What a trip! Ive updated the daily blogs with route maps to give an idea where I was. Very good weather overall, with one wet day, and two dodging showers but mostly dry. Total mileage in Norway was 3587 miles, managing to get 200 miles above the arctic circle. Bike didn't miss a beat, the only maintenance being a check of tyre pressures and an oil top up on last day but one (500ml)
Don't think you can go far wrong wherever you go in Norway.
Using the Immingham freighter is a definite recommendation if travelling solo, perhaps not so cheap if you have a pillion but you'll have to do the maths on time & cost dependant on your situation. Me & the bike cost around £460 return for a 26 hour trip with own en suite cabin & all meals. Very convenient from north of England/ midlands.
Accomodation in Norway no problem, especially for the first three weeks in June ( Norway schools generally finish last week in June so that's when holiday season starts through to mid august). I only prebooked the first night and the nights on Lofoten, everything else was on spec the day or so before dependant on where I planned to be.
Wouldn't bother with tent next time but would use combination of hytte and Vandrerhjem hostels. 300 to 450nok for two bed hytte on reasonable sites and 300 to 500nok for private en suite room in Vandrerhjem incl breakfast. Cost depends on popularity & location. Most of the rooms I had were twins so a cost saving can be had if you don't mind sharing with a mate. Also its worth getting a YHA card as this gets you 10 to 15% discount in hostels (card is about £15 in UK - there is a tesco clubcard deal at the moment which gets you one for £5, but theyre available to buy at the hostels in Norway for similar UK price). Whatever you've heard about Norway being expensive is true, so budget where you can or start saving.
I mainly self catered, took some ready meals and used local supermarkets. I thought there was a great shortage of places to stop on the road for a snack/drink other than petrol stations, but these were fine. Not many roadside cafes like in UK. Take a bottle of your favourite tipple, managed to make my Glenlivet last until day 11!!!
Thoroughly recommend the Hardanger hostel as a base for a few days.
Buy a statoil mug on the first day of your trip and maximise those coffe stops!
I was reasonably organised and had a rough itinerary, but use the local tourist info offices for ideas on places to see plus plague the life out of the hostel staff who know the area.
Gravel roads are great fun and generally take you out of the way to the best spots. Off the main roads you don't get the choice anyway.
Definitely go to the Lofoten Islands, you'll need a minimum of 3 days to do them justice, it's just a long way there and back unless you're going to Nordkapp anyway.
If you have an iPhone get the free Viber app for 'free' (uses your contract allowance) international calls & texts to other iPhones with Viber - works via Internet so you need a connection but I got one every night as every hostel had free wifi - otherwise this blog wouldn't have been done daily.
By the way, all the daily blogs were done using my oldish 3g Iphone with an app called 'BlogPress'. There may be others but this app was even easier to use than Blogger itself!!!
Can't wait to get back there and will definitely return 2012 if not sooner!!
Posted on the go
Friday, 1 July 2011
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Norway day13&14
13 - unlucky for some, and in this case last day but one of the trip, the final one spent crossing the north sea on the Tor Begonia again from Brevick.
Lofthus only 4 1/2 hours or so from Brevik, so plenty of time for a few stops. Must say that the Hardanger Hostel was the best of the trip(and cheapest) and worth bearing in mind as a first night stop if landing at Brevik in the future.
First quick stop is down the 13 at Odda....
Alot of industry here, well they've got to put it somwhere.
A bit further on another stop at the Latefossen falls, which are so close to highway 13 as to spray it and then run under it.
The road turns into the E134 and now skirts around south of the Hardangervidda and gradually rises up to bleak plateau
Spot a speed trap here - a cop crouched behind a tripod mounted camera gun halfway along a mile long straight, with his mates in a coned off layby awaiting customers with a credit card machine no doubt. The cop was sat on his arse behind the tripod and resembled a wildlife photographer in a hide - only about 3 foot high and you'd never spot him. Just as well he was clocking traffic on the other side.
