Norway: Fjords, ferries and fear – terror more accurate but not alliterative!

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6 - 26 June



Oslo had proved a wonderful cultural experience with museums and stunning old and new civic buildings. We soon realised that our journey into and through the fjord area west of Oslo would be a radically different adventure but I don't think either of us had an inkling of how challenging it would prove.



We set of on the E18 through the outer sprawl of the city enjoying the feeling of escaping the busy capital and trusting Kate, our Sat Nav, to do all the hard work for us. She was doing fine despite the thunderstorm and very heavy rain until near Drammen and less than a mile from our turn-off when there was a sign saying the tunnel ahead was closed. Immediately the traffic ground to a standstill on a high flyover stretch of road with narrow lanes between concrete walls. The next 9/10ths of a mile took an excruciating hour and a half to complete, moving only one vehicle distance at a time. It was tedious even listening to music. The good thing was that when we did finally reach the exit, where of course everyone else had to leave the motorway because the tunnel was closed, they all turned left and we turned right. What a relief! After that it was easy and we continued on to Kviteseit, a small free camping spot.



Unbelievably after the bad weather which had been stormy, the next day reached 24C and in Dalen everyone was sun-bathing and a large group of what looked like 6^th formers all raced into the lake. True, they did not stay in more than a couple of seconds but clearly these descendants of Vikings are hardy, or perhaps it was last day of term exuberance.



In the evening we plan the route for the following day with the proviso that we may stop off at any point if we see something of interest. Bright and early we set off en route to Nesflaten full of expectation along a lovely scenic route. It took an hour before we realised that no matter how beautiful the scenery if you can only see a hundred metres ahead through rain and low cloud it is a wasted journey. So we stopped and parked up for the day, turned on the heating and read. Oh, nearly forgot. We might not have seen much of the fjords but we had a great sighting of a pine marten that crossed the road in front of us and then ran alongside for a way. The first one we have ever seen.



Thankfully the next day was a little better and we drove down to Esfjord. There are a few points in the fjords that most tourists visit such as the Pulpit Rock and Lyselfjord. After studying the map intensely we thought we had worked out why. They are places that are relatively easily accessed and where activities such as hiking or a train and ferry ride are available. These places are usually accessible to cruise ship tours. More about that later. From the map it appeared that apart from tourist outlets those spots were replicated hundreds of times in other fjords and mountain passes so we decided to miss most of the busy ones out in the hope that we could avoid the crowds.



Eighteen scenic routes are marked out across the country so we thought we could use some of them as our route and deviate at will. However the routes zig-zag all over the place so trying to map out a sensible way to reach Trondheim on the west coast in central Norway starts to look more complex than solving Rubiks cube. Jim refined the cube solution down to a couple of minutes but even he felt overwhelmed by the challenge of travelling through the fjords. Firstly, many areas just do not have roads, then where they exist many of them are expensive toll roads so have to be chosen carefully and then what look like roads on maps end up proving to be lots of little bits of road joined by ferries. Although each ferry may not cost much, short journeys around £15, when the route ends up using five, six or seven ferries in one day, the total soon mounts up.



Working our way carefully through this maze took time but it is part of the amazing geography of the area. The next day was our first full day on a beautiful, and visible scenic drive as the rain and cloud had disappeared. From Esfjord we planned to drive along Saudafjord, over the highland between fjords, on past Odda and up to the Hardanger region. Jim put the co-ordinates into the Sat Nav and we handed over to Kate and travelled happily along the fjord for twenty miles. I say happily. Within minutes we realised that the driving was not going to be easy. Although on a main road it was narrow and windy. But the views were great.



Then after twenty miles or so, as we approached a crossroads, Kate told us to turn left and left again. In fact that meant turn around and go back. She had been programmed not to do U turns. Jim could not understand what was wrong with her. We just needed to keep on the same road for fifty miles or more. So we ignored her and she worked out another route adding two hours to the journey. We ignored that and she found another route adding three hours. We thought she was having a breakdown. It was only when we were past all possible turn-offs that she agreed to allow us to continue on our original route.



What on earth was happening? As we drove on we started to realise. What looks like a good road on the map turned out to be very narrow, winding, in places impossibly steep, and for miles a basically single track road with very small passing places, non stop blind bends frequently overhung on corners by giant rocks. And of course there are hundreds of tunnels. I have to say the tunnels gave a slight respite as they are usually two lane – but not always.



