The pilgrimage is one of my favourite forms of prayer. The nature shining and singing around you
allows your soul to enter a peaceful state of grace. The best is when you walk until all your body
and all your fatigue become a prayer. Furthermore, this time I also experienced the beauty of being
one Church. While saying the rosary in our own languages (German, Italian and Norwegian), I
really figured out that when your heart prays, you do not need to understand the words: the love of
God is our universal language.

Written by Maria Elisa

David, Maria Eliza and I started walking from the beginning of Vårstigen Friday the 4th of June at 8 p.m. It had been a clear and sunny day, but a bit cold. We walked to the end of Vårstigen, just over the treeline and put up the tent. After praying we went to sleep. Waking up at 7 a.m. and the tent was covered in ice. No wonder we were cold in our sleeping bags. The sun was rising and we started preparing breakfast. We had to wait for the tent to dry up before we could continue the pilgrimage.

On Saturday we walked over the mountain and down in Vinstradalen. We prayed the rosary together while walking and stopped to pray the hours in between. That’s why we were walking; we are seeking God – trying to listen to God in the wind. Sometimes we were walking together in solitude, praying silently. Or we were laughing when trying to pass the areas with snow. It was even a bit of frustrating at times, carrying the heavy backpack made it difficult to balance on top of the deep snow. Our feet just disappeared!

After walking 3 hours we had a bit of surprise! There, sitting on a stone next to the road, was Andrea. It was truly a gift that we met there in the middle of the mountain and we were happy that Andrea joined us. That’s why, even if we started as three, we were four continuing to Oppdal. Therefore we decided to sleep in Rypbua in the beginning of Vinstradalen. We ended the Saturday with prayer and the readings of the day, going to bed at 8 p.m.

At 5.30 a.m. we started walking from Rypbua towards Oppdal. It was a cold morning and we could enjoy and experience the beauty of God’s work of creation. Incredible! As we walked down Vinstradalen, we could see the different stages of spring – from no leaves or flowers to a forest of green birch and grass. It was a big difference in just some hours of walking. We arrived in Oppdal at 1230 p.m. and took the train back to Trondheim.We finished the pilgrimage with Mass in St.Olav Church at 6 p.m.

Written by Karoline