I'd checked the rough guide, and it's a worthwhile detour up highway 37 to a town called Rjukan, scene of one of the most daring sabotage operations of World War 2 on the heavy water plant at Vemork - remember 'Heroes of Telemark' with Kirk Douglas??
Accessed via a single lane suspension bridge - bikes can go over and park right next to the museum, cars not and stay in the car park and use a shuttle mini bus to get up there
The gorge sides are vertical - the saboteurs climbed down into then up the gorge, in February with everything covered in ice and then escaped the same way. An amazing feat when you see the gorge in reality.
The Vemork power plant is now an industrial museum and I spent a good 2 hours there. Worth a visit
Education & Culture visit completed, a steady run down to Brevik, keeping an eye out for these guys
No elks(moose) to report and I get to the North Sea Terminal at about 20:30. Very early as it happens as the ship hasn't got in yet, so the guy in the harbour office suggests killing time in Brevik itself. It's a nice evening and Brevik village turns out to be quite charming - surrounding a marina and everyone out & about in their boats
Back to the terminal for 22:30 and the ships unloading so they take pity and let me on
Sailing is at 03:00 but there's a bit of a commotion when they discover some illegals in a lorry trailer. The delay with the customs and cops mean we lose our harbour pilot slot and we don't actually sail until 10:00 - a seven hour delay. The ship must have made time up overnight as we eventually dock at Immingham on a grey & drizzly Saturday morning at 09:30. From there it's just under a hours run home to Lincoln.
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Lofthus only 4 1/2 hours or so from Brevik, so plenty of time for a few stops. Must say that the Hardanger Hostel was the best of the trip(and cheapest) and worth bearing in mind as a first night stop if landing at Brevik in the future.
First quick stop is down the 13 at Odda....
Alot of industry here, well they've got to put it somwhere.
A bit further on another stop at the Latefossen falls, which are so close to highway 13 as to spray it and then run under it.
The road turns into the E134 and now skirts around south of the Hardangervidda and gradually rises up to bleak plateau
Spot a speed trap here - a cop crouched behind a tripod mounted camera gun halfway along a mile long straight, with his mates in a coned off layby awaiting customers with a credit card machine no doubt. The cop was sat on his arse behind the tripod and resembled a wildlife photographer in a hide - only about 3 foot high and you'd never spot him. Just as well he was clocking traffic on the other side.
I'd checked the rough guide, and it's a worthwhile detour up highway 37 to a town called Rjukan, scene of one of the most daring sabotage operations of World War 2 on the heavy water plant at Vemork - remember 'Heroes of Telemark' with Kirk Douglas??
Accessed via a single lane suspension bridge - bikes can go over and park right next to the museum, cars not and stay in the car park and use a shuttle mini bus to get up there
The gorge sides are vertical - the saboteurs climbed down into then up the gorge, in February with everything covered in ice and then escaped the same way. An amazing feat when you see the gorge in reality.
The Vemork power plant is now an industrial museum and I spent a good 2 hours there. Worth a visit
Education & Culture visit completed, a steady run down to Brevik, keeping an eye out for these guys
No elks(moose) to report and I get to the North Sea Terminal at about 20:30. Very early as it happens as the ship hasn't got in yet, so the guy in the harbour office suggests killing time in Brevik itself. It's a nice evening and Brevik village turns out to be quite charming - surrounding a marina and everyone out & about in their boats
Back to the terminal for 22:30 and the ships unloading so they take pity and let me on
Sailing is at 03:00 but there's a bit of a commotion when they discover some illegals in a lorry trailer. The delay with the customs and cops mean we lose our harbour pilot slot and we don't actually sail until 10:00 - a seven hour delay. The ship must have made time up overnight as we eventually dock at Immingham on a grey & drizzly Saturday morning at 09:30. From there it's just under a hours run home to Lincoln.