Jim was gripping his seat in panic. Not at my driving he was quick to assure me (?) but at the stupidity of other drivers plus the fact that he is on the left facing the oncoming vehicles. Crawling around a huge jagged rock on a blind bend on a single lane to be faced with a giant lorry or caravan rushing towards you at high speed certainly focuses the attention. The problem is that these blind and narrow bends are not a rare occurrence but constant. Then add in that much of the road has a gradient reaching one in six you start to get an idea of the level of difficulty. Oh, and did I mention the sheep? If you imagine a five hour roller coaster ride it gives you some idea of the journey. There was no let up at all. It was total concentration accompanied by white knuckles and clenched jaws all the way. Obviously Kate knew the road well and that was why she did not want us to use it but it is a recommended scenic drive. She should have explained but we are beginning to have the nagging sense of dread that all the roads are the same.



One moment I approached yet another blind bend very slowly as two motorbikes came around, the first on my side of the road, they moved over, not slowing of course, then I inched my way round to find another bike hurtling towards us on our side. If I had not already slowed to almost a stop we would have met head on.



Despite the discomfort (or terror) of the drive the journey was fantastic. The views of the fjords are amazing and the numerous powerful waterfalls spectacular. The flat treeless highland terrain above the fjords still has patches of snow and is full of icy ponds and lakes surrounded by boulders covered with green lichen. It is an alien landscape. I am glad we ignored Kate and saw it all but whether our hearts can cope with such intense pressure every day remains to be seen. A nice flat road with a line down the centre would be very welcome tomorrow.



The next couple of days were easier, with stretches of road lined down the centre and numerous tunnels. One day we covered about seventy miles inside tunnels. You don't see the view but neither do vehicles hurtle towards you around blind bends. The respite was welcome. The tunnels are amazing feats of engineering, carved through rock, climbing steeply in places and even looping around inside mountains. The standard varies from very smart and modern, well lit with lined interior walls to basic dark crypt like spaces. One was so roughly hewn through jagged rock, unlit, with water running down the walls that it looked like something dug out by a troll before breakfast.



There is also a weird acoustic effect in the tunnels from time to time. We are not sure why or how but suddenly a sound like a jet engine starting up comes out of nowhere. It gets louder and louder until it sounds as if the jet is flying over your head then it stops abruptly. It is disconcerting whenever you hear it but when we were the only vehicle in the tunnel it is frighteningly eerie.



We made our way across Hardanger Fjord up to Sognefjorden heading for Flam. In the fjord area the scenery falls roughly into three types. The fjords themselves are where glaciers scraped their way down from the mountains carving great rifts in the land. The longest fjords stretch inland from open sea for more than 200 kilometres and the walls reach heights above 1000 metres. The sides of the fjords often rise vertically from sea level with sheer rocky cliffs or rock faces covered in moss and lichen. Trees cling on where the wall is slightly less vertical. Where the glaciers were wide enough to leave a valley behind these are vivid green in summer and very fertile with lots of crops grown especially soft fruits and apples in the Hardanger region. At one site home produced apple juice was available at £12 a litre. Between the fjords are the mountain tops and plateaus still with a good covering of snow. We camped on the top a few times and although it was cooler than in the valleys we liked the space, the quiet and the stunning views. On clear nights when the sun sank low just before midnight it reflected shades of pink and orange on the peaks.



Eventually we reached Flam where a train can be taken on a scenic ride. I knew this trip was popular with cruise passengers but I had not thought about how they arrived there, so it came as a surprise to see that they brought their cruise ship with them. The fjord is wide enough to sail all that way inland. Although the ship was big, it looked tiny against the cliffs. There were so many people bustling around that we did not stay long.



Our next challenge as we headed further north was to reach Dalsnibba, famed as the best view in all Norway. The roads were still exciting but nothing like that first scenic route around Saudafjorden thankfully. We approached over the tops along the road 15. Then we reached the new Dalsnibba five kilometre spur road, a toll road which takes you up to the new look out. It was very busy but because it is new the road has been designed so that the hairpin bends are wide enough for coaches to cross and visibility is good so you can see what is coming. Although you climb and descend quickly it is an easy ride.



At the top the lookout was packed with passengers from what seemed like hundreds of coaches but were probably only twenty in total. Despite that the view is still breathtaking, down along the steep sided fjord with Geiranger village at the waterside and, looking like toys alongside, two huge cruise ships moored there. The lookout is an engineering achievement and being able to see not only the view but the drop below your feet as you stand on a metal mesh platform is worth the crush. As I looked down along the fjord I saw that at the far side of Geiranger the road rose up the cliff in a steep zig-zag.



