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Published: September 24th 2022
Dear All
This blog entry relates my travels around the southern coast of Norway, dubbed the "Norwegian Riviera" as it is very much the country's favourite summer holiday destination. I took a break from the highlights of the western fjords and cruise ships, and delved I feel into a bit of the real Norway beyond the picture postcards. I spent a lovely three days on Norway's southern coast, off-the-beaten international tourist track, and spoke in Norwegian for pretty much my whole time there, impressing myself with how much I could get by with it. I could certainly say things I needed to say, and read things, but when people spoke back to me it was a bit trickier to understand. But I loved being able to practise it there, without people readily speaking back to me in English - those six months of learning Norwegian on DuoLingo certainly started to pay off!
After some amazing sights and experiences in Bergen and Stavanger, I took a bus heading back towards Oslo along Norway's beautiful southern coast, alighting at a small coastal town around an hour east of Norway's fifth largest city, Kristiansand, in a place called Arendal. I must admit
that I wanted to stay there as it's this town's name which inspired Elsa and Anna to live in "Arendelle" in Disney's "Frozen". I do like to follow my imagination in a country when I visit it, and "Frozen" definitely stirred up impressions of how I imagined Norway to be. I thought that after Stavanger, the south of Norway would be a little flatter and less beautiful, but boy was I wrong! After having taken a highly scenic train journey from Oslo to Bergen, and then an adventurous sea journey from Bergen to Stavanger, I took a beautiful bus journey this time. The whole five hours was filled with crossing bridges over vast valleys, skirting azure fjord waters with sparkling sunlight reflections, and traversing mountains through long, dark tunnels. The tunnels in Norway even have road junctions and roundabouts in them! I learned in Stavanger that Norway has the world's highest bridge per capita ratio in a country, and I'm not surprised - they are everywhere. The country I'd seen thus far was invariably hilly, and walking the streets even of cities involved up and down motions constantly. I remember also reading that one of the reasons for Viking expansions
overseas was that the Vikings were running out of flat farmland at home. I found this a bit hard to believe at the time looking at a map and the size of Norway, but after having been there, I can now completely understand this - there is hardly any flat land anywhere! This certainly makes for a beautiful country, with stunning scenery and landscapes. I felt that the journey from Stavanger to Arendal had more stunning scenery than any road journey I had taken in England, even those passing through the Peak and Lake Districts.
After departing busy Kristiansand, I told the bus driver that I was alighting in Arendal, and was glad that I did as I don't think he would have made that stop otherwise. I was deposited at an out-of-town shopping centre on the outskirts of town, and had booked an Air BnB around half-a-mile away as the crow flies, so it seemed convenient to be able to walk between the two. I hadn't counted on the rugged terrain between the shopping centre and my accommodation though, and ended up walking 25 minutes in total with backpacks in tow, having to circumnavigate the shopping centre and
its car park, find a bridge to cross over the steep river gorge next to it, navigate the windy roads which zigged and zagged up and down two hilly stretches, and use gravel and dirt paths along the way. Google Maps was useless there as the roads were inaccurate and it didn't show the paths that I needed to take between them. Thank goodness for Maps.Me though which did, and I've no idea how the app is able to know all the tiny little paths interspersing the winding country roads in such an off-beat location, but it did! It was certainly an adventure getting to my accommodation, one that I wasn't looking forward to repeating at around 6.45am on the Saturday morning when I was due to take my onward bus again.
The accommodation was interesting. It was the basement of a bus driver's forest cabin, at the very top of one of the numerous hills in the area - it had sweeping and commanding views, but was a right bind to get there with my backpacks. Nevertheless, it was cosy, clean and comfortable, and had everything I needed and more besides, including an oven, fridge and washing machine,
Amazing Scenery
Stavanger to Arendalas well as a small sitting room with TV connected to a BBC channel which enabled me to watch "Live at the Apollo" each evening in the middle of this very Norwegian experience. It felt like staying in a comfortable, cosy Norwegian cabin in the woods, complete with rustic and musty smell. The bus driver, who I never met, slept upstairs, directly above my room - I could tell this as I could hear him snoring in my bedroom - nothing that my earplugs couldn't fix at least! Upon arrival, I had a couple of hours left of the day to explore the interesting town of Arendal, and headed along the 25-minute walk into town.
As mentioned, Kristiansand and its surrounding coastal towns are Norway's coastal summer hotspot. There are not so many beaches there, but there are lots of pretty little white-washed harbour towns, and every Norwegian family seemed to own a cabin and a boat down there. It was like the Costa del Sol, or Bournemouth or Brighton, for Norwegians. And since my visit also coincided with the Norwegian summer holidays, the area was heaving, and turned out to be a very interesting, quirky place to visit.