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Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Norway day 12
Only 106 miles today. Mid morning start, early finish and more of a 'visiting' day.
Rough plan was to trundle along highway 7 to Geilo and go up any interesting looking side roads
along the way.First interesting one was signposted in Ovre Eidfjord to Hjelmo, and on the map had a few squiggles!!!! This is what turned up a few km along
And this is what followed when the tarmac run out and the gravel began
Then the hairpins started in earnest
Until about 6 miles later it's the end of the road and I'm on top of the Hardangervidda plateau
I reckon it's an access road to a parking area for the hikers. So, that was a good start, and nows the fun on the way down back to rejoin highway 7.
Not more than 6 mile or so further on from Ovre Eidfjord there's a set of tunnels that corkscrew their way up - one of them I'm sure did 3x360 whilst in there as I was forever turning left!!!! Exiting these was a waterfall - the Voringsfossen, apparently the best known waterfall in Norway, plunging 182m
And by the look of this, it wasn't the only thing plunging over the edge
As I'm lingering having a drink & snack I'm leafing through a tourist guide and it seems one of europe's biggest hydroelectric power station is just down the road. Daily guided tours and sad bastard that I am, it's a busmans holiday as I get there for the afternoon tour. Sima Kraftverk is the place.
The turbine hall is 700m inside the mountain, and you get there by bus. Quick look around the turbine hall and then out
Just above the power plant is Kjaesen mountain farm, previously inaccesible by car but now accessed from a road built during the power station construction in the 1970's. There's also a 1mile long unlit tunnel at the end of the road
The purpose of going all the way up is the views over Simafjorden from the farm
No fences up here and it's 600m straight down when the grass stops!
Not been much more than 40 miles from base today, but been enjoyable and interesting, and I'm back at Lofthus by 16:00.
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Rough plan was to trundle along highway 7 to Geilo and go up any interesting looking side roads
along the way.First interesting one was signposted in Ovre Eidfjord to Hjelmo, and on the map had a few squiggles!!!! This is what turned up a few km along
And this is what followed when the tarmac run out and the gravel began
Then the hairpins started in earnest
Until about 6 miles later it's the end of the road and I'm on top of the Hardangervidda plateau
I reckon it's an access road to a parking area for the hikers. So, that was a good start, and nows the fun on the way down back to rejoin highway 7.
Not more than 6 mile or so further on from Ovre Eidfjord there's a set of tunnels that corkscrew their way up - one of them I'm sure did 3x360 whilst in there as I was forever turning left!!!! Exiting these was a waterfall - the Voringsfossen, apparently the best known waterfall in Norway, plunging 182m
And by the look of this, it wasn't the only thing plunging over the edge
As I'm lingering having a drink & snack I'm leafing through a tourist guide and it seems one of europe's biggest hydroelectric power station is just down the road. Daily guided tours and sad bastard that I am, it's a busmans holiday as I get there for the afternoon tour. Sima Kraftverk is the place.
The turbine hall is 700m inside the mountain, and you get there by bus. Quick look around the turbine hall and then out
Just above the power plant is Kjaesen mountain farm, previously inaccesible by car but now accessed from a road built during the power station construction in the 1970's. There's also a 1mile long unlit tunnel at the end of the road
The purpose of going all the way up is the views over Simafjorden from the farm
No fences up here and it's 600m straight down when the grass stops!
Not been much more than 40 miles from base today, but been enjoyable and interesting, and I'm back at Lofthus by 16:00.
Location:R13(old),,Norway
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Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Norway day11
304 miles today as I head south, ending up at Lofthus alongside the Sorfiord which is an arm of the Hardangerfiord.
From Stryn it was another run east along the 15 with the lake absolutely still
Past the turning for the Strynefjellt and through the tunnel and along the road to Lom. This is where the fun started and the next 80 miles along the Sognefjellsveg and Aurlandsvegen mountain roads.
This was unbroken 80 miles of this....
Followed by this......
And this......
