Crafted by Slartibartfast

By Bea
For the past week we have been very low on gas. We had stopped at several locations to try and exchange the bottles, but the fittings are different in Norway and no one had European bottles. Starting to get a little concerned we found a caravan and camping store in Larvik, just a short detour south of Oslo. After talking with their technicians they generously gave us a fitting that we could use on the bottles here. They also told us a place where we could actually refill bottles, success, we managed to refill both our bottles. A sigh of relief and we were on our way again.

An ex staff member of mine (who now is married to a Norwegian and lives in Norway) said “if you like nature you will love Norway“... she was so right. It is truly breathtaking. We have fallen for this country and cannot get enough of it.

We rejoined Route A134 and headed toward the west coast. What absolutely stunning scenery. Massive pine forrest covered mountains, beautiful lakes, and stunning waterfalls. We barely spoke, OMG, check that out and holy ‘toledo’ were our common reactions.

We stopped for the night at a small campsite, by a lake, called Haukelifjell. We discovered that it even had a small chair lift and a couple of ski runs.

It was a pretty campsite and we were pleased with our choice...until the next morning when we headed off and whilst being even more gobsmacked at the even more gobsmacking scenery we came across several campervans parked in little side-road in the heart of gobsmac-kingdom... camping for free! - OK lesson learned it IS ok to camp anywhere (almost), as we had read. From then on we looked for spots like that.

As we continued towards Haugesund we need a brief pit stop as one of our headlights had blown. As we checked all was ok other one went, very frustrating but when you are going through tunnel after tunnel after tunnel... working headlights were a priority. I can tell you there are a lot of tunnels in Norway. All we seemed to be doing was either a tunnel or a roundabout. Cant even think of the number of roundabouts we have had to encounter... Pete is so over them!

Haugesund is on the west coast and it was from there that we planned to head north following the, fjords and islands. This was, allegedly, even more scenic than the routes we had just taken.

We reached the town of Bergen in the afternoon and camped up at a stallplatz close to town, right next to the city tram. It was a quaint town that had been the capital of Norway for a significant slice of its history. The main attraction is, the UNESCO listed, Tyskebryggen (German docks), a series of 11th century Hanseatic wooden merchant buildings that line the eastern side of Vagen harbour.

Their facades are photogenic but walking back behind them and seeing the construction and extensions is fascinating.

A tall ship race had recently finished in Bergen and a couple of the of the ships were still docked, so we walked around admiring the boats and wishfully thinking we were joining them. After a brief reconnaissance through the fish market area, we planned on buying some fresh seafood the next morning, we made our way back to the van.

3 cruise liners had docked overnight so, the the next morning, the place was heaving with tourists (says us!). We took a walk around the harbour, visited Rosencrantz Tower, which was under renovation (by Guildenstern builders plc....RIP), St Mary’s Church, then made our way to the Floibanen a century old funicular railway that connects the city centre to mount Floyen.

There was a stunning view of the city from the top and it was bustling with locals off to enjoy the surrounding parklands & swimming lakes! and tourists taking selfies. After a lamb hotdog for brunch we walked back down the mountain, through the forrest, into the suburbs of old wooden houses before finally reaching the harbour.

The fish market was bustling with tourists but we hadn’t had fresh seafood for a while so we picked up some mussels, other seafood and a side order of reindeer salami! (At tourist prices!)
It’s strange that in Norway, with their amazing fishery and great farmland, there’s almost no butchers or fishmongers, whenever we ask the locals, they tell us to go to the supermarket where all the meat is pre-packaged in display shelves, disappointing.

We headed off later that morning following the Osterfjorden north. Again just breathtaking scenery. Crystal clear waters, sheer cliffs and countless waterfalls. We stopped for lunch at a lookout over the fjord, then caught the ferry from Leirvag to Slovag.