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Stavanger to Arendal I always enjoy visiting a country to learn more about the people, and there I could clearly see how the Norwegians do their summer times - with ice-cream, shopping, live music, and lots of activities on the water. I noted that a Norwegian pop band called "Keiino", who I have grown to like since their amazing 2019 Eurovision Song Contest entry "Spirit in the Sky", were just in town the previous week with a live concert. They mix what is known as "Scandipop" with traditional Sami "joiking" - an amazing combination, and I particularly recommend their songs "Praying" and "Colours" if anyone is interested.
On my walk into Arendal, I stopped off at its famous "Glassheisen til Fløyheia", or "The Glass Elevator" to the 147m Fløyheia hill overlooking the centre of town below. It is an interesting structure, with a long platform jutting over the edge of a high cliff, with great views over the streets below and the harbour, sea and offshore islands beyond. The weather during my time there was perfect, sunny and warm, and the place definitely had a holiday vibe to it. I then walked around the shopping streets and harbourside paths of town, past
Amazing Scenery
Stavanger to Arendal so many people on holiday and enjoying themselves, with most people ready to exchange a nice smile or a cheerful "hallo". After walking the 25 minutes back to my accommodation again, I stopped at a nearby supermarket, and stocked up on my provisions for my time there. I had the feeling that whilst I wouldn't be finding such awesome and stunning sights as I'd previously encountered thus far, I would still enjoy getting to know this cute and delightful little corner of the country - I was looking forward to my time there!
In honesty, I had a slightly troubled sleep that first night though, involving a few too many thoughts based on having seen films of people staying in cabins in woods and lots of bad things happening to them. This wasn't helped by the snoring upstairs, without having met my host and being able to put a snore to a face, and the many movements in the middle of the night that came from upstairs - either the gentleman was nocturnal, or he worked late- or night-shifts on the buses. Whilst my bedroom door didn't have a lock on it, I manoeuvred my bed so that it
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Stavanger to Arendal blocked the door from opening from the outside. Perhaps this was a slight overreaction to these thoughts, but I felt better able to sleep at least.
I had planned for my first full day there to explore two other little towns along the stretch of coastline between Kristiansand and Arendal, finding that the local bus number 100 plies the coastline there every half-an-hour - perfect! The coastal settlements of Lillesand and Grimstad were both just lovely, and in fact so similar to each other that I had a bit of deja vu when visiting Grimstad after having spent time exploring Lillesand first. Both are small holiday towns with central pedestrianised areas filled with lovely little whitewashed cottages, plenty of quirky little boutiques and cafes, and heaps of Norwegians enjoying their summer holidays. They were also both centred around pretty little harbours, and overlooked by a lovely church at the top of a hill just to the east of the centre. In both churches sat a friendly young man greeting visitors, and offering free coffee and biscuits - how nice! I enjoyed two coffees for the day in these two churches, whilst also being able to stop, pray and contemplate
Amazing Scenery
Stavanger to Arendal my journey there. I love including a sit in a church when I visit a place, it helps me gather my thoughts and gives me great ideas and feelings for the day. Both churches also had a large and very detailed model ship hanging down over the aisle, which was quite unusual I thought, although I later learned that this was a church tradition also in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The second man on duty told me that these represented the sea-going heritage of the southern coast, and also how Jesus and Christianity provides the safety of a boat during a storm over troubled waters. This lovely belief must also be important to the Faroese and Icelanders too, with their own sea-going nature and backgrounds in fishing. The first church's altarpiece depicted the miracle of Jesus walking on water whilst helping Peter who doubted and began to sink; the second altarpiece depicted I believe Jesus's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were both lovely little towns, and I particularly enjoyed visiting their lovely and welcoming churches.
The town of Arendal is actually very similar in all these respects to both Lillesand and Grimstad, just on a larger
scale - with more pedestrianised streets, more shops, and more Norwegians enjoying the sun. It was a lovely little day, in some lovely little towns, in this lovely little cute part of Norway - the Norwegian word "hyggelig" meaning nice, cute and cosy, sprang to mind when contemplating my visits on this day. It was certainly a very "hyggelig" day 😊
I also had a wonderful last full day on the Norwegian Riviera the following day, my last one in Norway. I very much enjoyed an amazing time in this absolutely stunningly beautiful country, and I don't think I've ever been to a country which has jaw-dropping views throughout, wherever you go, and out of the window of every form of transport you take to travel through it. It is a country of superlative natural wonder, and I feel I'd only just scratched the surface of it. There's plenty more of it further north, and perhaps this may warrant a re-visit at some point in the future.
I spent this final day exploring the beautiful coastal and marine Raet National Park nearby, and then the tiny village of Nelaug, in the middle of nowhere to the north, but
actually an important railway junction, with a lovely lake to dip in besides.
