On May 21 I made my way from Arcata, California to Gothenburg, Sweden, where Mark met me with our van, which he’d brought over on a ferry from the UK. We spent a day resting, relaxing and unwinding before heading to Helsingborg for the beginning our Nordic Tour, which will continue through August 31 (with a break in the middle to go to Greenland).

On the morning of the 24th we met up with Johan Wirsen, owner of Rebel Kayaks. Johan is the designer of the Tahe Greenland, which was renamed the Zegul Greenland, but he’s taken his design to his new company and it is now calling it the Rebel Ilaga, which I’m using during the tour. Mark is using another of Johan’s designs, the Greenland T, a larger version of the Ilaga that is also part of the Rebel line. Both kayaks are made in Poland by Aquarius.

Our beautiful new kayaks.

After getting our kayaks we headed to Kullaberg for a technique class. That evening we enjoyed a tasty barbecue at the local kayaking club, Helsingborgs Kanotisterna, and the following day we stayed more local, and ran rolling classes off the beach right in front of the Club.

Mark hangs out with Club president Ronny.

Happy rollers enjoyed the warm water and sunshine.

Ater the classes we had some time to explore the charming town.

Mark cools off in front of a spectacular fountain, which is located just above the town center.

Thanks to Zsuzsanna and her family for hosting us!

After leaving Helsingborg we began the drive to Bergen, Norway, where we’d be running classes the following weekend. Upon crossing the Norway border, the scenery began to change, and we soon found ourselves in snow covered mountains.

A partially frozen lake provided scenic surroundings for a break from the van.

It felt strange to be wearing shorts while surrounded by so much snow and ice, but the air temperature was warm and the sun was bright.

We actually turned the van around to get a double take on this charming house.

Along the way we stopped at Nærøyfjord for an afternoon paddle.

Stunning cliffs, clear water and dramatic waterfalls lined the path along the fjord.

Camping at the bottom of the Tvindefossen Waterfall was very relaxing.

Mark cooks dinner at our riverside / waterfall side campsite.

Once in Bergen we headed to the kayak club, BSI Padling where we met up with Lillian and Anja, our wonderful hosts for the weekend. Throughout the weekend Mark ran six technique classes while I ran six rolling classes and a morning session of Yoga for Paddlers.

Stretching before paddling is always a good thing.

The color and clarity of the water was incredible.

Rollers worked on all types of rolls. Here, a Storm Roll is born.

Correct hand positioning is key.

We had the perfect water, weather and scenery for a wonderful weekend.

Happy campers.

After the weekend we visited Ronny Riise at his fantastic kayak store, God-Tur.

We spent a couple of afternoons exploring Bergen, which has a wonderful fish market.

In addition to exploring the town, we took a train up the mountain to Fløyen and a cable car to Mount Ulriken and enjoyed hikes at the top of both mountains.

After leaving Bergen we took a ferry to Fitjar, where we’ll be running classes this weekend.

Pictures Ronny Riise, Mark and myself.