We were just outside of Eivindvik when the road started getting narrower and it was getting late, we were contemplating turning around and heading to campsite we had passed earlier but decided try a possible spot marked as an ‘attraction’. Score! a great free campsite right by the fjord and a medieval Viking gathering place. There were a group of amateur thespians rehearsing for an upcoming festival, a guy fishing on the jetty and another guy in the campervan next to us preparing his scuba gear for a dive the next day.

Chatting to him about the dive he told us visibility is as far as you can see. Now that I would like to see, I have not experienced a dive with such visibility. We just can’t get over how crystal clear the water is here. The parts that are black is purely because it is so flipping deep!. He also noted that it was 8 degrees...mm no thanks!

The next morning we left Eivindvik and headed north for a ferry from Rutledge to Rysjedalsvika. At the crossing, I met up with a German guy and his wife who were trying to make head or tail of the confusing timetable (being in Norwegian didn’t help) eventually we decided the ferry didn’t leave for about 2 hours, “Bugger”. I was annoyed and frustrated at having to wait when he turned and said “oh well - we are on holiday right!??” The penny dropped, he was totally correct! It was a beautiful sunny summers day, we were parked along a picturesque fjord- get a grip girl! We went back to the vans, he then took out his fishing rod and went to the waters edge to fish!!

Disembarking the ferry we headed east(ish) along the edge Sogneforden known as the ‘King of Fjords’ as it is the longest and deepest Fjord in Norway stretching over 200km inland. This was an incredible road, the gargantuan cliff faces made me feel so small and insignificant. It certainly was a massive fjord.

Another ferry crossing from Dragsvik to Hella, then around the fjord road to Sogndal before turning north to Fjaerland ‘Glacier country’. Still ooeing and arghing we camped that evening surrounded by 4 glacier arms!
All these arms were fed from the the Jostedal glacier, the largest in continental Europe with an area of over 480 sqkm and a thickness of 600m

The next day we walked to the Glacier Museum. A really interesting museum, small but very well done, informative and well laid out.
We couldn't get this close to the glaciers and not actually go for a hike on one could we? We found a company, recommended by the museum, and booked a tour for the next day. Realising Pete didn’t have any suitable pants we took a short drive back to Songdal and found a pair on special, success. Unfortunately trying to get out of a very tight area we soon learnt that- long van versus a tight turn= bugger!... back at camp, after some elbow grease with the polish and a little hammer time, Pete minimised the evidence!

Their were 5 of us on our glacier expedition Margarit our guide and Helene and Gutye from France..
Wow what an experience!

It started with a 1hr hike up to the edge of the Haugabreen glacier arm. After a picnic lunch, we layered up, donned our helmet & crampons, grabbed our ice axe and, after a brief lesson on how to walk on the glacier, off we went. We were all roped together with pete at the rear so he could take photos.

Margarit wanted me behind her, not sure why - maybe it was the fear on my face when she mentioned balance, walk face first down a hill, or trust your crampons! She walked effortlessly across the ice, I nervously stomped my way across making sure that each step the well inserted the crampons.

It was a great experience and much to Pete’s disappointment finished way too quickly. He was so comfortable on the ice and in seventh heaven. The guide was extremely concerned about a possible thunderstorm looming. Lightning doesn’t bode well when you are standing on ice holding a steel ice axe! Just as we got off the glacier the rain started - good timing.

Wet and cold, yet very happy, we went back to camp. During the glacier expedition the guide had been telling Pete that the lake we were staying next to had the best Trout in Norway. No more needed to be said... Pete bought a fishing rod, a fishing license (something required in Norway when fishing in a lake) and even though wet and cold, he was in a happy place. Let’s say we didn’t have fish for dinner.

While in Bergen we had learnt about the ‘Norwegian National Tourist Routes’ These are 18 roads of significant natural beauty. The amazing roads we had been on so far didn’t even rate.. according to Norway Tourism!! Each of these routes has been further enhanced by the addition of art installations and Architecturally designed view points and rest areas. The Architects, and artists. along with their inspirations, are acknowledged in both the online literature and the signboards at each stop. It was really nice to see design being respected.