In the morning I caught a bus to the island of Tromøya just to the east of Arendal, and alighted at the entryway to the Hove peninsula, part of the Raet National Park. 98% of this national park is actually in the sea, but its tiny 2% of coastal and island territory was still beautiful to explore, with amazing views over the sea. It is an important geological area, as the numerous boulders, rocks, islets and skerries which punctuate the landscape are clear evidence of glaciation in the area, as rock materials deposited by the glaciers, known as moraine, are what make up these features. First up, I thought I'd grab a bite to eat at a nearby eatery, which turned out to be the very upmarket and posh Arendal Herregaard Spa and Resort. Their website claims to have a bakery, but upon arrival the friendly lady in reception told me that it had closed down the previous summer, but there was an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast available still for around £17. This was not a bad price for Norway, considering main dishes in restaurants are often
upwards of £20. Why not, I thought - it was my last full day in Norway, and after getting by thus far on self-catering, I thought I'd splash out a bit. I was not disappointed, and took advantage of the all-you-can-eat nature of the buffet - my plates were piled high! I think this was one of the largest breakfasts I have ever had in my life - I'm not sure how my tummy had enough room for it all, but it certainly set me up for the day's hiking ahead. I had bacon, eggs, omelette, fried sausages, potatoes and vegetables, olives, tomatoes, smoked salmon, cold meat cuts, brie and camembert cheese, two croissants, two other nice breads, a fruit bowl, yoghurt, grapefruit juice, orange juice, coffee and a glass of milk. I couldn't manage the four breads I'd taken, but this was the plan anyway, and a technique which I'd learned from my youth-hostelling younger years - to have something to take away for lunch as well! I think you could say I got my money's worth, and I left the Spa and Resort a happy, and full, man!
From there, I walked three miles around the Hove
peninsula and onto Spornes Beach, before heading back inland again to the Tromøya church, to await a bus to my next destination. I impressed myself with my Norwegian as I was able to ask the bus driver in Norwegian whether it would be possible to journey with him until the end of the bus route at the eastern tip of the island, and then return to Arendal with him - and I also understood and responded to his response, which was basically yes! Happy days!
Back in Arendal, I then took a train to the afore-mentioned tiny, middle-of-nowhere station called Nelaug. Arendal itself is not on the main railway line from Oslo to Stavanger along the southern coast, but Nelaug is. Thus, I took the branch line which links Arendal to this main railway line, taking about 40 minutes. It was another beautiful journey, passing rivers, valleys, lakes, mountains and forests - I think this is a given for all railway journeys in Norway to be honest, as the country seems only to be made up of rivers, valleys, lakes, mountains and forests! I had two hours in Nelaug before the return journey back to Arendal, and I spent
it with a fellow traveller I met upon arrival in the village from Germany. We explored the tiny village of 161 inhabitants, its one village store, and the various disused railway lines around the station. The area seems home to a few industrial rail lines from the past, and my temporary travel companion seemed to be very much a rail enthusiast - we spent a long time walking along disused railway tracks! The village also had a dam, which created a reservoir behind it called Lake Nelaug, which was just begging to be bathed in, which I did. The water was ice cold, and perfect on this warm summer's day. After just over an hour, we'd pretty much done Nelaug, and spent our second hour back in the train station's waiting room awaiting our onward trains. The German chap was heading on to Kristiansand, whilst I was returning to Arendal, so we bade farewell, and I enjoyed my journey back again, before heading back to my accommodation for my final night in Norway.
That evening I received some good news, although at first it did seem more like bad news. I got a text saying my intercity bus from
Arendal to Kristiansand the next morning, for my onward ferry to Denmark, was cancelled "due to technical issues". I couldn't make the later one as it would arrive after my ferry had departed. Fortunately I had learned that the regional bus number 100 which I had used to explore Lillesand and Grimstad, also goes on to Kristiansand, so I ended up taking that instead. It was also less than half the price, which I was very pleased about as the intercity bus's website had actually swindled me - it attracted me with a cheap discounted price, but when I ended up paying for it, charged me the full price instead, which I was a little peeved about. It also meant that I didn't need to wake up at a ridiculous 5am and return the mountainous route which had originally got me there from the shopping centre, but could start the day at a comparatively more leisurely hour of 6.10am, and take a five-minute downhill walk instead to a different bus stop. What a blessing in disguise, and I celebrated it with a beer and my final dinner in Norway.
The next day I was heading to Denmark - wahey!
So until then, all the best for now!
Alex
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Wow! You learned Norwegian for this trip.
Although I am mostly Norwegian, my efforts to pronounce words came to naught. Also, you sure can eat a lot! I continue to be amazed at what you've seen...the real heart of Scandinavia.