We descended into Geiranger and once off the new spur road it became clear that the older roads were not as suited to the cruise ship coaches as the new road was. It was hectic as the coaches are constantly racing up and down from the ships ferrying passengers to the high look out points on a totally inadequate infrastructure. As we drove through Geiranger I was thinking at least we are moving out of the cruise ship area now so it should get quieter, but I was mistaken.



Leaving Geiranger to climb out of the fjord the road was just wide enough for two cars to pass and it started rising in a zig-zag with hairpin bends. On the third curve a large coach started coming down around the bend and we both had to stop. After looking at each other for a few seconds the driver signalled to me to reverse. I had hoped he had space behind him up the slope as I knew there was non behind me but no such luck. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to switch off the ignition, climb up to my shelf and hide under the duvet!



However, that was not really an option so I reversed down until he was able to creep around the bend to create some space on the outer edge. Then I had to wriggle around him on the wrong side of the road and into the space on the curve and that allowed him to ease further round. I pulled away and he moved down but then I heard a long angry growl of metal scraping rock so he did not escape undamaged. This Cruise Chaos is repeated wherever coaches from ships can reach a point of interest.





The Geiranger/Trollsteigen (Trolls Ladder) road continued and as fewer coaches go on that far it was not too busy but is an absorbing road descending steeply by wild waterfalls and a real engineering feat to carve it from the rock.



So we continued meandering north until we reached Trondheim where we drove straight into a free site ten minutes walk from the centre. We ate first then about 8pm set off to see the old warehouses along the river and the central square. Unfortunately the square is being redesigned so was covered by heavy machinery and holes in the road. It is due for completion by summer 2020. The warehouses are built on stilts by the waters edge so cargoes could be loaded or unloaded directly from ships. Being able to walk around in full daylight until near midnight is wonderful and the additional daylight seems to give us extra energy. Luckily Astrid's blinds are efficient so when we want to sleep we can block out the light. This will be even more important over the next couple of weeks as we move across the Arctic circle and have midnight sun.



A couple of days after Trondheim, still heading north, but never in a straight line, as roads here don't do straight, we reached a point where we had two options. First was to continue up the Norwegian road, with more tunnels and lots of tolls or hop over the border into Sweden. That seemed the better option as not only was the toll free Swedish road much wider, it crossed through an area full of low forest and lakes, and it gave us the opportunity to do a quick shop at reasonable prices. Jim was very pleased to stock up with beer as he had not had any for well over a week. Even better we came across a number of reindeer ambling along the road. The sun shone so the views were spectacular with mountains, frozen lakes and snow banks at the side of the road all sparkled in the light.



Eventually we crossed back into Norway to follow another scenic route from Mo i Rani to Bodo. The first leg of that journey required two ferries which made a change. The crossing from Kilbogham to Jektvik took fifty minutes and was a pleasant ride along a fjord and past tiny islands. The night stopover was at a lovely viewpoint and picnic area in Hovden, complete with fresh water, beautiful toilets, cassette emptying point and once the cloud lifted, a view of a glacier.



The only difficulty we are encountering as we travel further north (apart from the volume of traffic) is that sites, even expensive ones, don't necessarily have showers and non of them have washing machines. I have hand washed a few things but it looks as though we shall have to wait until we turn south and approach Stockholm before there is a site with a washing machine. I went in the Tourist Information centre in one town and asked if there was a site with clothes washing facilities. You would have thought from the young man's expression that I had made an obscene suggestion or asked where I could catch the space shuttle to the moon! He replied, 'I have never heard of such a thing'.



We drove into Bodo planning to go straight to a free site when we saw that we were passing by the ferry terminal so we turned in there instead. We had intended to take the ferry the next day but it seemed so convenient we joined the queue. It was 2.45pm and the next sailing was at 3pm but they could not guarantee space for us. In fact we did not make it on to that ferry but had to wait for the 6.45pm. It was no problem. We were still in line but we retired into the back of Astrid, had a read, planned our onward route, napped and then cooked an evening meal. We were washed up and packed away in time to board and then we had a very calm three hour crossing to the Lofoten Islands on a perfectly flat sea.



At one moment I looked up from my iPad to see a whale alongside us. That was the first marine life viewed since Denmark where I saw a dolphin. Surprisingly we have seen very few birds here but do hear cuckoos most days. We camped near A (that is the name of the village) and by then it was midnight but more like mid-day. A strange but pleasant experience as people were wondering about feeling that it was inappropriate to go to sleep because of the bright sun.