The next day we took our first of these routes- Tourist route 55 - Sognefjellet - ‘On the Roof of Norway’. The route links Gaupne to Lom and yes it lived up to its write up, time to recalibrate our recalibration! Narrow winding roads, steep cliff faces, sheer drop offs and a multitude of waterfalls. I was very stressed - and I wasn’t driving! The route took us from the lush valley of Boverdalen over the highest pass in Norway (1,434m).

We started the day in t-shirts and ended up in fleeces, jeez it was cold. It felt even colder when you could see snow, ice and glaciers on the mountains not that far. The route isn’t all that long, but it took us considerable time as there were so many amazing scenic view points along the way, several with interesting sculptures. We kept stopping to take photos and just soaking up the views.

At the peak there is a resort with quite an interesting architectural space that links two of the original halls, Pete was impressed! Unfortunately There was a large bump in the driveway we went over it there was quite a bang under the car. We started to drive on Pete noticed a noise An unusual noise. A little concerned by this, we decided to call it quits for the day. Pete had a brief look under the car but nothing visible.

The next morning we stopped in Lom to find a garage where we could put the van on a hoist to get a good look underneath. We were sure everything was fine, but peace of mind is better. Especially when we knew we had the ‘Death defying Trollstigen switchbacks’ to come, no place to have car issues. With the help of the technician we checked it out and nothing appeared to be damaged. We were back on track.

While we waited for the hoist we checked out Lom. It has an old stave church allegedly the biggest and most beautiful in the country, dating back to 1158 and an important stopover for pilgrims. It has several outdoor shops, one where Pete finally replaced his now almost deceased boots. It has a very nice bakery but alas no butcher or fishmonger!

Leaving Lom we headed toward our second tourist route-63, the ‘Geiranger-Trollsingsten’ which actually starts at Langvinet

Route 63 was, once again, just incredible and I would highly recommend doing it. As we continued, purely mesmerised the late afternoon fog started to set in and by early evening we were driving through a whiteout. We called it a day in Geiranger hoping the next day, when we would tackle the two famous switchbacks, would see better weather.

Our plan paid off. The next day saw sunshine and clear skies, perfect weather for such a route.
A cruise liner had docked in the bay overnight and we were a little concerned seeing the queues of tour buses about to do the same route as us. We grabbed some breakfast delights, snacks and lunch from the local bakery and headed off ASAP.

OMG what a drive. Spectacular scenery and an amazing climb. The sheer drop offs of the Geiranger switchbacks had me holding my breath on occasions. Pete handled the van well and I managed to control my stress levels. I didn’t grip the arm rests too hard! The roads were crazy narrow. Only one a half car widths, so you had to take it relatively slowly and pull off where possible to be able to pass. The issue was the tour buses - they weren't stopping for anyone! The good thing is the tour buses only went part of the way up, the not so good thing was them careering back down as we continued up!!

The road plateaus out after the switchbacks and you continue through more stunning landscape to the Trollstigen rest area. This is one of those fantastic Architecturally designed cafe and lookouts along the tourist routes. This one was by the firm Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.

What goes up must come down and directly after this stop was the famous Trollstigen switchbacks and the architects had kindly provided overhanging viewpoints just to let you know what awaited you, and help me stress out. What an amazing viewpoint. Great to see architecture so beautifully integrated into nature and respected.

So we had seen the switchbacks below us - oh boy... Ok here we go.....
We made it! Everyone was respectful of speed and passing. There were some crazy people doing it on bicycles!!! Seriously??? They would struggle the top then turn around and hurtle back down! Admiration or stupidity - I’m still not sure.
(In fact it was pretty easy, but fun).

