a few weeks since my last ice-fishing trip, and I was starting to feel the desire to catch some arctic char. I’d also bought two new rods and some ice-fishing flies from Isfiskebua, so I was eager to try them out. Where to go? Why not Volsjøen. The plan was to sleep outside, but the weather forecast made me book my favourite apartment in Elgå instead (thank you Jon Arve). And it turned out to be colder than expected. Luckily there was no wind and the sun was shining, but −30°C on Sunday was simply too cold. Even so, I fished all three days, didn’t meet a single person, and managed to catch a few fish.