After racing down the Norwegian coast for the last two weeks, mainly because we never knew how long it would take us or what the weather would be like, we were finally able to take it a bit slower for the last few days.

With today’s technology, you can get somewhat accurate wind predictions for the next three to five days. Everything beyond that is more of a good guess. And since we need a good three-day weather window to cross the North Sea from Norway to the Netherlands, we had to be ready to leave as soon as the right weather window appeared.

Having made it to Bergen, we knew that from there we would be able to reach a good starting point for the crossing in only one or two days if necessary. This gave us some time to now actually enjoy our last few days without constantly worrying about whether we would be ready in time when the weather window appeared.

From Bergen to the Lysefjord, we had three pretty much perfect days. It was finally feeling like summer! We could feel how the good weather had a positive impact on our mood and the wind was light and blowing from north to south, which made for perfect conditions to fly the gennaker! This is by far my favourite sail - not only because we have a purple one, but also because it’s huge, and in light winds you can still sail surprisingly fast.

We found some great anchoring spots, and in one of them we met a German couple around our age. We invited them onto our boat for drinks, which then turned into dinner as well.

When we reached the Lysefjord, we sailed under the famous Preikestolen and then tied our boat up in Flørli. This is the starting point of the famous 4,444 steps, the world’s longest wooden staircase, which climbs around 740 metres alongside the old hydropower infrastructure.

After our arrival, we enjoyed a nice evening walk with the cats and found a cute little cabin that you can rent for over 300 euros per night. It feels crazy that we don’t have to pay anything to stay in almost exactly the same place with our own boat!

The next day, we got up early and put on our hiking shoes. We conquered those 4,444 steps with ease and enjoyed the views along the way. Once we reached the top, we followed the hiking trail back down. It was only marked with some red signs on rocks, and the scenery was breathtaking. Back on the boat, we jumped straight into the water to cool down — this was our first (and only) hike in Norway with sunshine!

Still in our swimwear, we released the lines and set sail for Stavanger. This would be our last big city in Norway, and we were heading there to hide from some nasty weather.

On our first morning in Stavanger, we got some sad news over social media: Norways’s King, King Harald V, had passed away. He died on 28 August 2026, and besides beeing a beloved King, he was also a fellow sailor.

We flew our flags at half-mast to show our condolences, and when we walked into the city, we were stunned by how many people had made their way to the church to lay down flowers in honour of the King.

Whilst it was pouring with rain outside, we spent some time doing boat projects, like splicing endless loops and adding low-friction rings for our homemade gybe preventer, which prevents the boom from swinging violently to the other side if you accidentally gybe.

I also made some linoleum prints for cards to send to our friends and family in Switzerland and worked a lot on the website whilst Reto was working on the boat.

After three days in Stavanger, it was time to get to our last destination in Norway before leaving. We sailed to an anchorage close to Egersund, where we enjoyed one last night at anchor with a freshly caught fish for dinner before our big adventure in the North Sea.

Don’t miss the blog post about our North Sea crossing!

Day 126: Bergen NO - Kalsundholmen NO