The Lofotens are a long chain of islands looking like a spiny monster rising from the sea. The spines are jagged peaks and rocky outcrops. It is wild and beautiful with vast racks of drying cod still on display by the shore. The coastal bays and inlets have strings of fishing hamlets and villages scattered along the water's edge so the population seems quite large but of course most of the land is too steep to be habitable. It could be a wonderful place to visit.



Unfortunately the numbers of visitors and vehicles create real problems. There are lookout points but most times we tried to stop they were so full we gave up and drove on. The roads are reasonable with a little common sense and patience. But these seem to be in short supply if the amount of burnt rubber at every sharp bend and crest of hill is any indicator. But whining over. It is a stunning landscape and we have enjoyed visiting the Lofotens.



On the 20^th June we decided it was possibly our last chance to watch the midnight sun somewhere facing north for the best view. It was a clear day after three or four cloudy and overcast ones so we crossed our fingers it would last past midnight and pulled into a parking spot in an elevated position facing north. I went for a walk in the afternoon but saw few birds along the shore. Where are they all? One night a pair of Oyster Catchers were nesting close to Astrid. I had never realised how noisy they can be. The next night we were by a bird hide and viewed a pair of Black Throated Divers and lots of talkative Redshanks hidden away in low reeds. However we have been really surprised by how few birds are around.





Anyway, back to my walk. I was returning to Astrid a little disappointed with the lack of birds when a stoat ran across the road in front of me but instead of disappearing into the undergrowth he just stood watching me, presenting the perfect opportunity for a photo. Suddenly another stoat careered into view, racing about chaotically. He had a mouse in his mouth. He came very close so I saw the mouth clearly. I could not tell if it was the effort of controlling the struggling rodent or if it was excitement and pride in his hunting prowess that was causing the agitation. As soon as he saw me he veered off into the vegetation, clearly not wanting anyone to take his prize away. I managed a couple of shots with difficulty before he disappeared.



Then I turned back to where the first stoat had been but was not really expecting to see him again. He was there just a little further along the bank. Then started what I can only describe as a photographic version of Whack-A-Mole, or stoat in this case! He popped up out of a hole in the vegetation, stood tall for a second, then dived back down the hole to appear a few feet away and repeat the exercise. Stand upright, until I had the camera focused, then down again to come up somewhere else. He must have had little tunnels through the plants to join the holes as there were six or seven that he appeared at randomly. He kept me entertained for ages before finally disappearing. I hope he was allowed to share the mouse meal as he deserved it for providing such fun.



That night we waited for the Midnight Sun and had a wonderful view as it seemed to roll along the low islands out to sea, almost touching them but not quite, on it's journey around the horizon to start another day without dipping out of sight at all.



The weather closed in the next day and for the following three days we had almost non-stop rain and low cloud so we decided to start moving onto the mainland and back across the border in Sweden again to use their roads to travel south.



Jim had not been comfortable on the Norwegian roads and we had seen and experienced lots of near misses so I couldn't blame him really especially as he has the 'hot seat' facing the oncoming traffic in the middle of the road. Plus we were starting to find the weather depressing. Until then the pattern had seemed to be one very good day then two poor ones which had been fine but now it was grim. Driving south Astrid must have thought she had been converted to an amphibious craft if her wake in the road was anything to judge by. There was so much surface water it was like being at sea. When we arrived in Jokkmokk and checked in to a site (first pay site for 12 nights but no showers) the man told Jim that Norwegians come across to Sweden just to drive on the roads. 'They love them', he said. After experiencing Norwegian roads we can understand why!



We visited the Sami museum in Jokkmokk. It was interesting with displays of various Sami crafts, costumes and wildlife. I identified that on our walks we had seen fresh Elk and Reindeer droppings but so far we have failed to spot the Elk despite most of the roads having signs warning of their presence.



Then we changed our travel plan. We had been heading south as we needed to reach a site with a washing machine and the nearest was near Stockholm, two to three days away at our speed. We had not had a real shower for a fortnight so that and the need for clean clothes and bedding made us opt to turn east towards the Finnish border where in Nikkala, only one day away, the site advertised a washing machine and showers. So that was where we headed and thankfully the washing machine was still there and functioning although there was no dryer. We were so lucky that day as the sun shone so we hung the clothes out and by evening everything had been cleaned including us.



As we have travelled so far east we decided that rather than return through Sweden and Denmark we are going to continue on via Finland, cross by ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn and drive through the tiny Baltic states of Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania. That is today's plan anyway. We will let you know if that is what we did in the next blog.

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Photos

Pretty church on easy stretch of road.
Prettier ones usually where Jim could not let go of restraints in Astrid