We now headed west following yet another picturesque fjord, including 2 more ferries, to Molde. With precision timing, we reached each ferry point and drove straight on

Just beyond Molde we reached the west coast and our next tourist route- the “Atlanterhavsvegen from Bud to Vevang” This route follows the coast north past rocky headlands and remote fishing villages, what a dramatic change in scenery. We chose to stop for the night just outside Bud, keen to make the most of drive the next morning.

We found a free camping area for the night. no great outlook but there was a sculpture inspired by a can of whipped cream, we had to check it out! It turned out to be a a series of white marble pieces that had been ‘squeezed out all over the rocks and pools along the rocky shores. It was fun and in a strange way really worked with the natural landscape. After a predinner drink at the cliff edge we had a bbq dinner, then a sunset walk back to cliff area for photos of the sculpture.

The Atlanterhavsvegen includes the ‘Atlantic Ocean road’ an 8.3km stretch from Karvag to Vevang connected by 8 bridges. You basically island hop your way up. The new James Bond film for 2020, was filmed here last month on one of the more well known bridges.

We took off, over the first bridge. Pete wanted to pull off to get a photo. When we pulled off we realised it was a diving and fishing operator. Next thing we knew we had booked the guy to take us out on his boat fishing!! (Diving was out of the question... it was 8 degrees in the water and we don’t have dry suit qualifications. There was however 1 guy diving in a normal 5mm wet suit - bollocks to that!!!! We dive in thailand in 28 degrees in boardies and a rashi!!). I was a little disappointed though when I saw the size of the scallops the divers were bringing back.

Olav took us out about 2km from shore. We were given a rod & reel. We both cast whilst Olav sussed out the area. I had a bite and lost the fish about 2m to the boat. So typical!

We reeled in and went back to the same spot so we could drift over the same spot. This time Olav threw in his hand line... his handline had 5 hooks on it, within a minute of casting he reeled in 4 Pollocks, including one monster. Pete immediately gave up the rod and reel and took the handline... first cast he pulled in 4 nice size pollocks. One happy chappy!!! Second cast he reeled in another 3!!!!
We swapped so I could try the handline. I’m obviously a sustainable fisherman... as I had 3 casts pulling in 1 fish each time.

Happy with our catch and way more than we personally needed we headed back. Pete cleaned enough fish our consumption and Olav took the rest for his guests. His company also had Orca expeditions, now that would have been cool! www.orcanorway.no. He is also building a new hotel and was keen to show Pete his plans.
That afternoon we finally made it over all the bridges then, after buying some fresh bread rolls, we stopped and cook up some of our freshly caught fish!! Yummo!!!! Simple meals are sometime so good! Simple pan fried fresh fish in a soft bread roll. :-)

Turning east again we headed toward Trondheim. Time to look for a camp spot, we saw a potential spot down the hill by the waters edge where another camper had just pulled up. We went down to join them. Pete went to park and suddenly I saw the back wheels of the camper sink down into the mud. I felt sick! All I could think of was how the hell are we going to get out of here? Luckily Pete used his 4WD experience. As opposed to revving the car, spinning the wheels and just getting bogged, he managed not to get the camper stuck, but quickly got out of the boggy area! Given the rest of the area wasn’t suitable, we ditched that idea and went back up the hill to find another spot. Shortly up the road we came across a nice pull of with stunning views over the lake on a cliff edge. We lit the Weber and cooked up one of our fish.

Next morning, we drove into Trondheim to look around. Our Sat Nav needed updates loaded so we found a MacDonald’s to use their WiFi (we had previously discovered they have strong free WiFi) Unfortunately this time the WiFi wasn’t so great and the updates didn’t work - in fact we lost all our maps! Now no TomTom!!!! Peeved we wasted time and lost the maps we tried to sort out a new sim card but nothing was straightforward! Annoyed we had wasted the best part of a day we left. Decision time! which route to take? Head east into Sweden then up the middle through the national parks or continue north following the Norwegian coast. We felt we hadn’t given Sweden enough love so we headed towards the border. With about 200 roundabouts and 100 tunnels behind us, we headed to the border of Sweden!....