And turning off the Sognefjellsveg after 55 miles at the Turtagro Hotel to go along the toll road to Ovre Ardal which cuts out the ferry at Fodnes.
The toll road is the one going over the mountain to the left.
After dropping into Ovre Ardal via some of the tightest hairpins I've been on for a while, I follow the fiord around on the 53 to Laerdal and the fun starts again as its the start of the Aurlandsvegen mountain road to Aurland & Flam. Of course you can always take the 25km tunnel and miss this...
And this......
And coming down to views over the Aurlandsfiord like these
It's that enough for one day? No, leave Flam via the E16 tunnels heading for Voss but took the detour to Stalheim to get this view of the Naeroydal valley as it was only about 2 miles out of the way
Another ferry then awaits at the end of the 13 to cross the Eidfiord and a ten mile or so run to the digs at Lofthus. Very nice place, it's in the local Folkehogskule which has shut for the school hols
It's the cheapest of the trip so far, working out at 285nok (£32) incl breakfast plus I got upgraded for free to an ensuite!!!!
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From Stryn it was another run east along the 15 with the lake absolutely still
Past the turning for the Strynefjellt and through the tunnel and along the road to Lom. This is where the fun started and the next 80 miles along the Sognefjellsveg and Aurlandsvegen mountain roads.
This was unbroken 80 miles of this....
Followed by this......
And this......
And turning off the Sognefjellsveg after 55 miles at the Turtagro Hotel to go along the toll road to Ovre Ardal which cuts out the ferry at Fodnes.
The toll road is the one going over the mountain to the left.
After dropping into Ovre Ardal via some of the tightest hairpins I've been on for a while, I follow the fiord around on the 53 to Laerdal and the fun starts again as its the start of the Aurlandsvegen mountain road to Aurland & Flam. Of course you can always take the 25km tunnel and miss this...
And this......
And coming down to views over the Aurlandsfiord like these
It's that enough for one day? No, leave Flam via the E16 tunnels heading for Voss but took the detour to Stalheim to get this view of the Naeroydal valley as it was only about 2 miles out of the way
Another ferry then awaits at the end of the 13 to cross the Eidfiord and a ten mile or so run to the digs at Lofthus. Very nice place, it's in the local Folkehogskule which has shut for the school hols
It's the cheapest of the trip so far, working out at 285nok (£32) incl breakfast plus I got upgraded for free to an ensuite!!!!
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Norway day11
I've been here for 10 days and what's bugging me is that almost every bus stop has a grassy roof. Now I can understand the old houses in the woods that have this, and other older buildings - but still not sure why- but bus stops?
Does it happen naturally? Is it cultivated? If so do you buy a packet seed selection of moss, lichen and grass for your bus stop roof? It doesn't stop at bus stops either - wheely bin shelters, village notice boards, garden sheds.
Answers on the back of a £10 note please
Does it happen naturally? Is it cultivated? If so do you buy a packet seed selection of moss, lichen and grass for your bus stop roof? It doesn't stop at bus stops either - wheely bin shelters, village notice boards, garden sheds.
Answers on the back of a £10 note please
Monday, 20 June 2011
Norway day10
178 miles today, round trip to Sogndal. From Stryn went round the fiord to Olden on the 60. Two cruise ships in at Olden , the Costa Maria (which I saw at Geiranger yesterday) and the Balmoral! I've been on this ship down to the north coast of Spain so that was a coincidence. The ships must stop at Olden because of it's anchorage depth/ size and access to other parts of the area as there's nothing there really.
I carry on around the fiord on the 60 and then head up and over at Utvik and pick up the E39 to head south for Skei. This goes along a valley called Vatedalen for about 12 miles - it chucked it down really heavily for the whole length then cleared at Skei,where I turned left onto the 5 all the way to Sogndal. Alot of tunnels on this road but two highlights - the first is the Boyabreen glacier. Just as you exit the Fjaerlandstunnelen going south look out for the signposted road left 500m from the tunnel. You drive about 1/2 mile to the car park and cafe and from there the foot of the glacier is about another 200m stroll. Couldn't be easier!!
The second highlight is the viewpoint overlooking the Fjaerland fiord which is after the next tunnel.
Stopped here for a quick drink & biscuit and ended up staying about 30 minutes watching a porpoise in the water below. Too far away for a pic but I had my little binocs which came in handy.
Turn right at Sogndal on the 55 heading along the fiord side to the ferry from Hella to Dragsvik (15mins 42nok). Had a 30 minute wait for this one. When it docked, most of the cars came off, did a 180 and went back on again!! We were then boarded. It was all to do with the boat operating a triangular route, leaving its original point, picking us up then going on to a different place from where it started
Four german bikers already on the boat, and I was to bump into them numerous times over the afternoon.
I now start the best bit of today's jaunt, up and over 57 miles of the Gaularfjellt - it's the route13 mountain road from Balestrand to it's junction with the E39 at Moskog. Steep hairpins, barren mountain top plateaus, iced over lakes, waterfalls etc etc. Oh, and numerous stops to bump into a gang of Germans
From Moskog it's raining and I'm heading back to Skei along the E39 and then a reverse of the mornings run. It's rains even harder back along the Vatedalen valley and clears a bit at Byrkjelo junction.
As I'm coming to Olden, Balmoral has left and the Italian cruise ship is about to leave. There's a Statoil opposite the dock so I get myself a free coffee and watch the ship pull away parallel, then spin on it's on axis in a stretch of water not much wider than the ship is long. Pretty impressive, and it must be done all the time.
Only 15mins back to Stryn, and plans to be made for the route tomorrow to Lofthus on the Hardangerfiord
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I carry on around the fiord on the 60 and then head up and over at Utvik and pick up the E39 to head south for Skei. This goes along a valley called Vatedalen for about 12 miles - it chucked it down really heavily for the whole length then cleared at Skei,where I turned left onto the 5 all the way to Sogndal. Alot of tunnels on this road but two highlights - the first is the Boyabreen glacier. Just as you exit the Fjaerlandstunnelen going south look out for the signposted road left 500m from the tunnel. You drive about 1/2 mile to the car park and cafe and from there the foot of the glacier is about another 200m stroll. Couldn't be easier!!
The second highlight is the viewpoint overlooking the Fjaerland fiord which is after the next tunnel.
Stopped here for a quick drink & biscuit and ended up staying about 30 minutes watching a porpoise in the water below. Too far away for a pic but I had my little binocs which came in handy.
Turn right at Sogndal on the 55 heading along the fiord side to the ferry from Hella to Dragsvik (15mins 42nok). Had a 30 minute wait for this one. When it docked, most of the cars came off, did a 180 and went back on again!! We were then boarded. It was all to do with the boat operating a triangular route, leaving its original point, picking us up then going on to a different place from where it started
Four german bikers already on the boat, and I was to bump into them numerous times over the afternoon.
I now start the best bit of today's jaunt, up and over 57 miles of the Gaularfjellt - it's the route13 mountain road from Balestrand to it's junction with the E39 at Moskog. Steep hairpins, barren mountain top plateaus, iced over lakes, waterfalls etc etc. Oh, and numerous stops to bump into a gang of Germans
From Moskog it's raining and I'm heading back to Skei along the E39 and then a reverse of the mornings run. It's rains even harder back along the Vatedalen valley and clears a bit at Byrkjelo junction.
As I'm coming to Olden, Balmoral has left and the Italian cruise ship is about to leave. There's a Statoil opposite the dock so I get myself a free coffee and watch the ship pull away parallel, then spin on it's on axis in a stretch of water not much wider than the ship is long. Pretty impressive, and it must be done all the time.
Only 15mins back to Stryn, and plans to be made for the route tomorrow to Lofthus on the Hardangerfiord
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